'mech destroyer

[greatsarcasmo]

The tank destroyer thread got me thinking...

The M18 Hellcat was an American Tank Destroyer of World War Two that was designed specifically to be a Tank Destroyerand not modified from a preexisting design. Unlike most other nations Tank Destroyers, The US Army's designs placed the gun in an open turret rather than a fixed casement.  The Hellcat also swapped armor for speed, and when properally used was quite effective. However, like most Tank Destroyers it suffered when used as a general purpose tank and not a specially designed tank hunter.

The below Hellcat also swapped speed for armor (though it has quite a bit) and as a hovercraft suffers pretty badly from motive crits. That being said, the Plasma Rifle is a solid weapon with a twofold attack against 'mechs.  It's also murder on other tanks and infantry if needed. Ideally the Hellcat would operate in packs of two or more. In open terrain it would move at flank speed and zoom around the battlefield. the 20 shots of ammo allow it to take somewhat tricky shots without fear of running the bins dry.

In a more built up environment it would hide until the last minute to fire and then scoot like hell back to another postion.

Code: (Hellcat) [Select]

Hellcat

Mass: 50 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Motive Type: Hovercraft
Rules Level: Advanced Rules
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E
Production Year: 0
Cost: 2,946,667 C-Bills
Battle Value: 961

Power Plant:  265 Fusion Engine
Cruise Speed: 108.0 km/h
Flanking Speed: 162.0 km/h
Armor:  Standard Armor
Armament:
    1  Plasma Rifle
Manufacturer:
    Primary Factory:
Communications System:
Targeting and Tracking System:

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      25 points                5.00
Engine:             Fusion Engine                265                      21.00
    Cruise MP:  10
    Flank MP:   15
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             10                        0.00
Control Equipment:                                                         2.50
Lift Equipment:                                                            5.00
Turret:                                                                    1.00
Armor:              Standard Armor               AV - 108                  7.00

                                                      Armor     
                                                      Factor     
                                               Front     32       
                                          Left/Right   20/20       
                                              Turret     16       
                                                Rear     20       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat     Spaces     Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plasma Rifle                                 T         10        1         6.00
@Plasma Rifle (20)                           BD        -         0         2.00

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      4    Points: 10
10         1       1       0       0      2     0   Structure:  2
Special Abilities: ENE



[CloaknDagger]

I think the best Mech Destroyer is the same it's always been, a U/AC-20 with speed and a small amount of armor. Sure, it'll get slaughtered in a real fight, but as a surprise it can be surprisingly decent.

Code: [Select]

Mech Destroyer

Mass: 45 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: All Eras (non-canon)
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E
Production Year: 0
Cost: 1,948,863 C-Bills
Battle Value: 787

Power Plant:  270 Fuel Cell Engine
Cruise Speed: 64.8 km/h
Flanking Speed: 97.2 km/h
Armor:  Heavy Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
    1  Ultra AC/20
    1  Small Laser
Manufacturer:
    Primary Factory:
Communications System:
Targeting and Tracking System:

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      20 points                4.50
Engine:             Fuel-Cell Engine             270                      17.50
    Cruise MP:  6
    Flank MP:   9
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             1                         0.00
Control Equipment:                                                         2.50
Lift Equipment:                                                            0.00
Armor:              Heavy Ferro-Fibrous          AV -  79                  4.00

                                                      Armor     
                                                      Factor     
                                               Front     25       
                                          Left/Right   19/19       
                                                Rear     16       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat     Spaces     Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ultra AC/20                                  FR        8         1        15.00
Small Laser                                  FR        1         1         0.50
@Ultra AC/20 (5)                             BD        -         0         1.00

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      3    Points: 8
6          1       1       0       0      2     1   Structure:  2
Special Abilities: EE

Just like real tank destroyers, it's better to leave out the turret so you can spend the extra weight on armor and have one less facing to protect, so even more armor.

I will say that yours is better for hovercraft capable terrain.

If you must have a turret, then the only option is to swap the U/AC-20 for a Gauss Rifle. Turret means you need range so you don't get pounded as much.

Code: [Select]

Mech Destroyer-G

Mass: 40 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: All Eras (non-canon)
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E
Production Year: 0
Cost: 1,410,717 C-Bills
Battle Value: 883

Power Plant:  200 Fuel Cell Engine
Cruise Speed: 54.0 km/h
Flanking Speed: 86.4 km/h
Armor:  Heavy Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
    1  Gauss Rifle
    1  Small Laser
Manufacturer:
    Primary Factory:
Communications System:
Targeting and Tracking System:

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      20 points                4.00
Engine:             Fuel-Cell Engine             200                      10.50
    Cruise MP:  5
    Flank MP:   8
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             1                         0.00
Control Equipment:                                                         2.00
Lift Equipment:                                                            0.00
Turret:                                                                    1.50
Armor:              Heavy Ferro-Fibrous          AV -  89                  4.50

                                                      Armor     
                                                      Factor     
                                               Front     23       
                                          Left/Right   17/17       
                                              Turret     18       
                                                Rear     14       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat     Spaces     Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Laser                                  FR        1         1         0.50
Gauss Rifle                                  T         1         1        15.00
@Gauss Rifle (16)                            BD        -         0         2.00

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      3    Points: 9
5          2       2       2       0      2     0   Structure:  2
Special Abilities: EE


[SCC]

Best 'Mech Destroyer Weapon? Well this is the right part of the forum so I think I can talk about it.

For some time now I have been toying with the idea of a Deep Periphery power that applied tech advances across it's entire arsenal, any way one thing that recently occurred to me to make them more unique is the idea that they never developed class 5 and 10 autocannon's but rather an improved Heavy Rifle, fast forward things and you end up with a RAC-10 with the range of a class 5 ac and weighing as much as a Class 20

[mathesont]

Use the Regulator for the basis of your M18, better speed and armor with the plasma and almost as good with a Lb-10x.

[maxcarrion]

I can't help but feel that a 50 ton SFE hovercraft that mounts 1 plasma rifle does not really fall into the mech destroyer category. It's not particularly cheap or specialised at mech destroying.  It's more a general purpose fast attack vehicle and it's better suited for tank or infantry hunting then it is for mech hunting (not that it can't hurt mechs).  While it's insanely fast 1 of these is not much of a threat to it's own weight in mech.  Not saying it's a bad vee, just not really suited to the advertised title of mech destroyer