Tegaea Alcori
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Thunderer Self Propelled Artillery
Image Source: Here. Wikipedia article on SPA.
Intent: To create a cheap and reliable mobile artillery piece for Firemane and the Coalition. The Thunderer is very much based on the PzH 2000 in use today. In many ways, this vehicle is quite underpowered compared to the ‘advanced’ Star Wars weapons, but it has the advantage of being cheap, long-ranged and effective. What it lacks for in penetration against armour, it more than compensates for with rate of fire and ammunition storage.
It was not entirely clear to this writer whether this needed a cannon submission and then the vehicle, but after discussions with Raziel, it was decided that a vehicle submission would probably be enough.
Development Thread: If needed.
Manufacturer: Firemane Industries and Technology
Model: TH-AR-01
Affiliation:Open Market, Tygaran Alliance, Silver Sanctum Coalition | Firemane Industries & Technology & closed market to approved buyers only.
Modularity: No.
Production: Mass-Produced.
Material: Durasteel armour plating (18mm thick), standard vehicle components.
Role: Mobile support artillery.
Height: 3 metres.
Length: 12 metres.
Width: 3.5 metres.
Weight: 55 tonnes.
Minimum Crew: 3. Commander, driver, gunner.
Optimal Crew: 5. As above, with two loaders.
Propulsion: Tracks.
Top Speed: 75 km/h (on road), 50km/h (off road)
Armaments:
Squadron Count: Typically a battery is 3 sections of 3 guns for a total of 9.
Passenger Capacity: 0
Cargo Capacity: Excluding ammunition, 150kg of parts and supplies.
Misc. Equipment:
Description:
War never changes, yet the tools of the trade do. As slugthrowers retreated from galactic battlefields due to improvements in armour and better blaster production, the same occurred to explosive shell weapons. Turbolasers and blaster cannons had less ammunition problems and missiles were more accurate.
However, some military thinkers, the latest of them Tegaea Alcori and Siobhan Kerrigan of Firemane, found that such weapons could be very useful in the right cases.
Explosive shell munitions do have some considerable advantages; they are easy to make and store, they are effective at area bombardment, and they were simpler to maintain.
Given that many of Firemane’s operations take place on less advanced worlds or in rugged terrain, the Thunderer was devised to provide close fire support. Built on a robust and simple SPA (Self-Propelled Artillery) chassis, the Thunderer can move quite quickly over both road and off-road environments.
The only real weapon of the Thunderer is a mid-range artillery piece with a high rate of fire. The Thunderer has a range of 1-42 kilometres for regular rounds, and 5-50kms for the Rapier rounds.
The accuracy of the regular explosive rounds can vary significantly depending on weather, but assuming average conditions the following accuracy can be determined.
As can be seen, the Thunder is very capable at area bombardment, but lacks the true precision the Rapier can provide. Spotters and detailed maps can improve this accuracy by up to 50%, whilst poor weather and stressful circumstances can reduce it.
The shells impact on contact with the ground, usually creating an area of effect of 10-20 metres depending on terrain.
The Thunderer can have a variety of different warheads as well as the usual, based on tactical need. It is important to note however that these cannot be changed in the field, so planning must be used to ensure the right weapon is used for the job.
These include:
Airburst/Shrapnel – By calculating range, the shells can be set to explode at a certain time after firing, scattering fragments over a 30 metre area.
Penetration – This model is designed not to explode on impact, but to penetrate before exploding. The shaping of the round is designed to direct the blast forwards, releasing high explosive and burning phosphorous into the target. This is typically used on buildings, bunkers or large vehicles, though due to reduced accuracy is rarely used.
Gas – This model contains a large compressed gas container and typically detonates in the air over the target. This releases either smoke or other gasses into the area, with a dispersion of 20-30 metres depending on wind. This can contain chemical or biological agents, though Firemane does not use these.
Ion – Instead of regular explosive, this model contains a powerful ion pulse, designed to fry or disrupt all droids or electronics in a radius of 30 metres. Shielded targets or those protected by thick walls will be resistant.
The Thunderer typically carries 60 rounds inside its hull, and has support vehicles carrying the hundreds more it needs. Generally each Thunderer carries only a handful of special rounds unless the mission specifies otherwise.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
[SIZE=11pt]Primary Source:[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] Parts copied and edited to fit from this writer’s own Rapier submission.[/SIZE]
Image Source: Here. Wikipedia article on SPA.
Intent: To create a cheap and reliable mobile artillery piece for Firemane and the Coalition. The Thunderer is very much based on the PzH 2000 in use today. In many ways, this vehicle is quite underpowered compared to the ‘advanced’ Star Wars weapons, but it has the advantage of being cheap, long-ranged and effective. What it lacks for in penetration against armour, it more than compensates for with rate of fire and ammunition storage.
It was not entirely clear to this writer whether this needed a cannon submission and then the vehicle, but after discussions with Raziel, it was decided that a vehicle submission would probably be enough.
Development Thread: If needed.
Manufacturer: Firemane Industries and Technology
Model: TH-AR-01
Affiliation:
Modularity: No.
Production: Mass-Produced.
Material: Durasteel armour plating (18mm thick), standard vehicle components.
Role: Mobile support artillery.
Height: 3 metres.
Length: 12 metres.
Width: 3.5 metres.
Weight: 55 tonnes.
Minimum Crew: 3. Commander, driver, gunner.
Optimal Crew: 5. As above, with two loaders.
Propulsion: Tracks.
Top Speed: 75 km/h (on road), 50km/h (off road)
Armaments:
- 1 x E-Web Heavy Blaster (90 degree arc forward) for anti-personnel defence.
- 1 x 155mm howitzer (ammunition and capabilities discussed below)
Squadron Count: Typically a battery is 3 sections of 3 guns for a total of 9.
Passenger Capacity: 0
Cargo Capacity: Excluding ammunition, 150kg of parts and supplies.
Misc. Equipment:
- Communicator with strong encryption .
- Satellite uplink (where possible) for better accuracy.
- Crew escape hatches (in case unit is hit).
Description:
War never changes, yet the tools of the trade do. As slugthrowers retreated from galactic battlefields due to improvements in armour and better blaster production, the same occurred to explosive shell weapons. Turbolasers and blaster cannons had less ammunition problems and missiles were more accurate.
However, some military thinkers, the latest of them Tegaea Alcori and Siobhan Kerrigan of Firemane, found that such weapons could be very useful in the right cases.
Explosive shell munitions do have some considerable advantages; they are easy to make and store, they are effective at area bombardment, and they were simpler to maintain.
Given that many of Firemane’s operations take place on less advanced worlds or in rugged terrain, the Thunderer was devised to provide close fire support. Built on a robust and simple SPA (Self-Propelled Artillery) chassis, the Thunderer can move quite quickly over both road and off-road environments.
The only real weapon of the Thunderer is a mid-range artillery piece with a high rate of fire. The Thunderer has a range of 1-42 kilometres for regular rounds, and 5-50kms for the Rapier rounds.
The accuracy of the regular explosive rounds can vary significantly depending on weather, but assuming average conditions the following accuracy can be determined.
- Probability of shell hitting within x metres of intended target:
10m – 50% - 30m – 75%
- 100m – 90%
- 250m – 99%
As can be seen, the Thunder is very capable at area bombardment, but lacks the true precision the Rapier can provide. Spotters and detailed maps can improve this accuracy by up to 50%, whilst poor weather and stressful circumstances can reduce it.
The shells impact on contact with the ground, usually creating an area of effect of 10-20 metres depending on terrain.
The Thunderer can have a variety of different warheads as well as the usual, based on tactical need. It is important to note however that these cannot be changed in the field, so planning must be used to ensure the right weapon is used for the job.
These include:
Airburst/Shrapnel – By calculating range, the shells can be set to explode at a certain time after firing, scattering fragments over a 30 metre area.
Penetration – This model is designed not to explode on impact, but to penetrate before exploding. The shaping of the round is designed to direct the blast forwards, releasing high explosive and burning phosphorous into the target. This is typically used on buildings, bunkers or large vehicles, though due to reduced accuracy is rarely used.
Gas – This model contains a large compressed gas container and typically detonates in the air over the target. This releases either smoke or other gasses into the area, with a dispersion of 20-30 metres depending on wind. This can contain chemical or biological agents, though Firemane does not use these.
Ion – Instead of regular explosive, this model contains a powerful ion pulse, designed to fry or disrupt all droids or electronics in a radius of 30 metres. Shielded targets or those protected by thick walls will be resistant.
The Thunderer typically carries 60 rounds inside its hull, and has support vehicles carrying the hundreds more it needs. Generally each Thunderer carries only a handful of special rounds unless the mission specifies otherwise.
Strengths:
- Rapid Fire. The Thunderer can fire 10 rounds a minute, or up to 6 in a 20 second burst. A battery of these can therefore deposit 90 shells on a target area in a minute.
- Flexible. As well as being able to fire a variety of rounds, the Thunderer can fire the very powerful and exact Rapier rounds.
- Reliable. The Thunderer is a tough and quite simple mechanism. It can be maintained and repaired in all different terrains.
- Cheap. Lacking the sophisticated internal workings of missiles or railguns, the Thunderer can be produced quickly and cheaply.
Weaknesses:
- Fragile. Artillery is not meant to be attacked, and the Thunderer has only an e-web for close protection. Whilst its armour can resist small arms such as blaster rifles, even infantry carried explosives or missiles can penetrate.
- Unguided. With the exception of Rapier rounds, the Thunderer’s shells are not guided. Thus, it is good for area bombardments, but not for precision attacks.
- Earthbound. Though it is good at covering terrain, the Thunderer relies on tracks. Thus, water, deep mud and snow and crevasses are impassable to it.
- Range. Though featuring a good battlefield range, the Thunderer lacks the range of missiles which can cover hundreds of kilometres.
[SIZE=11pt]Primary Source:[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] Parts copied and edited to fit from this writer’s own Rapier submission.[/SIZE]
OG Section:
Affiliation: Open Market, Firemane, Tygaran Alliance, Silver Sanctum Coalition
New Section:
Affiliation:Open Market, Tygaran Alliance, Silver Sanctum Coalition | Firemane Industries & Technology & closed market to approved buyers only.
Affiliation: Open Market, Firemane, Tygaran Alliance, Silver Sanctum Coalition
New Section:
Affiliation:
