This fanfiction article, M780 Special Purpose Machine Gun, was written by Ajax 013. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission. |
- "The moment you start spooling it up, and it produces that whine... you know the world is about to go to fucking hell."
- ―Anonymous Marine
[Source] |
The M780 Special Purpose Machine Gun, also fondly known as the Growler, is a special purpose weapon, issued in special circumstances to medium machine gun teams.
Uses[]
The Growler is issued to UNSC Special forces as a light weight alternative to heavier machine gun, producing an intense amount of suppressing fire. The weapon is too heavy for regular infantry units, but for special forces operators with SOCOM cybernetics package and SPARTANS with augmented strength it is much easier to carry. The Growler is often used in urban environments where there is little consideration for collateral damage, where the massed fire power becomes most effective.
Operation[]
The weapon utilises a three barrel rotating assembly powered by a small, long lasting hydrogen battery. The primary firing chamber is aligned with a Misriah Kinetic Suppressor system, which is in turn aligned to counter the torque produced by the motor assembly, with both systems being linked up to LAIRD providing a stable platform for firing. The gun is fed by a linkless feed and can be connected to a 'battle box' consisting of five hundred rounds, directly bolted onto the gun, or a 1500 round bag set that can be carried on the users back. The linkless feed can be augmented with a vinyl cover to protect it from the elements. The weapon is set up in a relatively conventional manner, with a trigger carrying a thumb operated spooling button and finger operated safety, adjustable skeleton stock, internal motor, self-sufficient power supply and cooling battery. The gun is fully ambidextrous, with the ability to swap which side the belt feed is on. Optimally it requires two men to operate, with one man reloading and providing cover for the encumbered operator. The weapon is fitted with a carrying handle and three Misriah Rails, one on the Receiver and one on each side of the barrel.
The cooling system is made up of three Doppler Shift cooling banks, controlled by a central computer unit. These capture heat coming from the barrel and bolt and cool it via the doppler shift, allowing the gun to stay cool, even under constant operation. There is a cooling bank on each side of the barrel and one on the breech. The Doppler Cooling banks are made up of an array of tiny LASERs that are arranged in opposite directions. As excited atoms and molecules enter the cooling bank, they gain photons from the laser they are moving away from, via the doppler effect. These atoms then slow to a crawl, due to the cancelling effects of the gained photons and are subsequently chilled. As the barrel continues to heat up, due to thermodynamics, the heat will move from a place of high temperature to a place of low temperature, constantly cooling the weapon until equilibrium is made. As the weapon cools down, the opposite becomes true, with the molecules within the bank moving to warm up the weapon as it drifts below equilibrium. The banks are powered by the anti-recoil systems, by thermal absorbing energy circuits and in the case of extreme colds, an external battery pack, about the size of a chatter pad. These cooling systems are controlled by a central CPU, which observes the warmest or coldest elements of the weapon and attempts to regulate this.