T-21 light repeating blaster/Legends

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The T-21 light repeating blaster was a standard-issue repeating blaster rifle produced by BlasTech Industries, and saw use in the Clone Wars, the Galactic Civil War and beyond.

Description

T-21 schematic

The T-21 was the heaviest and one of the most powerful standard-issue weapons that could be carried by a single soldier. The sheer power of its bolts could cut through personal armor and break down personal energy shields, even penetrate the armored plating on many light combat vehicles. It could be wielded two-handed and fired on the move, however, for superior accuracy a light extendable tripod, usually carried in the soldier's belt, was included for stationary firing.[3]

While it came with a standard power pack this only provided enough energy for twenty-five shots, which meant the T-21 was almost always paired with a continuous-feed power generator. This twenty-kilogram generator was carried as a backpack, and the entire set-up of weapon, tripod and generator could be made operational in less than thirty seconds, creating a devastating weapon emplacement. The generator's low cooling capacity limited the T-21 to a maximum firing rate of one shot per second. Some units would pair a larger generator for full-auto fire, but this required a second crewman to carry the bulkier generator and sustained used at this higher rate threatened to overheat and melt components of the T-21 if the gunner did not take care to restrict his sustained rate of fire.[3]

History

File:Sandtrooper-TCG.jpg
A sandtrooper firing a T-21 light repeater

Clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic carried T-21s into battle during the later stages of the Clone Wars, and the weapon was carried over in the transition from Galactic Republic to the Galactic Empire.[4] It was a common squad support weapon for both stormtrooper and Imperial Army trooper squads; artillery sections of the Imperial Army also had at least one T-21 to provide covering fire while the rest of the unit set up heavier artillery pieces and E-WEB repeating blasters. Due to its portability, it was also popular with the Rebel Alliance, and later the New Republic.[3]

Behind the scenes

A First World War-era Lewis machine gun provided the basis for the T-21. The Lewis gun was the standard light machine gun of British and Commonwealth forces during World War I. It was fed by a pan magazine that was placed horizontally on top of the gun's receiver. To produce the T-21 prop, the pan magazine was removed and minor cosmetic alterations were made.

Grenade launchers in Star Wars: Battlefront and Star Wars: Battlefront II all use a weapon model based on the T-21. These include the HH-4 grenade launcher of the Wookiee smugglers, the V-6d mortar launcher of the Imperial pilot and the Imperial officer, and the RD-4 grenade launcher of the pilot droid and the IG-100 MagnaGuard. It is also used for the EMP launcher of the jet troopers and the "Guided Rocket" of Chewbacca. Images presenting the pilot units of Star Wars: Battlefront in the official game guide depict them all as wielding a weapon of the T-21 design, but the actual weapons of the clone pilot and rebel pilot, respectively the "DN bolt caster" plasma disruptor and the CR-1 blaster cannon, are given different models within the game.

Appearances

File:Modified T-21 Rifle.jpg
A modified T-21 rifle

Sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Official Star Wars Fact File 76 (BLA19-20, Light Repeating Blaster)
  2. ↑ Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
  4. ↑ Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (novelization)
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