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Description

Arming the IRA during the Irish War of Independence in the original timeline was not a easy task; weapons, particularly modern ones, were not readily available. In the irish countryside shotguns were common, as most farmers owned one. The IRA gathered firearms such as lee Enfield rifles, Lewis machine guns, and ammunition from the many raids conducted on Royal Irish Constabulary barracks around the country, arms were also smuggled into Ireland. In 1921 Harry Boland ordered over 650 Thompson machine guns from America, and though most were intercepted on the docks in New York, some did make it to Ireland via Liverpool in England. These small arms made little impact on the armored vehicles of the British Forces or the strong walls of barracks buildings, and heavier guns were necessary. The IRA had turned to improvising weapons to serve their needs. The home made ‘big gun’, or mortar, designed to fire mortar bombs at short-range targets, was described as the only piece of such artillery used by the Irish during the War of Independence. But that mortar failed horribly and killed Matt Furlong a veteran of the Easter Rising that was testing it. The failure of the "Big Gun "put a stop at the IRA attempts at making heavy weapons. But that changed when the valley of Caugax started to supply the IRA with advanced (for the time) Weaponry, including Anti armor weapons.

1. Caugax RPG-7D

Ammo: PG-7VL HEAT round

Info: The RPG-7D rocket launcher was picked due to it being a extremely cheap and simple weapon to manufacture and use and after 10,0000 examples of them were found the weapon stash in the factory. The RPG-7 was issued to the IRA after the time travels set up production of the PG-7VL HEAT rounds during the summer of 1921. But was tested as early as May of 1921 by the PRNG and the Caugax Army Cadets with Tom Barry, Michael Iynch and Patrick Mchugh (IRA master of munitions) witnessing the lethal affective of the rocket launcher on various building and armored cars. Before the RPG the IRA were given modern copies of the PTRD- 41 anti tank rifle in .50 BMG called the Jibaro and copies of the RKG-3 anti-tank grenade. The RPG-7D has an effective range of 330 m against moving targets and against stationary ones. Maximum range of the projectile is 600m, though later models feature a self-destruct that detonates the warhead at 460m. This weapon was one of the most powerful in the IRA arsenal perfect for the hit and run tactics of the IRA. It would offend turn the tide of battle in the favor of the rebels. When the British came cross them they were nicknamed the devil's lance.

A. Early Caugax made RPG-7D: Here is a example of one of the early made RPGs, These eraly RPG-7Ds were cheap and crude analogue of orginals Russians ones in the factory. Some of them had no heat shield when first build and were sometimes decorated with colorful names like bottle rocket, Mohammed's pipe, The Puerto Rican blow pipe and the irish can opener. Like your regular RPG-7D its launcher is a simple 40 millimeter steel tube into which the PG-2 grenade is fitted. The tail boom of the grenade inserts into the launcher. The diameter of the  PG-7VL warhead is 93 mm. The Caugax RPG-7D can be broken into two parts for easier carrying has a locking latch that snaps into place when the tubes are properly mated together and ready to fire. If the tubes are not properly placed, the latch extension blocks the sear. The sear block is a sheet metal piece that fits around the firing pin well, and moves forward or backwards depending on the position of the locking latch. This stops the system from firing if not assembled properly. The front and rear tubes are connected together with two bayonet lugs. Once locked into place, they are very securely attached. The hammer needs to be cocked and safety ‘On’ in order for the rear tube to slide into place, or the trigger group needs to be removed. The RPG-7D trigger group has a notch on the top right hand plate that fits around the sear block mechanism. Installation and removal of the RPG-7D trigger group requires more manipulation than a straight ‘on-off’ like the standard groups. The operator needs to ensure the sear block mechanism is not compromised or bent when he installs the trigger group.

B. PG-7VL HEAT round
Warhead: HEAT
Warhead caliber, mm: 93
Weight, kg: 2,6
Direct fire range, m: 250
Effective range of fire, m: 300
Muzzle velocity, m/s: 112
Maximum velocity, m/s: 300
Armor penetration, mm: 500

INFO: Most of the rounds found with the RPGs in the factory are of PG-7VL.  PG-7VL is a larger 93 mm HEAT rocket. It has effective range of up to 150 m against tanks and 300 m against stationary targets. It penetrates up to 500 mm of armor. The propellant charge of the PG-7VL and its main engine led to a significant (1.5 times) decrease in the drift of a grenade from the action of a side wind. Accuracy of fire was also increased by 20-25%. At the same time, it should be noted that simultaneously with the improvement of the main characteristics, the mass of the shot was reduced from 22 to 2.0 kg. The propellant, consisting of granulated powder was in a rolled cardboard case treated with wax that had to be attached to the grenade before loading. Once attached to the propellant charge, the grenade was inserted into the smooth-bore launcher from the front. A tab on the body of the grenade indexes in a notch cut in the tube so that the primer in the propelling charge aligns with the firing pin and hammer mechanism. About 200.000 of this round were found in the factory along with disassembled machinery to produce said rockets. When the rockets were first made by the time travelers they did not always work. Some fail to detonate and were captured by the British one of witch had the you can still find in the royal armories museum today.

2. M79 grenade launcher

Caliber: 40 x 46 mm grenade

INFO: The Springfield Armory M79 grenade launcher was the first weapon made by the town that was still in reserves in the local national guard when the flash to the past happen. They where issued when the rifle grenades of the M2 garand where found to be lacking in range and power. Production of the M79 grenade launchers started on March 9 1921 in Don Bento`s factory where the 40 x 46 mm grenade ammution was made. The M79 launcher was issued to the Caugax Cadets and the urban militia in March 18 1921. The M79 saw combat with the 3rd west cork brigade in the early days after the alliance, This particular M79 was issued to Peter 'Scottie' Monahan the brigade`s explosives expert after training by the national guard. M79s were assigned to the specialist to trained grenadiers The time travers would assigned one grenadier to each flying column. The M79 in appearance resembles a sawed-off shotgun, thanks to its break-action operation, inverted rifle-style buttstock and foregrip, and wooden or AG-4S glass reinforced phenolic resin plastic furniture. Not including a sling, the M79 consists of 4 subassemblies; the barrel, foregrip, receiver, and buttstock. Owing to its ease of use, reliability, and firepower, the M79 became popular among both Irish ad Puerto Rican soldiers, who dubbed it "the platoon leader's artillery" or "artillería en miniatura" (miniature artillery)  However, its single-shot nature was a serious drawback. Reloading after every shot meant a slow rate of fire and an inability to keep up a constant volume of fire during a firefight. This led the time travelers to remake the China Lake Grenade Launcher from scratch. Despite this the M79 was a popular weapon to have in the war of independence. Many Crossly tenders meet a explosive end by the use of this weapon. By the time of the truce of 1921 about 350,000 M79 where made by the end of the war about 2,734,345 where in IRA hands. In the post war years this was one of the more controversial weapons for sale in Ireland to civilians due to the fact it could shoot grenades. But those type of ammutions where highly regulated in the country.

3. Jibaro anti tank rifle

Caliber: .50 BMG

INFO: The Jibaro anti tank rifle was a single shot .50 BMG anti tank rifle designed and manufactured in the valley of Caugax. The jibaro was rapidly developed by local arms designer Feando Vejabaja during the late February of 1921, when the national guard issued the urgent requirements for a man-portable and inexpensive anti-tank weapon, suitable for infantry use. Developed, produced and used concurrently with the ogrinal PTRD-41 as a base, it became an important asset of the Puerto Rican and IRA infantry during the earlier stages of there involvement in the irish war of independence. This weapon used a powerful round, the famous .50 BMG with armor-piercing bullets with tungsten cores the the Jibaro was able to penetrate of up to 40 mm of steel armor at 100 meters range. The same bullet also easily penetrated log and sand entrenchments, brick walls and other battlefield obstacles, to provide fire support for infantry. About 190 000 of these rifles were manufactured in Caugax valley in 1921, when rapid evolution of other anti amour made these anti-tank rifles obsolete that year. Nevertheless, many Jibaro rifles were used as ancillary anti-tank and infantry support equipment until the end of the war.

The Jibaro anti-tank rifle is a manually operated, single shot rifle. It uses conventional rotary bolt action with single-piece bolt that has two radial locking lugs at the front and one in the back. To open the bolt handle was rotate up and pull to bolt back unlocking the bolt to open up the action and extract and eject fired case. Once the ejection was complete, the shooter had to manually load a fresh round into the chamber and manually close the bolt for the next shot. To provide recoil mitigation the barrel was equipped with massive crude muzzle brake, and the shoulder stock had shock-absorbing pad with a compressing the spring buffer located in the stock. the Jibaro anti-tank rifle was fitted with simple iron sights with dual setting, for ranges between 100 – 400 and 400 – 1000 meters, although the rifle was considered to be effective only up to 300 – 400 meters. To provide better stability, rifle was fitted with folding bipod, and a carrying handle was attached to the barrel on some models.

Description

Arming the IRA during the Irish War of Independence in the original timeline was not a easy task; weapons, particularly modern ones, were not readily available. In the irish countryside shotguns were common, as most farmers owned one. The IRA gathered firearms such as lee Enfield rifles, Lewis machine guns, and ammunition from the many raids conducted on Royal Irish Constabulary barracks around the country, arms were also smuggled into Ireland. In 1921 Harry Boland ordered over 650 Thompson machine guns from America, and though most were intercepted on the docks in New York, some did make it to Ireland via Liverpool in England. These small arms made little impact on the armored vehicles of the British Forces or the strong walls of barracks buildings, and heavier guns were necessary. The IRA had turned to improvising weapons to serve their needs. The home made ‘big gun’, or mortar, designed to fire mortar bombs at short-range targets, was described as the only piece of such artillery used by the Irish during the War of Independence. But that mortar failed horribly and killed Matt Furlong a veteran of the Easter Rising that was testing it. The failure of the "Big Gun "put a stop at the IRA attempts at making heavy weapons. But that changed when the valley of Caugax started to supply the IRA with advanced (for the time) Weaponry, including Anti armor weapons.

1. Caugax RPG-7D

Ammo: PG-7VL HEAT round

Info: The RPG-7D rocket launcher was picked due to it being a extremely cheap and simple weapon to manufacture and use and after 10,0000 examples of them were found the weapon stash in the factory. The RPG-7 was issued to the IRA after the time travels set up production of the PG-7VL HEAT rounds during the summer of 1921. But was tested as early as May of 1921 by the PRNG and the Caugax Army Cadets with Tom Barry, Michael Iynch and Patrick Mchugh (IRA master of munitions) witnessing the lethal affective of the rocket launcher on various building and armored cars. Before the RPG the IRA were given modern copies of the PTRD- 41 anti tank rifle in .50 BMG called the Jibaro and copies of the RKG-3 anti-tank grenade. The RPG-7D has an effective range of 330 m against moving targets and against stationary ones. Maximum range of the projectile is 600m, though later models feature a self-destruct that detonates the warhead at 460m. This weapon was one of the most powerful in the IRA arsenal perfect for the hit and run tactics of the IRA. It would offend turn the tide of battle in the favor of the rebels. When the British came cross them they were nicknamed the devil's lance.

A. Early Caugax made RPG-7D: Here is a example of one of the early made RPGs, These eraly RPG-7Ds were cheap and crude analogue of orginals Russians ones in the factory. Some of them had no heat shield when first build and were sometimes decorated with colorful names like bottle rocket, Mohammed's pipe, The Puerto Rican blow pipe and the irish can opener. Like your regular RPG-7D its launcher is a simple 40 millimeter steel tube into which the PG-2 grenade is fitted. The tail boom of the grenade inserts into the launcher. The diameter of the  PG-7VL warhead is 93 mm. The Caugax RPG-7D can be broken into two parts for easier carrying has a locking latch that snaps into place when the tubes are properly mated together and ready to fire. If the tubes are not properly placed, the latch extension blocks the sear. The sear block is a sheet metal piece that fits around the firing pin well, and moves forward or backwards depending on the position of the locking latch. This stops the system from firing if not assembled properly. The front and rear tubes are connected together with two bayonet lugs. Once locked into place, they are very securely attached. The hammer needs to be cocked and safety ‘On’ in order for the rear tube to slide into place, or the trigger group needs to be removed. The RPG-7D trigger group has a notch on the top right hand plate that fits around the sear block mechanism. Installation and removal of the RPG-7D trigger group requires more manipulation than a straight ‘on-off’ like the standard groups. The operator needs to ensure the sear block mechanism is not compromised or bent when he installs the trigger group.

B. PG-7VL HEAT round
Warhead: HEAT
Warhead caliber, mm: 93
Weight, kg: 2,6
Direct fire range, m: 250
Effective range of fire, m: 300
Muzzle velocity, m/s: 112
Maximum velocity, m/s: 300
Armor penetration, mm: 500

INFO: Most of the rounds found with the RPGs in the factory are of PG-7VL.  PG-7VL is a larger 93 mm HEAT rocket. It has effective range of up to 150 m against tanks and 300 m against stationary targets. It penetrates up to 500 mm of armor. The propellant charge of the PG-7VL and its main engine led to a significant (1.5 times) decrease in the drift of a grenade from the action of a side wind. Accuracy of fire was also increased by 20-25%. At the same time, it should be noted that simultaneously with the improvement of the main characteristics, the mass of the shot was reduced from 22 to 2.0 kg. The propellant, consisting of granulated powder was in a rolled cardboard case treated with wax that had to be attached to the grenade before loading. Once attached to the propellant charge, the grenade was inserted into the smooth-bore launcher from the front. A tab on the body of the grenade indexes in a notch cut in the tube so that the primer in the propelling charge aligns with the firing pin and hammer mechanism. About 200.000 of this round were found in the factory along with disassembled machinery to produce said rockets. When the rockets were first made by the time travelers they did not always work. Some fail to detonate and were captured by the British one of witch had the you can still find in the royal armories museum today.

2. M79 grenade launcher

Caliber: 40 x 46 mm grenade

INFO: The Springfield Armory M79 grenade launcher was the first weapon made by the town that was still in reserves in the local national guard when the flash to the past happen. They where issued when the rifle grenades of the M2 garand where found to be lacking in range and power. Production of the M79 grenade launchers started on March 9 1921 in Don Bento`s factory where the 40 x 46 mm grenade ammution was made. The M79 launcher was issued to the Caugax Cadets and the urban militia in March 18 1921. The M79 saw combat with the 3rd west cork brigade in the early days after the alliance, This particular M79 was issued to Peter 'Scottie' Monahan the brigade`s explosives expert after training by the national guard. M79s were assigned to the specialist to trained grenadiers The time travers would assigned one grenadier to each flying column. The M79 in appearance resembles a sawed-off shotgun, thanks to its break-action operation, inverted rifle-style buttstock and foregrip, and wooden or AG-4S glass reinforced phenolic resin plastic furniture. Not including a sling, the M79 consists of 4 subassemblies; the barrel, foregrip, receiver, and buttstock. Owing to its ease of use, reliability, and firepower, the M79 became popular among both Irish ad Puerto Rican soldiers, who dubbed it "the platoon leader's artillery" or "artillería en miniatura" (miniature artillery)  However, its single-shot nature was a serious drawback. Reloading after every shot meant a slow rate of fire and an inability to keep up a constant volume of fire during a firefight. This led the time travelers to remake the China Lake Grenade Launcher from scratch. Despite this the M79 was a popular weapon to have in the war of independence. Many Crossly tenders meet a explosive end by the use of this weapon. By the time of the truce of 1921 about 350,000 M79 where made by the end of the war about 2,734,345 where in IRA hands. In the post war years this was one of the more controversial weapons for sale in Ireland to civilians due to the fact it could shoot grenades. But those type of ammutions where highly regulated in the country.

3. Jibaro anti tank rifle

Caliber: .50 BMG

INFO: The Jibaro anti tank rifle was a single shot .50 BMG anti tank rifle designed and manufactured in the valley of Caugax. The jibaro was rapidly developed by local arms designer Feando Vejabaja during the late February of 1921, when the national guard issued the urgent requirements for a man-portable and inexpensive anti-tank weapon, suitable for infantry use. Developed, produced and used concurrently with the ogrinal PTRD-41 as a base, it became an important asset of the Puerto Rican and IRA infantry during the earlier stages of there involvement in the irish war of independence. This weapon used a powerful round, the famous .50 BMG with armor-piercing bullets with tungsten cores the the Jibaro was able to penetrate of up to 40 mm of steel armor at 100 meters range. The same bullet also easily penetrated log and sand entrenchments, brick walls and other battlefield obstacles, to provide fire support for infantry. About 190 000 of these rifles were manufactured in Caugax valley in 1921, when rapid evolution of other anti amour made these anti-tank rifles obsolete that year. Nevertheless, many Jibaro rifles were used as ancillary anti-tank and infantry support equipment until the end of the war.

The Jibaro anti-tank rifle is a manually operated, single shot rifle. It uses conventional rotary bolt action with single-piece bolt that has two radial locking lugs at the front and one in the back. To open the bolt handle was rotate up and pull to bolt back unlocking the bolt to open up the action and extract and eject fired case. Once the ejection was complete, the shooter had to manually load a fresh round into the chamber and manually close the bolt for the next shot. To provide recoil mitigation the barrel was equipped with massive crude muzzle brake, and the shoulder stock had shock-absorbing pad with a compressing the spring buffer located in the stock. the Jibaro anti-tank rifle was fitted with simple iron sights with dual setting, for ranges between 100 – 400 and 400 – 1000 meters, although the rifle was considered to be effective only up to 300 – 400 meters. To provide better stability, rifle was fitted with folding bipod, and a carrying handle was attached to the barrel on some models.