MBA Gyrojet and H&K G11, page 1

Originally posted by Browno
I found this pistol and carbine that shoots rocket propelled rounds of 12mm, Heard the pistol was used by an SF unit in the Vietnam War,

Apparently these pistols werent really "used", but some brought them along to Vietnam. -> Article

The Carbine version does remind me of the H&K G11 Rifle, Not only becouse of its looks but the fact it fires caseless rounds too

The two have nothing in common. The G11, albeit caseless, still fired conventional bullets, accelerated within the barrel by a separate propellant charge. The Gyrojet system however is in effect a rocket launcher, the propellant is INSIDE the bullets and slowly burns away during flight. Thats why the weapon itself has little recoil, it has no direct part in the acceleration of a bullet other than confining it within the barrel for stabilized acceleration (like a mortar). In fact, the Gyrojet carbine is not much more than the Gyrojet pistol stuffed into a rifle frame, and thats another difference to the G11 where the whole rifle body is part of the recoiling function.

The Australian Metalstorm AICW fires caseless 40mm Grenades, Could its mechanisim be similar of the Gyrojet?

Its a common misconception that the Metalstorm grenades would be "caseless". They are not. Instead, the barrel they are sealed into acts as the case, hence the correct term is be "stacked-projectile". If they were truly caseless you could take the grenades out of the barrel and/or reload them yourself, but that isnt possible. to reload a Metalstorm weapon, you have to replace the whole barrel.

The firing method still is comparable to a regular firearm, that means the seperate propellant is ignited and great pressure is built within the barrel that hurls the grenade out.

I say it again, the Gyrojet system is not comparable to any bullet-cartridge type firearm, and more like a handheld mini rocket launcher. Conventional firearms accelerate the bullet with charge, with Gyrojets the bullets accelerate themselves.