Northford
29-05-2006, 15:20
[OOC: Say hi to my The STEEL PENIS OF DEATH!!Shift+1.... I designed this as I've seen quite a few so called "Super-heavies" recently, and although the have all been good, none of them have quite fitted my needs. I designed this, then, for my nation, with the plan of manufacturing about 10 of them, and maybe fielding 4-5 in an actual invasion. This is my first design, and I don't plan to sell it (There are plenty of other storefronts selling good stuff out there), but instead I'd likea critque of my design. If you've got a quick link to the draftroom, I'd appreciate it, as I looked in my favs, and couldn't find this.
I'd really like to improve this, so if you want to comment feel free. If you want to accuse me of god-modding, thats also fine, although, I'd appreciate it if you made it constructive. Unlike some other designer(s), who I won't name, I'm not going to attempt to defend my design to the realms of stupidity ( I know there are people out there with a lot more know-how that me).... Instead I'm planning to modifiy it as nessasary.]
“Sloth” Class Super-Heavy Tank.
The STEEL PENIS OF DEATH.
Problem:
*Note: The Redbridge Complex in Northford is a large urban complex on the coast. It is our largest port/docks. Defence of Redbridge presents a particular problem, as the transport system is largly consisting of long, straight roads, about 15 lanes wide, and often many miles long. This came about when it was realised how easy it would be for a landing party to launch a group of light tanks from the docks, and, from following just one road, drive straight into the capital city
Following a recent review of the defence of the Red Bridge Complex in Northford, it was realised that the Armoured Division (The only Armoured Division in Northford, in fact) defending the Docks against Invasion was seriously lacking heavy fire support. While it had access to Howitzers, they lacked the penetration characteristics required to sink enemy naval assets, and would be relatively easy prey for bombardment by Battleship Guns.
The Northfordian defence review also took stock of the HBT and the MBT in service. These Tanks, while viable combatants against landed troops, lacked the Armour and Range to go “Toe-to-Toe” with Ships such as Cruisers and Destroyers.
In order to be able to strike Landing Craft effectively, as well as being able to threaten Naval Assets, the Commonwealth of Northford had to look for an alternative.
Although there were a number of other so called “Superheavies” on the market, these were deemed to be unsuitable, as either they were too expensive, lacked the correct armament, or did not have the ability to act as a de-facto troop carrier and Command Control Center. Also, while the Northfordian Government was focusing on naval priorities, it did not want to leave itself “undefended”. It is due to this requirement, that the present program of acquiring Ships was put on hold; PM Brooks even went so far as to say: “As much as I’d like to have a fleet of Battleships, they won’t do us a damm bit of good if can’t stop a bunch of landing craft”.
Proposed Design:
Armament:
In order for the Sloth to be able to fulfil its mission, it is provided with a large number of weapons. It’s primary weapons is a 22inch ECT Cannon, forward mounted. This was chosen as it has the ability to severely damage a Cruiser or a Light Battleship should it get a “Lucky Hit”, or to sink a Destroyer, Frigate or Landing Craft.
It can maintain a fire rate of 5 Rounds Per Minute.
While the main gun is very powerful, it is somewhat of overkill for a standard MBT, or even a standard HBT. In response to this, designers added two 4.75 Inch (120mm) ECT Cannons. These were mounted lower than the Heavy Cannon, as they would not need to vary their pitch as much. They can fire a range of munitions, ranging from HE to KE penetrators. The set-up favoured by the designers was one barrel would fire a DU Penetrator, while the other would fire a HEAT round.
Due to the built up urban nature of the Redbridge area, the ability of the Supertank to fire Indirect Munitions was not forgotten. Addressing this is a huge bank of Medium Mortars. 39 Tubes are positioned on the top of the tank. 3 Inch (Actually 81mm) in diameter, they have a range of about 5 Miles, and a confusing rate of fire. Although a single 81mm Mortar tube is capable of firing 15 Rd’s per minute, if ground based, due to the large amount of tubes, and the type of Autoloader used, this ROF is not possible.
Instead, the Crew is faced with two options. Firstly, there is the sustained fire approach. Here, one Mortar Tube fires every two seconds. This can be sustained indefinitely, and is very useful where ammunition is not an issue, or suppressive firepower is needed. The Second option is known as the “Persona-kill” by the designers. Here, all 39 tubes fire a two shot burst over 3 seconds. This 78 shot burst can occur approximately once every minute.
This is not all that the Sloth offers.
Remembering that Redbridge’s long, straight roads, along with tall multi-storey buildings would, to a pilot seem to form “canyon’s”, the designers of the Sloth recognised that there was a risk from bold Fighters.
To address this, they added 15 VLS tubes to the tank. These are able to fire a range of munitions, although long/short range AA missiles are suggested. To supplement their AA ability, and as a last ditch defence, the Sloth also has 6 CIWS (1.2”/30 mm dual mounted Auto-cannon) mounted on the roof.
Anti-Personal Weaponry presented a special problem to the designers. While the Armour was virtually impervious to conventional weaponry, computer generated trials presented a worrying situation: Assuming that the infantry avoided the guns, they could scale the tank, and block vents, barrels, and, eventually, welds their way in.
While the Armour and the Crew Protection meant that welding would be a long process, it was nevertheless worrying. Although it was on the drawing board, the tank was already becoming “full”, and there was little room to house another turret.
In response to this the designers decided on a range of rather passive defence measures. They include, 1.6”/40mm Static Grenade Launchers mounted at certain points along the hull and ”Hot Touch” Surfaces, at points, which are obvious handholds. An electric current heats up the special surface to approximately 400 Degree’s Celsius.
Infantry Compliment:
As this was supposed to be a “Supertank”, it was decided that it was befitting that it have an infantry compliment. Exiting out of the side of the Tank, the Sloth can hold 15 fully “kited-out” men. When they are inside, they can use the 3 fire ports on either side of the tank, or the “Sniper-Pouch” on either side (preferably when the tank is stationary), for precision fire.
Armour:
As this is a superheavy tank, the designers decided it should have superheavy armour. The Tank uses a layered approach as follows:
~~~~~~
This layer of Hardened Steel Slat Armour forms the first layer. The function of this is to act pre-detonate RPG’s, and light Anti-Tank Munitions. Although the main armour can do this job, the Slat armour is useful as it prevents unneeded wear or deformation of the main plates.
Non-Explosive ERA: This is applied in the form of small blocks. It acts to dissipate some of the energy of HEAT rounds.
Layer of modified Dorchester follows next. This is a dense layer, and is the thickest. Providing immunity against everything, this layer is near enough impossible to break through using traditional MBT munitions. It is approximately xxx mm thick.
After this is a honeycomb matrix of ceramic and artificial Diamond is layered. Channels of the honeycomb are perpendicular to the direction of the armour. This provides a measure of rigidity to the Sloth, thus providing it protection against Heavy Artillery and KE attacks
After this is a Composite Spalling Liner. This is designed to stop shrapnel and fragments from the main armour, and also ensure small arms fired inside the tank do not cause harm to those outside.
This Armour pattern is found throughout the Tank, both on the inside and the out. While the main bulk of the plate is on the front, there are also sizeable amounts of it on the sides and the rear, although it is not as think, not is the angle of sloping as great.
There are also “Bulkheads” within the tank itself, around vital area’s, such as the Pebblebed Generator, and the Crew areas.
Power Generation:
Due to the Sloth’s huge size, conventioal methods of power generation were to be seen as inappropriate, as they would either be too large, or require unsuitably large amount of fuel reserves.
In response to this, the designers of the Sloth instead decided to install a small Pebblebed reactor in the hull of the tank. Capable of providing vast amounts of energy, this hulk is set within reinforced armour, to provide additional protection.
As well as this, the designers also added an auxiliary diesel engine to the rear of the craft, should the Reactor fail
Propulsion
Tied into power generation is the issue of propulsion. While the Nuclear Reactor is well suited for providing the vast amounts of energy required for the ECT Gun’s, its ill suited to allowing the sloth to move at high speeds.
The maximum speed for the sloth is 7Mph, although 5Mph is the standard cruising speed. Traction is provided via 10 tracks.
Using the auxiliary diesel engine, 2Mph can be achieved, although this is not recommended for long periods.
Electronics:
To be filled in at a later point
Stat Box:
(Northfordian Statistics: British Imperial [If you don’t like, it learn, learn it… or convert the units]
Crew: 12 (1 Primary Loader, 3 Secondary Loader, 2 Drivers [Primary/Secondary], Commander, 4 Gunners, Communications/ECM)
Length: 150 Yards
Width: 30 Yards
Height: 25 Yards
Ground Clearance: 30” (2’6”)
Mass: 86 823 (long UK) Tonnes
Propulsion: Primary: Pebblebed Reactor, Auxiliary: 3 (13.7 Litre) Gallon Diesel Engine
Range: Unlimited by Nuclear Fuel, 4 Days under NBC Conditions, due to consumables
Electronics & Communications: To be filled in on a later date
Armour: Northfordian SHT Matrix
RHA Thickness (Ignoring ERA and Sloping):
Front: 36 Inches
Rear: 12 Inches
Sides: 14 Inches
Weapons:
Primary:
One 22Inch Naval ECT Gun
Secondary Armaments:
Two 4.75 Inch Smoothbore Cannons
Thirty Nine 3” Mortar Tubes
15 VLS Tubes
Twenty 1.2” Grenade Launchers
Fifteen Firing Ports, with 3 fixed .303”’s on either side
Infantry Compliment:
15 Battle-Ready men
-Or-
5 Medic’s and Ambulance Facilities.
Projected Cost of Manufacture:
1.5 Billion Universal Standard Dollars
I'd really like to improve this, so if you want to comment feel free. If you want to accuse me of god-modding, thats also fine, although, I'd appreciate it if you made it constructive. Unlike some other designer(s), who I won't name, I'm not going to attempt to defend my design to the realms of stupidity ( I know there are people out there with a lot more know-how that me).... Instead I'm planning to modifiy it as nessasary.]
“Sloth” Class Super-Heavy Tank.
The STEEL PENIS OF DEATH.
Problem:
*Note: The Redbridge Complex in Northford is a large urban complex on the coast. It is our largest port/docks. Defence of Redbridge presents a particular problem, as the transport system is largly consisting of long, straight roads, about 15 lanes wide, and often many miles long. This came about when it was realised how easy it would be for a landing party to launch a group of light tanks from the docks, and, from following just one road, drive straight into the capital city
Following a recent review of the defence of the Red Bridge Complex in Northford, it was realised that the Armoured Division (The only Armoured Division in Northford, in fact) defending the Docks against Invasion was seriously lacking heavy fire support. While it had access to Howitzers, they lacked the penetration characteristics required to sink enemy naval assets, and would be relatively easy prey for bombardment by Battleship Guns.
The Northfordian defence review also took stock of the HBT and the MBT in service. These Tanks, while viable combatants against landed troops, lacked the Armour and Range to go “Toe-to-Toe” with Ships such as Cruisers and Destroyers.
In order to be able to strike Landing Craft effectively, as well as being able to threaten Naval Assets, the Commonwealth of Northford had to look for an alternative.
Although there were a number of other so called “Superheavies” on the market, these were deemed to be unsuitable, as either they were too expensive, lacked the correct armament, or did not have the ability to act as a de-facto troop carrier and Command Control Center. Also, while the Northfordian Government was focusing on naval priorities, it did not want to leave itself “undefended”. It is due to this requirement, that the present program of acquiring Ships was put on hold; PM Brooks even went so far as to say: “As much as I’d like to have a fleet of Battleships, they won’t do us a damm bit of good if can’t stop a bunch of landing craft”.
Proposed Design:
Armament:
In order for the Sloth to be able to fulfil its mission, it is provided with a large number of weapons. It’s primary weapons is a 22inch ECT Cannon, forward mounted. This was chosen as it has the ability to severely damage a Cruiser or a Light Battleship should it get a “Lucky Hit”, or to sink a Destroyer, Frigate or Landing Craft.
It can maintain a fire rate of 5 Rounds Per Minute.
While the main gun is very powerful, it is somewhat of overkill for a standard MBT, or even a standard HBT. In response to this, designers added two 4.75 Inch (120mm) ECT Cannons. These were mounted lower than the Heavy Cannon, as they would not need to vary their pitch as much. They can fire a range of munitions, ranging from HE to KE penetrators. The set-up favoured by the designers was one barrel would fire a DU Penetrator, while the other would fire a HEAT round.
Due to the built up urban nature of the Redbridge area, the ability of the Supertank to fire Indirect Munitions was not forgotten. Addressing this is a huge bank of Medium Mortars. 39 Tubes are positioned on the top of the tank. 3 Inch (Actually 81mm) in diameter, they have a range of about 5 Miles, and a confusing rate of fire. Although a single 81mm Mortar tube is capable of firing 15 Rd’s per minute, if ground based, due to the large amount of tubes, and the type of Autoloader used, this ROF is not possible.
Instead, the Crew is faced with two options. Firstly, there is the sustained fire approach. Here, one Mortar Tube fires every two seconds. This can be sustained indefinitely, and is very useful where ammunition is not an issue, or suppressive firepower is needed. The Second option is known as the “Persona-kill” by the designers. Here, all 39 tubes fire a two shot burst over 3 seconds. This 78 shot burst can occur approximately once every minute.
This is not all that the Sloth offers.
Remembering that Redbridge’s long, straight roads, along with tall multi-storey buildings would, to a pilot seem to form “canyon’s”, the designers of the Sloth recognised that there was a risk from bold Fighters.
To address this, they added 15 VLS tubes to the tank. These are able to fire a range of munitions, although long/short range AA missiles are suggested. To supplement their AA ability, and as a last ditch defence, the Sloth also has 6 CIWS (1.2”/30 mm dual mounted Auto-cannon) mounted on the roof.
Anti-Personal Weaponry presented a special problem to the designers. While the Armour was virtually impervious to conventional weaponry, computer generated trials presented a worrying situation: Assuming that the infantry avoided the guns, they could scale the tank, and block vents, barrels, and, eventually, welds their way in.
While the Armour and the Crew Protection meant that welding would be a long process, it was nevertheless worrying. Although it was on the drawing board, the tank was already becoming “full”, and there was little room to house another turret.
In response to this the designers decided on a range of rather passive defence measures. They include, 1.6”/40mm Static Grenade Launchers mounted at certain points along the hull and ”Hot Touch” Surfaces, at points, which are obvious handholds. An electric current heats up the special surface to approximately 400 Degree’s Celsius.
Infantry Compliment:
As this was supposed to be a “Supertank”, it was decided that it was befitting that it have an infantry compliment. Exiting out of the side of the Tank, the Sloth can hold 15 fully “kited-out” men. When they are inside, they can use the 3 fire ports on either side of the tank, or the “Sniper-Pouch” on either side (preferably when the tank is stationary), for precision fire.
Armour:
As this is a superheavy tank, the designers decided it should have superheavy armour. The Tank uses a layered approach as follows:
~~~~~~
This layer of Hardened Steel Slat Armour forms the first layer. The function of this is to act pre-detonate RPG’s, and light Anti-Tank Munitions. Although the main armour can do this job, the Slat armour is useful as it prevents unneeded wear or deformation of the main plates.
Non-Explosive ERA: This is applied in the form of small blocks. It acts to dissipate some of the energy of HEAT rounds.
Layer of modified Dorchester follows next. This is a dense layer, and is the thickest. Providing immunity against everything, this layer is near enough impossible to break through using traditional MBT munitions. It is approximately xxx mm thick.
After this is a honeycomb matrix of ceramic and artificial Diamond is layered. Channels of the honeycomb are perpendicular to the direction of the armour. This provides a measure of rigidity to the Sloth, thus providing it protection against Heavy Artillery and KE attacks
After this is a Composite Spalling Liner. This is designed to stop shrapnel and fragments from the main armour, and also ensure small arms fired inside the tank do not cause harm to those outside.
This Armour pattern is found throughout the Tank, both on the inside and the out. While the main bulk of the plate is on the front, there are also sizeable amounts of it on the sides and the rear, although it is not as think, not is the angle of sloping as great.
There are also “Bulkheads” within the tank itself, around vital area’s, such as the Pebblebed Generator, and the Crew areas.
Power Generation:
Due to the Sloth’s huge size, conventioal methods of power generation were to be seen as inappropriate, as they would either be too large, or require unsuitably large amount of fuel reserves.
In response to this, the designers of the Sloth instead decided to install a small Pebblebed reactor in the hull of the tank. Capable of providing vast amounts of energy, this hulk is set within reinforced armour, to provide additional protection.
As well as this, the designers also added an auxiliary diesel engine to the rear of the craft, should the Reactor fail
Propulsion
Tied into power generation is the issue of propulsion. While the Nuclear Reactor is well suited for providing the vast amounts of energy required for the ECT Gun’s, its ill suited to allowing the sloth to move at high speeds.
The maximum speed for the sloth is 7Mph, although 5Mph is the standard cruising speed. Traction is provided via 10 tracks.
Using the auxiliary diesel engine, 2Mph can be achieved, although this is not recommended for long periods.
Electronics:
To be filled in at a later point
Stat Box:
(Northfordian Statistics: British Imperial [If you don’t like, it learn, learn it… or convert the units]
Crew: 12 (1 Primary Loader, 3 Secondary Loader, 2 Drivers [Primary/Secondary], Commander, 4 Gunners, Communications/ECM)
Length: 150 Yards
Width: 30 Yards
Height: 25 Yards
Ground Clearance: 30” (2’6”)
Mass: 86 823 (long UK) Tonnes
Propulsion: Primary: Pebblebed Reactor, Auxiliary: 3 (13.7 Litre) Gallon Diesel Engine
Range: Unlimited by Nuclear Fuel, 4 Days under NBC Conditions, due to consumables
Electronics & Communications: To be filled in on a later date
Armour: Northfordian SHT Matrix
RHA Thickness (Ignoring ERA and Sloping):
Front: 36 Inches
Rear: 12 Inches
Sides: 14 Inches
Weapons:
Primary:
One 22Inch Naval ECT Gun
Secondary Armaments:
Two 4.75 Inch Smoothbore Cannons
Thirty Nine 3” Mortar Tubes
15 VLS Tubes
Twenty 1.2” Grenade Launchers
Fifteen Firing Ports, with 3 fixed .303”’s on either side
Infantry Compliment:
15 Battle-Ready men
-Or-
5 Medic’s and Ambulance Facilities.
Projected Cost of Manufacture:
1.5 Billion Universal Standard Dollars