Weapons of the Colonial Marines
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The fictional United States Colonial Marines, first depicted in the movie Aliens and later featured in related products, employ several weapons. Descriptions for each of these are given below.
Contents |
[edit] Weapon details
| Name | Type | Caliber/ammunition | Capacity | ROF | Weight | In Aliens? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M4A3/M4A4 Pistol | Semi-automatic handgun | 9mm / .45 ACP | 15 / 12 | N/A | 0.95 kg | Debated / No |
| M41A Pulse Rifle | Assault rifle/carbine | 10x24 mm caseless | 99 | 900 | 4.9 kg | Yes |
| PN Grenade Launcher | Grenade launcher | 30 mm | 4 | Pump-action | N/A | Yes |
| M-240 Flamethrower | Flamethrower | Napthal fuel | 20 seconds | N/A | 2.7 kg | Yes |
| M56 Smart Gun | Squad automatic weapon | 10x28 mm caseless | 300 | 1200 | 17.82 kg | Yes |
| M42 Scope Rifle | Sniper rifle | 10x28 mm caseless | 15 | N/A | 4.2 kg | No |
| M83 SADAR | Anti-tank guided missile | Homing rocket | 1 | One-shot | 3.1 kg | No |
| M5 RPG | Rocket propelled grenade | 60 mm HEAT | 1 | N/A | 5.5 kg | No |
| M78 PIG | Plasma cannon | Cadmium telluride pellets | 30 | N/A | 15.2 kg | Mentioned |
[edit] M4A3 Pistol
In use for more than 60 years, the M4 and its variants are the main sidearm for the USCM. It is a recoil-operated semi-automatic handgun. It holds 12 rounds of 126 grain 9mm ammunition in replaceable magazines. Due to limited effectiveness of the ammo against body armor, newer sabot ammunition is being introduced that has a hardened metal core surrounded by a high impact resin bullet. Upon impact, the resin body breaks apart allowing the inner core to penetrate the armor.
(The actual weapons used by the marines in the film were Heckler and Koch VP70 handguns with the exception of Vasquez, who carried a Smith and Wesson Model 59. These weapons, according to the Colonial Marines Technical Manual were actually supposed to be VP70s and an M4A3 pistol doesn't actually appear in the movie. The diagram in the Manual for the M4A3 appears to be an updated 1911-clone chambered for 9mm. A pistol called the M4A4 appears in Aliens versus Predator 2, but is instead modeled on the Heckler & Koch Mark 23.)
[edit] M41A Pulse Rifle
The most prominent weapon used by the USCM. It functions as the standard assault rifle with an underslung PN grenade launcher. This prop/weapon was modeled around a Thompson submachinegun for the Alien movies.
[edit] M240 Flamethrower
The M240A1 is a lightweight, carbine-styled flamethrower designed for use on the squad and fireteam level. It uses a pressurized, ultra-thick napalm-like fuel which is ignited by a nozzle burner and can engage targets up to 30 meters distant. Once a target has been hit, the napalm stick and continue to burn for almost 30 seconds. There is enough fuel in a standard tank for 20 seconds of continuous use. It is ideal for use in close-combat and xenomorph “population reduction” as well as for disabling structures and fortifications. The napalm stream is sufficiently thick and narrow enough to penetrate defensive openings such as vision slits. The flamer is unpopular with troops because of its short range and tendency to explode when hit by shrapnel or small arms fire.
The M240 is nearly 90cm long and weighs more than 2.5 kg with a full fuel tank. The tank can be refilled via a valve at the back of the weapon or the tank can be swapped out. A twist valve regulates the fuel flow and a switch on the hand grip ignites the nozzle burner. The effective range can be extended by aiming the fire stream upwards; at 45° the range is approximately 50 meters.
An alternative method of use is the so-called “wet shot”, wherein the nozzle burner is shut off and the fuel stream is directed towards the target where it mists as it reaches the range limit. When the nozzle burner is switched back on, a follow-up shot will ignite the mist creating a large fireball. Another option is a blind shot, useful in house-to-house fighting and other close-combat areas. The thickened fuel can “bounce” off hard objects to redirect the stream, allowing skilled operators to “shoot” around a corner
The M240 is vulnerable to small-arms fire (although significantly less so than its more cumbersome WWII counterpart), as the fuel reservoir is known to explode violently when hit.
[edit] M56 Smart Gun
The M56A2 is a 10mm general purpose automatic squad support weapon effective to 1500 meters. The barrel is replaceable and is air-cooled, though a heat sink attachment can be coupled to it. The entire system is mounted to an operators harness and slaved to an IR tracking system. The gun is self-steering on its mount but is manually fired.
Prepping the Smartgun: The M56 system consists of 4 major components: the operator's combat harness, the Head Mounted Sight (HMS), the articulation arm, and the gun itself. The harness is composed of composite micromesh ballistic armor and is heavily padded to reduce chafing. The armored breastplate holds the communications transceiver and the tracking/targeting processor.
The stabilized articulation arm is attached to the left hip mount point and plugged in via a coaxial cable to the processor and power outlets on the breastplate with the gun at the end of the arm. The HMS is plugged into the tracking and comms system in the armor. The gun tracker is jacked into the processor by a universal connector and the gun must be powered up prior to loading; power is from a Li battery rated for 50,000 rounds.
Smartgun Movement: While the operator is standing, the gun is held and steered by the fore and aft grips. Vertical range from slightly downward to straight up and horizontally from straight ahead to the entire left side. The gun can be used while prone, but the user must lie on his back using the fore grip and the charging handle (locked in place) for movement.
The articulation arm is gyrostabilised and provides additional recoil dampening while the user is walking or running. When tracking a target, the arm self-steers the barrel to bore sight the target's center of mass. An operator can override the gun at any time simply by moving the barrel away.
Target Tracking: When powered up, the gun starts tracking targets via its IR tracker mounted above the barrel. This system views a 30° cone in front of the gun and transmits high-resolution thermal images to a video display on the HMS. If a target is detected, a lighted rectangle will be placed over its center of mass and the arm will steer the gun to aim at this point. As soon as it does this, a target lock circle is then lit to indicate the target is bore sighted. If engaging multiple targets or if IR decoys are targeted, the gunner can manually steer the lighted box to the desired target.
Firing the Smartgun: Firing is controlled with either the forward hand grip or the rear firing handle; the gunner activates either the red “fire” switch or squeezes the rear handle. The forward grip also controls the gun's safety and rate of fire (safe, burst, or auto).
The M250 ammunition is 230 grain caseless round similar to the Pulse Rifle's ammo. The biggest difference is that the Smartgun's ammunition has a selectable fuse; a switch on the hand grip electronically sets the bullets fuse as it's loaded into the breach. The “Super” setting is designed for soft targets and detonates on impact while the “Delay” setting explodes the shell only after penetrating the target
The MG42 German machine gun was the working model for this weapon in Aliens.
[edit] Other Media
In the Aliens Vs Predator computer game and its sequels, the smartgun is one of the main weapons of the marine character, and very fittingly, often the only weapon allowing survival against numerous waves of aliens attacking at the same time. As in the movie, it is fully auto-aiming.
A smartgun also appears to be used by one of the soldiers in the opening future sequence of Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Based on the precedent set in Aliens, the term "smartgun" has come to mean, in sci-fi circles, any sort of firearm which performs some or all of the aiming and target acquisition duties for, or in place of, the person who actually fires it. Essentially, "smartguns" are guns smart enough to aim themselves.
In popular media and the shooting industry, the term "Smart Gun" is used to refer to any firearm capable of identifying an authorized user, and allowing or denying access based on this recognition.
[edit] M42 Scope Rifle
The M42A is essentially a highly modified M41 Pulse Rifle, having been customized for use by the Marine Scout/Snipers. One rifle is issued per company, though normally it's used at the battalion level in groups of up to 4 Scout/Snipers.
The M42A is configured in a bullpup style, having the 15-round magazine located behind the hand grip. The butt-plate can be adjusted on an individual basis using the 6 supplied spacers. A folding bipod is placed on top of the barrel hand guard to prevent it from affecting accuracy. Internal components are nearly totally compatible with the M41, though the M42 is chambered for match-grade ammo. The barrel is free-floating and protected with a ventilated hand guard; the barrel can also be fitted with a flash suppressor or muzzle brake depending on the situation.
Normal ammunition is a match-grade HEAP round with a maximum effective range of 2,950 meters. A long-range ball round is also available with an effective range of 3,800 meters. The standard M250 Smartgun round can also be used with no modification, though its effective range is less than 2,000 meters; fuse adjustment is accomplished via a separate selector switch.
A combined multi-spectral 20x passive scope is mounted on top of the receiver. It displays a composite image based on visual, IR, and EM emissions. It can also be augmented with input from the local sensor matrix, such as motion trackers, radar, lidar, and IR sensors. A classified control system allows the Scout/Sniper to tie the rifle into the local sentry gun matrix and readjust sentry gun firing arcs as necessary.
[edit] M83A2 SADAR
The SADAR (Shoulder-Launched Active-homing Disposable Anti-tank Rocket) is a single-shot anti-armor weapon effective out to 1,000 m. The launch tube is discarded after use while the fire-and-forget rocket travels toward the target. The weapon is watertight when stowed and is cocked by pulling an inner cylinder forward until it locks. The inner aluminum cylinder contains the actual rocket while the outer cylinder is made of carbon-fiber to protect the user from the rocket's heat during launch. A trigger assembly and thermal sight are attached to the outer cylinder and flipped up when the weapon is cocked.
A charging button on the trigger assembly activates the supercooled IR seeker in the rocket's nose. The seeker feeds images to the thermal sight within two seconds and remains active for up to 20 minutes; after that, the rocket can only be used in an unguided fashion. While the seeker is active, as long as a hot object is clearly in view the rocket will hit it.
After launch, the seeker guides the rocket to the hottest part of the target, such as the engine, and adjust the flight path for optimum penetration. Against a tank, it will typically climb upward before diving towards the thinner top armor. The latest version is able to identify decoy flares and other countermeasures and has "rejection logic" to counteract them.
The backblast of the rocket is quite large, although small plastic slivers have been included in the rear of the tube to absorb most of the blast. A backblast zone of 10m is recommended and firing in confined spaces should be avoided.
With a HEAT warhead rated against light and medium tanks, the SADAR can also be used like an RPG by using a backup optical sight. This allows it to be used against bunkers, buildings, supply dumps, and other targets that don't have a thermal signature. However, unguided accuracy is only 200m.
[edit] M5 RPG
The M5 rocket propelled grenade launcher is a reloadable 60 mm rocket propelled grenade launcher. M5's main role is to act as an unguided light anti-tank weapon.. The launching tube has a rear vent incorporating backblast diffusers, a trigger mechanism, and a 4x scope. Each 60mm, 2.2 kg round is a hyper-velocity spin-stabilised rocket with an impact-fused warhead. The grenade rounds are loaded separately into the tube like the 20th century bazooka. The rounds are accurate out to 400m with a maximum range of 2 km.
The warhead is a HEAT (high explosive anti-tank) style with an inverted copper cone surrounded by explosives; upon detonation, the copper cone is vaporized by the explosive creating a jet of molten metal that can burn through steel and concrete. Though not designed for use against heavier tanks, it's useful against light vehicles, bunkers, and buildings.
[edit] M78 PIG
The PIG is a man-portable, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon. The 15 kg weapon consists of the gun and a power pack. It is a 15MW phased plasma system firing vaporized 5 gm Cadmium-Telluride pellets, with a 30 round capacity. The power pack contains a 4mW hydrogen fuel cell to power the gun's laser and magnetic coil. The gun has a firing rate of 3 seconds, most of which is used in charging the discharge generator. The gun is rated to breach the flank armor of a heavy tank at 1 km.
The firing cycle starts when the fast-discharge generator pulses a laser, which creates an ionized air channel toward the target. The ionized channel is magnetized by the gun's electromagnetic coil creating a magnetic tunnel. A C-T pellet is ejected into the tunnel resulting in the laser vaporizing it into a superheated plasma. The magnetic coil then accelerates the plasma toward the target at approximately 5 km/s. When it reaches its target, the plasma burns through any matter due to its kinetic and thermal energy.
[edit] M112 HIMAT
The HIMAT (Hypervelocity Intelligent Missile, Anti-tank) is a man-portable "brilliant" weapon with a range greater than 5 km. An extremely versatile weapon, it gives commanders many options for deployment and use.
The main element is an 11.3 kg single-shot, self-contained, disposable launcher equipped with bipod and baseplate. The bipod can be set for any angle between 0 and 90 degrees.
Defensive use-When used defensively, the HIMAT can be set for "Command" or "Automatic". In either case, one or more launchers are connected via cables to the Fire Control Unit, an intelligent computer system which receives data from the local sensor matrix, including motion trackers, IR scanners, LIDAR, RADAR, and robotic sentries. The FCU can also be linked to command-wide units such as surveillance drones, forward observers, or satellites. The FCU analyses all available sensor data and upon positively identifying a threat, it will lock on with one or more missiles and prepare to launch.
The next action depends on whether the FCU is set to "Command" or "Automatic". In "Command" mode, an operator constantly monitors the designated anti-tank area. When a threat is identified, the FCU will show a "Target Lock", allowing the operator to either authorize a missile launch or request further IFF (Identification, Friend or Foe) interrogation. In "Automatic" mode, the FCU will work through its target ID protocols to ensure it has identified an enemy, then it will automatically launch one or more missiles.
Offensive use-The HIMAT can be used in direct fire mode by plugging an infantry SR-90 Target Aquisition Sight into the launcher. The SR-90 combines passive IR with an active ultrasonic motion tracker and has enough cable to distance the operator up to 150m away from the launcher. Once the operator has a target locked-on, the information from the sensors is passed to the missile, which is launched by the operator.
HIMAT missile-The missile itself is a small two-stage round with a multi-sensor seeker. Upon launch, the missile is ejected from its tube vertically by the first-stage motor where its control vanes orient it towards the target. The second-stage then fires, accelerating the missile nearly instantaniously to Mach 4.5. The seeker consists of a millimeter-wave radar and an aerial that allows "home-on-jam" capabilities. The seeker scans the target during its approach and determines its exact type and configuration from memory. If the target turns out to be friendly, the missile will steer itself away and self-destruct. If the target is hostile, the seeker will determine the optimum impact point and steer the missile towards it.
The warhead is comprised of a 15 cm tungsten rod surrounded by high explosive. The explosive is detonated just before impact, launching the rod into the target's armor, similar to a tank SABOT round. The combination of the missile's hypervelocity and the explosive force allows the tungsten rod to penetrate all but the strongest armor.
The HIMAT has some success against aerial targets, such as low-flying dropships, helicopters, and VTOL aircraft. A multi-purpose warhead is being designed for use against both ground and aerial targets.
A new infantry sight that replaces the motion tracker with a millimeter-wave radar is being introduced to allow use against non-moving targets such as bunkers and supply dumps. However, the new sight will only be effective once the new multi-purpose warhead is introduced
[edit] Knife
An all black Gerber Mark II knife was also used in the movies.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual - Brimmicombe-Wood, Lee and Hughes, Dave - New York: Perennial Currents, 1996
