The Rebel Faction

TNO - SS Blitz Panzer

Name: SS Blitz Panzer
Type: Main Battle Hover Tank (MBHT)

Crew: 6
Armor:
Main Front: 1 inch titanium alloy, 8 inches durasteel, 6 inches ablative
Main Sides: 1 inch titanium alloy, 4 inches durasteel, 4 inches ablative
Main Rear: 1 inch titanium alloy, 2 inches durasteel, 4 inches ablative
Main Top: 1 inch titanium alloy, 2 inches durasteel, 2 inches ablative
Main Bottom: 1 inch titanium alloy, 4 inches durasteel, 1 inch ablative
Turret Front: 1 inch titanium alloy, 4 inches durasteel, 4 inches ablative
Turret Sides: 1 inch titanium alloy, 4 inches durasteel, 2 inches ablative
Turret Rear: 1 inch titanium alloy, 3 inches durasteel, 2 inches ablative
Turret Top: 1 inch titanium alloy, 2 inches durasteel, 2 inches ablative
Speed: 80 km/hr max, efficient 60 km/hr
Height: 5 meters
Length: 15 meters
Width: 9 meters
Weapons:
Turret: 1 120mm cannon
1 repeating blaster cannon cannon coaxle
6 grenade launchers coaxle
1 anti-air repeating blaster cannon
Main: 2 blaster cannons
1 7.62mm machine slugthrower

Development History:
With the relative success of the Skorpion GAV on Bothuwai and Valinor, Colonel Wesley Vos decided to continue the development of his armored units. He, along with several of his armor commanders, developed the design of the Blitz Panzer and sent it off for production. During the first tests, the tank ran extremely slowly because the SS commanders, inexperienced at design, had added too much armor to the turret. The second prototype, carrying less armor and a 70mm cannon, lacked the penetrating power desired. It wasn't until the third version of the tank that Wes had what he was looking for. Limited production began, but the tank would not see actual service until after the conflicts at Generis and Ord Mantell had run their course.

Description:
The Blitz Panzer is designed to be a heavily armored vehicle that can charge straight into a fight, tear up the enemy, and come out alive. The main body of the tank is so heavily armored that it can take several torpedo and missile hits and still keep running, assuming those inside survived the blasts. Every surface except the two sides is sloped, making it difficult to achieve a direct hit from a ground-based weapon. The two blaster cannons are controlled by the second driver and are on swivels. Their field of fire is limited, however, as the armor is too thick to move them much. The same is not true of the 7.62 mm slugthrower controlled by the navigator. Its purpose is to eliminate enemy infantry, therefore its swivel creates a larger gap in the armor. The gap is still too small for any but the best marksmen to take advantage of, though.

Besides housing three of the six crew members, the main body also houses the sensor systems, the communications center, and the engines. The Blitz Panzer uses the same type of engines as in the Skorpion, though a more refined version, using a combination of hydrogen and electricity as power. Repulsors mounted on the bottom of the tank are angled to give the vehicle an impressive turning radius, allowing it to rotate in place if it is sitting still. The exhaust from the engines is vented through the gap between the turret and the main body, allowing the integrity of the hull to remain intact.

The turret houses the main weaponry of the Blitz, a 120mm cannon that can fire a variety of shells - solid, explosive, incindiary, flechette, and guided. The solid shells are generally used either for target practice or to demolish fortifications. They are simply large, formed chunks of durasteel designed to pierce other armored vehicles. Incindiary rounds are generally used as artillery shells. Upon impact, they explode, sending a burning napalm-like jelly in a forty-meter radius. Flechette rounds turn the cannon into a giant shotgun. The shell contains hundreds of metal particles that leave the cannon at an incredible speed. The flechette rounds are used to defend against infantry that are within 100 meters or as anti-air fire when the cannon is elevated. Guided shells have a small homing device in the front of the weapon. Used either against other armor or fighters, the shell requires that the radio operator achieve a lock onto the target and hold that lock until the cannon is fired. At that point, the guidance system in the shell takes over, guiding it to the target. When launched, small fins deploy that allow the shell to make small directional changes; however, the turn radius is not great, so if the target turns quickly enough and moves fast enough, the shell will miss.

The cannon itself has a fairly wide field of fire. Besides the 360 degrees offered by the turret itself, the cannon can depress to -5 degrees and elevate up to 75 degrees. The repeating blaster cannon elevates with it to provide extra anti-air fire if necessary. Also housed in the turret is a dedicated anti-air/anti-infantry repeating blaster cannon. It can send a wave of laser fire at attacking air vehicles or starfighters as well as depress to send infantry or light armor scrambling. However, this cannon is unprotected from the top, so a well-placed shot can eliminate the threat. Finally, the turret houses six grenade launchers that are able to fire smoke or explosive grenades, generally used for defense against infantry.

The turret's armor is not as heavy as that of the main body, but it is still fairly thick. The most vulnerable area is the top of the turret, as armor had to be shaved off to allow the tank to achieve the desired speed. The vehicle therefore counts on some sort of air cover to keep fighters from dedicating their entire arsenals to attacking it.


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