Miles Cavalry Tank

[Baldur Mekorig]

This little tank is one of the products of the factory my character in an AToW campaign made almost by chance. Strange are the ways a good role-play can take you. Sorry for any orthographical HORROR, I had to translate it from Spanish. More tanks (and other units) to come.

Extract from Merced Monthly, April 3066

Miles Cavalry Tank

Mass: 50 Tons
Movement Type: Tracked
Planta Motriz: FBF 250 Fuel Cell
Cruising Speed: 54 kph
Flank Speed: 86 kph
Armor: FBF Lorica Ferrea w/"Kyrie Eleison" CASE (FBF) / StarSlab/6 w/CASE (PPL)
Armament:
             1 FBF “Pilum” Mk I (FBF) AC/10 / Pontiac 50 AC/10 (PPL)
             1 Harvester 2K SRM-2 Launcher
             2  FBF/MA “Special” Autogun Machine Gun (FBF) / SperryBrowning Machine Gun (Pinard)
Manufacturers: Fray Beltran Foundries, Pinard Protectorates Limited
   Primary Factories: Benevolentia (BFB), Perdition (PPL)
Communications System: Garret T10-B
Targeting & Tracking System: O/P 911

Overview

In an already saturated market for more than a century by the Vedette, originally made by NETC, and licensed to a great number of manufacturers, a small factory created in a world recently incorporated to the Marian Hegemony surprised users and manufacturers alike with a non-conventional idea about combat vehicle design. Thanks to a design team, surprisingly formed by alumni of the local university technical college, the idea of using Fuel Cell engines, common to a certain type of civilian vehicles, but extremely rare in combat vehicles, allowed the Miles to disembark by force in the already saturated market.

Capabilities

With a performance similar to the Vedette, the Fuel Cell Engine, although expensier than the I.C.E. engines, allowed the fitting of a Class 10 AutoCannon, the FBF "Pilum" Mk I (another local design), together with another machine gun and SRM-2 rack in the turret, almost tripling the firepower while maintaining the same speed, and the armor is increased, and thanks to the inclusion of CASE, improving the survivability of the crews in the case of a critical ammo explosion.

Deployment

Originally made for the front-line and provincial Marian Legions, and for a selected local market, a surprising agreement between Fray Beltran Foundries with Pinard Protectorate Limited allowed the licensing of the vehicle to the latter’s plant in Perdition, that expanded the model`s presence in the Taurian market and among mercenaries that tend to supply in the same market. The presence of Taurian units supporting their Capellan allies both in the St. Ives pacification as in the Chaos March worlds extended the model`s presence even to the Davion market. A recent agency agreement between FBF and Gineah Motors opened the Lyran market to the tank, and both side of the FedCom Civil War have been seen using it to bolster their armored cavalry units.

Variants

Although PPL and GM only offer the main model to the foreign markets (eve if there are rumors of the contrary in a near future), it is known that FBF produces some variants for the Hegemony. The Miles Probatus exchange the AC/10 for a Kali-Yama LB-10X imported from the Free Worlds League, which allows to upgrade the SRM-2 to a Shannon-Fore SRM-4 rack. This model represents one-fifth of Benevolentia`s production, and its usually assigned to vehicle maniple commanders. The next variant is the Miles Gregarius, which represent one-tenth of the local production, and is assigned to centuries commanders for obvious reasons. The automatic cannon, machine guns and SRM rack are replaced by a massive gauss rifle, with a vehicle grenade launcher in the front glacis for anti-infantry work. A cosmetic cover around the gauss cannon makes it looks like the conventional automatic cannon, and already more than a pirate band have received an ugly surprise, although the technicians are no so happy with the change, as the cosmetic cover hinder the maintenance and replacement of the cannon`s barrel. In lesser numbers some engineering variants have appeared, that reduce the autocannon caliber for bulldozers and mine clearing equipment, or replace it for a double SRM mount in the turret and two heavy bridge layers.

Notable Crews

Miles Probatus Johan Booysen

 In 3065 a pirate band with Vedette armor support attacked the main factory in Benevolentia, attack that was repelled successfully thanks to the participation of the local detachment of the Order of Paulinus, and in great part to the aggressivity and sacrifice of the Mile`s militia crews. The Miles Probatus Booysen and his crew got four confirmed Vedette kills, and in the pursuit of the retreating pirates, they become local celebrities when the Holovid of their tank repeatedly charging a pirate Po Heavy Tank, and then firing their AC/10 on the holes produced by the charge become public. In recognition for their effort, him and his crew were the first on receiving one of the first Miles Probatus by direct order of FBF owner.

Type: Miles MBT
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Movement Type: Tracked
Tonnage: 50
Battle Value:

Equipment                        Mass
Internal Structure                5
Engine:         250               15 
    Type:       Fuel Cell
    Cruising MP: 5
    Flank MP:     8
Heat Sinks:      1                0
Control Equipment:                2.5
Lift Equipment:                   0
Power Amplifier:                  0
Turret:                           1.5
Armor Factor:         128         8
                      Armor
                      Value
Front                  30
R/L Side              24/24
Read                   20
Turret                 30

Weapons and Ammo       Location    Tonnage
AC/10                   Turret       12
Ammo (AC) 20            Body          2
Machine Gun             Turret        .5
Machine Gun             Front         .5
Ammo (MG) 100           Body          .5
SRM-2         Turret        1
Ammo (SRM) 50      Body          1
CASE                    Body          .5

Miles Probatus
IS experimental
50 tons 
BV: 689
Cost: 1,754,000 C-bills

Movement: 5/8 (Tracked)
Engine: 250 Fuel Cell

Internal: 25
Armor: 128
                     Internal    Armor
--------------------------------------
Front                       5       30
Right                       5       24
Left                        5       24
Rear                        5       20
Turret                      5       30

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Machine Gun                     FR     0
LB 10-X AC                      TU     2
Machine Gun                     TU     0
SRM 4                           TU     3

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
Half Machine Gun Ammo           BD   100
LB 10-X AC Ammo                 BD    10
LB 10-X Cluster Ammo            BD    10
SRM 4 Ammo                      BD    25

Equipment                      Loc
----------------------------------
CASE                            BD

Miles Gregarius
IS experimental
50 tons 
BV: 928
Cost: 1,395,000 C-bills

Movement: 5/8 (Tracked)
Engine: 250 Fuel Cell

Internal: 25
Armor: 128
                     Internal    Armor
--------------------------------------
Front                       5       30
Right                       5       24
Left                        5       24
Rear                        5       20
Turret                      5       30

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Gauss Rifle                     TU     1
Vehicular Grenade Launcher      FR     1

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
Gauss Ammo                      BD     8
Gauss Ammo                      BD     8
VGL Fragmentation Grenade      None     1

Equipment                      Loc
----------------------------------
CASE                            BD

Miles (Dolabra)
IS experimental
50 tons 
BV: 629
Cost: 1,602,500 C-bills

Movement: 5/8 (Tracked)
Engine: 250 Fuel Cell

Internal: 25
Armor: 128
                     Internal    Armor
--------------------------------------
Front                       5       30
Right                       5       24
Left                        5       24
Rear                        5       20
Turret                      5       30

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
AC/5                            TU     1
Machine Gun                     TU     0

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
AC/5 Ammo                       BD    20
Half Machine Gun Ammo           BD   100

Equipment                      Loc
----------------------------------
Bulldozer                       FR
Mine Sweeper                    FR
CASE                            BD
Lift Hoist                      RR

Miles (Pontus)
IS experimental
50 tons 
BV: 581
Cost: 1,722,500 C-bills

Movement: 5/8 (Tracked)
Engine: 250 Fuel Cell

Internal: 25
Armor: 128
                     Internal    Armor
--------------------------------------
Front                       5       30
Right                       5       24
Left                        5       24
Rear                        5       20
Turret                      5       30

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
SRM 4                           TU     3
SRM 4                           TU     3
Machine Gun                     TU     0
Machine Gun                     FR     0

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
SRM 4 Ammo                      BD    25
Half Machine Gun Ammo           BD   100

Equipment                      Loc
----------------------------------
CASE                            BD
Heavy Bridge Layer              LS
Heavy Bridge Layer              RS

[worktroll]

Are the Probatus and Gregarius meant to be hovers, as shown in their stat boxes?

That aside, it's a very sensible tank design. Make sure the SRM-2s are loaded with Infernos O0

W.

[Baldur Mekorig]

Are the Probatus and Gregarius meant to be hovers, as shown in their stat boxes?

That aside, it's a very sensible tank design. Make sure the SRM-2s are loaded with Infernos O0

W.

Dont know by Meklab saved them as hovers...strange. They should be tracked like the main tank variant.

[worktroll]

I guessed as much :)

Purely a stylistic preference, but I'd make the Gregarius a tank destroyer - hull mounted GR, more armour. But that's me ;)

[Saint]

Great little tank, it would be great for t g e perphery market.

[Baldur Mekorig]

I guessed as much :)

Purely a stylistic preference, but I'd make the Gregarius a tank destroyer - hull mounted GR, more armour. But that's me ;)

 Was thinking in a AC/20 variant replacing the GR. And maybe, with enough campaign time (and in-game contacts) made the vehicle an omni. 17.5 tns of podspace and 15 tns of it in the turret seems right?

[worktroll]

My headspace, but I can't see the Marians aiming at omnitech. More cheap tanks! would be their style. But it's your campaign.

[Adacas]

Error

[Baldur Mekorig]

My headspace, but I can't see the Marians aiming at omnitech. More cheap tanks! would be their style. But it's your campaign.

 In the AU we are playing neither the MH nor the rest of the big peripheric states are poor. Sure, quantity is itself a kind of quality, but sometimes you want a more expensier toy for your armes forces. But so far the posibility of an omni variant is not even in my character's imagination. He is quite busy trying to survive Zorn's Keep.

[worktroll]

Fair enough. More power to your Legates, then O0

[Col Toda]

The hover tank version seems off . Their is a mandatory 20 percent engine weight so a 50 ton ICE tends to go 8/12 and a fuel cell 9/14: yes you can be a bit slower but most designs do 20 percent plus just enough to get the next movement point to avoid wasted tonnage .

[Baldur Mekorig]

The hovers were a bug by Meklab, those versions are supposed to be tracked.  :o

PD: Already modified it.

[Baldur Mekorig]

Extract from MerNet Monthly, April 3067

In the almost three years since the Miles hit the market, and after one years since we last published an article about the tank in this very magazine, this reliable tank have spread its use around almost all the Inner Sphere, with the exception of the Free Worlds League and the Magistracy of Canopus. This spread have originated a number of variants, made it easier by its simple design and strong structure. We must clarify that, while we will show only three variants in this article, multiple variants have popped up around the Sphere.

Miles (Buccina)

Called Buccina (trumpet) in an ironic way, this variant was created when the FBF technicians used a batch of Gregarius models that were weaponless because of a supply problem with the Marian-produced Gauss Rifles, and installed one of the FBF new "Spiculum" MK I AC/20 with three tons of ammo, leaving the vehicular grenade launcher. The trial-by-fire of this variant came very early, when one of the tanks doing live ammo testing meet by chance the scout lance of a raiding force going for the main FBF installation in Benevolentia. With communication cut short thanks to the enemy ECM, the roar of the took the attention of a nearby Legio Benetiana patrol unit, and when the last enemy Raven fell to the “Spiculum” precision ammo shoots, reinforcements could be called. Sadly, the original model fell under enemy fire when the raider reinforcements joined the battle, but both the crew and the battleroms could be saved thanks to the “Kyrie Eleison” CASE system, integral to all the premium FBF products.

Miles Buccina
IS experimental
50 tons 
BV: 807
Cost: 1,703,750 C-bills

Movement: 5/8 (Tracked)
Engine: 250 Fuel Cell

Internal: 25
Armor: 128
                     Internal    Armor
--------------------------------------
Front                       5       30
Right                       5       25
Left                        5       25
Rear                        5       20
Turret                      5       28

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Vehicular Grenade Launcher (F)  FR     1
AC/20                           TU     7

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
VGL Fragmentation Grenade      None     1
AC/20 Ammo                      BD     5
AC/20 Ammo                      BD     5
AC/20 Ammo                      BD     5

Equipment                      Loc
----------------------------------
CASE                            BD

Miles (Polybolos)

Sold in the Lyran Alliance by Gienah Combat Vehicles, the Miles leave a respectable impression in planetary militias as in the LCAF. Even that Defiance planned in just copying the design, but the corporate lawyer’s bureau recommended against it to avoid a lengthy judicial combat against Gienah. A compromise was reached when, trough GCV, Defiance engineers coordinate with their peers in FBF to adapt a short run of the Miles Probatus to house the Defiance`s recently acquired Mydron RAC/5. Strong security measures and exclusivity legal accords protected the intellectual property rights over the weapon. A battalion of the newly named Polybolos were send to Bolan to be tested by the local Jaegers and supervised by Defiance`s engineers.

Miles Polybolos
IS experimental
50 tons 
BV: 993
Cost: 1,806,500 C-bills

Movement: 5/8 (Tracked)
Engine: 250 Fuel Cell

Internal: 25
Armor: 128
                     Internal    Armor
--------------------------------------
Front                       5       30
Right                       5       25
Left                        5       25
Rear                        5       20
Turret                      5       28

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Machine Gun                     FR     0
Machine Gun                     TU     0
SRM 4                           TU     3
Rotary AC/5                     TU     1

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
Half Machine Gun Ammo           BD   100
SRM 4 Ammo                      BD    25
Rotary AC/5 Ammo                BD    20
Rotary AC/5 Ammo                BD    20
Rotary AC/5 Ammo                BD    20

Equipment                      Loc
----------------------------------
CASE                            BD

Miles (LRM)

The last variant of this prolific tank is not a factory variant like the other two, but a field refit. Thanks to Gienah selling campaign, and the taurian forces present in the Chaos March, and to the CASE that made salvage operation easier in case of ammunition explosion, the model became a popular one among the small merc units and proto-nations around the zone.
Many of these units do not have proper fire support units like the venerable Hunter tank or LRM carriers, so a version replacing all the weapons for two LRM/15 launchers with 3 tons of ammo appeared, only keeping a vehicle grenade launcher to discourage enemy infantry attacks. And as the saying tell, “Necessity knows no bounds”, and eve when the model have a low ammunition count, and the original O/P 911 targeting system have serious issues dealing with missile weapon systems, generating “ghosts”, this variant have become popular enough to generate rumors of a possible factory-variant in the future.

Miles LRM
IS experimental
50 tons 
BV: 916
Cost: 1,868,750 C-bills

Movement: 5/8 (Tracked)
Engine: 250 Fuel Cell

Internal: 25
Armor: 128
                     Internal    Armor
--------------------------------------
Front                       5       30
Right                       5       25
Left                        5       25
Rear                        5       20
Turret                      5       28

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
LRM 15                          TU     5
LRM 15                          TU     5
Vehicular Grenade Launcher      FR     1

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
LRM 15 Ammo                     BD     8
LRM 15 Ammo                     BD     8
LRM 15 Ammo                     BD     8
VGL Fragmentation Grenade      None     1

Equipment                      Loc
----------------------------------
CASE                            BD