6 ms·

> ...in an emergency it could be fired while in the frame, and while the scooter was moving. You'd have to have balls of steel to fire that thing while riding

> ...in an emergency it could be fired while in the frame, and while the scooter was moving. You'd have to have balls of steel to fire that thing while riding the scooter. It's recoilless, but you are sitting right on top of it.

rpmisms 3y ago
Not to mention the blast from the missile after it leaves the tube, and the aerodynamic effects. I've fired a 9mm pistol from a moving motorcycle, and it's already tricky to maintain balance. Can't imagine this wouldn't end with the rider on the ground many feet away from the bike.
- meheleventyone 3y ago
  It’s a recoilless rifle, the exhaust gases go out the back so the net force on the rider and bike would be pretty low. It’s also designed for transport, with the rifle statically deployed on a tripod rather than firing in motion.
  - rpmisms 3y ago
    Yes, but the rocket is still being a rocket, and after it leaves the tube, it'll still toss a ton of exhaust at the bike. I know it's designed to be fired stationary, but this discussion is about the feature allowing it to be fired in motion in emergencies, which hopefully nobody ever did.
    - aerostable_slug 3y ago
      It didn't fire rockets. It's a recoilless rifle, IOW a cannon with an exhaust, not a bazooka-like rocket launcher.
      - meheleventyone 3y ago
        And even things like the RPG-7 use a recoilless design to launch the projectile before the rocket ignites and you don’t see the user being impacted much at all by the rocket exhaust.
        sillywalk 3y ago
        Backblast is still a problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backblast_area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backblast_area
        meheleventyone 3y ago
        Err, yeah that comes out of the back of the recoilless rifle so only an issue for the people behind you not the person firing it unless they are too close to a wall or similar. With something like the RPG-7 the backblast is from the recoilless stage not the rocket.
        sillywalk 3y ago
        > Backblast is still a problem Correction, I should have wrote: I wonder if backblast could be a problem? I suck at physics. Does Randall Monroe read hacker news? > Err, yeah that comes out of the back of the recoilless rifle so only an issue for the people behind you not the person firing it unless they are too close to a wall or similar. With something like the RPG-7 the backblast is from the recoilless stage not the rocket. (Read on for needlessly aggressive semi-amusing rest of the reply) While I have only personally fired one M72 rocket, and one round from a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle, neither of which was in combat nor on a vehicle, I am still vaguely familiar with the concept of 'backblast'. I was concerned that the effects of said backblast against things like the terrain, and possibly things on the terrain, might negatively effect the continued ability of the Vespa and it's occupant to conduct a last ditch suicide attack towards an enemy tank at high speed.
        meheleventyone 3y ago
        When aiming from the Vespa it’s probably more prudent to rely on the backblast as the weapon of choice before commencing scratching the tanks paintwork. :D Another comedy invention had the counter-mass of recoilless designs come from a second projectile that would fire out backwards which was abandoned for obvious reasons!
- j-a-a-p 3y ago
  > I've fired a 9mm pistol from a moving motorcycle... I am curious, why would you do that?
  - rpmisms 3y ago
    Shits and giggles. I was careful and in a safe place, but most people shouldn't try that at home.
  - Ancapistani 3y ago
    IIRC, similar techniques were used as fighter pilot training in WWI.

rpmisms 3y ago

Not to mention the blast from the missile after it leaves the tube, and the aerodynamic effects. I've fired a 9mm pistol from a moving motorcycle, and it's already tricky to maintain balance. Can't imagine this wouldn't end with the rider on the ground many feet away from the bike.

meheleventyone 3y ago
It’s a recoilless rifle, the exhaust gases go out the back so the net force on the rider and bike would be pretty low. It’s also designed for transport, with the rifle statically deployed on a tripod rather than firing in motion.
- rpmisms 3y ago
  Yes, but the rocket is still being a rocket, and after it leaves the tube, it'll still toss a ton of exhaust at the bike. I know it's designed to be fired stationary, but this discussion is about the feature allowing it to be fired in motion in emergencies, which hopefully nobody ever did.
  - aerostable_slug 3y ago
    It didn't fire rockets. It's a recoilless rifle, IOW a cannon with an exhaust, not a bazooka-like rocket launcher.
    - meheleventyone 3y ago
      And even things like the RPG-7 use a recoilless design to launch the projectile before the rocket ignites and you don’t see the user being impacted much at all by the rocket exhaust.
      - sillywalk 3y ago
        Backblast is still a problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backblast_area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backblast_area
        meheleventyone 3y ago
        Err, yeah that comes out of the back of the recoilless rifle so only an issue for the people behind you not the person firing it unless they are too close to a wall or similar. With something like the RPG-7 the backblast is from the recoilless stage not the rocket.
        sillywalk 3y ago
        > Backblast is still a problem Correction, I should have wrote: I wonder if backblast could be a problem? I suck at physics. Does Randall Monroe read hacker news? > Err, yeah that comes out of the back of the recoilless rifle so only an issue for the people behind you not the person firing it unless they are too close to a wall or similar. With something like the RPG-7 the backblast is from the recoilless stage not the rocket. (Read on for needlessly aggressive semi-amusing rest of the reply) While I have only personally fired one M72 rocket, and one round from a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle, neither of which was in combat nor on a vehicle, I am still vaguely familiar with the concept of 'backblast'. I was concerned that the effects of said backblast against things like the terrain, and possibly things on the terrain, might negatively effect the continued ability of the Vespa and it's occupant to conduct a last ditch suicide attack towards an enemy tank at high speed.
        meheleventyone 3y ago
        When aiming from the Vespa it’s probably more prudent to rely on the backblast as the weapon of choice before commencing scratching the tanks paintwork. :D Another comedy invention had the counter-mass of recoilless designs come from a second projectile that would fire out backwards which was abandoned for obvious reasons!
j-a-a-p 3y ago
> I've fired a 9mm pistol from a moving motorcycle... I am curious, why would you do that?
- rpmisms 3y ago
  Shits and giggles. I was careful and in a safe place, but most people shouldn't try that at home.
- Ancapistani 3y ago
  IIRC, similar techniques were used as fighter pilot training in WWI.