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I have seen a couple of places mention that meltaguns are quiet to fire and good for infiltration sabotage operations, including Lexicanum, but I can't remember coming across this in a GW source. Unusually, the Lexicanum citations are not great to help out with this.

Does anyone know of any GW sources describing meltaguns as quiet in operation?

 Haighus wrote:
I have seen a couple of places mention that meltaguns are quiet to fire and good for infiltration sabotage operations, including Lexicanum, but I can't remember coming across this in a GW source. Unusually, the Lexicanum citations are not great to help out with this.

Does anyone know of any GW sources describing meltaguns as quiet in operation?

It's black library, but a meltagun makes regular appearances in the Cain series. I don't remember any specific mention of the sound off hand, but Cain repeatedly refers to the absurd brightness of it firing (so bright it he can see the glare through closed eyes. So probably not great for infiltrating due to that alone. On the other hand, said meltagun is also repeatedly used for opening new avenues, which would presumably be great for missions that require you to get to a location in a way the enemy isn't expecting; I could see that being the case for sabotage missions especially.

As far as i know they are not described as especially loud, but they do make recognizable sounds, mostly due to the rapidly expanding air, water and pieces of the target that they flash to steam. Also, they are generally described as producing blindingly bright flashes of light, so i'd not pick them for e.g. nighttime infiltration.

Yes, until they hit their target.

Per the 2nd ed Wargear book.

The melta-gun makes no noise when fired, but the superheating of the air produces a distinctive hiss which becomes a roaring blast as living targets are hit and their bodies moisture vapourises explosively.

The Multi Melta entry has a similar such quote.

 Grimtuff wrote:
Yes, until they hit their target.

Per the 2nd ed Wargear book.

The melta-gun makes no noise when fired, but the superheating of the air produces a distinctive hiss which becomes a roaring blast as living targets are hit and their bodies moisture vapourises explosively.

The Multi Melta entry has a similar such quote.

Thanks, this is what I was looking for

So quiet to fire indeed, if an operative misses they may get a second bite at the apple. Obviously less quiet at the target end, but I suppose that still gives you chance to leg it before anyone spots where you are (undermined by any bright flashes).