Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on Dec 2, 2005 16:17:31 GMT -5
Source: Technical Readout 3026
Mass: 50 tons
Movement Type: Hover
Power Plant: Jones 165
Cruising Speed: 76 kph
Flank Speed: 119 kph
Armor: Star Slab/9.5 Mk II
Armament:
3 Defiance B3M Medium Lasers
1 SureFire MiniGun
1 GM Whirlwind Autocannon
Manufacturer: Red Devil Industries
Communications System: TharHes Kr-A P/comm
Targeting and Tracking System: TharHes Mars-1
Overview:
The Condor is one of the few heavy hover tanks available. Although expensive to buy and to maintain, this immense hovercraft is capable of moving as fast as the speediest 'Mech. Despite the cost, the Condor is used by armies throughout the Inner Sphere.
Many standing armies use the Condor as a main attack vehicle for reserve and garrison units. Amazing speed and formidable weaponry make this heavy hover tank an excellent combat machine.
Capabilities:
With a flank speed of 119 kph and a cruising speed of 76 kph, the Condor is fast, even for a hover tank. Most commanders exploit its speed in combat situations. Although equipped with fairly heavy weaponry, the Condor usually moves while firing, rather than standing and fighting like tracked or wheeled tanks of similar size.
Red Devil Industries acquired the Defiance B3M medium lasers for the Condor in a unique manner. Defiance initially refused Red Devil’s request for a license to manufacture the B3M, offering instead to supply them with B3Ms at the going market rate. To avoid paying full price for the weapons or engaging in a costly R& D effort to design a new laser, Red Devil decided to offer a bounty for used or slightly damaged lasers, which they overhauled and then mounted in their Condors.
The bounty program had one unexpected side effect, however. ‘Mechs and vehicles known to be armed with the B3M (such as the Zeus) began to draw more than their fair share of attacks during battles and, consequently, suffered more damage. Among troopers, the machines soon acquired the reputation of being death traps. Alarmed that this would reflect on their own good name, Defiance finally relented and allowed Red Devil to manufacture the B3M under license.
The procurement of the Condor’s secondary weaponry proceeded along more traditional lines. The Whirlwind Autocannon was added as a long-range weapon system. The SureFire MiniGun is mounted as an anti-personnel weapon. Both weapons systems have proven to be both effective and reliable.
Deployment:
One of the most impressive uses of Condors occurred in 2978 during the Steiner counteroffensive on Loric. The 3rd Battalion of the 34th Provisional Dixie Armored Regiment was assigned to support the advance of the 12th Star Guards. The Star Guards’ mission was to break through the Marik forces guarding Digger’s Pass in order to relieve elements of the Eridani Light Horse, who had dropped into the Marik rear areas. For four months, the Marik forces held the pass, repulsing all assaults. When the Steiner forces finally managed to achieve a narrow breakthrough, the 3rd Battalion sped forward in their Condors.
The 3rd Battalion advanced ten kilometers before meeting resistance from Marik reserve units. The Marik forces were dug in behind the Duren River and had just completed destroying its only bridge. Not fordable by ‘Mechs, the Duren was to serve as the Marik forces’ final line of defense. After speeding across the surface of the swiftly flowing river, the Condors engaged and destroyed the still-unorganized Marik forces, but found themselves cut off from the rest of the Steiner army by the river. Instead of withdrawing back to Steiner lines, the commander of the 3rd decided to establish a bridgehead on his side of the river while the engineers were constructing a new bridge.
The Marik forces counter-attacked continuously, which put the engineers under the constant constraint of air and artillery bombardment. In the end, however, the 3rd Battalion used the Condor’s high speed to quickly concentrate and crush any attack on the bridgehead. By the end of three days, the Steiner engineers had succeeded in putting up a: bridge heavy enough that the ‘Mechs of the 12th Star Guards could advance across to relieve the Eridani Light Horse.
Type: Condor Heavy Hover Tank
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure: 5
Engine: 165 12
Type: I.C.E.
Cruising MP: 7
Flank MP: 11
Heat Sinks: 9 9
Control Equipment: 2.5
Lift Equipment: 5
Power Amplifier: .3
Turret: 1.2
Armor Factor: 96 6
Armor
Value
Front 30
R/L Side 15/15
Rear 14
Turret 22
Weapons and Ammo Location Tonnage
Medium Laser Turret 1
Medium Laser Turret 1
Medium Laser Turret 1
AC/5 Turret 8
Machine Gun Front .5
Ammo (MG) 100 Body .5
Ammo (AC) 20 Body 1