A Catachan Jungle Fighter of the Astra Militarum armed with a Demolition Charge.
A high-power, fyceline explosive, the Demolition Charge contains the destructive capability equal to that of a standard round of ammunition fired from the Leman Russ battle tank. Often equipped by specialist weapons operators or special weapons squads, primarily but not only by units of the Astra Militarum, the Demolition Charge is viewed as a double-edged sword due to its scatter capability and often jury-rigged ordnance template.
Demolition Charges are primarily used as anti-personnel weapons, though their explosive force is enough to destroy armoured vehicles and some enemy fortifications. The standard Demolition Charge is shaped roughly like a flattened cylinder and weighs approximately 1 to 2 kilograms, depending on the amount of explosives packed within. It is possible to rig charges together, thus increasing their destructive potential. It will detonate after first being activated and then thrown and its explosive diameter is listed as 20 metres.
Not all Demolition Charges are standardised pieces of Imperial Guard equipment. Some are simply improvised explosives, created by necessity in the field, such as by combining together three standard tube-charges and then detonating them remotely using a wire or a timed fuse.
As a result, Demolition Charges can vary widely in weight, appearance and explosive capabilities. As to their reliability, the user should only be warned that those Imperial Guardsmen who commonly carry Demolition Charges into combat are granted higher-quality ration allowances than their fellows.
Among the Genestealer Cults, for instance, Demolition Charges are improvised from powerful explosives taken from mining operations. These demolition charges can even tear open a battle tank.
Demolition Charge Packs
Demolition Charge Packs are thrown explosives that deal heavy damage to anything in their blast radius, especially buildings and infantry hiding within or in other fortified locations. Due to the fact that the packs run on a timer, mobile infantry can avoid taking damage by fleeing outside of the blast radius before the timer expires.
See Also
Sources
- Codex: Genestealer Cults (7th Edition), pg. 98
- Imperial Munitorum Manual
- Only War: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 201
- Warhammer 40,000: Wargear (2nd Edition)
- Dawn of War II - Retribution (PC Game), Demolition Charge Packs, wargear selection screen