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A bit of fictional weapon history. In world where you have adults ranging from as small as 8 inches to 8 feet tall in height you can end up with some interesting industrial/ product design. An example is the MAS/ Franchi M63.
This weapon was developed as a joint project by MAS (Manufacture d'Armes de-Saint-Etienne) of France and Luigi Franchi S.p.A of Italy in the late 1950s early 60s. The weapon was developed to address a couple issues that both countries military's had to deal with.
At this time both France and to lesser extent Italy were still very involved in affairs in Africa. Both had or had possessed at one time colonies on the continent, and both countries still had strong economic and political ties to Africa. With Cold War getting toastier by the year and with various revolutions, uprisings, insurrections, kingdom/ nation building, and all around skullduggery happening on a daily basis, arms sales were a steady source of revenue for European arms manufacturers.
In France MAS engineers perceived a need for a weapon that could offer more range and penetration than was easily capable with current 9x19mm Parabellum ammuntion used in contemporary submachine guns. Also in France's colonial assets there were many natives of smaller stature like fennecs and sand cats who served as native forces in the French Army. For them even a small standard submachine gun was the size of a battle rifle but their weapons ammo lacked the desired range to engage targets effectively passed a 100ms. Also the recoil of such weapons was punishing on the user.
Italy was major supplier of weapons in Africa and Luigi Franchi also saw the potential for a new weapon tailored to the needs of not only Africa but also NATO. At this time the first examples of body armor were being developed. While initially nothing more than Flak jackets that protected against shell fragments, some speculated that a day might come when armor would be able to protect against much more. Development proceeded at a somewhat leisurely on/ off pace since their was no direct government investment for the idea at this time.
Now for a bit of real history. About this time in United States interest in small caliber hunting rounds for varmint sized game, especially from handguns, resulted in Remington releasing in 1963 the .221 Fireball. Remington had been working on developing the XP-100 single shot pistol which had initially been chambered for the Remington .222 cartridge. Unfortunately the .222 produced excessive muzzle blast and flash when fired from the 10.75" barrel being proposed for the XP-100. Remington engineers decided to design a cartridge specifically for their upcoming pistol. They shortened the cartridge and reduced the powder charge. They also changed the powdered type and increased the chamber pressure from around 46,000 C.U.P. for .222 Remington to around 52,000 C.U.P. This new cartridge gave Remington almost the same performance as a .222 Remington fired from a standard rifle barrel but from only a 10.75" pistol barrel. 55gr bullet traveling at about 2,700 fps/ 820 mps.
Now back to fiction. Engineers at MAS and Franchi took a look at this new cartridge and realized that it could be adapted to their needs. In an effort to keep the weapon's overall length to a minimum while giving it at least a 10.75" barrel a bullpup design was proposed. For fennecs and other smaller folks the weapon would be their main rifle and for larger folks it would give them a submachine gun sized weapon that was more effective out to ranges around 200ms. Also with introduction of steel inserts in the projectile armor penetration and yaw disruption could be increased. Plans for new weapon began move at a faster pace.
In 1963 the M63 was unveiled to the world. It was in many ways ahead of its time. It gave small folks a weapon with performance approaching that of the early 5.56mm western assault rifles like the M16 in a package not much larger than a compact 9mm submachine gun. for larger folks it provided them with a compact automatic weapon that had much flatter trajectory and improved penetration over standard pistol ammuntion.
To allow the largest range of possible users the M63 was provided with a telescoping stock. To allow both left and right use the engineers borrowed the bottom ejecting principle from the WWII S&W Light Rifle. To allow a wide variety of hand sizes the pistol grip was removable and offered in small, medium, and large size. Since some larger folks felt the forward horizontal handgrip was a bit crowded it could be removed and optional second vertical pistol grip installed instead. Similar to what is on the HK MP5K http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1552070/
Now the .221 Fireball, marketed in this worlds Europe as the 5.6x36mm, generated a lot more pressure than even a 9mm+P hot load. Therefore the standard blowback action so common to submachine guns would not do. Instead a short stroke piston gas system was used in its place. Since engineers at both companies wanted show that their new M63 was not just a glorified smg they fitted it with a combination grenade launcher/muzzle brake and grenade sights. However this meant that a system for closing the gas system when firing grenades had to be included. A simple adjustable valve was designed that used the rim of a cartridge as an adjustment tool.
How successful was the M63? Well as it was stated earlier the weapon was in many ways ahead of its time. Sales in certain African and Asian nations were quite strong; however the M63 had several things going against it. One the market was still flooded with surplus submachine guns from WWII which could be purchased cheap. Even if one did decide to buy a new submachine gun they could be purchased for much less than a M63. The gas piston system of the M63 made them much more expensive to make.
Also the very design of the M63 made it not fit into any neat category which bothered people who like to put things into neat categories. Like some politicians and members of general staffs. Finally the US Army had its own ideas for a whiz-bang new flechette rifle that would solve everyone's problems once they developed it so they blocked further NATO study of it. A decade later the US Army realized that they could not bend the laws of physics under the weight of one dollars bills no matter how many they piled on and gave up on the flechette idea. By that time MAS had become GIAT and Franchi had other business interests. After about 15,000 units the M63 production had shut down.
Little Rommel's troops http://www.furaffinity.net/view/894869/ http://www.furaffinity.net/view/936126/ are rather fond of M63's and they make a bulk of their small arms. Although Little Rommel prefers to carry a Vz61 Skorpion http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1840716/
This weapon was developed as a joint project by MAS (Manufacture d'Armes de-Saint-Etienne) of France and Luigi Franchi S.p.A of Italy in the late 1950s early 60s. The weapon was developed to address a couple issues that both countries military's had to deal with.
At this time both France and to lesser extent Italy were still very involved in affairs in Africa. Both had or had possessed at one time colonies on the continent, and both countries still had strong economic and political ties to Africa. With Cold War getting toastier by the year and with various revolutions, uprisings, insurrections, kingdom/ nation building, and all around skullduggery happening on a daily basis, arms sales were a steady source of revenue for European arms manufacturers.
In France MAS engineers perceived a need for a weapon that could offer more range and penetration than was easily capable with current 9x19mm Parabellum ammuntion used in contemporary submachine guns. Also in France's colonial assets there were many natives of smaller stature like fennecs and sand cats who served as native forces in the French Army. For them even a small standard submachine gun was the size of a battle rifle but their weapons ammo lacked the desired range to engage targets effectively passed a 100ms. Also the recoil of such weapons was punishing on the user.
Italy was major supplier of weapons in Africa and Luigi Franchi also saw the potential for a new weapon tailored to the needs of not only Africa but also NATO. At this time the first examples of body armor were being developed. While initially nothing more than Flak jackets that protected against shell fragments, some speculated that a day might come when armor would be able to protect against much more. Development proceeded at a somewhat leisurely on/ off pace since their was no direct government investment for the idea at this time.
Now for a bit of real history. About this time in United States interest in small caliber hunting rounds for varmint sized game, especially from handguns, resulted in Remington releasing in 1963 the .221 Fireball. Remington had been working on developing the XP-100 single shot pistol which had initially been chambered for the Remington .222 cartridge. Unfortunately the .222 produced excessive muzzle blast and flash when fired from the 10.75" barrel being proposed for the XP-100. Remington engineers decided to design a cartridge specifically for their upcoming pistol. They shortened the cartridge and reduced the powder charge. They also changed the powdered type and increased the chamber pressure from around 46,000 C.U.P. for .222 Remington to around 52,000 C.U.P. This new cartridge gave Remington almost the same performance as a .222 Remington fired from a standard rifle barrel but from only a 10.75" pistol barrel. 55gr bullet traveling at about 2,700 fps/ 820 mps.
Now back to fiction. Engineers at MAS and Franchi took a look at this new cartridge and realized that it could be adapted to their needs. In an effort to keep the weapon's overall length to a minimum while giving it at least a 10.75" barrel a bullpup design was proposed. For fennecs and other smaller folks the weapon would be their main rifle and for larger folks it would give them a submachine gun sized weapon that was more effective out to ranges around 200ms. Also with introduction of steel inserts in the projectile armor penetration and yaw disruption could be increased. Plans for new weapon began move at a faster pace.
In 1963 the M63 was unveiled to the world. It was in many ways ahead of its time. It gave small folks a weapon with performance approaching that of the early 5.56mm western assault rifles like the M16 in a package not much larger than a compact 9mm submachine gun. for larger folks it provided them with a compact automatic weapon that had much flatter trajectory and improved penetration over standard pistol ammuntion.
To allow the largest range of possible users the M63 was provided with a telescoping stock. To allow both left and right use the engineers borrowed the bottom ejecting principle from the WWII S&W Light Rifle. To allow a wide variety of hand sizes the pistol grip was removable and offered in small, medium, and large size. Since some larger folks felt the forward horizontal handgrip was a bit crowded it could be removed and optional second vertical pistol grip installed instead. Similar to what is on the HK MP5K http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1552070/
Now the .221 Fireball, marketed in this worlds Europe as the 5.6x36mm, generated a lot more pressure than even a 9mm+P hot load. Therefore the standard blowback action so common to submachine guns would not do. Instead a short stroke piston gas system was used in its place. Since engineers at both companies wanted show that their new M63 was not just a glorified smg they fitted it with a combination grenade launcher/muzzle brake and grenade sights. However this meant that a system for closing the gas system when firing grenades had to be included. A simple adjustable valve was designed that used the rim of a cartridge as an adjustment tool.
How successful was the M63? Well as it was stated earlier the weapon was in many ways ahead of its time. Sales in certain African and Asian nations were quite strong; however the M63 had several things going against it. One the market was still flooded with surplus submachine guns from WWII which could be purchased cheap. Even if one did decide to buy a new submachine gun they could be purchased for much less than a M63. The gas piston system of the M63 made them much more expensive to make.
Also the very design of the M63 made it not fit into any neat category which bothered people who like to put things into neat categories. Like some politicians and members of general staffs. Finally the US Army had its own ideas for a whiz-bang new flechette rifle that would solve everyone's problems once they developed it so they blocked further NATO study of it. A decade later the US Army realized that they could not bend the laws of physics under the weight of one dollars bills no matter how many they piled on and gave up on the flechette idea. By that time MAS had become GIAT and Franchi had other business interests. After about 15,000 units the M63 production had shut down.
Little Rommel's troops http://www.furaffinity.net/view/894869/ http://www.furaffinity.net/view/936126/ are rather fond of M63's and they make a bulk of their small arms. Although Little Rommel prefers to carry a Vz61 Skorpion http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1840716/
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1277 x 1225px
File Size 136.1 kB
Well I did state in the posting it was a design ahead of its time. That said with the exception of the interchangeable grips all the features I listed were found on other firearms of the period or earlier. What was not so common was what you noted and that is the fusion of all these elements in one weapon.
A somewhat similar real world equivalent would be the Walther PP. There had been other pistols which had included one or two of the features found in Carl Walther's iconic pistol and had with varying degrees of success incorporated them into their design. It was in the PP though that all these features were combined and presented in such a way that the Walther PP is still a benchmark that other small caliber automatic pistols are measured against.
A somewhat similar real world equivalent would be the Walther PP. There had been other pistols which had included one or two of the features found in Carl Walther's iconic pistol and had with varying degrees of success incorporated them into their design. It was in the PP though that all these features were combined and presented in such a way that the Walther PP is still a benchmark that other small caliber automatic pistols are measured against.
Yeah i imagine that if you're a 35lb fennec firing a rifle grenade is quite an experience. None of Little Rommel's troops like to fire rifle grenades but they one of few easy area effect weapons they can carry multiples of when going on a raid. In recent years they have also added former Soviet GP-30 grenade launchers that they field modified to act as stand alone grenade launchers. Little Rommel herself will often carry one of muzzle loading GP-30s along with her Vz61 when going on a raid.
I'd expect the fennecs to create a whole new level of popularity for devices like the Wurfkorper.. with a bolted on shoulder stock of course.
http://www.inert-ord.net/ger03a/wkorp/index.html
http://www.inert-ord.net/ger03a/wkorp/index.html
Did you work at a weapons manufacturer at some point? This thing feels like it could actually be built and fired! Anyway, if you're looking for a another interesting weapon concept to play with I recommend looking up Gyrojet. If you're familiar with Warhammer 40k, think of them as real-world bolters. Every round was actually a small rocket. They haven't been in production for years but the weapons themselves were sound. They were light, accurate, and had virtually no recoil. Even a fennec could fire a Gyrojet rifle with little trouble. The only real problem is the cost, which is probably why they were phased out in the sixties.
No I have not, however my father was an ordnance man in the US Navy and one our close neighbors was a gunsmith who ran the local gun shop so I spent lot of time in them growing up. That and hanging out in garages, aircraft hangers, and competing flying model and scale model competitions gave me a just general feel for how thing fit together. That I am a fairly avid firearm, military and general history buff.
Actually the reason the Gyrojet project fell through in the real world was that they were pretty inaccurate. At the time they couldn't precision-manufacture the ammunition to a standard that would put them reliably on a target. With current computer-assisted machining technology, it might be worth revisiting the concept again.
Yeah I've seen some ideas for revisiting the concept but it is a more hybrid concept. Besides the inability to economically produce accurate gyrojet ammo in the 1960s it also suffered from nasty drag from the horrendous ballistic coefficient of the projectiles.To have enough propellant to get them moving they had to be rather tubby things. When the propellant ran out the they had their own built in airbrakes that really slowed them down!
The hybrid design I have seen involves a propellant sabot that will separate from the main projectile once the solid fuel runs out. Also it has a small booster charge that starts it moving in the barrel. Like many tank guns the barrels are smoothbore and the projectiles are fin-stabilized in flight.
It appears that this time they weren't looking so much to create rocket propelled small arms but instead invent a family of high velocity low recoil guns that can be mounted on light weight armored vehicles that can not take the recoil of anti-tank type guns but want the flat trajectory of them.
The hybrid design I have seen involves a propellant sabot that will separate from the main projectile once the solid fuel runs out. Also it has a small booster charge that starts it moving in the barrel. Like many tank guns the barrels are smoothbore and the projectiles are fin-stabilized in flight.
It appears that this time they weren't looking so much to create rocket propelled small arms but instead invent a family of high velocity low recoil guns that can be mounted on light weight armored vehicles that can not take the recoil of anti-tank type guns but want the flat trajectory of them.
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