List of Urcean service weapons

This is a list of small arms which have been used by the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea and have designated as a standardized weapon. Weapons are included in chronological order of the introduction of the weapon, which mostly, but not always, follows sequential designated number order.

Muskets and rifles

SR-1

The SR-1, initially designated Model 1874 Service Weapon, was the first standard-issue breech-loading rifle adopted by the Urcean armed forces. The rifle employed a trapdoor hinged breechblock and fired .45-70 cartridges, the first rifle in Urcean service to do so. Replacing the Model 1862's system of percussion caps, experienced riflemen could average 15 shots per minute with the SR-1 as opposed to just 3 with its predecessor. The SR-1 was the first rifle designated under the standardized Urcean equipment system, and was in service from 1874 to 1887 with sporadic reserve use thereafter. It was used by both the Royal Army and Royal Navy. Due to the large number produced, many SR-1s continued to be used by Ionian guerillas and Legitimist forces during the '97 Rising until more modern rifles could be supplied by foreign alloes.

The SR-1 used open sights and had a 32.5 inch barrel, with shorter versions in use as carbines. The rifle had a muzzle velocity of 1,350 feet per second.

Affair Six

The "Affair Six" are six standard issue service rifles used by the Urcean armed forces between 1883 and 1890 in what became known as the Eight Rifle Affair, when eight rifles (the Six as well as SR-1 and SR-8) were ordered between 1880 and 1887. Many of these rifles were used for less than two years, and the adoption of many subsequent rifles was the result of competing factions within the Royal Army and significant amounts of corruption between Army decisionmakers and industry leaders. Accordingly, these rifles are often grouped collectively, and both official records and individual histories during the period refer to soldiers being equipped "with the Six" or "to the Six" without specificity as to the specific model of a weapon. Many surplus Six rifles were later used by militias loyal to both sides during the '97 Rising.

SR-9

Main article: SR-9

SR-10

The SR-10, officially known as the Standard Rifle Mk. 10 and known commonly as the Jenkins Rifle, was a semi-automatic rifle in use by exclusively by the Royal and Imperial Army from 1937 to approximately 1941. The rifle, using a short stroke gas system and firing a .324 Royal held in a ten round box magazine, is essentially a semi-automatic rifle built mostly out of SR-9 parts. The rifle was designed in this manner largely out of necessity; the Royal and Imperial Army's bolt-action SR-9C, though reliable, was inadquate for modern warfare on Sarpedon, where the Caphirian Imperial Legions utilized semi-automatic rifles. Beginning in 1935, the Army began to investigate transitioning away from the SR-9C, beginning a complicated and delayed process which eventually resulted in the adoption of its first assault rifle, the SAR-40, five years later. In the meantime, a stop-gap measure was required, and the Army put out specifications looking for a semi-automatic rifle that could be made, to the extent possible, out of already tooled rifle parts. Karl-Howard Jenkins, an immigrant to Urcea from Fiannria, submitted the winning design, and manufacture began in late 1936 for delivery in mid-1937. It was never intended to arm the entire Army with these rifles, only front-line units in Sarpedon, and accordingly production scale was limited, with a half million rifles being manufactured during its four year run, largely alongside SR-9Cs which would continue to be used abroad as well as in the other services. The rifles performed reasonably well for what they were, although reliability issues plagued them throughout their service life. With the introduction of the SAR-40, these weapons were rapidly phased out as the new assault rifles were sent first to front-line units, and the SR-10 was officially taken out of service at the end of 1941. Despite popular belief, these rifles are not conversions of SR-9 or 9C rifles, only constructed using most of the same parts and tooling.

SAR-40

Main article: SAR-40

The SAR-40 was intended to replace both the SR-9C and SR-10, but both remained in service after 1940 for a year or two while being gradually phased out on a unit-by-unit basis. The phase out was largely complete by the end of 1942, by which time the SAR-40 had seen extensive use in the Second Great War.

SAR-99

Main article: SAR-99

Sidearms

SP-17

Main article: MAG-17

Support weapons

SMP-3

A Second Great War vintage SMP-3 submachine gun.

The SMP-3, officially known as the Standard Machine Pistol, Mk. 3 was a submachine gun in service from 1936 to 1943. Chambered in 9x19mm, it was designed and primarily produced by the Royal Hunting and Munitions Company. Over 10 million were produced. It was designed to be made primarily of stamped metal and replaced the far more expensive and complex SMP-2. Among other features, it included a select fire switch.

After the Second Great War, large surpluses of the SMP-3 began to be sold off, primarily versions with full auto capability removed. In particular, Fino Family Arms purchased a large number of select fire military surplus and converted them to semi-automatics, doing so initially on profit motive and later on a government contract. The Fino conversions, marketed as "surplus carbines", would prove so popular that Fino purchased the rights to the weapon from the Royal Hunting and Munitions Company in 1955, beginning to manufacture and sell a number of replacement parts and after market parts. In 1957 surplus "carbines" were sold with newly manufactured longer barrels. By 1962 Fino's surplus supply was largely exhausted. Manufacturing new carbines continued for a time but proved unprofitable, and by 1970 all SMP-3 related products were discontinued.

Due to the familiarity of servicemen with the weapon and the low price for which it was available, the civilian "carbine" proved popular despite its clear shortcomings. The weapon was most used by the postwar generation for training youth to use weapons, for leisure and competition shooting, and for hunting, although it was not suited for this task. The weapon was a popular "utility" rifle for civilians until more modern commercialized versions of the SAR-40 became available. After many semi-automatic rifle competitors came on the market by 1975, most civilian SMP-3s fell into disuse and were later discarded. By the 1980s, these weapons had a poor reputation in the memory of the public and were mostly remembered as cheap surplus conversions with little practical utility.

The weapon design had a number of post-war enthusiasts among both servicemen and those who used the "carbine" variety as their first firearms experience. A number of experiments were undertaken by civilian enthusiasts and eventually Fino designers about possible adaptations of the platform. As the primary designer and manufacturer of the SAR-40, Fino had little interest in fielding a competitor, and it discouraged the adaptation of the SMP-3 platform for other calibers. Despite this, designers came up with a select fire prototype necked down to .223 with an adapted magazine and magazine well to fire the weapon. The resultant "Fino Automatic Carbine Prototype" (commonly referred to as FACP) was deemed to have "passable" functionality. Testing and further prototypes were formally shut down by Fino corporate leaders in 1958. Despite average test results, the FACP would go on to assume legendary status among firearms enthusiasts, gaining the reputation of a "SAR Killer", and among these circles it became common belief that Fino shut the weapon down due to its superiority in testing, later fabricating the mediocre test results. FACP enthusiasts would diminish by the 1980s, with a minor revival in the belief forming as a result of the internet. Various .223 conversions made in the 1990s and 2000s definitively disproved the theories as well as the service viability of such a weapon.

Following a wave of interest in Second Great War era weapons and appearance of the SMP-3 civilian carbine in period pieces in the early 2010s, Fino Family Arms began to produce and sell limited numbers of "Grandpa's Gun Carbines", newly manufactured SMP-3 carbines. The Grandpa's Gun Carbines feature a number of improvements over true original surplus carbines, including a longer barrel, better sights, and improved ergonomics.

SMP-3L variant

During the Second Great War, a lighter variant of the SMP-3 was developed known as the SMP-3L or officially known as the Standard Machine Pistol, Mk. 3, Light. The SMP-3L removed the standard wooden stock of the SMP-3 and replaced it with a folding metal stock. The SMP-3L was introduced in 1937 and issued primarily to paratroopers and to some Royal Air Force squadrons, as the retracted folding stock and removed magazine made the weapon viable to be stored in a cockpit as a robust survival gun; for most applications it was still far too heavy for this use. The 3L served well as a paratrooper weapon, although once initial breakthrough was made by air and the paratroopers were resupplied, war records indicate most were left behind for the more familiar SMP-3 due to the folding stock wobbling. The 3L remained in service longer than the SMP-3 due to its utility for paratroopers compared to the increasingly common SAR-40, and it was decommissioned in 1949. Unlike its parent design, the SMP-3L was never sold on the civilian market and remains a highly sought after collector's item due to the relatively small number of guns made.

SPR-10

Main article: FP-2000