Author Topic: KW Self Propelled Gun  (Read 1277 times)

Liam's Ghost

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KW Self Propelled Gun
« on: 15 July 2017, 20:43:30 »
KW Self Propelled Gun
Code: [Select]
Mass: 30 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Advanced Rules
Era: Succession Wars
Tech Rating/Era Availability: D/X-C-C-A
Production Year: 3025
Cost: 432,250 C-Bills
Battle Value: 196

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A design with a murky history at best, the KW (altenately claimed to stand for Kanon Wagen, Kaiser Willhelm, Kruger Werks, or a dozen other options) self propelled gun has been popping up on worlds across the inner sphere since at least the late third succession war, and possibly much longer. The original designer is unknown (stories that tie it to a company in Terran Austria called the Kruger Werks have been confirmed an urban legend), and several different companies have claimed ownership over what they claim are the original plans, though none has been able to obtain enforceable exclusive rights for the design. The vehicle appears to be most common in Lyran and Free Worlds space, but even then that seems idicative of nothing (even despite the efforts of some to attach a German meaning to the name).

The KW itself is a lightweight, extremely basic self propelled gun, about as barebones as you could get and still qualify as an armored fighting vehicle. The small size, combined with the shear mass the artillery piece it carries, necessistates thin armor and limited mobility, though the pressence of a secondary machine gun for self defense is surprising considering the tight mass budget the KW has to work with. All of this makes the KW one of the cheapest ways to get a self propelled gun into the field, though buyers must also accept a degree of expendability in the process.

Despite the KW's inherent limitations, however, the advantages of its small size were also demonstrated during a pirate raid on the Lyran world of Strandfontein in 3026. Facing significant pirate mech forces on ground almost impassible to armored vehicles, the Strandfontein militia used heavy lift VTOLs to deploy a battery of KWs to a mountain redoubt they otherwise could never reach. While mountain infantry held off repeated mech attacks up the mountain, the artillery was able to shell the pirate landing zone virtually unchallenged, ultimately forcing the bandits to withdraw with significant losses. Thanks to the pressence of vactioning generals of the LCAF on the resort world at the time, the performance of these ad-hoc airborne guns inspired the formation of a number of similar units among LCAF airborn and jump infantry formations, which proved their worth during the blitzkrieg style warfare of the Fourth Succession War and War of 3039, but failed to catch on much with the more "traditional" commanders that began to dominate during the early reign of Katherine Steiner-Davion.

The Fedcom civil war and the Jihad that followed was nonetheless something of a golden age for the KW, as it could be produced cheaply and quickly to replace the staggering losses sustained in the brutal fighting. Battlefield innovations even saw the airborne tactics first developed on Strandfontein re-emerge to great effect. Surviving the peace was another matter, however, as the KW quickly went the way of Retrotech, a wartime measure unnecessary for peacetime operations. Thousands of KWs were scrapped in subsequent years, with surviving examples gradually filtering out to militias and periphery forces on the fringes of the Inner Sphere.

Following the Blackout, the KW appears to be making a comeback, as wars and rumors of wars left worlds and states clamoring for stronger defenses. In the face of all the advanced technology floating around the inner sphere, however, the humble KW will likely struggle to compete.

Variants:

There are many, many different flavors of KW to be found due to the wide variety of manufacturers that have constructed them over the years, though the basic design is largely identical from manufacturer to manufacturer. There are only two significant variants. The first, appearing early during the clan war, replaces the artillery piece with an arrow missile battery. Ammo for this launcher is painfully limited, meaning it saw its best use as a precision strike platform using guided munitions rather than a general bombardment system. The second variant is a Jihad era design traced back to the Capellan Confederation, which replaced the artillery piece with a larger bore snubcannon. The need to close within an enemy's weapon range greatly reduced the lifespan of the KW, but it still proved excellent for clearing out stubborn Blakist and Manei Domini infantry formations.

Code: [Select]
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      12 points                3.00
Engine:             I.C.E. Engine                 90                       6.00
    Cruise MP:  3
    Flank MP:   5
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             0                         0.00
Control Equipment:                                                         1.50
Lift Equipment:                                                            0.00
Armor:              Standard Armor               AV -  40                  2.50

                                                      Armor     
                                                      Factor     
                                               Front     12       
                                          Left/Right   10/10       
                                                Rear     8         

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat     Spaces     Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thumper                                      FR        6         1        15.00
Machine Gun                                  FR        0         1         0.50
@Thumper (20)                                BD        -         0         1.00
@MG (1/2) (100)                              BD        -         0         0.50

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      1    Points: 2
3t         2       0       0       0      1     0   Structure:  1
Special Abilities: ARTT, EE
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Daryk

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Re: KW Self Propelled Gun
« Reply #1 on: 15 July 2017, 20:50:53 »
Nicely done!  All it needs now is the "Fast Reload" quirk...

Liam's Ghost

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Re: KW Self Propelled Gun
« Reply #2 on: 17 July 2017, 00:41:16 »
Nicely done!  All it needs now is the "Fast Reload" quirk...

I thought about it, though the wide variety of manufacturers makes nailing down a specific quirk list unlikely.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Daryk

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Re: KW Self Propelled Gun
« Reply #3 on: 17 July 2017, 03:08:57 »
That makes sense.

On a separate note, once fuel cells come around, it might be possible to shrink it down to 25 tons.