Someone posted a different tank design with the fuel cell powerplant and I decided to see what I could do with the same concept.
Stuart Medium Tank
Mass: 40 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Advanced Rules
Era: Succession Wars
Tech Rating/Era Availability: D/X-D-D-A
Production Year: 0
Cost: 1,063,183 C-Bills
Battle Value: 609
Power Plant: LongWayFC 160 Fuel Cell Engine
Cruise Speed: 43.2 km/h
Flanking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Armor: StarPlate 4 Standard Armor
Armament:
1 Dahlgren Type C Autocannon/10
1 Holly Derringer SRM-2
1 ChisComp 39 Small Laser
Manufacturer: Johnston Industries
Primary Factory: New Syrtis
Communications System: CommuTech VIC
Targeting and Tracking System: Johnston X-Band
Overview:
The origins of the Stuart Medium Tank lay in a concern for providing the
AFFS all-terrain combat vehicle support in hazardous environments or in the
near-vacuum of airless planets. The primary consideration for the design bid
was the use of a fuel-cell powerplant, which would provide the needed
air-independent capabilities. One of the only bids submitted came from
Johnston Industries, which has long supplied combat vehicles for the Federated
Suns. The new vehicle, while it lacked some of the endurance of a normal ICE
powered vehicle had the advantage of being able to operate just about anywhere.
The new vehicle became known as the Stuart, and gained a reputation for being
able to do just about anything anywhere at just about any time.
Capabilities:
The core of the Stuart tank is the LongWayFC 160 fuel-cell powerplant. The
new system is capable of operating in any environment as it carries its own
supply of oxidizer. With a full NBC seal, the medium tank is capable of
crossing deep rivers that would flood most other comparable tanks. While it
lacks the range or speed of more traditional power plants, the LongWayFC has
proven to be almost utterly dependable in combat conditions under just about
any conditions. The biggest defect in the design is the cramped crew
quarters; each crew member has an individual hatch as there is almost no
room to move around inside the vehicle once the tank is sealed up.
The primary weapon of the Stuart helps with the all-terrain capability of the
tank. The Dahlgren Type C autocannon uses a liquid propellant that includes
an oxidizer to enable the weapon to fire in the complete absence of an atmosphere.
While this makes the weapon harder to maintain in the field, the Dahlgren is
just as reliable as the rest of the vehicle. The support weapons are more
conventional for a tank, being a single Holly Derringer SRM launcher and a
ChisComp 39 small laser. The SRM launcher can be loaded with either regular
SRM missiles for engaging other combat vehicles or Inferno rounds for use
against light 'Mechs. The ChisComp laser is useful for defending against
infantry or unarmored vehicles.
The Johnston X-Band targeting system is a robust system designed to be
accurate at medium ranges, and can use the ChisComp laser as an additional
targeting system in a low-power mode. While this prevents the laser from
being used as a weapon when in this mode, it can easily be switched back to
full power at a moments notice.
Deployment:
The Stuart is not a common tank because of its relatively narrow use.
However, the tank has been proven to be a very tough and reliable vehicle
and able to traverse just about any terrain short of deep seas. Due to its
full environmental sealing, the tank is quite often called upon when a river
needs to be crossed as much as when armored combat vehicles are needed
in hostile environments.
Variants:
The Stuart has a couple of upgrades on the books. The first scraps the SRM
launcher to replace the Dahlgren autocannon with a Poland Main Model C gauss
rifle. This gives the tank a longer range and heavier punch while still
maintaining the all-environment capability of the Stuart. The other upgrade
involves replacing the Dahlgren Type C for the Dahlgren Type CE LB-type
autocannon with the same liquid propellant. The lighter weight allows the
missile launcher to be upgraded to the Federated SuperStreak SRM launcher and
an extra half-ton of armor.
================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard 20 points 4.00
Engine: Fuel-Cell Engine 160 7.50
Cruise MP: 4
Flank MP: 6
Heat Sinks: Single Heat Sink 1 0.00
Control Equipment: 2.00
Lift Equipment: 0.00
Power Amplifiers: 0.50
Turret: 1.50
Armor: Standard Armor AV - 128 8.00
Armor
Factor
Front 31
Left/Right 25/25
Turret 26
Rear 21
================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Spaces Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Autocannon/10 T 3 1 12.00
SRM-2 T 2 1 1.00
Small Laser T 1 1 0.50
@AC/10 (20) BD - 0 2.00
@SRM-2 (Inferno) (50) BD - 0 1.00
BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 4 Points: 6
4t 2 2 0 0 2 0 Structure: 2
Special Abilities: EE, TUR(2/2/0, AC 1/1/0), AC 1/1/0
