From TRO:3025RIn the mid-2660’s, Wells Technologies of Luthien decided to fill a need in the BattleMech forces of the Star League Defense: that of an ultra-heavy scout. To meet this apparent hole in the SLDF’s formations, they submitted plans for what would come to be called the
Charger, and a new chapter in the history of BattleMech design would be written.
That chapter could rather graciously be called “failure.” At least at first.
The CGR-1A1
Charger is an 80-ton ‘Mech, placing it at the low of the assault spectrum. However, to fill its role as a scout, the
Charger had to be powered by the largest fusion engine available at the time, the LTV 400. This gave the -1A1 a top speed of 87 kph, an impressive feat for a machine its size. However, the enormous mass of the reactor – more than fifty tons, well over half of the design’s total mass – left little enough room for weapons and armor. Ten tons of Durallex Heavy standard plate sheathe the ‘Mech, laid out 9/25(6)/20(5)/15/20 (H/CT(R)/ST(R)/A/L). While light for an assault ‘Mech, it is not unusually so, sharing the same armor tonnage with the standard variant of the
Cyclops. Where the CGR-1A1 really falls flat, however, is in the armament department. A paltry five small lasers comprise the drum total of the design’s firepower.
The
Charger served a relatively brief career as a heavy scout in the SLDF, lasting only as long as it took commanders to realize that they had been sold a lemon. The
Charger, while faster than the heavy and assault ‘Mechs that it was scouting for, was still slower – excessively so, in some cases – than more traditional reconnaissance ‘Mechs like the
Locust or
Wasp. It also carried little more in the way of weaponry than most and indeed was actually undergunned compared to some medium-class striker ‘Mechs that it commonly encountered. The
Charger was subsequently pulled from front-line service, the design relegated to militia duty or else sold off to the House Lords, who employed them in much the same manner. Wells Technologies, having thought they had a real winner on their hands, had built hundreds more CGR-1A1s when the Star League cancelled the contract, and so had to sit on their inventory because few other customers wanted to purchase the ‘Mech.
The Succession Wars would give a new lease on life to the
Charger. The devastation of the early decades meant that every BattleMech possible was needed on the frontlines, so the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery eagerly snapped up Wells’ stockpile of CGR-1A1s. Luthien Armor Works likewise bought out Wells, taking over the Luthien factory that produced the
Charger and putting the ‘Mech back into low-grade production. Despite being back in front-line service, the
Charger’s poor design meant that it was never a well-received assignment, and although the design had been spread to every corner of the Inner Sphere, the majority of the ‘Mechs were in the service of House Kurita.
The run-up to the Fourth Succession War would once again give the
Charger a new chance to stand in the spotlight. As part of the Concord of Kapteyn, the counter-alliance of the Free Worlds League, Capellan Confederation, and Draconis Combine against the Federated-Commonwealth juggernaut, House Kurita promised to supply House Liao with excess BattleMechs to bolster its new ally. While some of these were CGR-1A1s, the Capellans also ordered a modified version looking to increase the ‘Mech’s firepower. This first variant, the CGR-1L, entered service in 3022 and pulled all five small lasers and replaced them with one large and two medium lasers. However, to achieve this weapons fit, the engineers also had to pull four and a half tons of armor – just shy of half of its protection – resulting in a new armor scheme of 8/10(6)/9(5)/7/11. The engine remained unchanged, making the CGR-1L a poor imitation of the WVR-6M
Wolverine, albeit one a third again as large and grossly under-armored. Horrendously short of assault ‘Mechs, this was considered to be a “good enough” design for the CCAF.
However, “good enough” didn’t quite cut it, so Capellan engineers continued to tinker and soon hit upon the one change that would allow the
Charger to come into its own. That change? Down-grade the engine. The first result of such a change was the CGR-1A5, which entered service in 3023. Swapping the 400-rated reactor for a 320-rated one resulted in a decreased running speed of 46 kph, but freed up plenty of room to upgrade the
Charger’s arms and armor. The new
Charger slapped on an extra five tons of armor plate, bringing total protection to fifteen tons, comparable to that layered on the AWS-8Q
Awesome, laid out in a 9/39/10/26/8/24/33 pattern. However, the really impressive change came in the
Chargers’ firepower. Four of the five small lasers were pulled, and the entirety of the new ‘Mech’s excess mass given over to mounting a blistering array of close-range weaponry. An AC/20 in the right torso provided the main punch, and was supported by paired SRM-6 launchers in the left torso. A single medium laser was slotted into the center torso. This made the CGR-1A5 a nasty customer for any enemy to face, and the -1A5 gave sterling service against the Davion hordes during the Fourth Succession War, but it alone was not enough to stave off disaster.
Soon thereafter, another variant of the
Charger was created that hit upon the same paradigm of “swapping the engine” to redeem the design. This new variant, dubbed the CGR-SB and often referred to as a
Challenger in mercenary service (a call out to an ancient pairing of Terran-produced muscle cars), traded down to a mere 240-rated reactor. This slowed the ‘Mech’s running pace to a mere 54 kph, but opened up
ever more room for extra equipment than the -1A5’s engine swap. The CGR-SB – named after Stuart Bell, the mercenary technician credited with the design – entered service in 3025 and once again pulls all of the basic model’s small lasers. In their place, it mounts four large lasers (one in each arm and side torso) and one medium laser, fitted in in the head. This blistering array is countered by twenty-eight heat sinks, which can sometimes struggle to keep the ‘Mech cool during a full alpha strike. Armor protection on the –SB is again a decent 15.5 tons, distributed 9/40/10/24/10/26/34. The CGR-SB turned the
Charger into a strange simulacrum of the AWS-8Q, and it soon spread from mercenary service to the Lyran Commonwealth (and from there to the Federated Suns).
Seeing the success of the CGR-1A5 and –SB during the Fourth Succession War, House Kurita finally decided to get into the variation game and began experimenting with a few modifications of its own. The first to see service was the CGR-1A9, seeing production by LAW in 3034. LAW engineers also made the engine switch to a 320 reactor, but left its armor at the -1A1 standard. This left plenty of mass for new gear, which the Dracs filled with an LRM-20 with two tons of ammunition, backed up by four medium lasers and one head-mounted small laser. This made the design a well-rounded heavy trooper, able to strike at long range and still brawl if necessary. The LAW engineers felt bad about stripping away the
Charger’s immense speed, however, so they also gave the -1A9 four jump jets to restore some measure of agility. This
Charger was also developed in secret, so it came as quite a shock to Steiner and Davion forces invading the Combine in the War of 3039, especially so when it was fielded alongside the refurbished Star League BattleMechs provided by ComStar.
The next version to enter service was the CGR-3K, and it was the first
Charger to use lostech. Entering service in 3049, the -3K is an upgrade of the -1A9. The 400-rated reactor is back, only now it is an extralight version. The LRM-20 and its two tons of ammunition remain, but now they’re attached to an Artemis IV FCS to plant more missiles on-target. The small laser is gone, but the four medium lasers have been upgraded to pulse versions. The armor layout is the same, however, as is the jump capacity. These upgrades convert the “sniper the speed” -1A9 into a “heavy skirmisher with token ranged capacity.” The CGR-3K would receive a further enhancement in 3052, pulling one of the pulse lasers for a C3 slave unit and extra LRM munitions. This variant, the CGR-C, like its -3K predecessor was specific to the Combine for the entirety of its service life, well into the Republic era.
The -3K and –C were the only lostech-equipped variants of the
Charger for over a decade. With the FedCom Civil War kicking off and a glut of new technologies reaching the battlefield, House Kurita once again took to tinkering with the
Charger. This new variant, the CGR-SA5, went into initial production in 3063 and in many ways is the spiritual successor of the -1A5. It mounts a 320-rated light engine producing a maximum speed of 64 kph, but also has MASC fitted to give brief bursts of speed up to 58 kph. The chassis was replaced with an endo-steel alternative to free up a little more mass. The weapons fit is a more advanced version of the CGR-1A5’s load out, with an LB-20X autocannon in the center torso providing the primary knock-out punch. This main gun is backed up by paired Streak SRM-6 racks in the left arm and a trio of extended range medium lasers in torso and head mounts. This ‘Mech maintains the now-popular 15.5 ton armor sheathe, but slightly rearranges it to a 9/40/10/27/7/26/34 layout to pull a little from the rear torso to the front.
A year later, the CGR-2A2 entered service with several Periphery nations, most notably Canopus and the Marian Hegemony. In many ways, the -2A2 is a step backwards technologically, as it uses the original CGR-1A1 as the base chassis for conversion. It maintains the -1A1’s 52.5 ton reactor and the conversant top speed, as well as a paltry ten single heat sinks and just nine tons of regular plate armor in a 9/26/6/20/5/15/20 pattern. The weaponry consists of a single medium laser and a total of five rocket launcher 10-racks spread across the arms and torsos. The -2A2’s paltry armament and armor are not considered drawbacks even in the generally tech-strapped Periphery, however, since this variant is designed to be a heavy scout just like the -1A1. The weaponry is just enough to cause an opponent trouble while evading opposing reconnaissance elements.
Like the Civil War and the Clan Invasion before it, the Word of Blake Jihad brought new technologies with the new levels of devastation being unleashed. Some of these technologies would find their way to the
Charger in the form of the CGR-KMZ. “KMZ” – short for kamikaze, the “divine wind” that was personified by the suicide runs of Japanese pilots in the Second World War – was actually produced at the LAW secondary facility on Shimonita, a facility that would be purchased by the
yakuza and begin ‘Mech production under the title Sapphire Metals. The CGR-KMZ is the first
Charger variant to carry a close combat weapon, and of course in the grandest tradition of the Draconis Combine this weapon is a sword. Providing ranged punch is one heavy and two light particle cannons backed by a 9-rack Multiple Missile Launcher with an obligatory two tons of ammunition. Once again, the engine is a 320-rated reactor – this one an extralight for the weight savings – packing twelve double-strength freezers. Eleven tons of light ferro-fibrous cladding, arranged 9/27/8/24/817/22 provide slightly substandard protection for an assault ‘Mech of the era, but additional defense comes in the form of increased target movement modifiers thanks to the application of six improved jump jets. The CGR-KMZ follows in the tradition of the -1A5 and –SA5 as a dedicated close-assault specialist.
While Sapphire Metals was producing the “kamikaze” model for the Ghost Regiments fighting the Word of Blake, LAW decided to use the CGR- chassis as a testbed for various advanced technologies still in the development phase. This tech demonstrator, the CGR-1X1, was built in 3071 and was primarily concerned with pushing the
Charger’s speed as high as possible. Built around a standard skeleton but mounting a 400-rated XL engine, the -1X1 also mounted MASC
and an experimental supercharger. This pushed the
Charger’s maximum ground speed to an astounding 140 kph (or 13 hexes in game terms). The armor is no longer anemic for an assault ‘Mech, consisting of twelve tons of heavy ferro-fibrous weave arranged 9/30/20/20/14/26/34. The massive speed boost and the concentration of armor on the legs and rear torsos really pushes the idea that this experimental variant is primarily a reconnaissance platform. When it comes to firepower, the -1X1 mounts a limited array of offensive weapons. The star of the show is a by-now-standard ER large laser in the chest, backed up by a medium x-pulse laser in the right torso. Protection is slightly enhanced by the addition of two laser anti-missile systems, one in each side torso, and a chaff pod mounted on the left side. Reinforcing the reconnaissance and special warfare aspect of the design is a comprehensive electronics suite consisting of a TAG laser in the head, a boosted C3 slave, a Bloodhound active probe, and an Angel ECM. The CGR-1X1 is the kind of recce machine that the CGR-1A1 always wanted to be!
The final production model of the
Charger, entering service with the Combine and the Rasalhague KungsArme (pre-Ghost Bear amalgamation) in 3078 was the CGR-3Kr. Despite its designation, the -3Kr isn’t a development of the -3K. Instead, it has more in common with the –KMZ. The standard chassis is retained and the 400 XL engine has reared its ugly head once again, although this time the ‘Mech’s speed can be boosted thanks to the application of triple strength myomers (providing a top speed of 96 kph). Jump jets were also included, one of the few similarities with the CGR-3K. Protection is twelve and half tons of light ferro-weave, arranged 9/33/8/27/7/20/27 (and thankfully abandoning the alarming protective scheme of the -1X1). The question of parentage is apparent in the warload, most notably the ferro-titanium sword carried in the ‘Mech’s right hand. The primary ranged weapons also point to the –KMZ as the developing variant, with one each light and snub-nosed PPCs mounted opposite the sword. Providing an amount of fine-tuning on the heat scale to hit the proper temperatures to activate the TSM (not difficult given the machine is cooled by only ten double heat sinks), the -3Kr mounts two ER medium lasers, one standard medium laser, one ER small laser, and one standard small laser. All these energy weapons also benefit from a targeting computer to improve accuracy. This variant is most certainly designed for the sole purpose of closing with the enemy, dumping a fusillade of energy fire into the opposite, and then sealing the deal with a TSM-powered sword strike.
HOW TO FIGHT WITH A CHARGERWhen piloting a
Charger, of course your tactics depend largely on which variant you’re fielding. That being said, the majority of
Charger variants are designed to get up close and personal. All of the fastest versions tend to sacrifice armaments
and armor for speed, but they’re still 80 ton ‘Mechs so they can deliver some pretty serious punishment in the Physical Attack Phase. The only real mid- and long-range fighters in the group are the CGR-SB, -1A9, and -3K. All the rest want to get in the enemy’s face.
HOW TO FIGHT AGAINST A CHARGERIf you find yourself facing a
Charger, you need to try to keep it at arm’s length. Even the ones with long-range weapons possess only token firepower for their weight class. The -1A1 is really cheap in BV for its size so it can be crammed into various types of lances to provide a distraction, and I cannot stress enough that a clever player is barely going to stop to fire those small lasers: physical attacks are the bread and butter of the -1A1 as well as the –KMZ and -3Kr, so you need to concentrate fire, keep moving to maintain distance, and put as much terrain between you and the
Charger as possible to slow it down and give you more time to chew through its (normally) unimpressive armor. They all want to be in close, so kill them at range if at all possible. Also, while several of the missile-carrying variants do mount CASE, they also uniformly mount extralight engines, so gunning for the ammo-toting side torsos is never a bad idea.
