NationStates Jolt Archive

Katze-1A1 Main Battle Tank
Made by Knappe Automobilindustrien
http://img451.imageshack.us/img451/6814/katzecamolg1.png
Picture by Czechalrus, Camouflage by Illyan

Type: Main Battle Tank

Country of Origin: Commonwealth of Germantly

Main Operators: Commonwealth of Germantly (2,400), The First Reich of The PeoplesFreedom (1,000), The Golden Empire of Shakal (2,000) The Sovereign Socialist Nation of Mokastana (10)
=======================================

Specifications

Weight: 70.1 tonnes

Length: 8.3 m

Width: 3.8 m

Height: 2.9 m

Crew: 4

Armour: NERA, Titanium with reinforced Tungunsten Rods, Kevlar Anti-Spalling Layer
=======================================

Armament

Primary armament: 1 x 120 mm Kester Mannlicher 1 ETC Gun.

Secondary armament: 2 x 7.62 mm MG3 (1 Coaxil, 1 Remote Operated)
=======================================

Propulsion

Engine: KA TD 1488 Ka-336 12-cylinder diesel 2,100 HP

Suspension: Torsion-Bar

Operational range: 500 km

Speed 65 km/h

OCC:Good tank, but the armor would be ripped to shreds, and the gun should be upped to ETC, otherwise good.

OCC:Good tank, but the armor would be ripped to shreds, and the gun should be upped to ETC, otherwise good.

Thanks, what armor should I use? Could you recommend a main gun? Thank you.

Thanks, what armor should I use? Could you recommend a main gun? Thank you.

OCC: Try using a 130mm ETC gun, that should work well. Most NSers use NERA, followed by titanium with reinforced DU rods, and finally a Kevlar anti-Spalling layer. I'm no expert by any means, so wait for a second opinion.

OCC: Try using a 130mm ETC gun, that should work well. Most NSers use NERA, followed by titanium with reinforced DU rods, and finally a Kevlar anti-Spalling layer. I'm no expert by any means, so wait for a second opinion.

Cool, thanks for the advice.

Boycott ETC!!!

Boycott ETC!!!

OCC: Why?

OOC: Why?


[Because he doesn't understand how it works and would rather see that nobody use it. He can boycott it all he likes, but in 2004 the University of Minnesota tested a 120mm ETC gun on a combat vehicle with an entirely electric motor. It's MT and it's here to stay.]

[Because he doesn't understand how it works and would rather see that nobody use it. He can boycott it all he likes, but in 2004 the University of Minnesota tested a 120mm ETC gun on a combat vehicle with an entirely electric motor. It's MT and it's here to stay.]

OCC: That's what I thought...

No, that was an IC comment, don't presume to post what I do or do not understand.

No, that was an IC comment, don't presume to post what I do or do not understand.

OOC: So officials of the Phoenix Milita send out unmarked communiques to foreign governments that consist of more punctuation marks then actual words?

That's fair enough, if that's how you like it, but the fact that you do alternate between IC and OOC like you just did without any separating features between the two is certainly confusing.

Phoenix Milita citizens reply to publicly posted international incidents all the time, when the reply is obviously in response to an ooc comment there is not need to tag it as such

Okay, how is it now?

OCC: Try using a 130mm ETC gun, that should work well. Most NSers use NERA, followed by titanium with reinforced DU rods, and finally a Kevlar anti-Spalling layer. I'm no expert by any means, so wait for a second opinion.

[Use tungsten instead of DU. When its operating in a nuclear battlefield, neutron radiation will activate the DU through Bremsstrahlung and it gets real "hot" (yay for bad puns) in the crew compartment.]

Okay, how is it now?


Looks perfect if The PeoplesFreedom are going to be buying 10,000 of them

[Use tungsten instead of DU. When its operating in a nuclear battlefield, neutron radiation will activate the DU through Bremsstrahlung and it gets real "hot" (yay for bad puns) in the crew compartment.]

OCC: Like I said I'm no expert, so thanks:)

Okay, how is it now?

OCC: Looks good. Wouldn't hold up against the Bonham, but still a decent tank. :) For your next gen tank, I would look at the Bonham forwhat would be considered a top of the line tank. http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9770873&postcount=1

Phoenix Milita citizens reply to publicly posted international incidents all the time, when the reply is obviously in response to an ooc comment there is not need to tag it as such

OOC: Ah, so it was a citizen who made the remark. Fair enough, I simply got a little mixed up there - it wasn't indicated as such, so I hope my confusion was understandable. I apologize if I was a bit snippy.

Germantly, I apologize for all of my off topic posting in your thread. Personally, I think your tank looks alright, and would have been alright with a conventional cannon - not as powerful as it would be with an ETC gun, but decent enough I think, although I would have gone for a smoothbore over a rifled barrel if you were to stick with the conventional cannon. It's all moot point anyways though, since you went for the ETC gun.

My only suggestion might be to have Chobham armour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chobham_armour), perhaps with additional Explosive Reactive Armour as a nice, easy, simple and fairly effective armouring solution, but if you believe you have been suggested something superior, then I'd encourage you to go for it. To be honest, I'm not the best educated person regarding armoured vehicles, but I can refer you to the NS Draftroom (http://z13.invisionfree.com/The_NS_Draftroom/index.php?act=idx), where if you like, you can join a community of technically able NSers who might be able to offer additional input.

OCC: Looks good. Wouldn't hold up against the Bonham, but still a decent tank. :) For your next gen tank, I would look at the Bonham forwhat would be considered a top of the line tank. http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9770873&postcount=1

Thats a nice tank, but I prefer to use my own designs. I will look into it later.



OOC: Ah, so it was a citizen who made the remark. Fair enough, I simply got a little mixed up there - it wasn't indicated as such, so I hope my confusion was understandable. I apologize if I was a bit snippy.

Germantly, I apologize for all of my off topic posting in your thread. Personally, I think your tank looks alright, and would have been alright with a conventional cannon - not as powerful as it would be with an ETC gun, but decent enough I think, although I would have gone for a smoothbore over a rifled barrel if you were to stick with the conventional cannon. It's all moot point anyways though, since you went for the ETC gun.

My only suggestion might be to have Chobham armour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chobham_armour), perhaps with additional Explosive Reactive Armour as a nice, easy, simple and fairly effective armouring solution, but if you believe you have been suggested something superior, then I'd encourage you to go for it. To be honest, I'm not the best educated person regarding armoured vehicles, but I can refer you to the NS Draftroom (http://z13.invisionfree.com/The_NS_Draftroom/index.php?act=idx), where if you like, you can join a community of technically able NSers who might be able to offer additional input.

Thanks, I didn't use Chobham armor because I thought it was ineffective in NS.

Thats a nice tank, but I prefer to use my own designs. I will look into it later.





Thanks, I didn't use Chobham armor because I thought it was ineffective in NS.

OCC: No, no I understand. I love your design. I was just showing. :)

OCC: No, no I understand. I love your design. I was just showing. :)

Oh, okay. Thanks then.

Oh, okay. Thanks then.
Purchase Order, Army High Command

The Army would like to purchase 1,000 of your tanks for low-intensity, peacekeeping, and peacemaking conflicts.

Purchase Order, Army High Command

The Army would like to purchase 1,000 of your tanks for low-intensity, peacekeeping, and peacemaking conflicts.

Order Accepted and Received, your MBTs will arrive in 1 NS Week.

Order Accepted and Received, your MBTs will arrive in 1 NS Week.

State Department Communication
Thank you. We look forward to doing more business.

OCC: Do you want anything from us? Nukes? or what have you?

Thanks, I didn't use Chobham armor because I thought it was ineffective in NS.

OOC: It's what's used on the Challenger II, the Leopard 2, and the Abrams, so in any situation where those vehicles' armour would be ineffective, yes, the Katze-1A1, if it were equipped with Chobham armour, would also be armoured in an ineffective manner.

One thing we need to sort out here though, is how much you are looking to spend. The M1A1 Abrams using Chobham armour has a RL cost of less then 5 million USD (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m1-specs.htm), and can be had on NS for a similar price. The ST-29E1 SDV Zver (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=412894), which my nation uses, is equipped with armour superior to Chobham, but costs 10.2 million USD. The ST-37K1 Mekhev (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=434354) features even more impressive armour, but costs a staggering 38.5 million USD for general purchase.

There are better armours then Chobham to choose from, but Chobham with ERA is cheap and easy. Keep your nation's defense budget (http://nstracker.retrogade.com/index.php?nation=Germantly) in mind if you are designing this vehicle for your nation's own use, and try to figure out what kind of price range you are shooting for. If you are on a tight budget and want the tank equivalent of a Ford Fusion, then Chobham armour with ERA should do the trick. If you are willing to splurge and want the tank equivalent of a Mercedes Benz, then ofcourse, something more upscale is in order.

[OOC: LOL at TPF AND DC. You guys are WAY behind the times. The bonham is a piece of shite now, as is the ST-37 (SB said so himself, he's even got a pwn new tank in the works), I would have suggested you shoot for the Nakil1A1 that The Macabees produces, but since he shut down kriegzimmer you're out of luck, have fun with the newb tanks.

For your armor I suggest Chobham, replacing regular steel with maraging steel. Should give you a decent protection scheme, however, I'd up the wait to something like 72-74 tonnes to pack some more armor on this baby, also, at this weight, you could lower your HP to 2000, you shouldn't need more then that, as tanks generally don't have to accelerate really fast, and speed is more dependent on the transmission.]

You guys are WAY behind the times. The bonham is a piece of shite now, as is the ST-37

Goddamn it! The ST-37 is only from 2005, it's not that old, it's still good! :(

Zrrmm... I guess that 120mm ETC gun didn't age as well as I'd hoped.

For your armor I suggest Chobham, replacing regular steel with maraging steel.

Well, at least I was close enough to the mark on that one.

OCC: What's the better tank now? Is seems to me you can't get much more high-tech without wankery. Please point me in the right direction.

OOC: Well, as I said, the Nakil1A1 [Other then the Nakil 1A2, which only a few nations including me have] is the best tank around by far, but.... It's not for export any more.

DC: 120mm ETC are still your best choice, just length the barrel and expand the breech a big for high pressure/more room for expansion and you're still competeing, it's the armor.

DC: 120mm ETC are still your best choice, just length the barrel and expand the breech a big for high pressure/more room for expansion and you're still competeing, it's the armor.

OOC: So what kind of relative performance can I expect from the unmodified ST-29E1 SDV Zver (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=412894) of the 2005 vintage? How does it stack up on the modern battlefield to the lower/middle end tanks fielded today, and the higher end tanks like your own M160A2 Phoenix (http://z9.invisionfree.com/SilverSkyNationalArm/index.php?showtopic=1) - considering the age of the ST-29E1, is it going to be like riding a coffin into battle, or simply an older tank that's past its prime?

Thanks for all the help!

OCC: Do you want anything from us? Nukes? or what have you?

Yes Germantly would be pleased with nukes, but for how much?

Yes Germantly would be pleased with nukes, but for how much?

OCC: Telegram me, and do not sell weapons to Blackhelm.

The Shakal Empire wishes to purchase 2000 of these tanks for a total of
$100 000 000 000

OOC:Look at my defence budget. I never knew how big it was until I just checked.

The Shakal Empire wishes to purchase 2000 of these tanks for a total of
$100 000 000 000

OOC:Look at my defence budget. I never knew how big it was until I just checked.

Order Confirmed well receive in 1 NS week