Makoto Shinkai English Fan Forum and Site

gleowine · Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:28 pm Post subject:

I believe it did tear away part of the roof of the cabin. They showed him looking up through this at the white bird in the sky just before he lost consciousness. Probably a munitions expert could say more. But still, good points, Menasha.

Menasha · vc_bios_b960909 Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 822

I must have missed that gleowine.
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zitch · Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 3:07 am Post subject:

I'm guessing the rounds were .50 caliber, but it is hard to say from what little of it you see. .50 caliber bullets are about a half-inch round (Also 12.7 mm for you non-English measurements types), and I'm guessing they're either solid lead, depleted uranium, or armor piercing, not high-explosive. How metals react when being punctured by bullets is usually only by bending slightly before letting the bullet through a hole that's the around same size of the bullet itself (sometimes smaller, as the softer lead bullet squeezes through stiffer metal). The bullet would have loss quite a bit of speed through the process, and can be deflected on a slightly different trajectory. Sometimes, the round can even fragment into many smaller pieces. Metal just don't "chunk" off when struck by bullets, but bends.

From what I remember, the hole in the cabin was from it being bent apart from many rounds striking it. My own assumption was that Takuya was either hit by a deflected or fragmented round, which has much less mass and/or velocity than when it left the barrel of the cannon. Alternatively, if those were armor piercing rounds, they would actually do less damage to Takuya than standard lead rounds, as the rounds are designed to pass through as deeply into armor as possible, which means they would be more likely to pass through flesh without putting outward force on it. From what I can tell, it passed cleanly through his arm without striking bone. In any case, it would put a nice 1/2 inch hole through his arm. Not pleasant, but far from blowing it off. Though if it hit bone, that would have been pretty much more catastrophic and probably require some serious reconstructive surgery to save the arm.

All of this, though, is just speculation on my part from when I shot up one of my old computers with 9mm rounds, 12-guage buckshot, and 12-guage slugs. I was surprised how well a motherboard and 3 levels of sheet metal (front cover, motherboard mount, back cover) held up to a barrage. Only a single 9mm round went clean through. One out of about 100 rounds of 9mm, 10 rounds of buckshot, and 10 rounds of slugs. Granted, the back cover was heavily dented, but it did hold. And the front side was still in one piece, though pock-marked with many holes and slightly bent. Still, I didn't shoot it with rifle rounds; I'll do an update when I can get the material the boat would have been made of and a buddy with a .50 caliber rifle Wink

(as I have little interest in owning one myself... well after a few other rifles first...). I am also extrapolating from when the wall below the windows at the pilots house was hit by rounds when they first started running away; it looked like the rounds simply impacted the surface without penetrating, but my memory is a bit hazy on that. I am, though, assuming those are rifle ammo, but they could have been pistol rounds.

Not a munitions expert I am, but just my thoughts while I should be working... Wink

But I do know that bullets only put a hole though things the same size as they are, not blow things up like in the movies.

Menasha · vc_bios_b960909 Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 822

Well my knowledge of munitions equates to zero so I belive you more then what my mind coined up Very Happy

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Menasha · vc_bios_b960909 Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 822

Wait.. actually I rewatched the scene and I what I thought should of happened did =l

The rounds tore the ships hull apart.
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gleowine · Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:06 pm Post subject:

Great write-up, zitch!

I would say, too, that they were using armor-piercing rounds, simply because:

1) Ezo, being a breakaway country and dealing with arms dealers, would have access to such;

2) They would need them for military purposes, since the hulls of most military ships are plated steel.

If I were the head of Ezo's military, I'd arm their ships with armor-piercing rounds, as well, especially if on the brink of war. Of course, I'm speculating, as well.

Nick · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:59 am Post subject:

I fired a gun once...
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Junpei · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 8:11 am Post subject:

Nick · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 8:17 am Post subject:

oh yeah I fired it six times. It was at a shooting range on Hamilton Island. I also fired a rifle. So I guess I lied. Sorry...
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Menasha · vc_bios_b960909 Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 822

I've fired airsoft rifles =S

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