Rifle Contest/Light Machine Gun Competition Part V - Field Testing.
NothingNow
Corpse Wrangler
- Location
- Tampa
With the decision made, and the orders for thirty Holl 875.1s and sixty Vz.70s placed, 2nd Battalion of the 4th Marine Regiment began conversion training and their year long testing tour, which included training up with the newly reequipped 4th Marine Tank Company and the other units it was brigaded with, and followed by standing by for operations with the Macaronesian Squadron, including a punitive operation to the island of Achinet in January 877. During the Achinet operation, the force mostly faced local guerillas using Shotguns, Hanner Magazine Rifles, Kar 51s and the odd Holborn gun, although a few engagements with government troops armed more in line with international norms occurred as well.
The following weapons were handed out:
Duff Company – Rivkes Rifle and vz.70
Erne Company – Fung Rifle and vz.70
Freddy Company – Holl 875 and 875.1
HQ Company – Fung Rifle
Duff Company was assigned two hundred and thirty five Rivkes Rifles and twenty seven Vz.70s. In training Duff company had trouble getting down to just firing single shots with the Rivkes rifle, and would accidentally fire two or three round bursts with alarming regularity. Aside from that, once they got the trigger down they actually liked it and how they went from five rounds in a magazine to twenty rounds in what worked out to be five to seven short bursts, although accidental discharges remained particularly dangerous with the Rivkes to the point that by the end of the testing Duff company approached trigger discipline with a convert's zeal. The lighter weight compared to other rifles, and the ease of reloading made it very popular as well, since marines could just top up in a spare moment instead of having to break out a reloading tool and swap magazines, and the whole thing was just more comfortable on the march or patrol than the other guns in testing. That said, grenadiers complained about the adapter and grenade sights, and everyone hated that the dust cover and bolt weren't directly connected in all circumstances leading to some odd malfunctions in training, other complaints ranged from the gun being a bit too powerful for automatic fire to twenty round magazines only really being able to hold 18 rounds after repeated use and reloading. During operations on Achinet the unit found automatic fire from the rifles to be useful in suppressing the enemy during an advance or fighting off an ambush during city fighting or in the laurel forests around the island. The gun proved reasonably accurate, and reliable enough after having spent a good three months at sea.
Erne Company and the Headquarters Company had a total of four hundred and forty eight Fung rifles assigned (235 for Erne Company and 213 for HQ) as well as Erne Company's twenty seven Vz 70s. Both Erne Company and the Headquarters found the Fung a practical weapon, and easily the most accurate with the shooting sling, although they seemed jealous of the lack of firepower that Duff and Freddy Companies could exploit, especially the smaller magazine. It's easily the best rifle for a marksman, and a massive leap over the Elta rifles they used to have though, as even without tanks supporting them, Erne Company could still overwhelm the enemy in a firefight despite the lack of firepower compared to Duff and Freddy. Grenadiers tended to just keep the gas system off and use it as a straight pull, but otherwise the gun was easy to maintain, popular with its users, and only occasionally gassed someone or burned a wayward thumb. When facing government troops, the Fung was a dramatic overmatch to their Arbatescu rifles, and against guerillas the only real problem with it was its relative heft.
Freddy Company had the Holl 875 and 875.1. The Commonality of the weapons made training easier, and the unit liked being able to freely swap magazines around in a sustained firefight. Not that they really had any. Both were a bit annoying to train on and required more bulk since the unit had to carry a significantly larger percentage of its ammunition in magazines and wore them out faster as a result of not being able to top up in combat or a spare moment, meaning that some of the magazines at the end of the Achinet expeditions were down to 75% of rated capacity. That said, the guns with the new and improved chamber performed well, and the 875 required less cleaning than the other rifles. However, grenadiers didn't like the stock on the 875, and everyone hated the position of the charging handle on both guns. The bottle opener and bipod on the 875 were extremely popular with the soldiers issued the rifle, and in general the compact nature of the weapon was appreciated, especially for the level of firepower brought to bear even if it was unnerving to fire on full auto so marines generally kept it in semi (which also preserved more ammo for the 875.1s.) The 875.1 performed worse as a machine gun in the field than the vz.70, but not by that much, as Freddy Company would mostly use them in bounding roles on the advance with (semi)automatic fire from 875s covering for them during the lull, especially as walking fire wasn't really as practical with the 875.1 as with the 875 due to the lack of a forestock. That said, an 875.1 could not provide continuous fire as well as the vz.70.
The vz.70 was issued to both Duff and Erne and saw wide use there. The lack of interchangeable magazines was an issue for both companies, but not a particularly pressing one. The unit found them entirely reliable and capable, even if they weren't as capable of sustained fire as the Balzac Portative it was replacing. That said, the vz.70 was capable of walking fire, and could generally sustain suppressive fire as well as Holl Mediums until the magazines ran dry. Duff and Erne found them extremely useful in both forest and city fighting where heavier machine guns would need to have to be mounted on a tank or an armored car to be set up in time to participate in the critical phases of a firefight. They only really needed about as much maintenance as a rifle as well, which was a nice change of pace from the ever-needy Balzac Portative.
On an additional note, Uncle Gunnysack made sure to send in a glowing report about the Rivkes rifles they stole. They've been apparently doing sterling service with the secret police during raids and made themselves especially useful during a fight between forces loyal to the old regime and the Special Investigation Branch at a former country club. In said raid, two dozen SIB agents armed with a mix of Rivkes rifles and shotguns and a platoon of Constitutional Guards managed to capture twenty men, an arms cache that included a tankette and a few of the old Holborn machine guns, as well as a stash of seventy kilos of cocaine, shutting down an attempted insurrection with minimal losses. SIB agents apparently love the light and compact little gun that can punch through any car on the market and they're looking at buying a few more so that they can have a Rivkes in every single car in their fleet as well as the usual mix of shotguns and submachine guns. That said, even they find it entirely too easy to just accidentally fire a burst or mag dump with it and consider it a safety hazard after a number of accidental discharges occurred in the field with thankfully no SIB casualties.
With the results of trials in, it is now possible to select a new service rifle and light machine gun or make some modifications based off the results of the field testing.
The following weapons were handed out:
Duff Company – Rivkes Rifle and vz.70
Erne Company – Fung Rifle and vz.70
Freddy Company – Holl 875 and 875.1
HQ Company – Fung Rifle
Duff Company was assigned two hundred and thirty five Rivkes Rifles and twenty seven Vz.70s. In training Duff company had trouble getting down to just firing single shots with the Rivkes rifle, and would accidentally fire two or three round bursts with alarming regularity. Aside from that, once they got the trigger down they actually liked it and how they went from five rounds in a magazine to twenty rounds in what worked out to be five to seven short bursts, although accidental discharges remained particularly dangerous with the Rivkes to the point that by the end of the testing Duff company approached trigger discipline with a convert's zeal. The lighter weight compared to other rifles, and the ease of reloading made it very popular as well, since marines could just top up in a spare moment instead of having to break out a reloading tool and swap magazines, and the whole thing was just more comfortable on the march or patrol than the other guns in testing. That said, grenadiers complained about the adapter and grenade sights, and everyone hated that the dust cover and bolt weren't directly connected in all circumstances leading to some odd malfunctions in training, other complaints ranged from the gun being a bit too powerful for automatic fire to twenty round magazines only really being able to hold 18 rounds after repeated use and reloading. During operations on Achinet the unit found automatic fire from the rifles to be useful in suppressing the enemy during an advance or fighting off an ambush during city fighting or in the laurel forests around the island. The gun proved reasonably accurate, and reliable enough after having spent a good three months at sea.
Erne Company and the Headquarters Company had a total of four hundred and forty eight Fung rifles assigned (235 for Erne Company and 213 for HQ) as well as Erne Company's twenty seven Vz 70s. Both Erne Company and the Headquarters found the Fung a practical weapon, and easily the most accurate with the shooting sling, although they seemed jealous of the lack of firepower that Duff and Freddy Companies could exploit, especially the smaller magazine. It's easily the best rifle for a marksman, and a massive leap over the Elta rifles they used to have though, as even without tanks supporting them, Erne Company could still overwhelm the enemy in a firefight despite the lack of firepower compared to Duff and Freddy. Grenadiers tended to just keep the gas system off and use it as a straight pull, but otherwise the gun was easy to maintain, popular with its users, and only occasionally gassed someone or burned a wayward thumb. When facing government troops, the Fung was a dramatic overmatch to their Arbatescu rifles, and against guerillas the only real problem with it was its relative heft.
Freddy Company had the Holl 875 and 875.1. The Commonality of the weapons made training easier, and the unit liked being able to freely swap magazines around in a sustained firefight. Not that they really had any. Both were a bit annoying to train on and required more bulk since the unit had to carry a significantly larger percentage of its ammunition in magazines and wore them out faster as a result of not being able to top up in combat or a spare moment, meaning that some of the magazines at the end of the Achinet expeditions were down to 75% of rated capacity. That said, the guns with the new and improved chamber performed well, and the 875 required less cleaning than the other rifles. However, grenadiers didn't like the stock on the 875, and everyone hated the position of the charging handle on both guns. The bottle opener and bipod on the 875 were extremely popular with the soldiers issued the rifle, and in general the compact nature of the weapon was appreciated, especially for the level of firepower brought to bear even if it was unnerving to fire on full auto so marines generally kept it in semi (which also preserved more ammo for the 875.1s.) The 875.1 performed worse as a machine gun in the field than the vz.70, but not by that much, as Freddy Company would mostly use them in bounding roles on the advance with (semi)automatic fire from 875s covering for them during the lull, especially as walking fire wasn't really as practical with the 875.1 as with the 875 due to the lack of a forestock. That said, an 875.1 could not provide continuous fire as well as the vz.70.
The vz.70 was issued to both Duff and Erne and saw wide use there. The lack of interchangeable magazines was an issue for both companies, but not a particularly pressing one. The unit found them entirely reliable and capable, even if they weren't as capable of sustained fire as the Balzac Portative it was replacing. That said, the vz.70 was capable of walking fire, and could generally sustain suppressive fire as well as Holl Mediums until the magazines ran dry. Duff and Erne found them extremely useful in both forest and city fighting where heavier machine guns would need to have to be mounted on a tank or an armored car to be set up in time to participate in the critical phases of a firefight. They only really needed about as much maintenance as a rifle as well, which was a nice change of pace from the ever-needy Balzac Portative.
On an additional note, Uncle Gunnysack made sure to send in a glowing report about the Rivkes rifles they stole. They've been apparently doing sterling service with the secret police during raids and made themselves especially useful during a fight between forces loyal to the old regime and the Special Investigation Branch at a former country club. In said raid, two dozen SIB agents armed with a mix of Rivkes rifles and shotguns and a platoon of Constitutional Guards managed to capture twenty men, an arms cache that included a tankette and a few of the old Holborn machine guns, as well as a stash of seventy kilos of cocaine, shutting down an attempted insurrection with minimal losses. SIB agents apparently love the light and compact little gun that can punch through any car on the market and they're looking at buying a few more so that they can have a Rivkes in every single car in their fleet as well as the usual mix of shotguns and submachine guns. That said, even they find it entirely too easy to just accidentally fire a burst or mag dump with it and consider it a safety hazard after a number of accidental discharges occurred in the field with thankfully no SIB casualties.
With the results of trials in, it is now possible to select a new service rifle and light machine gun or make some modifications based off the results of the field testing.
