’Mech of the Week: ANH-** Annihilator
The
Annihilator. One of the most peculiar designs that Wolf’s Dragoons reintroduced to the Inner Sphere. When they were first seen, they were odd, having less armor than a
Thunderbolt. Even ComStar was confused by them. There were records of the design from the Star League period. But no record of where they had been built. All wondered about the ghosts in this design’s past.
Then someone showed that past, and those ghosts turned out to be full-fledged oni from Jigoku.
The tale of the
Annihilator begins with it being conceived and designed in the final year of the Liberation of Terra. Unfortunately, in the events of the Liberation and the years leading up to the Exodus, it appears that the design never entered production. Even the SLDF-in-Exile didn’t start producing them until the last days before the Pentagon Civil War and the Second Exodus.
The old adage of balancing firepower, defense, and speed to best effect shows up in rather extreme form in the ANH-1X. Designed as an urban assault and defense ’Mech, speed was not a prime concern. This lead to the use of a 200-rated standard engine, giving it the iconic
Annihilator speed, equivalent to that of the
UrbanMech. On the other hand, offensive firepower and defensive protection
were. The original design mounts as much armor as an
Atlas. (Frankly, the only difference being one center torso point being on the rear, not the front of the
Annihilator.) Aside from the head, each front location can absorb two Gauss slugs, with the legs able to take four Class-10 autocannon shots, and the center three Gauss rounds. Each rear torso can take a PPC blast, and the center rear a Gauss shot.
As for firepower, the ANH-1X is built around four Class-10 LB-X autocannons, with six tons of ammunition feeding all of them. The CASEd side torsos help in case of a lucky crit, though it is possible to cascade three ammo bins at one time. Two centerline mediums, a head-mounted small, and another medium and small pulse in each arm supplement the main guns. Ten double heat sinks allow for some leeway, though a full Alpha while running will put you at seven heat.
After the Pentagon Campaign (more commonly known as Operation: Klondike), Clans Coyote and Star Adder took some of the lessons they learned and put them into practice in a model designated the ANH-1G. This variant stripped out all the weapons, and a half ton of armor (making it equivalent to the first
Berserker), and replaced them with three Gauss Rifles with two tons of ammunition for each gun, and a single ER PPC. Both variants soldiered on into the Golden Century, where they then became the subject of upgrades to Clan technology.
The first is the
Annihilator C, which uses the ANH-1X as a basis. It uses an endo-steel chassis, a 300-rated standard engine, which gives this model the same speed as that of the Atlas, and twelve double heat sinks. The autocannons have been replaced with four Ultra models, with two tons of ammunition for each. The lasers have been replaced with four extended range mediums. The downside to all of this upgrading is the removal of a lot of armor, leaving it with about a half ton more than a
Shogun. This allows it to sustain two Class-10 shots to any front location, with three to the legs, and four to the center torso. The rear torsos can take a medium pulse, with the center protected from two such shots.
The second Clantech model, the
Annihilator C 2, uses the ANH-1G as its basis. While using the same endo-steel chassis and armor set-up as the
C model, the engine is a 200-rated model, giving it the same speed as the original variants. There is a head-mounted small laser. The rest of the armament makes this model one of the most frightening things to ever stalk the battlefields. Four Gauss Rifles with ten tons of ammunition and a single ER PPC. That’s right, five headcappers. Eleven double heat sinks make the design nearly heat neutral.
The next model is the personal ride of one Bryan Kabrinski, and makes canon the previously apocryphal
Gausszilla design, which was created by one of the makers of the much maligned BattleTech cartoon. From the
C 2 model, the ER PPC, one heat sink, and two tons of ammunition were removed to install a
fifth Gauss Rifle. Well, and three and a half tons of armor. This reduces the armor protection to being able to only withstand two Class-10 autocannon blasts to the front locations (though the center torso is only one off taking three). The center rear can now only withstand one Class-10 blast itself. This is definitely a dueling machine, and while still frightening, I’d actually fear the
C 2 more.
Even as the design soldiered deep into the Golden Century, the advent of the OmniMech signaled the end of its usefulness to the Clans. Many ended up in Brian Caches, or scavenged for spare parts. That is, until the Dragoon Compromise. Having forgotten that the design had never seen service in the Inner Sphere, a number were taken out of storage and given downgrades.
The resulting ANH-1A is rightly called a bastardization in the Operation: Klondike book. First arriving in 3009, this model mounts an underwhelming 12.5 tons of armor, or 200 points. Each front location can withstand one Class-20 blast, with the rear torsos able to take a large laser, and the center rear a PPC shot. Four standard Class-10 autocannons, each with its own ton of ammo are the main armament. Four medium lasers provide close-in back-up. Eighteen single heat sinks allow you to fire six of the weapons without overheating.
Then came the Fourth Succession War. During the events covered by Operational Turning Points: Death to Mercenaries, a field refit variant termed the ANH-1E appeared. This variant replaces the autocannons with four PPCs. A full ton of armor was added which basically ends up being one or two points to most front locations, save the side torsos which got five each. And perhaps most importantly, forty-one single heat sinks. You can walk forward and continually fire the PPCs until you get to their minimums, and trade one for three of the medium lasers. Personally, I’d love to see an upgrade to this variant (or two).
With the rediscovery of Star League technologies, and the gift of Outreach to the Dragoons, the mercenaries started to produce upgraded versions of the -1A. Designated the ANH-2A, these machines swap the autocannons for LB-X models, add CASE to the side torsos, and replace the medium lasers with pulse models. One heat sink was sacrificed for the weight needed. This remained the main model known until the Jihad hit Outreach.
After the destruction of Outreach, those Dragoons who were rescued and brought to Arc Royal managed to bring with them a few copies of their technical data. Among those were the specs on the
Annihilator. Two new variants have since shown up in Dragoon and Exile service. A third has been seen in the prototype stage.
The first of the new variants is the ANH-3A, which is also the most armored of all the variants, as it carries the maximum in light ferro-fibrous. Armor placement is like the ANH-1X, with one extra point on each leg and the center rear. A compact gyro and compact engine are used as well. Four extended range mediums back up the eight Class-2 Light autocannons, all of which are tied into a targeting computer. Five tons of ammunition are allocated to the autocannons, all placed in the CASEd left torso. Twelve double heat sinks are used to moderate the heat output.
The other operational variant is the ANH-4A, which uses a compact gyro, but maintains the standard engine. The armor is now 14.5 tons, which gives a little more protection for the legs and chest. Two Class-10 LB-X autocannons are torso mounted, and two Class-2 Light autocannons are head and center torso mounted. One ton of Light-2 and two tons of LB-10 ammo is placed in each torso, which are without CASE. Rounding out the armament are twin Heavy PPCs, one in each arm. Fifteen double heat sinks help with the heat load, though both Heavies would use all of them.
The final variant to be seen (so far) is the experimental ANH-2AX model from Experimental Technical Readout: Mercenaries. First, it mounts as much armor as the ANH-1X model, though in this case the armor is Laser Reflective, which helps somewhat in energy-rich environments, but could prove dangerous when dealing with psychotic axe-wielding mad men. A compact engine and gyro were used to help with survivability. Ten single heat sinks are more than adequate for the heat load. Armament consists of twin Improved Heavy Gauss Rifles, one in each side torso. Each Rifle has four tons of ammunition, which is placed in the adjacent arms. The torsos are also CASEd. Finally, the life support systems, sensors, and cockpit have been armored to help the pilot survive (though since those only take effect upon breeching of the head, it might be a little late). Come to think of it, I believe the Improved Heavies still require a PSR check, so clumsy pilots should not be assigned to this one.
Using one of these machines is a bit simple. Only the
Annihilator C has moderate speed. Most of the variants are somewhat armor deficient (at least when compared to most assault-class machines). Frankly, one should start with using them in the role they were designed for: guarding cities and bases. Find a good firing point, and use it to bring Hell upon those who would try to take it from you. That said, good back-up should be found. Anyone that does get behind you can probably keep himself in your rear. So having little surprises like a
Demolisher or even an
UrbanMech would help. Also remember, that if you are defending a city, pavement does wonders for your movement problems.
Do watch your heat dial. Some of the models aren’t exactly heat efficient. But also remember that you are a big guy standing on a hill (or on a tower or in a pass). Hundred ton BattleMechs tend to attract fire like cats to catnip. Double so if you happen to be a machine recognized for having low armor values. So make use of cover, if you can. That said, if you are in a Clan match, with full honor rules, walking out into the middle of the field and going, “Bring It,” may not be a bad choice either. That is what made
Gausszilla such a mark in BattleTech history. (Though toting around five Gauss Rifles didn’t hurt.)
Fighting one of these is also simple. Stay out of range of those not using Gausses or ER PPCs, and pound the crap out of them. As for those carrying the aforementioned weapons, bring everything you got (including aerospace) and destroy them. Artillery is also good, since most
Annihilators don’t exactly have the movement to get out of the way. And if you happen to have eight artillery pieces…
(One for the hex he’s in, six for the hexes around that one, and one for the hex two hexes in front of him.)
Outside of that, bring something big, nasty, and able to take a beating, and just keep firing until one of you isn’t moving. Against that prototype monster, this means a TSM
Berserker, and hope that luck is on your side. If you can get next to one of those, follow the Eagles: Kick ’em when they’re up, Kick ’em when they’re down. Since Reflective hates melee, and hates hitting the floor…
Aside from that, if your opponent brings an entire company of
Annihilators, you may have only one recourse: Orbital Fire.
Seriously, the Dragoons beat the crap out of the Kuritans, and nearly wore out the Blakists at the beginning of the Jihad… I have to wonder if having a bunch of these guys didn’t help there.
