Post by ramboneil on Jun 15, 2018 23:25:17 GMT -5
M33x series Half-track Half-track Name • M33x series Half-track Classification • Armored Personnel Carrier (M330), Armored Cavalry Vehicle (M331), Assault Gun (M332), SPAA (M333) Origin • Rochelle Iron Works, design finalized by Valgrad Tractor Plant Specifications Size • How big is this thing? Give rough estimates in metric measurements (meters) - Height: ~2.5 meters average for base chassis - Width: ~2 meters average for base chassis - Length: ~6.5 meters average for base chassis Appearance • The M33x series half-track is a series of systems developed on a common chassis types and designed to fulfill different functions. The design consists of an armored cab that contains the power plant and various electronic systems integral to the continued operation of the vehicle. Underneath the cab is two wheels that allow for maneuverability. Behind the cab is generally the bed where the track base and other systems are held which allow the M33x to swap between modules in order to fulfill a number of roles. It looks like a heavy, boxy, crude, and primitive thing in general. The M330 is the Armored Personnel Carrier variant, which features reactive/ablative armor panels and an armored section in the back which carries the dismounts in an enclosed cabin. There is an opening for a turret ring on which is mounted a heavy repeating blaster, which while not impressive, is still more than enough to defeat almost all forms of light cover and degrade medium cover given sustained fire. The turret ring is powered in order to allow for extremely quick traverse and has a centimeter thick gun shield in order to protect the gunner from inbound small arms fire. There is enough room within the infantry cabin to carry a full infantry squad of 12, giving the fully loaded APC a complement of 14. Despite this, numerous ergonomic fixes made at the assembly site allow for complete evacuation of the vehicle in less than 10 seconds. The M331 Armored Cavalry Vehicle is a variant which exchanges the crew cabin for a turret mounted light blaster cannon, a secondary power plant, and armor to protect it and the operators. This allows for a faster vehicle with heavier firepower despite being heavier at the cost of the ability to carry infantry, and slightly increased maintenance costs. There is also a coaxial machinegun attached to the turret for anti-infantry work. The main gun is capable of defeating all forms of light and medium cover, can degrade heavy cover, small bunkers, and pillboxes. It can also reliably defeat most forms of lightly armored vehicle. The ACV has a crew of 3, a driver in the cab, a gunner in an armored pod next to the driver, replacing the passenger side seat, and an engineer in the turret who also has simplified turret controls. The vehicle can be completely evacuated in 10 seconds, as even though there is greater armor, the doors and hatches are spring loaded. The M332 Assault Gun is similar to the ACV variant but with a few differences, sacrificing armor and speed for a more powerful powerplant and a much heavier blaster cannon, which fires more slowly but is more than capable of defeating all but the heaviest surface level bunkers and pillboxes. The gunner is also capable of setting the bolt to airburst mode or direct impact mode depending on the effect desired. As with the ACV, the crew consists of a driver in the cab, a gunner in a pod next to the driver, and an engineer in the turret. The vehicle can be completely evacuated in 10 seconds. The M333 SPAA module consists of a power plant, a gunner's pod with an integrated droid brain, and an open topped gun emplacement mounting two gatling guns and a single heavy repeating blaster which are able to defeat lighter aircraft, jetpack equipped foes, and smaller gunships. The gun emplacement itself has a gun shield protecting from small arms fire but no more. As with all variants of the M33x, the vehicle can be completely evacuated in 10 seconds. Function The M33x series half-track began as a series of chassis types dreamed up as a thought experiment by a number of engineers at the Republic Military engineering College for a series of low cost vehicles that can be assembled mostly from off the shelf parts. For a large weapons corporation with free reign over funding and free access to parts and equipment, this was utterly unneeded, but for a small agricultural planet attempting to outfit its own fighting units with indigenous weapons, the M33x was just what they needed, and though procurement was often times a tedious and wandering affair, the series was put into production eight months after the start of initial hostilities. The M33x series performs quite well in its preferred form of warfare, namely counter-insurgency against small numbers of heavily armed, heavily armored, occasionally jetpack equipped foes. The M333 SPAA designed specifically with jetpack equipped Mandalorians in mind. It is not, however, all that well suited to high intensity set piece battles, as the M33x would quickly become overwhelmed and destroyed without either a numbers advantage or a significant amount of support. The vehicle is easy to build, easy to repair, intuitive to operate, and comfortable to use, rugged, much cheaper (even brand new) than the crews that drive it, and much more survivable than most vehicles of its size and class. The cost is brought down by the end of the war that it was built for and the fact that the government dumped de-milled vehicles onto the civilian market to as part of drawing down. |