8 replies to this topic

[theta123]

I am a sport-shooter in Belgium. Guns always facinated me mechanically wise. Aswel as bullet designs. I never was for the "killing part".

When i saw the mechwarrior universe, my eye immediatly fell on the "Autocannons"
AC/2
AC/5
AC/10
AC/20
UAC/5

Things like that facinate me! Especially the behaviour of such weapons.
but what i wonder the most= What is the calibre of these weapons?

Battletech wiki says that the calibres range from 23 to 203mm

my guess is, that=
AC/2= 75 or 76.2mm
AC/5= 105mm
AC/10= 155mm
AC/20= 203mm

Taking into account, that IRL, a 76.2mm projectile weights twice less then a 105mm.
A standard 155mm shell weights aprox 46kg. A 203 (or 8 inch) howitzer shell quickly gets you to 99KG

This means, that MWO damage seems to be somewhat based on IRL cannons. An AC/20 has twice the firepower then an AC10. (Minus the range diffrences)

So is my guess about these calibres correct?

[DONTOR]

well I have fired 155 MM rounds when i was in the USMC and the rounds wiegh approx. 100 LBs So if an AC 10 is a 155 that is freakin awesome. Also I believe those calibres are correct.

[Khanahar]

My understanding is that it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some are single large shots (YLW AC/20) and others fire volleys with equivalent damage (HBK? AS7). So the caliber is likely to vary accordingly.

Edit: The MC2 Encyclopedia describes the caliber variations as:

AC/5: 30+ mm
AC/10: 40+ mm
AC/20: 80-120 mm

For reference, the damage values and DPdS of those weapons in that game were:

AC/5: 2d, 6 D/ds
AC/10: 6, 10.8
AC/20: 12, 20.4

Edited by Khanahar, 18 June 2013 - 12:49 PM.

[Odnir]

The AC/10, 20, etc. designations refer to their damage value in the classic BattleTech game and the overall power of the weapon. But the exact fictional nature of the weapon varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Most adaptations of the BattleTech fiction into various games have chosen not to distinguish between, say, an AC/10 that is a single large round fired once in ten seconds, and an AC/10 that is smaller rounds fired at two second intervals. While these variations do exist in the BattleTech novels and game world, they don't in the games, to keep games simple.

So really, they can be anything you feel like imagining.

[zraven7]

Autocannon "Calibers" doesn't exactly translate well. See, in the novels, Autocannons were a funny thing. They all actually fired groupings, bursts, or sheafs of shots, rather than a single slug. This is still supposed to be the effect in-game, it's just they all hit as one round. They were actually a whole lot of very, very different weapons in the lore. The AC "2", "5", and so one, just was an indication of their damage in the game, not what they were referred to by the pilots.

[Adridos]

Depends on the manufacturer.

The AC/2 is simply a designation of all guns that do 2 damage per shot, regardless of their shape, size or calibre.

[Nathan Foxbane]

The others have it right, it is all done by damage value. Class 20s have been listed from 120-200 mm if I recall right depending on manufacturer. Even the standard ammunition type seems to vary with the most common two being High Explosive Armor Piercing or depleted uranium. Special ammo was developed later that 'Mechs carrying more than one type being able to freely switch.

A little more info on BT autocannons lore wise. They have never been described in lore as working like they do in game; instead being rapid fire, belt fed weapons that came in smooth bore and rifled versions depending on manufacturer. In the case of Ultras, they had a special dual feed system (often described as clip based) that enabled the pilot to select form normal and double rates of fire with the latter risking jamming until a tech could repair it. In lore most pilots seem to leave Ultras in double rate and never suffer jams that I can recall. They are noted for being ammo hungry. LB-X class weapons had their two ammo types that they could alternate freely between firings and had better range. Other than the entire class being smooth-bore, they were otherwise functionally identical to standard autocannons. It should be noted that nobody ever used solid shot for class 2 and 5 weapons in game terms, because the cluster ammo gave more accuracy, but did not need to use the cluster-to-hit LRM table (5 is the maximum size of a cluster). In lore pilots tended to mix one ton of each.

[General Taskeen]

Exactly.

AC/2's and AC/5's are the quintessential Anti-Aircraft of the BattleTech future, but just as capable of taking out any target. Just think of an AA gun now, and the 2/5's are far larger and far more deadly. The UAC and RAC versions are the super-rapid fire versions, while the LB-X versions are extreme long-range versions capable of destroying aircraft with ease with the flak-like 'cluster' munition, and of course ground targets as well.

The same way you'd turn a Flak 88 against a ground target and get the appropriate results.

The AC/10 and AC/20 class weapons took the smaller class AC concept, and made it bigger, for devastating damage vs. ground targets. Basically the equivalent of the biggest artillery, anti-tank guns, main tank battle guns, or even small naval cannons, that are 10x more destructive and rapid-fire in the BT universe.

Battle Tech actually has the really old 21st Century type tank main guns still around, relegated to be known as "rifle" class cannons.

Edited by General Taskeen, 18 June 2013 - 03:34 PM.

[theta123]

facinating to read guys! Thank you!