Ammunition for the 35x40mm Grenade Launcher Chambering

Millennia ago, when grenade launchers became standard issue to most forces on their relative planets, most designers realized that a certain degree of standardization was needed. That trend still exists today. Most grenade launchers designed for the galactic market today use the 35x40mm cased cartridge. What this means is that the grenade is 35mm in diameter and has a case that is 40mm long, with the vast majority of rounds have an overall length of no more than 102mm. Some launchers will not work with the overlength rounds, and will be marked so. Some manufactures, driven more out of profit than customer survivability, have taken to using proprietary rounds having wildly different chamber dimensions

Typical ammunition include the wide varity of hand grenades discussed elsewhere, with the 35mm shells cost costing between 25 and 40 credits more than their hand thrown counterparts. For safety, most manufacturers use a centrifically armed spring that does not arm until the firer is outside of the blast radius of the shell. As with the hand-thrown variety, the three most commonly used grenades are fragmentation, concussion and smoke, in that order. There is also a larger verity of shell types, taking into account the gun-like nature of the grenade launcher.

The 35x40 chambering is the standerd for he Zone Control line of grenade launchers, including the popular Viper.

Specialty Ammo


Dragon Breath  
purpose:  Incendiary (primary), signaling (secondary)

The Dragon Breath, or Fireball, round fires a cloud of material similar to thermite, but not quite as hot. This red-hot cloud expands over range, producing some incredible light effects which can bee seen for several thousand meters under the right conditions, making the Dragon Breath suitable for some signaling and distraction. It will also ignite most fibrous and organic material, giving them a horrific anti-personnel capability that is often over looked by instructors and grunts alike. They where originally designed to give the grenadier an anti-material role.

	type: incideary grenade launcher shell
	skill: missile weapons: flechette rifle
	availability: 2 F,R,X
	cost: 100
	range: 3-10/20/40
	blast radius (by range): .5/1/2m
	damage (by range): 5D/4D/3D, does 3D damage for next 3 rounds.

Flares		
purpose: signaling (primary), illumination (secondary, non-bursting type only)

Flare shells what started the grenade launcher history. Originally, an illuminating or bursting shell would be fired into the air for various reasons. When the need for grenade launchers became apparent, designers look to the older flare guns for a ground work. Today, thins have not changed much. There are two kind of flares: bursting shells and parachute shells. The bursting shells reach an altitude set by a burning fuse, and detonate into a ball of light. The most common colors are white, red, blue and green. Parachute flares, on the other hand, do not explode. They burn in their color (white, red, blue or green) under a parachute for certain length of time, illuminating the area underneath them. Actual details vary between manufacturer. Most flare shells are between 105 and 125mm long.

	type: flare (illuminating or bursting) grenade launcher shells
	availability: 2 F
	cost: 75

Flechette Shells		
purpose: anti-personnel

Flechette shells date from the days when a single-shot grenade launcher, a knife and (maybe) a slugthrower handgun was all that a grenadier carried for weapons. Demand for a direct-fire, defensive load was first met by loads composed of round pellets. When their range and penetration was found to be insufficient (due to the low velocity imparted by low pressure systems), experimentation with slim, fin stabilized darts started. Today's typical flechette load consists of one hundred plastic darts, about 2.5mm square. Like the Dragon Breath load, their pattern expands in flight, increasing the hit potential of the weapon. In today's automatic grenade launchers, these shells can have a devastating effect on massed infantry.

	type: flechette grenade launcher shells
	skill: missile weapons: flechette rifle
	availability: 2 R,X
	cost: 100
	range: 3-10/30/60
	blast radius (by range): .5/1/2m
	damage (by range):  5D/4D/3D

Net Shells
purpose: suspect restraint

Net shells are an outgrowth of the traditional way to live-capture a target: throw a net at them. These shells consist of a 2.5m synthetic fiber net with small weights around the perimeter. These are used by law enforcement agencies and bounty hunters to take a subject into custody with a minimal of damage.

	type: grenade launched-fired net
	skill: missile weapons: tangler gun
	availability: 2 F,R
	cost: 60
	range: 3-10/30/60
	damage: 2D, does an additional 3D Stun. Must make opposed STR
roll equal to Stun damage to untangle self.
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