chrisd wrote:When comparing the "St. Kylmahn" rifle with the Fergusson a distinction is drawn that the breech-plug orientation is changed from "vertical to the bore" to "perpendicular to the bore"
'Scuse my higgorance, but vertical and perpendicular mean the same thing to me - both are at 90º to the bore.
Is there not something amiss, as well, with Nahrman seeming to think that a single-start thread would be preferable to a multi-start one? IMO the multi-start thread would enable the breech-plug to drop clear of the breech with one half-turn rather than multiple turns; the detail that needs to be solved is preventing the breech-plug dropping all the way out.
Hi Chris,
The vertical-perpendicular response was me have a senior moment. I meant diagonal to the bore. I was dismissing the possibility of the St.Kylmahn being able to use even a soft cartridge. However, if the St.Kylmahn changed the angle of the breach plug from 90 degrees to something like 120 degrees, then possibly a cartridge with some flexibility could be used. I didn't see that in Nahrmahn's evalutation, which means that the St.Kylmahn can't use cartridges, and be will slower to load than the original Mahndrayn.
I see the St.Kylmahn as allowing COGA armies to be able to fight from a prone position. RFC has given COGA angle guns, and mortars. None of them are as good as the ICA armaments, but if their generals are as good as the ICA, they can win field battles using their quantity advantage. So, if the ICA wants to keep winning battles, they have to use better stategy, better tactics, and a continuing flow of new weapons.
James