Type 19 Handcannon
| Type 1919 Handcannon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Infantry Support Gun |
| Place of origin | Faneria |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Faneria |
| Production history | |
| Designer | National Arms Foundry |
| Designed | 1919 |
| Produced | 1919-1937 |
| Specifications | |
| Caliber | 1.5" |
| Rate of fire | up to 10 rpm |
| Muzzle velocity | 1200 ft/s |
| Effective firing range | 3100 ft (950 m) |
| Maximum firing range | 8000 ft (2440 m) |
The Type 19 Cannain an Lámh (Ang. Cannon of the Hand/Handcannon) was a man-portable infantry support gun developed in Faneria during the military buildup of the 1910s-1930s. The design was a slimmer, lighter adaptation of the Burgundine Patron 28 Mle 37 Cannon Anti-Blindee and directly copied the unusual breech mechanism of the Mle 37. The Type 19 was designed to attack trucks, machine gun nests, and infantry in buildings, and saw service in the Fhainnin and various Dericanian armies during the Second Great War, as well as captured examples being used by Fiannrian, Burgundine and Caeric forces.
Design
The need for heavy artillery pieces in the National Army and major railway expansions across the country to improve military logistics greatly reduced the available steel supply for smaller-caliber field guns similarly to how armor production was stifled; however, Faneria remained a leading nation in ballistics technology and sought to compensate by mitigating the need for low level calls-for-fire through the development of an exceptionally small, portable artillery piece. This lead to the development of the Type 1919 Handcannon, essentially a modernized and stripped-down version of a light field artillery piece. Chambered in 1.5" ammunition, the gun required at least three men to move the 190lbs of gun and kit but ideally was served by a crew of five to carry the gun and spare ammunition if done without a cart, as was usual in combat; wheels could also be attached to the tripod and the legs lifted to allow the gun to be moved along flat terrain. The gun only required one man to fire, but ideally used both a gunner and loader. Ammunition was made available in explosive, fragmentation, AP, and mustard gas rounds, with chemical smoke appearing late in the war for artificial cover.
Service History
The Type 19 proved useful as an entrenched weapon, capable of effectively clearing structures and wooded areas as well as being a welcome improvement over moving wheeled infantry guns trhough terrain. However, its weight remained an issue, the crew were exposed during setup, and the setup time required made it unsuitable for its envisioned role in rapid forward actions. It was additionally reliant on ammunition which detracted from howitzer shell production, meaning it was often a low priority for resupply. These doctrinal failured resulted in a proposal for replacement with a 1" variant (The Type 40) which was portable by two men and only featured HE rounds, relegating it to a direct fire assault support role as originally envisioned; however, this variant was only produced in limited numbers and the concept was dropped entirely in favor of the adoption of a larger mortar section.