Charger CGR-1A1-B
IS experimental
80 tons
BV: 575
Cost: 7,443,420 C-bills
First produced during the last decade of the reign of Hugai Kurita, the 1A1-B Charger was a particularly unique variant of the much maligned battlemech. Developed as a result of the neglect the depressed Coordinator Hugai was showing his military, the 1A1-B was intended to spare critical resources and more capable battlemechs through the counter intuitive solution of recklessly expending less critical machines. To this end, the 1A1-B was stripped of all equipment that could possibly be useful on another mech, but would not cripple the Charger's ability to move under its own power. Weapons were removed, the armor was stripped off and replaced with a thin skin of commercial plate. Sensors, life support, even the ejection system and some of the engine shielding was removed and replaced with an eight ton scuttling charge. In theory, this turned the much maligned charger into a devastating suicide machine.
Though nearly a hundred chargers were said to have been converted to this configuration, even with the fanaticism of the DCMS the mech saw action in only two engagements. The first was during the battle of Alexandria in 2953, when a lone Charger, piloted by a terminally ill pilot, was dispatched to take out the commanding officer of the 4th Skye Rangers. Using a nearby push by a Combine battalion as cover, the Charger was able to penetrate Lyran lines and reach the HQ lance undetected. The Lyrans, detecting no targeting or search sensors from the approaching machine, made the fatal mistake of assuming the mech was a friendly unit returning to the rear for repairs. Lyran sentries only issued a challenge once the Charger had come within thirty meters of the perimeter, at which point the Charger rushed forward and grappled the Lyran commander's Atlas before detonating his scuttling charge. The resulting explosion killed the commander and critically damaged the remaining mechs in his lance. Though this attack had only a minor affect on the ultimately futile campaign, the DCMS was encouraged enough to use the so called Suicide Charger again during the ninth battle for Hesperus II in 2957. In this case, of the lance of Suicide Chargers assigned to the operation, only one managed to do any significant damage.
Upon the ascension of Hohiro Kurita I, the Suicide Charger program was shelved, with all but a few restored to their original configuration. Reputedly, this last handful would be broken out of storage during the Clan War for the Battle of Luthien. Assigned to the "Omega Regiment" intended to serve as the last line of defense of the Imperial City, these mechs were thankfully not needed. Reports indicate that the last of these mechs was scrapped in 3053.
Design Quirks: Bad Reputation, Nonfunctional Item: Sensors, Nonfunctional Item: Life Support, Cooling System Flaw, No Ejection System.
Movement: 5/8
Engine: 400
BAR Rating: 5
Heat Sinks: 10
Gyro: Standard Gyro
Internal: 122
Armor: 108/247 Commercial
Internal Armor
--------------------------------------
Head 3 9
Center Torso 25 16
Center Torso (rear) 5
Right Torso 17 12
Right Torso (rear) 5
Left Torso 17 12
Left Torso (rear) 5
Right Arm 13 10
Left Arm 13 10
Right Leg 17 12
Left Leg 17 12
Equipment Loc
----------------------------------
Booby Trap CT
