Adridos, on 27 January 2014 - 05:13 AM, said:
First off, as far as the RPG abbevation is concerned, it is both a rocket propelled grenade and Ručnoj Protivotankovyj Granatomyjot. You see, it is something called a "backronym". The reasoning behind it was probably the fact that (almost) no US Marine alive could spell the russian word properly and the translation was both unpractical and didn't fit the acronym.
And bolts aren't gyrojet rounds. They do have a bit of explosive for leaving the barrel like RPGs. At least according to the only piece of official material released on the subject so far, one of the Imperial Armour Volumes (aren't they getting new editons of thse, possibly giving us an exact picture for the years to follow?). This fits from the fluff perspective (since I've never heard of a bolter failing at small distance fire) and even rules one (since a gyrojet's effectivness rises from the start until the point it gets to an optimal range and then desecends as the roud slows down again).
Lastly, the standard bolts Space Marines use are explosive. Based on that, the explosive is sometimes replaced for special munitions (like filling it with poison, instead), but specialist munitions is scarce and this guy got ammo for that gun from every fallen Space Marin he encountered.
Actually, bolters are gyrojets to the T. I even recall a conversation that took place where GW mentions them (I'd have to try to find it). If you actually took the time to read the link I put in there, you would realize that's exactly what they are. You're saying that they are hand held anti-tank devices instead of rocket propelled explosive devices. Literally. The original versions didn't have first stage accelerators and were exact copies of gyrojets. I can even scan my 3rd edition rulebook that has a cut away diagram of how they work.
Just because the incorrect term was applied to the abbreviation of a weapon does not automatically make it correct. German mechanized infantry are still called panzer grenadiers. Does this mean they only throw grenades from tanks? No. You can't use the literal term panzer and grenadier to establish what the unit does. They're mechanized infantry, not a tank that shoots grenades. A Flakpanzer is a tank that shoots flak. I defer to the country of origin, even if you do not.
In either way, every story I've read so far shows them being fired like assault rifles, not grenade launchers, so Firewarrior is still wrong.
Also, no firearm, rocket, or missile uses "explosives" to leave the barrel. It's propellant. The difference? Explosives would turn the weapon into a pipe bomb and kill the user. It's the difference between what's in the warhead and what's in the cartridge/motor.
RadioKies, on 27 January 2014 - 07:05 AM, said:
Or at least, thats how that reads to me... Maybe a little less hostile next time?
Ask anyone in the world what RPG stand for and they give the definition of what I said unless you're Russian and do know the original name. Also, for the explosives in bolts, they are not super explosive like the real RPG's, but thats because bolter rounds are more the size of M203 grenades.
Nothing else to add to what Adridos said.
btw.. isn't BMW an English company called British Motor Works that also invented the autobahn?
It takes a non-American to drag Americans into the conflict, doesn't it? Respond with the actual origin of the weapon, in it's native Russian tongue, and I'm a stupid American
. Any excuse, eh?
It certainly can't be because bolters fire a .75 caliber (3/4") round that is half the size of a 40mm (1.5") M203 round. It can't be because bolters have variable warheads, as do RPGs (which may also have no explosive component). It can't possibly be because you guys seem to be getting all your information from call of duty or some simalaar kewl miltarah gahm fer merikans.
Also, the M203 fires a variety of rounds as well. The high explosive rounds have a yield much greater than that of a bolter. Oddly enough, there IS a grenade launcher in 40k that has stats to reflect this.
Also, ask anyone in the world that knows a thing or two about the world of military weapons, and they'll give you the same answer I just did. What you said, is effectively, a bolter is a bazooka. Or a javelin. or a blow pipe. Or a dragon. Since all those weapons are in the same class (hand held anti-tank weapon) and use rocket propulsion. Simply because RPG happens to have grenade in the name does not suddenly mean a weapon that was incorrectly made to fire like an MGL is an RPG or was ever meant to be construed as such.
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