Heavy Bolter

A **Heavy Bolter** is a powerful bolt weapon that is used for anti-infantry and fire support roles, and is also known as the "Backbreaker" or the "Bruiser" because of its great weight and the amount of damage it can deal. Unlike the boltgun, the Heavy Bolter is relatively common in Astra Militarum armies and is also often used by the Space Marines. Heavy Bolters have a high rate of fire and are relatively cheap to field. A Heavy Bolter can also be mounted on the cupola pintle-mounts of a wide variety of Imperial armoured vehicles, as well as act as an anti-personnel weapon by Imperial fixed defences, including strongholds and other fortifications. Heavy Bolters operate differently to other bolt weapons. Instead of a firing pin physically striking the bolt shell to activate the projectile, a specific electronic pulse is applied in the firing chamber. Bolts are fed into the chamber by an electric motor, rather than exhaust gases cycling the action as in other Bolt weapons. Exhaust gases are only used to generate the power needs of the weapon; the initial power and the impulse for the first round are provided by working a slide on the weapon's side. These features enable the Heavy Bolter to maintain rates of fire that are physically impossible for a standard bolter or Bolt Pistol. The Heavy Bolter has an anti-infantry fire support role in an Astra Militarum unit, and is a very powerful weapon due to the rocket-propelled explosive rounds it fires. Due to its size and weight, it is normally operated by a two-man team in the Imperial Guard.

When used by normal Guardsmen, a heavy bolter is normally mounted on a stabilising tripod and fitted with a small defensive shield, granting the operators some protection from return fire. Both troopers collaborate to move the weapon and its munitions to new firing positions, and are trained to set it up and begin combat operations in a matter of seconds. Alternatively, unusually strong Guardsmen dispense with the tripod and shield, and operate the weapon standing whilst their teammate carries the weapon's ammunition.

Unlike their mortal counterparts, a single Space Marine, being much stronger than a normal man and having the added strength provided by his power armour, can carry both the Heavy Bolter and its ammunition in a specially designed pack. Space Marine Scouts can also carry Heavy Bolters and the weapon is especially useful for supplying heavy fire support for Scout Marine sniper teams, as the Heavy Bolter matches the snipers' own weapons range. The Heavy Bolter fires a .998 calibre bolt, larger than the .75 calibre bolt used by the standard pattern bolter, and makes use of the same gyro-stabilising technology as the standard bolter's shells.

The Heavy Bolter's casing can also be fitted with weight-reducing anti-grav suspensor studs by Deathwatch Kill-teams, allowing it to be fired on the move; however, its effective range is drastically reduced when fired in this manner. As suspensor technology is very rare, this modification is rarely seen outside the Deathwatch. Various patterns of the Heavy Bolter see use in all branches of the Imperial military, including the Astra Militarum, Space Marines, Sisters of Battle, and all three main Ordos of the Inquisition and their militant arms, such as the Deathwatch.