ALIENS: Colonial Marine Technical Manual

[Hugoagogo]

Originally Posted by Raider65

Why wouldn't it have made sense. He runs away ,on his own with no weapons and the aliens were actively on the hunt at that time, they would of found him with no weapons to fight with so they would of taken him to be a host. Makes sense to me.

He was talking about the amount of time it took for the face-hugger to do its biz and fall off so Burke could say his lines. It would have been a bit quick compared to Kane.

I read that the footage was really lost, rather than cut. If it was just cut, we would have seen it in one of the various documentaries by now.

[Xhan]

If left in, it showed Burke bursting 15 minutes later, and you can see it, in the StarLog interview of Gale Anne Hurd, and briefly in the AMC documentary "The Alien Saga".

It was cut.

[Sh0dan]

Originally Posted by Spike12

I hope we get to use this baby.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ke1233/M22.png

I would love to see that worked into the game somehow.

There’s a lot of vehicle stuff mentioned in the CMTM. Maybe we should start a separate vehicle thread so we can explore the ideas.

[Hugoagogo]

Originally Posted by Xhan

If left in, it showed Burke bursting 15 minutes later, and you can see it, in the StarLog interview of Gale Anne Hurd, and briefly in the AMC documentary "The Alien Saga".

It was cut.

Wow really? Awesome - thanks Xhan. How does one see this doco? It wasn't in the box set I have.

[Spike12]

Originally Posted by Sh0dan

I would love to see that worked into the game somehow.

There’s a lot of vehicle stuff mentioned in the CMTM. Maybe we should start a separate vehicle thread so we can explore the ideas.

That'd be a cool idea. I love checking out all the vehicles and equipment in the CMTM, makes me wonder what they would be like in-game.

[Xhan]

Originally Posted by Hugoagogo

Wow really? Awesome - thanks Xhan. How does one see this doco? It wasn't in the box set I have.

AFAIK Amazon still sells the DVD version.

lemme go look.

Yup, 13 bux at Mammazon. I know you guys have two big ass chains down under, you might be able to get it in that way.

[Sh0dan]

Some stuff on vehicles from the CMTM.

COLONIAL MARINE ARMOR

M40 Ridgeway Tank

M22 Jackson Tank

M292 Self-Propelled Gun


The deployment of Colonial Marine Armor assets is limited by the availability of heavy starlift capability to transport both the tanks and their considerable logistic and service support. For this reason, the six tank battalions of the Colonial Marines rely heavily on medium and light armor such as the M22A3 Jackson medium tank and the M34A2 Longstreet light tank. One battalion, the 2nd (attached to the 1st Colonial Marine Division) has recently been upgraded with the M40 Ridgway heavy tank, which has previously only seen service in the US Army. The current intention is to furnish at least two more battalions with the M40 before making a decision about finally phasing out the M22.

"There we were on the Kael line in our M22 dinosaurs, and in the unit next door the Army guys were bitching about the missile detection/interception systems, the jamming and decoy systems and the 3D tactical suites in their M40s. We had nothing like they had, and what we had was old and kept breaking down. They had tanks so stealthy they were invisible from nine paces; our stealth was a decade out of date. With all the Third World-supplied detection gear the B-boys were packing in the Trobriands and around Parrot's Beak, they could see us coming a continent away."

- Staff Sgt. Robin Miskolczy, 3rd Colonial Marine Tank Battalion, Linna 349.

Armor in the Colonial Marines has retained the traditional infantry support role. Tanks are still the best way to deliver direct artillery fire quickly and accurately against enemy strongpoints and, of course, other tanks. The new M40 particularly demonstrates the continuing value of heavy armor on the modern battlefield, with its ability to fire 115 mm shells at a rate of 60 rpm, deliver particulate barrier smoke, scatterable mines and support fire from its integral 60mm mortars and defend against aerospace craft and incoming missiles with its 20 kW phased plasma point defense gun.

"The Ridge' is a scary tank. Its got stealth, mobility, firepower and point defenses better'n anything we had on the M22. What's so neat is the way the automatics handle the workload - you'd think you need at least three crew to run all this crap, but in fact you can do it with the same two girls you had in the Jackson. The only problem we had in our battalion was running the panzers in after they were delivered, factory fresh - you need to fire the guns a lot and run all the equipment a number of times before the sensors and weapons settle down and fully integrate."

- Capt. Andrea Mae Samona, 2nd Colonial Marine Tank Battalion.

Aside from the impressive firepower of modern tanks, their psychological value and their ability to shock even a prepared opponent, is still readily apparent.

"I tell you, I damn near filled my pants; as we ran up that road there were buzzbombs and **** popping off all around us. The bugboys had ambushed us from the low, thorny alien Karyta that lined both sides of Highway Two on the straight stretch up to Suivre. The rear panzer - Harrow's number forty-one - brewed up and Russell's number thirty was immobilized by a track hit before we could shoot off any decoys. I immediately ordered the company off the road and we charged into the Karyta, firing APF [Anti-Personnel Flechette rounds] at point blank and spraying the area with the flamethrowers. At the sight of us coming, the B-Boys cut and run, abandoning all the new anti-tank equipment they'd bought from the Brits and Japs. Those assholes that stayed we ran over or toasted."

"That night, we argued over the bodycount. Sergeant Bulow insisted we'd got nine of theirs for the loss of one panzer crew and another injured. But I pointed out that the fire control trench Murae had run over had been too badly smooshed to count properly. Judging from the mess left behind there could have been three or four people in there together, or just one spread over a wide area. Since the skin and bone was mangled into mush, there was no way to tell. PFC Herbick suggested we go back and see how many teeth we could dig out, but I passed on that one. Against the Sergeant's objections, I had to count the trench as a single enemy casualty..."

- Captain Hayward J.Lay, Jr., 3rd Colonial Marine Tank Battalion, Linna 349.

Colonial Marine aerospace/ground teams train in cooperation with the armor units on a regular basis, though there is still opposition to fully integrating heavy armor into the teams. Partly, this is because of the current lack of a heavy dropship capable of carrying a tank into battle; this will be rectified when the production UD-24, with its projected 70,000 kg lift capacity, achieves service in the early 'eighties. Also, it is because of new models and concepts being proposed by the Colonial Marine Tactical Studies School which advocate a reversal of Marine 70 'flexible' armored doctrine in favor of employing dedicated tank-led ground teams. In the tank-led team, the armor is grouped en masse with mechanized and aeroborne infantry in support, rather than the current practice of parcelling out armor piecemeal on an ad hoc basis. However, proponents of this scheme wish to see a radical increase in Marine armor capability once the UD-24 is in service before proper integration with the aero/ground teams can take place.

-

M577 ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER

M577A3 APC

M579 Daisycutter


"We came outta that APC spitting sweat and blood. Up ahead we heard screaming as the twenty-mike-mike chopped the bugboys into salad. Sarge screamed 'Split Orange', an' we broke into a four-by-four formation, charging the hill with the smarts in support and the APC on overmatch. The bugboys saw us coming and launched a buzz-bomb, they'd have had us cold if it weren't for the Loot' in the APC - he caught their launch flash and iced the suckers with the peebees before their bomb had even left the tube! S'damndest thing I ever saw!"

- Cpl. Lynda Gerhardt, B Coy. 1/7 Colonial Marine.

The M577 evolved from the Marine 70 battlefield deployment strategy, which proposed a requirement for a low-cost lightweight APC capable of being transported into combat aboard a dropship. Designed as a multi-role vehicle within a lightly-equipped rapid-reaction force, the M577 is mobile and well armed. However, the rigid design restrictions and compromises imposed by the need to be drop-transportable have resulted in a lighter, less capable vehicle than other APCs currently in US service.

Because of the USCM requirement that the vehicle's combat weight be kept below 15,000 kg, the M577's components were designed to be as lightweight and sturdy as possible. The chassis chosen for the prototype was based on that of the M570 family of wheeled vehicles which, in the late sixties, was being developed for use in a variety of roles, mainly as a prime mover and mortar platform. The APC is built around a 4 x 4 wheeled layout, powered by a 286 kW multi-fuel gas turbine engine which generates a power-to-weight ratio in the region of 19.7 kW/kN. Although the wheeled configuration does not give as rugged a cross country performance as a tracked vehicle, it does offer considerable savings in terms of weight penalties and reliability. Each of the massive 159 cm diameter wheels receives power independently from the engine via a fully automatic, electronically-controlled transmission system. The tires are armored against small arms and splinter, and their pressure is controlled by a central regulation system. This allows the driver to reduce the vehicle's ground pressure over soft terrain by deflating the tires, whilst still being able to reinflate them for road travel.

The M577's chassis is made of bonded titanium and incorporates a 5 cm foam-packed floor cavity to protect against forged-fragment mines. Ground clearance is normally only 22 cm, but the vehicle employs a hydropneumatic, fully active suspension to allow a clean ride over rough terrain. The suspension is capable of boosting ground clearance by a full 30 cm and allows the M577 to comfortably tackle vertical obstacles up to 0.5 m. The hull is made from welded light alloys and is latched and bonded (rather than welded) to the chassis in order to prevent fatigue and failure from the piezoelectric effects associated with an alloy-titanium interface. The inside of the hull is lined with boron carbide ceramic tiles, each of which has been coated with a polymer resin to prevent cracks or shattering during normal travel; this resin is 2 mm thick on the outward-facing surface of the tile and is said to provide limited ablative protection against pulsed lasers. The tiles are backed with a thick layer of woven fire resistant polymer armor to limit spalling in the event of a hull penetration. Because of weight restrictions, the armor protection is very light. It is capable of defeating fragmentation, small arm rounds and lowvelocity armor penetrating ammunition such as rifle grenades; however, its ability to stop dedicated tank-killing weaponry is slight.

CREW AND PASSENGERS

The M577 is operated by two crew (the driver and section commander) and allows twelve positions for passengers, all equipped with yoke harness restraints for orbital combat drop. Entry is via the main starboard side door or port side driver's hatch. The interior is surprisingly spacious, allowing plenty of room for weapons and supply stowage. The Marine 70 requirement called for the ability to carry sufficient ammunition and supplies for up to three days of fighting; in practice this is possible, though the interior of the vehicle becomes somewhat cramped. In tactical areas where re-supply is frequent, no more than two days of supplies and ammunition are usually carried. The rear of the crew compartment houses the Tactical Operations Center; from here the section commander can maintain contact with the vehicle's infantry complement via- video and audio linkup, and monitor the battle in real-time via the battle management displays.

SENSORS

The driver's view is limited to a forward window of quartz armored crystal, though this is supplemented by periscope ports providing vision to the sides and forward quarters. Multifunction screens by the driver's and section commander's positions present a sensor-fusion display of the tactical zone around the APC. The sensors can be activated by the driver, or from the Tactical Operations Center by the section commander. A sensor cluster is mounted with the main searchlight and can be played across a 270 degree zone in front of and around the APC. The cluster comprises a turreted thermal imager, TV optics with magnification from x4 to x20, a UV detector and an ultrasonic motion tracker.

Millimeterwave targeting radars mounted in the forward gun cupola and the main turret can track targets acquired by the main sensors, or may alternatively use their own ground-mapping and search functions to acquire targets. The effective tracking range of these radars against man sized targets is approximately 3,000m in open terrain. The sensors are supplemented by a forward mounted white-light and infrared searchlight for the active illumination of targets.

STEALTH AND DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS

The slab sided shape of the APC hull provides for a high radar cross-section on the battlefield. An attempt has been made to reduce this by incorporating radar absorbent materials into the hull skinning, with only partial success. Hull paints are laser absorbent to protect against lidar, and the' M577 boasts an infrared camouflage feature in which cooling elements are arranged in patches and stripes beneath the skin to break up the IR signature of the vehicle.

Active defenses for the APC consists of a chaff/flare decoy dispenser mounted to the rear of the vehicle, and a fire control jammer capable of spoofing millimeter-wave tracking radars (available power for this system is limited). The decoy dispenser, which is supplied by a multi-cartridge rotary feed is also capable of releasing particulate smoke as a barrier against ranging or pulsed lasers. These defenses are automatically deployed if activated by the driver or vehicle commander.

"We have this big red button in the TOC labelled 'ECM'. If we tag any incoming we're supposed to slap the button and fire off the flares, chaff and jammers to save our butts. The word on the line is that the system gives you a fighting chance against infrared seeking weapons, but no chance at all against radar homers. One of those puppies catches you, you're toast!"

- Staff Sergeant Billy "The Ball' Arter, USCM.

WEAPONS SYSTEMS

The M577 carries a formidable array of weaponry in support of its infantry complement. A hull mounted cupola covering the APC's forward area carries two synchronised Republic Electric RE700 20mm gatling cannon. Both weapons are supplied by a 1700 round multi-feed ammunition dispenser which offers a selection of High Explosive, High Explosive Armor Piercing and 'Beehive' type Anti-Personnel Fletchette (APF) rounds at the flick of a switch. These caseless rounds carry no propellant and are fed mechanically into the revolving chambers which are then sprayed with hypergolic binary propellants which ignite and launch the round. Binary propellant systems are rare at this caliber (the only other such system in Colonial Marine service is the 25 mm GAU/113 aboard the UD-4 dropship) , but aboard the M577 this system offers substantial weight, rate-of-fire and reliability advantages over a standard caseless weapon and provides effective anti-personnel support for the APC. The only drawback of the weapon is that it is mounted to cover only the vehicle's forward arc, traversing between 60 degrees left and right of axis, and cannot be fired from a hull-down position.

The M577's main weapon system is turret mounted, allowing the APC to fire from the safety of a hull-down position. The turret assembly is fully traversable, self contained (including ammunition and power supply) and is carried on a rail track which runs down to the rear of the vehicle. Geared electric motors run the turret along the track and allow it to be depressed to the APC's rear, reducing the vehicle's headroom so that it may be carried inside a shuttle or dropship payload bay. The weapons are stabilised within the turret for firing while on the move and can be elevated and depressed between +85 and -7 degrees. Hydraulic rams on either side of the turret can tilt it up to 15 degrees in all axes to provide additional elevation or maintain a level firing platform for the weapons. Target acquisition and weapons control are controlled by the section commander from the Tactical Operations Center; however, independantly targetting automation systems can handle these functions, so reducing the commander's workload.

"Whoever designed the turret should have their head examined. When we first got the M577, there were no splashguards on the rear wheels or gun barrels. Some guys under my command took a company out for an off-road spin with their turrets stowed, and by the time they got back all the barrels were clogged with mud sprayed up from the rear tires. I'm crapping you negative; it took two months of yelling at the Marine Command in Houston to get a fix for that one."

- Brigadier General Teresa Jayes, 1st Colonial Marine Brigade.

There are three different main weapons currently in service:

The initial production M577A mounts two 20 mW Boyars PARS 150 phased plasma cannon. The power source is a 6 mW hydrogen fuel cell capable of powering 3,000 firings before refuelling. The fuel cell drives a homopolar fast-discharge generator which stores power until it has sufficient energy to pulse the plasma gun's laser. When the laser is fired, it creates an ionized trail in the atmosphere which is charged by the gun's electromagnetic coil to form a solenoidal magnetic tunnel. The ammunition - Cadmium Telluride pellets of around five grams mass - is fed mechanically into the tunnel, where it is vaporized by the laser beam into a superheated plasma, which is accelerated by the magnetic coil to velocities in the region of 5,000 m/s. The plasma travels the tunnel until it impacts the target at a focussed point, using its considerable kinetic and thermal energy for maximum effect penetration. Because of the power usage, both guns fire in sequence rather than simultaneously; thus, cyclic rate of fire (allowing for adequate cooling between shots) is 40 rpm. Each gun carries up to 1000 rounds of ammunition. Maximum effective range is dependent upon the ambient atmospherics, but in ideal conditions can be up to 4,000 m.

The variant M577A2 mounts two Republic Dynamics M2025 40 mW free-electron lasers in the 2.0 - 3.0 micron range, which are effective against both ground and air targets. Beam power is supplied by a 10 mW hydrogen fuel cell driving a homopolar fast-discharge generator. The beam is propagated, without the need for lasants, by the interaction of a particle-accelerated electron beam with a static electric field. The advantage of a free-electron laser in Colonial Marine service is its ability to be tuned to wavelengths that would minimize beam degradation by the local atmosphere.

In addition, a reactive tune facility , cued by laser returns from the beam, is incorporated to allow rapid retuning in the event that counter-measures (such as smoke or steam) are deployed to block the beam. The lasers can be used in two modes. In 'dazzle' mode, the beam is used to burn out enemy optical/infrared sensors or blind infantrymen and pilots, has a low output (20 kW -50 kW) . It is in this mode that the beam is at its most efficient, playing continuously across a target without need for pulsing or the associated effects on beam propagation from thermal blooming, ionization or dielectric breakdown. In 'pulse' mode, a beam is pulsed at full power at the target. Damage is caused by the mechanical impulse of the beam as it superheats the target area, and in the case of the M2025 is capable of penetrating infantry personal armor or the skin of a missile or aerospace craft. Range and effectiveness in pulse mode is entirely dependent on the ambient atmospheric conditions, but in ideal conditions, the weapon has an effective range against aerospace craft of up to 3,000 m.

"yeah, right. What are these 'ideal conditions'? I never get to see them. If the weather is even slightly crappy the beam is screwed. As a. rule of thumb I never pulse at anything over a thousand meters 'cause of atmospheric scattering - that and the giveaway DEW line [Directed Energy Weapon trail caused by ionization and thermal blooming]."

- Sgt. Bom 'Happy' Lance, 5th Reserve Colonial Marine Brigade.

The most recent version, the M577A3, mounts two 20 MeV turboalternator powered charged particle beam cannon. The deployment of these weapons has been made possible due to the introduction of a Martin-Continental micro magnetohydrodynamic turbine capable of generating 20 mW of electrical power to run the big particle accelerator guns.

Sufficient turbine fuel exists to power the guns for 50 seconds firing and there is some 300 kg of deuterium tankage to provide particle beam mass. The effective range of the weapons against light armored targets is approximately 3,000 m, though at longer ranges the beams are capable of disrupting unshielded electronics.

M577 SPECIFICATIONS

Crew: 2 plus 12
Engines: Arco Continental R-370 Gas Turbine with an output of 286 Kw
Dimensions:
Height (turret stowed) 2.17 m
Height (turret raised) 2.81 m
Length (turret stowed) 9.22 m
Length (turret raised) 8.58 m
Width 3.38 m
Wheel diameter 158.75 cm
Clearance (at rest) 21.59 cm
Armor: 2mm alloy outer skin; 4 mm Boron Carbide plates coated with 2 mm ablative resin; plates backed by a 3 mm woven Venlar liner. Foam packed floor cavity for protection against forged fragment mines.
Combat Weight: 14,500 kg
Road Speed: 150 km/h
Acceleration: 42 km/h in six seconds
Vertical Obstacle: 0.5 m
Gradient: 60%

-

DAIHOTAI TRACTOR



"Each Thanksgiving Day on Lucifer, all us wildcatters would get high on rye and run a tractor race. Some o' the guys'd tek it real serious an' strip their Daihotais down to the bare minimum; then we'd set off, thirty tractors bumping an' boring across the hot ash flows toward the volcanic crater we called 'The Devil's Bowl'. One year, ol' Schafer wuz in the lead, bouncing along the lip of the caldera, when DeFalco rammed him an' toppled him over the edge into the lava flow. We fished the Daihotai out two days later. Its bogies were melted to slag an' the driver's cab crushed, but Schafer wuz still alive, locked behind the main bulkhead with the refrigeration unit on full and a half case o' Jack laying around him, crazy as a cougar an' threatening to fight ev'ry one of us..."

— Christo Morse, independent prospector, Lucien 411.

Since the earliest days of colonisation, the need for a go-anywhere, do-anything ground transport has long been recognised. Daihotai have long been market leaders in this field and their range of all-terrain commercial tractors have become a byword for quality and reliability.

The Daihotai series are all based around the same 8x8 wheeled layout, with a 6.59 meter wheelbase and a track of 5.86 meters, a configuration designed to give stability over the roughest terrain. Each of the four two-wheel bogies are connected to the chassis by two swinging-arm Anderson suspension units. These units are cantilevered at the chassis bearings and sprung internally on torsion bars. Dampening is handled by telescopic shock absorbers, while hydropneumatic rams control the whole suspension assembly. A central computer processor monitors the suspension assembly as it travels on rough ground and instructs the rams to alter the configuration of the Anderson units to provide the best stability and traction over uneven terrain. This system can also adjust the ground clearance of the vehicle to account for the prevailing terrain, allowing for clearances between 1.48 and 0.90 meters.

Powerplants vary from model to model on the Daihotai series tractors, the most common types used being the J-160 and J-180 series gas turbines, generating from 140-150 kw. Power is transmitted from the plant to the wheels via a drive train that runs directly through the struts of the Anderson units to the bogies. Each wheel has its own individual independent transmission system which is computer controlled to provide optimum traction; the antilock braking system is also handled by the central processor. Road speeds for the Daihotai are typically around 110 km/h, and the off-road capabilities of the tractors are equally prodigious, thanks in part to its ability to tackle vertical obstacles up to 1.10 meters and gradients of over 70%.

On most models of tractor, a fully-enclosed cabin comes as standard. All cabins are self-contained biosystems with life support capability, sealed against poisonous atmospheres, biohazard and low-level ionising radiation. Cabins are configured around a central living area, incorporating a galley and berths for up to five people. These living spaces are best described as 'utilitarian', although economical use of space does allow plenty of stowage for equipment and supplies. Each central cabin is reinforced by a steel roll-cage and can be sealed fore and aft by a sliding bulkhead door.

Forward of the central cabin is the driver's cab, which can also double as an airlock while travelling in hazardous environments. At the rear of the tractor is a workstation cab, which duplicates the driving controls of the forward cab, allowing the tractor to drive as effectively backwards as it does forwards. It also controls all specialist tools and attachments mounted on the tractor. Options for attachments include (but are not limited to) mechanical diggers, cutters, cranes bore drills, core samplers, spring stampers, welders, waldoes and 'dozer blades. The ruggedness and versatility of the Daihotai chassis allows almost any heavy duty function to be carried out, and its ubiquitousness has made the type a popular purchase for corporate fleet buyers everywhere.

[Raider65]

That would be really cool to be able to operate all those vehicles.

[Raider65]

Hey Sh0dan this might be were they get the Smart gun ammo drum's ammo count from.

"...500 round ammunition drum." from above post

"The UA 571-C mounts a pulse action machine gun, using the M250 10 mm x 28 HEAP round." from above post

Smart gun = machine gun. And the Sentry gun uses same caliber as the Smart gun, maybe they use same drum.

[Sh0dan]

Yep the same ammo, but a different drum.

If you scrounge around for some pics you’ll see there’s quite a difference between the two.