OHM HARP

[Lunar_Lander]

@Xantcha: That would be cool !

Did you read my ides for enhancing HARP in the Orbiter Forum Section (Project Fire Rain)? If yes, what do you think about that?

 

[tgep]

Big guns go BOOM ! I love it !
Now if we could build it for REAL, I know a CONgress that would make fantastic test projectiles .......... heh heh heh >-}

 

[adamb193]

We need Artlillery shells.

 

[Urwumpe]

We need Artlillery shells.

I have started making one when frustrated this weekend. A fitting kinetic energy warhead, with aerodynamic control.

 

[SlyCoopersButt]

That will be great to have. BombMFD bombs tend to drag too much in the atmosphere to be useful as projectiles.

 

[adamb193]

I have started making one when frustrated this weekend. A fitting kinetic energy warhead, with aerodynamic control.

Sweetness, can't wait to shell the Earth from the Moon.

 

[Urwumpe]

Here is the first rough anim8or model of the HARP KEW

Now I just need to design the physical model...

 

[Lunar_Lander]

I thought Bull always emphasized the peaceful use of the HARP guns . They wouldn't have been useful as weapons anyway, because of their fixed direction. Of course he had an amazing accuracy with a one mile radius where the impact would have been.

Urwumpe, I already found a suitable target for testing the warhead: http://www.laut.de/vorlaut/news/2008/02/19/17898/ xD!

 

[Urwumpe]

I thought Bull always emphasized the peaceful use of the HARP guns .

LOL, Nice joke. There was a reason why Bull was assassinated... and a pretty serious one.

They wouldn't have been useful as weapons anyway, because of their fixed direction. Of course he had an amazing accuracy with a one mile radius where the impact would have been.

Well, I think 50 km cross range should be possible with the rocket engines and the warhead. But 280 kg warhead is too heavy for a good shot. my record shot was almost 2000 km.

Urwumpe, I already found a suitable target for testing the warhead: http://www.laut.de/vorlaut/news/2008/02/19/17898/ xD!

Not possible. The warhead would bounce.

 

[TSPenguin]

Not possible. The warhead would bounce.

You'd have to hit the carrot, or go with a radar fuse.
Me as an old school artillerist always prefered to detonate ~1m under the surface. Makes for some nice effects!

 

[Lunar_Lander]

Hmm, I believe he had the peaceful thought at least when he began with HARP (at least he worked hard to complete a satellite launcher in mid-1967 to get further funding by the US Army and the Canadian Government). Of course, when he started to sell his guns to South Africa and the operations in Iraq turned him around 180°!

Maybe I've read too many pro-biased websites about him, sorry .

Let's found the Urwumpe-Penguin-Lunar-Front against Ringtone Rabbits (UPLF-ARR). Our weapon is a 16-inch calibre gun supplied by Xantcha Space with an Urwumpe-Type nuclear warhead !

 

[Urwumpe]

Let's found the Urwumpe-Penguin-Lunar-Front against Ringtone Rabbits. Our weapon is a 16-inch calibre gun suppleid by Xantcha with an Urwumpe-Type nuclear warhead !

Actually it is not nuclear, I just want to use kinetic energy. xD

Nuclear is baaaaaaaaad. :lol: Everybody will tell you that until a 280 kg warhead impacts next to them with 3500 m/s velocity (1.715 GJ or the energy of 410 kg TNT)

 

[Lunar_Lander]

One more thing about the tactical use: The Babylon Gun was said to be used for ABC-warhead launches. But the gun would have created a large signature during firing, so that it would have been easy to find it and destroy it by an air strike.

About the signature: The Astronautix text said, that firing the Babylon Gun would have resulted in recordable seismic waves around the world!

@Xantcha: Bull had plans to replace the 16-inch gun at Barbados with a 24-inch gun later. He also proposed 32-inch and 64-inch guns. Will you include these also later, maybe as "Fictional/Proposed Guns"?

EDIT: Missed it for number 50, this is post #60 of mine

 

[SlyCoopersButt]

Actually it is not nuclear, I just want to use kinetic energy. xD

Nuclear is baaaaaaaaad. :lol: Everybody will tell you that until a 280 kg warhead impacts next to them with 3500 m/s velocity (1.715 GJ or the energy of 410 kg TNT)

USA 193 was a good example of that. Kinetic energy is what causes asteroids to create doomsday scale explosions. That really going to have blast strentgh based on how hard it hits? That sounds like a new first.

 

[Urwumpe]

USA 193 was a good example of that. Kinetic energy is what causes asteroids to create doomsday scale explosions. That really going to have blast strentgh based on how hard it hits? That sounds like a new first.

I at least want to make a score display, for the impact energy. Maybe even miss distance and impact effects, if a target would be specified. Also I want to make it possible to change the ballast mass from 0 to about 120 kg.

 

[SlyCoopersButt]

An effects display will be quite educational if you can get it to a very realistic level in kinetic energy blast based on the mass and impact. Which is a system that reminds me of this page very much http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/impacteffects/.

 

[Urwumpe]

Well, I can't replicate the whole page... but why not punch out the numbers for it.

 

[SlyCoopersButt]

Certainly not replication. A little inspiration was what I thought it would be good for. But always double check math.

 

[Lunar_Lander]

Just out of interest: Are the 5-inch and 7-inch guns still intact and existing, as well as the 16-inch guns at Highwater and Yuma?

Would it be possible to refurbish the Barbados gun? Or is it damaged beyond repair and would have to be replaced before any new firings could be done from there?

 

[Lunar_Lander]

Furthermore, it would be intersting to have the planned Martlet 4 "upgrades". These would be the Martlet 4-SL with solid first stage and liquid upper stages and the Martlet 4-L with all liquid engines.
(The 4-SL and 4-L designations are by me ).

The liquid stages could then have different propellants. Bull wanted to use kerosene and LOX first, but wanted to use a wide range of fuels, including flourine later.

I heard, that the most efficient engine is a three-component hybrid made of LH2, Ozone and Beryllium. Maybe we could load our Martlet 4-SL/L with that stuff :lol:!