HFQ Official Snippet #23

Kytheros wrote:

runsforcelery wrote: You take the right cardstock, now, and you bind one end into a brass cup t’ hold the primer, and all you’d have t’ do’d be to —”

anwi wrote:Anyone with me in expecting that this storyline continues with "BOOM"?
And I'm talking about a serious BOOM, martian style...

Weird Harold wrote:Nope, no earth-shattering kaboom here. That's the way shotgun shells have been made in the real world almost since breech-loaders were invented.

I think he means that he thinks that Mahldyn is being interrupted by something going BOOM.

anwi wrote:Thanks for long snippet. Now, a lot of exposition for the phase after the current war, I guess, and some raising of steam. Now, while locomotive drive systems make for interesting discussion, I've another question:

runsforcelery wrote: You take the right cardstock, now, and you bind one end into a brass cup t’ hold the primer, and all you’d have t’ do’d be to —”

Anyone with me in expecting that this storyline continues with "BOOM"?
And I'm talking about a serious BOOM, martian style...

As an aside: Ahlverez might be wandering in the wilderness after Pentecoste, still.

anwi wrote:Thanks for long snippet. Now, a lot of exposition for the phase after the current war, I guess, and some raising of steam. Now, while locomotive drive systems make for interesting discussion, I've another question:

runsforcelery wrote: You take the right cardstock, now, and you bind one end into a brass cup t’ hold the primer, and all you’d have t’ do’d be to —”

Anyone with me in expecting that this storyline continues with "BOOM"?
And I'm talking about a serious BOOM, martian style...

As an aside: Ahlverez might be wandering in the wilderness after Pentecoste, still.

AirTech wrote:A unitized mortar round is a small step from this too, as the propulsion cartridge of a mortar round is basically a large shotgun cartridge filled completely with powder. (Ditto ejection seats but that is a step or three beyond where we need to be now).

Joat42 wrote:Shotguns!

Thanks for the snippet!

EdThomas wrote:

AirTech wrote:A unitized mortar round is a small step from this too, as the propulsion cartridge of a mortar round is basically a large shotgun cartridge filled completely with powder. (Ditto ejection seats but that is a step or three beyond where we need to be now).

You'd have to change the projectile to include some way to engage the rifling. Maybe something like a giant minie round. I don't recall a description of the fuses on the mortar round but I wonder if they would preclude an expanding base type of round.

AirTech wrote:BTW the original shotgun cartridges used brass shim not paper for the cartridge (brass is water proof) as did some of the early large bore cartridges with a shorter drawn base, I have seen some with a steel base and brass sides. (The case doesn't seal on the base but rather from having the long sides blown against the chamber).

EdThomas wrote:

AirTech wrote:BTW the original shotgun cartridges used brass shim not paper for the cartridge (brass is water proof) as did some of the early large bore cartridges with a shorter drawn base, I have seen some with a steel base and brass sides. (The case doesn't seal on the base but rather from having the long sides blown against the chamber).

Interestinger and interestinger. Shotguns - how was the expanded brass shell casing extracted? I'm thinking the expanded sides would make extraction difficult.
Mortars - doesn't this create an extraction problem with the metal cartridge potions?

n7axw wrote:Now on to the snippet...

First, the locomotive is interesting, although it seems a bit much to invest too much effort on it before the war is over. But given that conversation Sharleyan had with her advisors back in LAMA, it's not hard to see why she is interested in it.

Moving on, we now know where the the initial issue of M96es and their pistol counterparts went...to BGV! We already had hints of that before. And those who were worried about the ammo supply can feel at least partially vindicated even if our favorate industrialist seems acutely aware of the problem and is moving to rectify the matter.

On a more positive note, we see the EOC diversifying the locations of its industrial plant, in part to Emerald, so that a catrastrophe at one location doesn't completely shut things down.

Finally, the bad guys got more out of their intelligence haul than I expected. It turns out that the primary benefit didn't have to do with steam engines, but with blast furnaces and helping the church umprove their steel production... The question remains, however, if there will be time for the church to fully implement what they have learned before the AOG armies are taken out of play and the alliance closes in.

From the description of what the Dohlarans are up to, it certainly makes good sense to give a very strong priority to isolating Dohlar and knocking her out of the war.

Don

McGuiness wrote:Thanks RFC for the insightful and very long post! It's always nice to see what Howsmyn has up his sleeve, and what new gadgets and weapons his inventive staff have in development.

It's nice to see that manufacturing is spreading across the Empire, especially the explosives. I'm not sure why there's a persistent rumor that there will be a major industrial accident in HFQ though. There has never been a major industrial accident in Charis during the entire war, although there has been a major case of sabotage.

Even Corisande is getting into the action, with its rubber being used in bicycle tires. Emerald is a good central place for manufacturing, and I've thought that its lack of mountains and water power must be the reason that we haven't seen heavy industrialization introduced there before, given that it's the third oldest member of the EoC and much closer to Charis than Chisholm. Steam engines are going to allow all sorts of manufacturing everywhere that coal is available, so the entire Empire should be pitching in soon. Of course that means the TLs will be sending samples and design specifications for all sorts of technology to Zion, which probably can't afford to build it!

Too bad the contents of the stolen briefcase are so useful in the CoGA's iron foundries...

So we will get railroads - after the war. Shotguns will soon be in the building queue, and after some early snafus in cartridge production (which makes me worry for BGV) the allies will have the church boys seriously outgunned. The damage those pistols will do when the enemy closes with the ICA makes me cringe! Those poor Harchongese...