From: Brian Bell <bkb@b...>
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 08:25:59 -0500
Subject: [SG] HELS/DFFG's and Fire
A quick look in SG 2 failed to find the effect of firing Heavy (vehicle size) HELs and DFFG's to start fires. What got me thinking was the RFAC vs. Infantry thread. While I agree that HEL's and DFFG's may be unlikely to directly hit infantry diving for cover or behind cover, it seems that if the cover is flammable, these weapons would likely set the cover on fire. This in turn would have an effect on infantry within or close to the fire. Part of the debate would have to deal with how HEL's and DFFG's are immagined. If they are sinble pulse weapons that do most of thier damage by superheating and internal structure causing an explosion, it could be argued that the explosion may have the force to extinguish a fire that was started. However, in this case, the exploding gas or material may be hot enough to start secondary fires. If, on the other hand, continous beam/stream or milisecond cycling pulse is used, then heat on exposed surfaces (causing melting rather than explosive damage) would be the effect. These type weapons would be ideal for starting area fires by just sweeping an area that has flammable material in it. In either case, are there rules for this that I missed?