Movies - M41A pulse rifle

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	Movies - M41A pulse rifle

The Armat M41A pulse rifle is a fictional assault rifle with an underslung grenade launcher employed by the United States Colonial Marines in the motion picture Aliens.

Description

The M41A is the standard service rifle of the USCM, the name derives from the electronic pulse action the rifle uses to fire off rounds. It is built from lightweight metal stampings, the exterior is composed of a titanium aluminide alloy while internal parts are composed of high durability plastics. It is additionally protected against moisture, dirt, corrosion and background radiation while remaining easy to disassemble and maintain. The rifle utilizes a spring loaded retractable stock, allowing the user to convert to and from a carbine format. An LED counter display located just below the receiver indicates the amount of remaining ammunition.

The M41A uses the M309 10 X 24 mm caseless cartridge rounds. The M309 is steel-jacketed with an explosive tip and weighs 13.6 grams. The round is designed to explode just after penetrating the enemy's personal armor.

The M41A also utilizes an embedded PN 30 mm pump-action grenade launcher. The PN has a four round capacity with each grenade being loaded individually. See the grenade table below for all grenades available.

Code	Cap color	Description	Function
M40	Red	High Explosive Fragmentation	The most common grenade used in the M41A, it has an effective range of about 180 m, a muzzle velocity of 78 m/s and explodes with over 300 pieces of shrapnel. Should the need arise, the M40 can function as a hand grenade with a timed delay of five seconds by removing the plastic cap and twisting the nose clockwise
M38	Green	High Explosive Armor Piercing	Able to penetrate up to seven cm of homogeneous steel, has a casualty radius of about five meters.
M51A	Blue	Bounding Fragmentation	This round does not detonate on impact, instead it launches itself upwards about two meters and airbursts
M108	Black	Canister Buckshot	Basically a large shotgun shell, it has an effective range of approximately thirty meters and is very effective in close-quarters combat
M230	Unknown / none	Baton	A low velocity plastic round, it is designed to incapacitate rather than kill. Primarily used during civil disturbances
M60	White	White Phosphorous Incendiary	Has an initial explosion and then creates a smoke-screen of roughly 15 meters radius.
M72A1	Embossed "S"	Starshell	A flare is fired 200 meters into the air where releases a small parachute and illuminates the surrounding area for roughly forty-five seconds

Statistics

Ammunition: M309
Overall length: 69.5 cm (84 cm with stock extended)
Barrel length: 24.7 cm
Weight: 4.9 kg (with loaded magazine)
Rate of fire: 900 rpm
Fire selection: Semi-automatic, four round burst and fully automatic
Capacity: 99 (usually filled to 95 to prevent jamming)
Effective range: 500 m
Muzzle velocity: 840 m/s

M41AE2

A variation of this rifle is the M41AE2, which at the time of the movie Aliens was being introduced in limited numbers on a trial basis. The M41AE2 is designed as more of a light machine gun and has the following changes:

Grenade launcher is removed
Barrel is lenghtened by 8 cm and made easily replaceable
Folding bipod is added
Optional L-feed clips containing 300 rounds can be used

Prop design

The M41A Pulse Rifle that was seen in the movie was built from the parts and components of three firearms. The rifle component utilised a World War II-era Thompson M1A1 submachine gun while the grenade launcher component was built around the action of a Remington 870 pump-action shotgun and the shotgun was encased inside the shroud and foregrip of a Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun. It was originally designed around a Heckler & Koch MP5 sub-machine gun but the MP5 is said not to have produced a muzzle flash as large as desired for the impression of a futuristic infantry rifle.

The M41A Pulse Rifle looks (vaguely) like a miniature version of the USCM ship Sulaco; though the rifle was designed by James Cameron and the mother ship by Syd Mead.

Cameo appearances

The Pulse Rifle also makes an appearance in another James Cameron film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day
, being carried by members of John Connor's resistance force. They are not featured prominently, however.
In a the episode of "The Simpsons" entitled "The Latest Gun in the West," a black version of this gun appears.
The rifle is also mentioned in the movie "Soldier".
It is also featured in a cyberpunk comic book "Breakoff", where it's mentioned by a shopkeeper in a gunshop as a great choice for the main hero of the story.

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