Owner:
Lewis "Moose" Gregory
Designation:
Troop bombardment weapon
Manufacturer:
Packered Corporation
Physical
Description: Large six barreled cannon, generally braced
against the shoulder when fired, though Moose has been known
to fire it from the hip. The large barrel rotates with every
shot. The shell in the topmost position is fired, while the
bottom position in the barrel is open at the back to allow for
reloading. It is possible to maintain continuous firing with
constant reloading, though usual practice is to fire five shots
then reload. The Mortar Gun usually carries cluster munitions,
though it can be modified to fire other types of ammunition.
History:
The mortar gun is a reasonably common weapon in the
Empires arsenal, and as with most Imperial weapons, several
have come in to the hands of the Alliance. In fact, the Alliance
is currently rumoured to be negotiating with Packered for a
regular supply. Moose's personal Mortar gun is a memento form
the time he spent in the Alliance infantry. Being of the required
large size, Moose was assigned the heavy weapon. While he was
serving on the planet Ten'see IV, Moose was credited with one
of only a handful of walker kills with the Mortar Gun. With
the near total destruction of the Alliance presence on Ten'see
IV, Moose's Mortar Gun was lost in the system, and is now more
or less his own property. He has held on to it all through his
pilot training, unwilling to part with it as it has been such
a useful ally whilst in ground combat. Moose also included several
parts of the Mortar Gun's design when he was co-designing the
Ewok Launcher with Granite.
Use:
The mortar gun is at it's best when used against closely packed
troops. The fragmenting shells allow several enemies to be attacked
with one shot. The fragments are most effective against unarmoured
opponents, but they are usually more than adequate to deal with
stormtroopers. It's success rate against vehicles is not great,
due its' inability to penetrate heavy armour. Modified versions
with armour-piercing shells have prove useful for assaulting
armoured emplacements, but the poor accuracy of the weapon reduces
its effectiveness against moving vehicles. Its only other drawbacks
are its' slightly slow fire rate, and its inability to be used
in confined quarters, due to the danger to the operator from
ricochets.
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