Page 51
Remember me mentioning the laser destroyer on the Chimera? This is one bit I wanted to emphasize. The Destroyer Tank Hunter's 'Laser Destroyer' is considerably hard to replace, and thus presumably relatively rare. (Although its as big as a freanking Vanquisher cannon, so those must be more common. Although why they can mount one in a turret and not the other... who the fuck knows. If its such a fearsome weapon you'd think they'd put it in a turret on a bigger hull. Apparently its not as powerful as weapons mounted on heavy/superheavies, I guess.)..whilst the vehicles Leman Russ hull can be mass produced, only a few Forge Worlds have the skill to hand craft its laser destroyer weapon; a particularily painstaking and laborious process, resulting in demand far outstripping supply.
The destroyer utilises the old Mars Alpha Pattern hull, retaining the same engine, transmission, and drive train components...
It being a 'laser destroyer' would also clue us into its probable operation - basically microsecond-pulsed laser causing explosive damage. Proably designed to drill into the target to cause damage (highly penetrating, but not neccesarily making a huge hole, or big explosion.) Which does fit iwth how we've seen it used.
Page 51
Apparently they don't bother sticking a turret on it or for putting other weapons in when they designed it. Unless that's a big battle cannon I can't even begin to understand why. The Russ hull is supposed to be hellishly modular, after all. (Maybe they don't have turrets lol.)There are many field conversions of the basic Destroyer hull with the heavy laser destroyer replaced with a Demolisher cannon or a battle cannon, and even the Vanquisher cannon has been witnessed on occasion utilised in this role.
Lacking a turret...
As an aside, the engine for the Mars pattern Destroyer uses an MR230 V12 Multi-fuel, identical to the Conquoerr (Mars Pattern). Apparently the 9-10 ton difference in mass means a 50% increase in speed effectively (50 kph and 36 kph vs the Conqueorr's 34 and 24 kph)
The Thunderer by contrast is 52 tonnes, but for some reason has 32 kph on road and 22 kph off despite having the same engine as a basic Russ (HL230 V12 Multi-fuel.) Must mean some hefty variations in intenral engine design and shit. These also apparnetly aren' t the turbine driven Russes of Epic either.
As noted in Epic Armageddon and the early Chapter approved Leman Russ stats, the Mars pattern also sued a turbine engine. We know that is a factor, although the Chapter approved one has a turbine with WORSE performance than the IA tanks
In any case it provides an interesting implication that some Leman Russes can be faster with the right engine/drive system or hull.
Page 63
Again given the sheer number of hulls and variants and how easily its meant ot be produced and maintained you have to wonder why fully-mechanised regiments are supposedly so rare. Maybe they aren't, but not all Chimeras are equal and its only the really quality/high end ones (IFVs as opposed to APCs) that are rare, lots of the variants seem to be referred to collectively as 'Chimera' after all.The Chimera is an incredibly versatile vehicle and over the millenia it has been pressed into service in a variety of forms. Its basic chassis is used for more vehicles than any other by the Imperium, providing the basis for vehicles as diverse as Basilisk artillery and Hellound flame tanks to command vehicles and medicae transport. The most common version is the armoured personnel carrier with a turret-mounted multi-laser and hull-mounted heavy bolter, but these weapons can be repalced with other heavy weapons to fufil a variety of roles.
It also could be that its only impossible to fully mechanise regiments, but partial mechanisation (to varying degrees) is common. That interpretation has merit from a number of sources also.
Then again it could be that mechanised infantry is so rare because they appropriate the hulls precisely for those other roles (Trojans, Basilisks, etc.)
Page 63
Meshes broadly with the notion in Epic Armageddon (cited earlier) that there are more Chimera (in terms of absolute numbers) than Leman russ. We know from 'emperor's Gift' and other sources that armageddon produces 10 million Russes annually (in addition to what gets tithed to the Guard annually, which is several million vehicles more) which means that there are probably at least that many, if not several times that number of Chimera tithed annually. Even more given the implied comparison of industrial capability between Forge and Hive Worlds.Variants of the basic Chimera are common, most mounting different weapons. The heavy flamer variant is popular amongst troops operating in dense terrain, where the enemy can be close by but difficult to spot...
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Ususally one heavy flamer Chimera will be deployed for every three standard Chimeras as a stand-in infantry close support vheicle if Demolishers, Thunderers, or Hellhounds are in short supply.
Page 66-70
- tons of Chimera assigned to Armoured regiments in armoured fist companies. Does not seem to be attached units - they seem organic to the force. This sort of flies in the face of regiments being largely uniform in composition, but Forge World has never really seemed to pay as much lip service to tat anyhow (given battlegroups later, and the Imperial forces in Taros and similar engagements.) So ether the 'largely uniform' is just an abstraction/assumption (such as for administrative purposes, the same way they assume all regiments are roughly equal in strength) or not all worlds/regiments are bound by this restriciton.
Page 71 - Chimera diagram. Main thing of interest is that aside from 3 crew (commander, gunner, driver) it has seating for 12 Guardsmen, presumably six per side. Which is more than it was in the Inferno magazine (9+2 Commander and driver) AGain this might be variations in pattern/design, different kinds of hulls, or reflect differences between an APC and IFV (the Bradleys and STrykers of the US carry fewer people than the onld M113 APC, for example, due to diffrences in size/weight, armor, armament, etc.)
Page 72
Not unlike Sentinels or armoured Fist/mechanised units, and reflecting again that there are at least some forces in the Guard who aren't expected to be unimaginative robots. : P Actually its probably indicative that many of the more armoured forces are bound to be trusted better/given more latitude than the infantry, since they a.) carry out the offensives and thus need to be more aggressive and b.) vehicles are considered much more important and valuable than a freaking lasgun. Which is not to say all armoured forces are like Sentinels or Hellhounds of course, because plenty of tanks are used in Trench/Siege Warfare (we have the Krieg to remind us always, lest we forget!)Hellhounds are issued to dedicated Hellhound Tank companies or as squadrons of support vehicles to Armoured Fist and Tank companies. although some regiments are lucky to include entire Hellhound companies, many Imperial Guard commanders on the ground use a flexible approach to the deployment of Hellhounds as they find Hellhounds more useful as independent vehicles, attached in an ad hoc fashion to battle group or assault group as neded.
Page 72
Why would they need to stick fuel tanks outside on a Hellhound, waht woudl they be carrying inside. Anyhow, remotely operated turrets, so I guess even the Guard can have some semi-automated stuff (stuff usually only the Space marines are special enough to have, as we'll discover in IA2.)The Artemia pattern includes a remotely operated turret which reduces its crewt o two, whilst on many patterns, including the MArs Alpha, the fuel tank is inside the Chimera's standard hull, filling the transport compartment.
Page 73
Which hilariously drives the Meltas even further from being microwave beam weapons and to being more magical sorts of flamethrowers. Anti-armour flamethrowers. Let's assume that 'most' means 50%, and its a 50 ton tank (somewhere between a Predator and a Russ) which assuming iron is some 30 GJ at least and probably several times that. Ideally thats at LEAST several tons of fuel just for one tank and its doubtful thats all just one shot. The implication being that unless it is magical (and even if not its magically efficient chemical fuel, or something far higher energy density wise, if not both) the interior is mostly fuel. And even then, it probably still needs some magic. And yet, it doesn't have the same detonation hazard a Hellhound does?Whilst the Hellhound is mainly utilised in an anti-infantry capacity, the Devil Dog acts predominantly in an anti-armour role. Exchanging promethium for a pyrum-petrol based mix, the injectors within its weapons system, which sits adjacent to its melta cannon, combine the two chemicals into a chamber. When this extremely volaitle combination is fired through its melta cannon, it heats up the air to such a degree that it literally vaporises the moisture within it, producing a distinctive high-piched howl that screams across the battlefield.
Against this wall of ferocious heat enemy troops stand no chance, even the most heavily armoured being incinerated in an instant. However it is against enemy armour and fortifications that the Devil Dog's thermal weaponry is most often used,. Its technology, believed to have been based on that used in Mankind's distant past to rrender down the toughest of ores and metals for use in constructing its colonies across the galaxy, is capable of rendering part of most tanks or structures to little more than molten slag and steaming gas. This often initiates critical failures in surrounding systems, causing the tank to explode or collapsing the building down uponn those inside.
Again MAGIC.
Page 73
Bane Wolf chem tank. Because the Guard was not WW1-esque enough for people!This variant of the standard Hellhound pattenr has been modified to unleash a noxious cloud of gas so toxic that it dissolves all organic mateiral it comes into contact with, stripping flesh from bone, before rendering even that down into a bubbling pool of rank, festering ooze.
Page 75
A slightly longer hull might accomdoate eight, plus driver and gunner. If you had a squad that traded the heavy weapons crew for the driver/gunner position it would maybe make a suitable Chimera substitute. (Incidentally the redmeption corps 'fire support' centaurs seemed to have a much larger carrying capacity than these.) Based on the diagram from above on page 78 with a bit of fudging and squeezing oyu might get two more people in if you rearranged the seats a bit.The Centaur is not a frontline combat vehicle, although it does have limited armour protection against enemy shelling.
The Centaur has two crew as standard, a driver and a gunner, although many vehicles operate with just a single driver and rely on its passengers to man the gun. In addition to the crew, the Centaur can cram in up to five passengers.
The Centaur is usually armed with a single pintle mounted heavy stubber. This weapon is often dismounted and used by the infantry for additional fire support...
..
Positioned in the forward hull next to the driver, a squad in transit can attach their special or heavy weapon there and continue to use it to protect the vheicle.
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..command squads and grenadier squads in transit find this feature useful.
In some ways I see it as a smaller/lighter Chimera alternative, and in some cases it seems to be (Storm Troopers/Grenadiers, Veteran Guardsmen, command and heavy weapons crews, etc.) It would also be light enough and useful enough for the Elysians to deploy and use them, but.. they don't, even though they can carry multi-ton sentinels and tauros. Not unlike the Rapier laser platforms, really.
Page 75
A I guess the extra armor makes it more battlefield-worthy than the other Centaur type.Centaurs are often issued to grenadier units as a battlefield transport, to get them close to their targets quickly. Because these centaurs are deployed into the heart of a battle, and must face enemy fire in no-man's land, the grenadier's Centaur has been adapted with additional armour plates. This armour gives the driver and passengers some extra protection, especially against shrapnel.
Page 80
Salamander scouts and their oft-stated 'upgrade.' This evidently happens often enough that no permamant or long term harm has ever come to the Imperium. ITs also interesting that the engines can be 'boosted' in this way (although how its done, I don't know). Another example perhaps that Imperial engines might be governed to regulate their speed...the crew often overcharge the engines of their vehicles in order to make a swift escape should they encounter strong enemy resistance. Whilst this is a breach of regulations, given the dangers faced by lightly equipped scout units operating independently of support, this is often ovelrooked although the extra strain placed on the engine by such tinkering is a constant source of grievance amongst maintenance units.
Page 80-81
Mentioned as active scan too, at least in rules. Rare example of the Imperial Giuard getting a nifty piece of tech.In the Vanaheim pattern Salamander command vehicle, the driver is also provided with a multi-spectral auspex surveyor, fitted as part of his overhead hatch. This is an advanced piece of equipment, providing the vehicle with magnification, tracking, and night vision equipment.
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Auspex Surveyor: These short-ranged vehicle-mounted scanning devices can be used to identify concealed or dug-in enemy positions.
Page 82
Device from above again.Driver's surveyor
Drop-down auspex for diver's surveyor (in down position). Fitted with magnification, scanning and night vision equipment.
Page 85
Autocannon for Gryphonne IV pattern salamander scout. Aside from the autoloader and the recoil counter and the electircal sight/rangefinder, it has a smoothbore barrel. I'm not sure if this is common for autocannon or not, but it would imply it uses fin-stabilized ammunition either way unless we're supposed to believe its a really shitty cannon designRangefinder and main sight viewer
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Protective housing for sight electrics.
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Smoothbore barrel
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Recoil dampener
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Ammunition is loaded via a feed tray (not shown). The tray holds four rounds, and extra ammunition is dropped into the tray by hand, which is then fed automatically into the weapon's breech.
Page 90
Well, second edition rolls around and they retained the 'counterfeit' baneblades as well as the Macharius 'second generation' baneblades... so I guess both exist. And hilariously this only furthers that whole 'Not always STC adhering' stuff. I mean this is basically analogous to creating the Chimera with the laser destroyer, or attempgint to reproduce the Vanquishers independently withotu access to the precious STC magic stuff. Again rare and lost and not lost seem to be pretty arbitrary and/or depending more on internal human factors than absolute 'TECH LOST' stuff. Stats wise though the differences in speed were never there (nor other stats) despite 2nd generation being 'superior'...there is a immense demand for the Baneblade...
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the millenia have seen a slow but steady increase in the number of 'counterfeit' Baneblades seeing service in the armies of the Imperium.
These Baneblades, produced by Forge Worlds eager to secure large military contracts and trade concessions, do not incorporate all of the available STC data that is on those from Mars. For example, while a true Baneblade uses much more powerful rocket-propelled shells in its main cannon, a second generation Baneblade (as the adepts of Mars refer to these tanks) use only standard battle cannon ammunition.
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..second gneeration Baneblades normally mount a second battle cannon in the hull.
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..the original Baneblade design has improved internal armour bracing, greater engine performance and transmission, superior comms and tactical logis engines, and all manner of secondary systems far superior to those of the second generation.
It also suggests the 'counterfeit' uses standard battle cannon ammo (like whata Russ uses.) Presumably its a longer barrel (to keep in line with the increased size of the Baneblade, meaning you could have longer barreld, non Vanquisher battle cannon.) although this may run counter to the Escalation bit where Baneblades have their own dedicated cannon (or mega battle cannon in other sources)
Of course you have t o wonder why they can't stick those titan scale battle cannons they mention later with the stormblade on the counterfeits, or at least some Vanquisher cannon. I also have to wonder what is so special about rocket-propelled ammo in a 'true' baneblade. I mean they have it for bolters and even if its rare bAsilisks can use it, so, why so odd for tanks.
Page 98
Baneblade guns. The ports as we discover later mean the rocket activates inside the gun, just as in the earlier edition. This may be a travelling charge or a High-Low propulsion system like some grenade launchers use and has been speculated on here before for bolters, but I'll touch on those later with projecitles. Sufficed to say its not 'just' rocket propelled.Note the vent ports around the end of the battle cannon and demolisher cannon barrels, these allow the gases released during firing to escape.
Page 100
Again more COUNTERFEIT stuff and generally showing a non-dogmatic view towards things, showing that 40K once agian sneers at absolutes. Even in Forge World stuff. It also shows that the computer/targeting/electronic stuff exists by degree rather than has/doesn't have (Even Russes are implied to have targeters and shit, which is hardly a shock.)Like the Baneblade it utilises STC technology and its production is limited to a few privileged Forge Worlds, but 'counterfeit' or 'second generation' Shadowswords are also produced on other Forge Worlds. These vehicles lack the original Shadowswords advanced technology, and may be gunned with a different main weapon; large plasma cannons, turbo-lasers or huge battle cannons, for example, are not an unkonwn alternative configuration. The original remote-controlled sponson weapons too are often replaced by crewed versions, and targeting equipment and logis engines may be more primitive, and the capacitors or engine less efficient.
Page 100
It can 'sever a titan's arm or leg. I decided to draw on the Demolisher Inferno entry and its lasweapon stats. 840 hp, 3.9 MW charge rate, 2 hours to charge to max, one hour use. Now we know a Baneblade can power two lascannon at least, which is going to be 7.8 MW. This is probably conservative, since we know a Leman Russ Annihilator can support up to 3 lascannon (possibly up to 5?) without siginifcant power draw (predators can do up to 4, so its not impossible.) and that's over twice that number not even factoring in disparities in tonnage.True shadowswords are armed with a Volcano cannon, a huge laser powered by capacitors which draw power directly from the tank's engine.
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..his rol eis to control the power flow from the engine through the generator as well as keeping the tank running. To draw power, the enginseer must disconnect the engine's main drive and connect the generator in its place. This power is then transferred to the capacitors which hold the titanic energies required for the Volcanno cannon. A single shot will drain the Shadowsword's capacitors completely.
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..to recharge the capacitors it must remain stationary.
IF we compare tonnage ratios, a Shadowsword is basically worth 5 normal battle tanks, which means a 5xdifference at least. If we factor in the annihilator example, it could be anywhere up to 20-25x.
If we go by horsepower: we don't know the Shadowsword's HP that I am aware of (840 for a Demolisher as per Inferno) but if we figure its somewhere between a P-1000 Ratte and a Panzer VIII Maus we might get between 3000-5000 hp, with 17 hp as an upper limit (we already are assuming several lascannon at least, so we can ignore the lower limit of the Ratte) it would be between 3.5 and 20 x difference in power based on horesepower (and powering on engines)
So with a 7.8 MW lower limit and up to 78 megawatts charging as an upper limit, we then turn to timeframe. One to two hours maybe seems likely given what I assessed before, but on the other hand shadowswords charge only for a singel shot, and an hour seems a bit long (contrast with say gunheads) So I'll assume between 5 minutes and an hour roughly, it shoudl be within that figure for an order of magnitude anyhow.
The Caveat from earlier regarding the charge rate does apply here, of course.. it coudl be 3.9 MW for an hour for the Demolisher's lascannon (which would be more consistent witn Honour Guard and other depictions of 'sustained' output lascannon) which would mean my calcs are off by a factor of four (agin.)
7.8 MW at 5 minute would be 'only' 2.3 gigajoules per shot. Whereas at the other end, 1 hour and 78 megawatts yields some 280 gigajoules per shot. It could go either way - we know that hadoswsowrds are terawatt ranged weapons due to the Baneblade novel and the Munitorum entry on volcano cannon, so assuming (as I usually do) its a pulsed laser type weapon (which seems reasonable given Laser Destroyers are, so why not Shadowswords?) given a millisecond timeframe for discharge you could come out to the terawatt range.
Page 100
Well most worlds have a titan Legion.. so either all Forge Worlds make Shadowswords, or not all Forge Worlds can build titans. But they can build titans, at least!Shadowswords therefore tend to only be made on Forge Worlds which raise Titan Legions..
Page 106
Like the stormblade's plasma blastgun. Stormblades are basically scaled up Executioners (with more reliable cooling.) Lack the long range targeting auspex of true shadowswords...many have sought to produce tanks that fufil the same 'titan Hunter' role. Instead of a Volcano cannon, these vehilces will often mount turbo-lasers, massive battle cannons or adaptations of other Titan-sized weaponry.
Also stormblades naturally (and once again) and for no good reason include additional bolted on armor plating that add no protective quality AT ALL, but apparently serves to wiegh the engine down and bring it to 'codex approved' superheavy speeds. Because you don't want to offend Mars by having your illegally-made Baneblade move too fast. And naturally whilst they will overcharge engines or slap on random weaponry to other hulls in defiance of the AdMech they will not remove the useless overheavy armor plating from the illegal Baneblade.)
Anyhow applyin gthe same 'Demolisher' logic, WE know they can have two plasma sponsons, 200 therms/s charging time and a 4200 therm output per cannon. Assuming at least equal to 2 plasma cannon thats 8400 therms or 890 GJ at least. If we figure 4-5 demolishers thats 3.5-4.5 TJ per shot (33,600-42,000 therms) for a 21 second recharge. Otherwise it would be 'only' double/triple digit GJ.
Obviously if we use less generaous plasma calcs (even mere 'cremation' calcs) the yields would be considerably less, but performance wise I'd figure the Plasma blastgun is on the same magntidue as a Volcano cannon, and its still bound to be better than regular anti armour/anti tank weapons (plasma, multimelta, etc.) It can also depend on thermal or mechanical effects too, of course. I suspect the 'therms' based ones for demolishers are more purely thermal, for example.
Page 106
A throwback to Epic and 2nd edition designs. Racks were withdrawn from service because the warheads would catastrophically detonate if damaged. you have to wonder why they just didn't build a dedicated missile rack platform for long distance bombardment, though.In the past, when facing the heaviest Titans, some Stormblades were fitted with extenral Hellion missile racks.
Page 112
Once again the IG will 'innovate' even if the AdMech won't. And they evidently get away with it.Originally a field conversion of the Shadowsword, when a Shadowsword or Stormblade is taken out of action the salvaged chassis is often rebuilt and new weapons added to create the Stormsword.
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Whilst such conversions are 'unofficial' and unsanctioned by the conservative upper echelons of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial Guard commanders facing large numbers of enemy infantry on the ground such as rampaging mobs of Orks or swarms of Tyranids must take a more pragmatic view. Any vehicle that can fufil sucha v ital battlefield role, as the Stormsword more than ably can, will be included on their roster regardless of what other institutions of the Imperium may have to say about it.
Page 112
Not unlike baneblade shells. This does of course set an upper ilmit on the size of the Baneblade munition of course.. I'd expect it to be several times less massive at least (but still big)The siege gun barrel however has a restricted elevation, which reduces the weapon's ultimate range, but this is compensated for by the shell's integral rocket propulsion system. Each huge shell weighs in excess of 180 kg, and rather than firing by conventional means, a Stormsword literally launches each one, exhaust vents on either side of the gun barrel allowing the gas discharged by the rocket's engine to escape during firing.
Assuming conventional explosives and somewhere between 1/2 and 1/6 of the shell's mass, it would have between 30 and 90 kg of TNT at least. Figure its accurate to within an order of magnitude, unless it uses something better than TNT.
Page 112
If a hand crank is involved how is it auomated?..the vehicle's loader has to be aided by an automated loading tray which is then hand cranked to move the shell into the barrel.
Page 112
More COUNTERFEIT superheavies. The hilarious bit is that they'r building a supposedly 'unsanctioned' design the Guard made up on the fly (and the AdMech despise). What was that about STC canon again?..the Stormsword, whilst still rare, has therefore earned a place within the Imperial Guard's arsenal, with some Forge Worlds already starting to produce them in limited numbers to meet demand..
Page 118
Kind of amusing since this same book mentions both the 'second generation' baneblades which were literally baneblade hulls with extra battle cannon in the hull (in the demolisher's place) whereas the Macharius has two turret mounted guns. Not exactly the same thing.The Macharius is one of a variety of what are referred to as 'second generation' Baneblades. These are built by Forge Worlds eager to secure large military contracts, but who do not possess the STC data required to build true Baneblades. Only a handful of Forge Worlds still manufacture Baneblades to the same design as those used during the Great Crusades..
As we learn in this book (and IIRC in IA5) basically the design was pieced together by some Magos as his lifes work, got approved after he died, but Lucius got to build genuine baneblades so put this on hold until the Kriegers came in and they needed a superheavy tank to fit their attritionalist tastes.
And unsurpisingly despite being significantly less massive than a Baneblade it can't move any faster (blame engine efficiency. Or maybe they stuck more shitty useless armor on it just to slow it down deliberately!)
Page 119
If they have enough to stick two Vanquisher cannons on the Macharius hull you think they'd just make two Vanquishers instead. You could just stick a Titan-sized battle cannon on the Macharius like they do with some Stormblade variants (Macharius Omega can handle plasma blastgun and vulcan mega bolters after all.)The Vanquisher replaces the Macharius' original battle cannons with powerful VAnquisher cannon. These weapons, although harder to manufacture and never available in great number,s fire a high velocity anti-tank shell that can penetrate the thickest armour with devastaitng result.
Or why not a laser destroyer like the Destroyer tank hunter? Its turret should be able to accomodate at least one (of coruse a Baneblade could mount that too..)
Note this also mentions Lucius can make VAnquisher cannon, which means they can make Leman Russ Vanquishers. that's got to be like at least 5 worlds that can still make them (Mars, Stygies VIII, Gryphonne IV, Ryza and now Lucius) Maybe there are Counterfeit Vanquishers too!
Or I know! A scaled up Baneblade-sized vanquisher gun! Its not like we haven't established by now - evne just using the stuff in this book - they'll make shit up if they choose.
Page 119
Vulcan mega-bolter. We know from the previous stuff that it carries 8000 rounds. Which means its rate of fire is something like 400 rounds per second 24,000 rpm. That's more than twice the ROF of the highest ROF gatling gum I'm aware of (~10,000 RPM for some Russian versions) but its not even the highest ROF gun I've heard of the Imperium having (the 60,000 rpm bolters on that Faustus Interceptor from First and Only come to mind...)It is a multiple-barrel gatling autocannon which can fire thousands of rounds per minute...
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.. carrying only enough ammunition for twenty seconds firing.
For shits and giggles, assuming 900 n-s per ton max recoil limit, which masses 172 tonnes and assuming 30% of the recoil is propellant we'd get about 271 n-s per shot. Assuming ~1 km/s velocity that would mean each mega bolter shot weighs some 270 grams. If we figure the recoil is 1/2 to 1/3 we'd get between 90-130 grams for the bullet, if velocity was held constant. Call it 100-150 kj per shot, which is 40-60 MW for KE, and 40-60 kg worth of shells fired. Assuming between 1/2 and 1/6 the mass in explosive, thats 7-20 kg, which is ~30-126 MJ worth of explosive power. If we go by my assessment from the Night Lords Novels of mega bolter yield, we'd get between 200 grams and 5 kg of TNT equivalent depending on calc, which is between 80 and 2000 kg of TNT each second
Incidentally that incdient meshes well with the estimated rate of fire here (hundreds of shells a second)
Page 119
A mini stormblade. Probably one of the more sensible Macharius variants, honestly. Also pretty nasty, all told, even with the increasd waste heat...the battlefield deployment of the Omega-pattern plasma blastgun, a variant of the more common Ryza design employed on the Stormblade.
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The weapon's design, although more widely replicable than the arcane technologies of its forebear, lack the stability of the superlative Ryza pattern weapon, and generates considerably more waste heat. However, the Omega also utilises a more compact generator design and force crucible, allowing it to be mounted on smaller super-heavy hulls.
The comparable ease with which the Macharius 'Omega' can be manufactured and repaired has more than overcome its shortcomings in the eyes of the Lords militant, and large quantities of porduction capacity ave been devoted to the design on the dogmatically allied Forge Worlds of Lucius, Hellgrace, and Dynax Primus.
Page 128
One of the non-Chimera APCs they have, albeit the bigger ones, although not as huge as the superheavies like the stormlord and similar featured in Escalation...the Crassus has become widley used by the Imperial Guard and Adeptus Mecahncius armoured units of the southern and westenr Segmentum Tempestus, and with production of the design being taken up in the last several centuries by the major Forge World of Lucius, it is now being used extensively to resupply units close to the Eye of Terror to replace on-going losses in that steadily worsening war zone.
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The Crassus' drive system is considerably more powerful than other vehicles of its size. This was designed to not only cope with the additional armour fitted to its chassis, but also to provide its driver with the speed to deliver the vehicle's human cargo to their destination...
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Capable of holding up to thirty five Guardsmen or two Cyclops Demolition vehicles..
It's also apparently significantly faster than a Macharius or its ilk, which is not saying much really
I'd guess 25-30 kph off road, maybe 35-40 kph on road, by Forge World conservatism. Page 129
The Ig's Whirlwind equivlaent. Bigger, slower, but longer ranged and probably more powerful.The Praetor launcher is a sophisticated weapon that far predates the introduction of the Crassu sitself..
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This has ultimately led with the dissemination of the powerful Crassus Chasiss to the introduction of a new mobile Praetor-weapon platform by Zhao-Arkkad's manufactora which has spread relatively swiftly through frontline regiments throughout the Segmentum Tempestus and beyond.
Page 129
Missile types for Praetor.Foehammer and Firestorm missiles provide a hard hitting and devastating barrage which can be used against ground-based enemy vehicles or enemy-held targets. The pilum warhead enables the Praetor to be used in an anti-aircraft capacity, sophisticated tracking systems within its AA mount constantly monitoring the skies for potential airborne threats.
Page 129
I'm guessing it mounts the Bombard in triplicate. Makes you wonder why they don't use Medusa, or Basiliks, or Colossus cannon in multiple batteries too. A Minotaur analogue of sorts.A heavy siege tank featuring an automated battery of three bombardment cannon, the Dominus is a powerful if somewhat unpredictable weapon...
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The Dominus' armament is at the very extreme of the hull frame's capability, and the on-board supply of shells for its main weapon are, by necessity, somewhat limited.
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Much like the rarer and ancient Minotaur, the Dominus' formidable armour allows it to accompany an armoured spearhead into the very jaws of an enemy's firepower before unleashing a rapid saturation bombarmdnet in support of a main attack.
If we figure the 'limits' are around 900-1000 n-s per ton (about what a M551 Sheridan had) and its something on the order of a Macharius in tonnage (170 tons) and 30% propellant in terms of recoil, each bombard is between 35,000-40,000 n-s. Figure a 400-600 m/s for the shot (faster than a Manticore missile) and it would be at least 7-12 MJ of KE per shell. Although its going to be considerably more in momentum.
Page 133
Platoon means 50. Hilariously, given its like 50 tons heavier than a Macharius, its actually a bit FASTER. I suppose that would mean the Crassus is even faster.Generally only deployed during trench warfare, where infantry are forced to cross regions of hostile no-man's land...
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Wise commanders therefore only sanction Gorgon assaults across a short distance, after the enemy has been heavily suppressed by a sustained artillery bombardment.
A Gorgon can carry a full platoon in its open topped hold...
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..the Gorgon is only deployed for carefully selected missions, such as attacking heavily fortified enemy defences, or delivering troops into a breach during a siege. They are not routinely deployed for frontline operations unless to assist a major offensive.
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As a specialised armoured vehicle, the Gorgon is not common amongst Imperial Guard regiments. It is most widely used by siege regiments for trench warfare, but they are sometimes issued to armoured regiments and infantry when the demands of a campaign require such support.
It also reflects that evne in terms of trench warfare shit they'll employ transports, at least in some cases. Pity they didn't do more in Vraks, eh? Then again I've heard many people comment about it being a death trap (by virtue of a ramp opening straight ahead, and open topped, meaning it would be great if the enemy can shoot a munition into the thing from the front or above.
Page 140
Called a heavy tank, but follows 'super heavy' rules. Go figure. Masses 105 tonnes. and still as slow as a Baneblade. Amsuingly they were faster in the HH books. And evne the anniilator variant is slow. (same speed as the regular one, unlike the LR annihilator variant.) Still my least favorite tank..those relatively few Malcadors that remain in Imperial service have either been relegated to strategic reserves, planetary defence arsenals and other 'second line' forces...
Page 148
Except for the 'feedback' effect that can blow the firing vehicle up (howeve rthe fuck it manages it) it would almost sound like a regular particle beam... the Neutron laser and the neutronic coil arc reactor that power it...
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The neutron energy beam the Valdor's main armament unleashes is capable of rupturing the densest of protective materials, smashing apart its target's molecular structure and creating a massive electro-magnetic shock effect in addition to explosive matter disruption.
Page 148
Lathe het, a mention of Dark Heresy's Calixis sector!..with production facilities for the Valdor known to be situated on a small number of far flung Adeptus Mechanicus strongholds such as Lathe-het and Cyraxus II, as well as Mars itself.
Page 152
Basically a Macharius version of artillery that can drive backwards. With heavy armor. Its more powerful because it has two Earthshakers rather than one. Apart from the layout having a recoil advantage I can't say it looks to be any better than a Basilisk.Intended for forward deployment to provide heavy fire support in the heart of a battle, the Minotaur is a heavily armoured and highly durable weapons platform....
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The minotuar remains a powerful weapon, far greater both in terms of firepower and durability than the ubiquitous Basilisk...
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The Minotaur's most unusual feature is its deck layout, which distributes its engine, drive systems and ammunition storage evenly across its superstructure and mounts its armament on a wide central axis point facing rearward, away from the crew compartment. This centerline weapons mounting has a huge payload capacity and an inherent tolerance for recoil which serves to stabilise the vehicle when firing even the most massive of ordnance.
I mean, Earthshakers aren't 'the most massive' ordnance the IG fields, and this thing has Earthshakers. unless there are larger caliber earthshakers than 132mm, which, there might be. Page 152
Like on Vraks. Which we know turned out so well for them. I like how they treat 'ITS ADVANCED' as some sort of inherent disadvantage, which this being Forge World guard, it is meant to be. Its a backwards firing, dual-barrel Basilisk.If the Minotaur has a deficiency, it is the complexity of its advanced construction, particularly in terms of its armoured defence and the sophisticated hydraulic and recoil compensation systems that form a key part of its design.
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Some reports, however, place thousands of these machines held in the stragetic war reserves of the Departmento Munitorum awiating the call to battle.
Page 158
Basilisk roles. It's not just dedicated indirect fire artillery like some, but it apparently is an assault gun and tank destroyer (or at least anti-vehicle.) One thing to also comment on in relation to this, its game mechanics but interesting. Back before 5th edition, IA1, 3, and 5 all had baslilisk/Earthshaker entries. An interesting feature of all of them was that they had two ranges. one was 'direct' fire range and an indirect fire range (up to 120" for direct, and 240" for indirect.) What's more, indirect fire was a modification that cost extra points, although once 5th rolled around all Basiliks could hit the indirect fire range by default.Basilisks are often required to add their firepower in direct support of combat troops, and the Earthshaker's low angle of elevation means it can be fielded as an assault gun, engaging targets at short range with devastating effect.
This is interetsing to me because of the 'low angle of elevation' (often commented on in all the entries) as well as the fact IA5 mentions the Earthshaker taking 19 seconds to reach max range at 814 m/s (implying again a very shallow elevation) suggests the 15-16 km is 'direct fire' range. Which in turn (keeping in mind this IS game mechanics, although plenty of authors seem to go on that at times for stats) would imply indirect fire is twice that (30-32 km) - it is less accurate, of course, but certainly possible, and a higher elevation should provide longer potential ranges (at the cost of a longer travel time and reduction in accuracy, of course.) If we tie this in with the 20 km range of Taros or Battlefleet Koronus for the Earthshaker (or the fact 16 km is possible evne at the 690 m/s velocity from Inferno #14) we get upwards of 40 km or so.
We also know its not tied to the extra propellant charges because both Basilisks and Earthshaker platforms have the indirect option, yet only the Earthshakers are able to use the extra charges. It might be tied to rocket-assisted shells, though.
Note another peculiarity of the stats (which I note with the Manticores) is that Manticore range is significantly less now - 120" where it used to be 300" which means the Earthshakres are actually twice the range of Manticores (60-80 km.) This does run into contradictions with battelfleet Koronus (as it still presents Earthshakers as typically being outranged by Manticores.) but we know Earthshakers have a 100 km range from Tactica Imperialis and 70+ for Imperium-based artillery in Necropolis, so we could rationalize it as differences in ammo or atypical ranges (rocket assisted or guided munitions owuld be likely.)
Even so, if we go with the 240" Earthshaker, 300" Manticore range (again Manticore missiles might vary in range performane as well as role the same way Earthshakers would.) still be 24-32 km, which is consistent with the 'indirect' range potential. Conversely, this could mean that Manticores could reach out to 100-125 km with the right kind of ammo, just as Earthshakers and other artillery platforms have their 'extra long range' artillery options.
I should comment that ironically enough my own previous assessment was the complete opposite of this. 15-16 km was the absolute range and 'direct' range was 7-8 km only.
imagine that.
