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On Fri, 5/6/16, Richard Aiken <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: Hulls aren't *that* fragile, was Re: Gaussbow? was Re: [TML] The Anachronistic Future
 To: "tml" <xxxxxx@simplelists.com>
 Date: Friday, May 6, 2016, 1:59 PM

 On Fri, May 6, 2016 at 3:18
 PM, Grimmund <xxxxxx@gmail.com>
 wrote:
 "Velocity on leaving
 the tube was very low, but increased to around 1,250 feet
 per second (380 m/s) at 30 feet (9.1 m). "

 "The rocket leaves
 the barrel with low energy, and accelerates until the fuel
 is exhausted at about 60 feet (18 metres), at which point
 the rocket has a velocity of about 1250 feet per second
 (FPS), slightly greater than Mach one, with about 50% more
 energy than the common .45 ACP round.[While test figures
 vary greatly, testers report that there was a sonic crack
 from some rounds, but only a hissing sound from others,
 suggesting that the maximum velocity varied from slightly
 below to slightly above Mach 1."

 [DARN KEYBOARD!!!!! I just deleted
 everything I had typed . . . along with part of what I was
 responding to . . . sigh!]
 Given that a major portion of the
 gyrojet round's original mass is rocket propellant and
 the fact that it can't be much larger than a regular
 slugthrower round, it's going to be a mostly-empty shell
 after burn-out. So it's basic impact damage probably
 isn't going to be markedly better than that of the .45
 ACP round. However, a gyrojet round will be much more likely
 than is a regular slugthrower round to tumble upon impact .
 . . since getting it to NOT tumble as it leaves the muzzle
 is the major engineering challenge of the weapon system. So
 maybe these effects would cancel each other out, except that
 the relative ability to pierce armor would be much lower for
 the gyrojet (absent shaped charge rounds).
 Just as an aside: unless you're
 firing down the length of a ship's corridor or across an
 empty hold, most shipboard spaces aren't going to be 60
 feet in any dimension. In your typical stateroom or bridge
 or engineering space, you're probably going to be stuck
 with on the order of "Damn! That punch
 *hurt!*"
 While
 high-performance propellant might be possible, the basic
 propellant is probably already as energetic as it is
 possible to have without risking injury to the weapon's
 user from super-hot exhaust. 
 I'd suggest explosives,
 but that's probably not a good idea for a weapon you
 plan on firing inside the ship.

 IIRC, the standard GURPS weapon
 *assumed* an HE warhead. You had to buy non-explosive rounds
 special.
 -- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Perhaps a special 'shipboard' round?
Maybe even a special weapon design for shipboard use?
Less propellant cuz' it won't use it all anyway.
Heavier slug optimized for maximum impact?

But by then I guess you might just be better of w/ a standard weapon.

p.s. I think FreeTraders & the like just might have beefed up internal hulls. There could be panel optimized for easy access but still offering protection. Or, they might just be like the internal corridors of current naval ships. A lot of exposed 'this & that' & if a hijack attempt takes place the ship will get really trashed. Just might make a hijack attempt *less* likely if the prize will only be a wrecked ship after a firefight.