’Mech of the Week: BZK-D* Hollander III
Hollander III. Third and (so far) last of the
Hollander series. At 35 tons, it returns to the weight of the originator. Slightly more capable than its forebears.
Though not by much…
The
Hollander III is profiled in the Davion section of Technical Readout: 3145.
In the sixty years since the arrival of the first
Hollander in 3054, the Inner Sphere has experienced many upheavals. Through it all, it appears the
Hollander has been popular with some House forces, and with mercenaries. The
Hollander II arrived in 3058, though its popularity is a bit hazier. In 3114, General Motors of Kathil offered a new BattleMech based on the
Hollander to the AFFS, who quickly snapped it up.
Built around the same BZK-III endo-steel skeleton as the original
Hollander, the
BZK-D1 Hollander III uses a GM 175-rated extralight engine, giving it ground speeds equivalent to its forebear. A supercharger gives the design momentary extra boosts of speed. A compact gyroscope saves some space. Six tons of laser reflective armor give the design 80% of maximum protection, laid out in a 9, 15/4, 12/3, 7, 12 pattern (head, center front/rear, side front/rear, arms, legs respectively). Ten double-strength heat sinks are more than adequate for the heat output. The lone weapon on this machine is a right torso-mounted Class-10 Ultra autocannon fed by three tons of ammunition placed in the center torso, which is protected by CASE II (which just might let the machine survive an ammo bin hit or two).
The
Hollander III was issued to commands in the Capellan and Periphery Marches. It is not noted why the Draconis March was left out, but maybe it was a matter of preference of those commands. Interest from the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces lead to the creation of the
BZK-D2 model in 3115. This model swaps the Class-10 autocannon, CASE II, and a ton of armor for a Gauss Rifle fed by three tons of ammunition. The armor is now configured in a 9, 12/3, 10/3, 5, 10 pattern.
When mercenary commands came calling, a final variant was created in 3118. The
BZK-D3 starts by upgrading the -D1’s engine to a 210-rated model, giving it normal ground speeds equivalent to the venerable
Firestarter, and short bursts equivalent to the
Spider. The autocannon is replaced by an extended-model Particle Cannon, two medium lasers and one small laser tied to a targeting computer. An Angel-class ECM suite rounds out the compliment.
Using one is a simple enough. All three have long-range weaponry, so get into position and shell your foes. The -D3 allows for easier mixing it up in-close, but I would only suggest doing so against other light foes. I’m not sure who exactly had the bright idea of using a company of
Hollander IIIs as an anvil without realizing they were outnumbered and outclassed, but that is not the way to go. The first two variants are extremely heat-efficient. The first can take two engine hits, Alpha Strike and run without overheating, and the second, well… could take the heat from three engine hits, if they didn’t immediately shut down. Use the supercharger to get into position, as well as get away after taking too many hits or running out of ammunition (or more likely with the first variant, jamming that gun).
Fighting one is also relatively simple. It’s a light BattleMech, and one that isn’t all that fast. So hitting him should be easier than, say, a
Locust. If you can force or trick him into overusing his supercharger, do so. And if he’s using the first variant, getting him to jam his weapon works too. (You would be surprised how overzealous some get in the heat of battle.) Heavy weapons, pulse weapons, and targeting computers help. On the subject of targeting, the center torso works best for the first and third variants (ammo in the first, engines in both), and the right torso in the second (the Gauss Rifle).
With the
Hollander III being used by the Feddies, the Lyrans, and mercenaries, they likely can be found across the Inner Sphere. I’m not sure if the Capellans would have taken any as salvage, based on how much disdain they seem to have. And when a realm is on the ropes like the Davions are, sometimes machines get thrown into battles they should not be in.
