NOTICE TO ALL SITE-77 SECURITY AND ARMAMENTS PERSONNEL
Issue: The site has received 10 M40 Recoilless Rifles following a raid of communist militants in the Alps. They are to be implemented into the site's defense grid, but due to their questionable origin it is necessary that they be tested prior to use. The weapons have already undergone material and structural analysis, and should work normally, but field testing is necessary to ensure their proper function.
The 10 M40 RRs are currently located in the outbuilding which serves the outdoor range. Members of the security and weapons engineering teams are asked to test these weapons as available, and report any problems that arise in their use. Please respond to this bulletin after you have completed a test of one of the weapons.
- J Skelton
M40 Recoilless Rifle Preliminary Test Results
Test Personnel: P. Weylen
M40 Serial Number 1348
Target: Panzer IV medium tank (Designated 1 on sides and turret)
Testing began against a Panzer IV medium tank at a range of 350 meters. .50 caliber spotting rifle fired to confirm estimated range, and struck the target. Test firing commenced using the M344A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank shell. Rounds 1 through 4 performed consistently, penetrating the target. Round 5 failed to fire, and frost formed on the gun breech. After waiting the required period in case of hang fire, the round was extracted and handed over to the science team. The chilling effect also extended to a polaroid camera that was being used to document the testing. In addition, the testing soldier's radio, as well as the emergency sound powered phone on the munitions shack, both malfunctioned and were nonfunctional. Word was relayed on foot to the nearest guard post to notify the science team. Testing suspended at this time for investigation. Will resume after the ammunition is studied.
Preliminary testing of M40 #1348 has been completed.
Five rounds of M346A1 High Explosive Plastic Tracer were fired at Tank 1. Round 1 struck slightly high of the aimpoint and impacted the turret ring, resulting in the destruction of the bearing raceway, severe internal spalling, and a crack in the turret armor. The crack may be attributed either to the impact point being near the side turret hatch, or to the brittle state of late-war German armor. Aim was adjusted, and rounds 2 through 5 successively struck the side hull. The armor continued to spall and crack, with round 5 resulting in a complete hole through the armor approximately eight inches in diameter.
To test the effectiveness of the M581 APERS-T Anti-Personnel Flechette round, thirty plywood human silhouettes were arranged approximately 300 meters from the firing line, in wedge formation. A round was fired at the center of the formation resulting in destruction of all but one target, a 97 percent kill rate.
As the M346A1 and M581 rounds performed to specifications, further testing of these rounds will not be pursued in favor of continued research into the anomalous properties of M40 #1348 in combination with the M344A1 HEAT shell. An initial report from the science team stated that the rounds were found to be completely inert and maintaining a temperature of about -123.15 C, resulting in the casings and contents becoming extremely brittle. Additional testing should be able to quantify this anomaly and discover whether it is these particular rounds that are anomalous, or the gun itself.
Addendum:
Additional testing with science team present was conducted with science team members present. The round fired impacted like a large snowball, leaving a 60cm dent, with some cracking. There was no sign of the round itself, and the damage to the tank appears to mainly have been kinetic, partially because of cold induced brittleness in the steel. Remaining stock of M344A1 rounds confiscated for testing by Science team, and requisition order put in for domestic production M344A1 rounds from the U.S.
With the conclusion of destruction testing of Tank 1, the mysterious circumstances around the behavior of M40 # 1348 have become clear. The anomaly was not in fact the gun or ammunition, but the test target itself. Due to positive results from subsequent tests, the testing agent feels confident that M40 #1348 is fit for foundation service.
