CLASSIFICATION:RIFLEMAN
Katrina during her time with the Guerrilla fighters mostly used captured Arisaka or USAFFE issued m1903 a1s. She was used to bolt action rifles and was most familiar with their operation and maintenance. Her side arm of choice was the M1911 pistol over the Japanese made Nambu, and her melee weapon was a Filipino made Bolo – a large knife that was both used as a tool and a weapon.
When she got to Indochina she switched out her m1903 a1 with a Mas 36 – a french made rifle heavily used by the french remnant and some of the indochinese resistance. She used that rifle throughout the Japanese invasion of Vietnam.
When she finally got to the USSR she traded in her Mas for a Mosin Nagant and switched her sidearm to the TT-32 Tokarev pistol – to which she admits feels very similar in both how it is maintained and how it shoots compared to the M1911 that she’s used to. However, she never once considered switching her Bolo out for something smaller, it was something that reminded her of home.
EQUIPMENT AND PERSONAL BELONGINGS
Equipment:
-Mosin Nagant model 91/30 (Though she would prefer something like a Mas or a Springfield)
-TT-32
-Bolo Knife
-DBL-48 Mortar rounds x8 (x4 smoke & 4x incendiary)
Personal belongings:
-Neatly folded Philippine flag
-Used Sketchbooks
-A variety of pencils of differing origin
-Pictures of Family
EXPERIMENTAL GEAR
Katrina was given the
DBL-48 is a double-barreled, over/under, breach loaded mortar launcher. When this was being developed, Russian engineers were given certain criteria:
1. It must be easy to operate and maintain.
2. It must be light and portable while being easy to maneuver and aim.
3. It must be effective at taking out soft enemy targets like infantry, trucks, or buildings.
The URD was able to whip up the first prototype for the DBL-48 and put it through its paces while testing different types of ammunition alongside it. It was capable of lobbing the smaller mortar shells accurately up to about 400 meters. However, repeated tests have shown that increasing the frequency of fire would overheat the barrels which would lead to damage and an overall loss in accuracy. Their goal was to be able to make mortars more available and efficient to carry in the field and develop more ammunition types capable of inflicting maximum damage upon impact and maximum utility.
The DBL-48 is able to use standard explosive shrapnel ammunition, and experimental incendiary and smoke ammunition. Smoke was essential in many situations such as escape and evade tactics, while Incendiary ammunition gave it the ability to control the battlefield by dictating which areas were accessible to enemy infantry.
Despite its supposed advantages the DBL-48 remains largely untested in field conditions and whether or not the ammunition provided works as intended under these conditions as the design of the mortar shell had to be changed to fit the DBL-48, the shell is now propelled by a gunpowder cartridge, this design has been proven to work in controlled environments but it was yet to be tested in combat conditions; additionally, despite the DBL-48 being smaller than a regular mortar tube and is operable by one person, it is still somewhat cumbersome and heavy plus the extra ammunition adds on to the weight a soldier would have to carry. There would be specific problems as well in regards to ammunition in the field as it would not be readily available and firing the weapon accurately at the enemy would require time, strength and practice.