KC-451 Flamethrower

Production Information

 * Manufacturer: Karavin Concern
 * Model: KC-451 Flamethrower
 * Affiliation: Closed-Market | Eternal Empire
 * Modularity: No
 * Production: Minor

Technical Specifications

 * Material: Durasteel, Flamethrower components


 * Classification: Flamethrower
 * Size: Very Large
 * Weight: Very Heavy
 * Ammunition Type: Conflagrine-14
 * Ammunition Capacity: 15 seconds of fuel
 * Reload Speed: Very Slow
 * Effective Range: Personal - 75 Meters
 * Rate of Fire: High
 * Stopping Power: Very High
 * Recoil: High

Advanced Features

 * Vacuum Rated Tanks: The KC-451 is constructed using vacuum-rated tanks which can withstand drastic changes in outside pressure and are thus capable of operating in any environment, even airless moons
 * Oxygen Propellant: The KC-451 uses oxygen as a propellant gas, which doubles as an oxidizer, allowing the flamethrower to operate in airless environments such as in space

Strengths

 * Kentucky Fried Chicken: As a flamethrower, the KC-451 is very effective at clearing out enemy trenches, bunkers and vehicles who's access hatches have been left opened. It is a devastating close-range weapon against infantry units and exposed vehicle crews
 * Vacuum Rated: The KC-451 is capable of operating in any environment, even airless moons, due to its special tanks which are designed to withstand drastic changes in atmospheric pressure, as well as using oxygen for propellant
 * Terror of the Battlefield: The KC-451 is a terrifying weapon capable of sowing fear amongst the ranks of the enemy because of the horrific wounds it inflicts

Weaknesses

 * Heavy: The KC-451 is a very heavy weapon, barely portable, severely restricting the user's mobility, stamina and speed
 * Big Fat Target: Flamethrowers are very large and unwieldy weapons who's tanks are carried on the operators' backs, which makes them easy to spot and to target, with potentially disastrous consequences. The KC-451 is no exception
 * Logistics Intensive: The reloading process for the KC-451 is a slow, elaborate process, as the flamethrower's tanks must be swapped out entirely, once spent, which requires assistance from logistics crew and also makes the operator unable to carry any spares
 * Boom: The large, easy-to-hit tanks carried on the back contain highly flammable fuel. If an enemy weapon scores a direct hit, the results can be explosive and could, quite easily, inflict severe damage to friendly units

Description
Following lessons learned during the Battle of Copero, where the military of the Eternal Empire was engaged in brutal, street-to-street fighting having to dislodge entrenched enemy forces one building at a time, the need for a means to more efficiently eliminate hostile infantry enclosed within confined spaces, became apparent.

The planetary government of Nelvaan thus issued a special memorandum contracting Karavin Concern, a military-industrial conglomerate which had developed and supplied equipment to the Eternal Army numerous times before, to develop a new weapon capable of fulfilling this task. To meet military specifications, this weapon would be required to be able to efficiently clear out enemy formation at close quarter ranges in environments such as urban battlefields and corridors, while it should also be able to operate on airless worlds.

Explosives were quickly ruled out as being too dangerous for the operator, so the company opted for a flamethrower, instead. Utilizing a mixture of Conflagrine-14, a highly flammable gel developed hundreds of years ago for such weapons, stored in tanks on the back, along with a tank of pressurized oxygen mounted on the weapon itself, which serves the dual role of propellant and oxidizer, the KC-451 was thus envisioned.

Development was quickly sped up, as the new flamethrower also attracted the attention of various branches of the Imperial military, which brought an influx of funds for the project. The result is a heavy, bulky weapon system that can be a devastating instrument of carnage in the right hands.

It requires highly trained specialists to operate, as its size and weight not only drastically impact the operator's ability to move, making troops equipped with it much slower and less agile, but the fuel tanks held on the back are big, vulnerable targets for enemy forces, especially if shot at from behind and if pierced, they detonate with disastrous consequences, instantly killing the operator and often, the soldiers around him. Additionally, the weapon is difficult to reload, as the fuel tanks must be swapped out entirely, which requires assistance from specialized logistics units and their size and weight means that operators can not carry spares, forcing them to retreat away from the front lines in order to reload.

Despite these drawbacks, it is a terrifying weapon which can clear out enemy bunkers, trenches, or even vehicles, provided there is a sufficiently large entry point for the flaming gel to pass through, such as an open hatch, hole, or door. If properly deployed, it can sow terror and chaos amongst enemy forces, severely demoralizing them, potentially causing a rout.