Author Topic: Sicily Combat Support Vehicle: Der Tag AU  (Read 2944 times)

beachhead1985

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Sicily Combat Support Vehicle: Der Tag AU
« on: 23 May 2016, 17:35:27 »
Faction: 3rd League/SLDF(iE)
Availability; F/E/D 3066

Mass: 200 Tons, Tracked Vehicle

Final Chassis and Control: 104 Tons

Engine and Transmission:

3/5 Fusion
32.5 Tons

Armour: 211 Pts, BAR 10, 11 Tons

Crew:3

Chassis Mods:

Amphibious
Armoured
Omni
Tractor

Podspace: 52.5 Tons

Configurations:

Heavy MASH
Mobile HPG
Mobile Repair
Mobile Radar
Heavy Crane
Cargo
Mobile HQ
Paving Complex
Engineer Vehicle with trench digger, pile driver, fence/wire/minelayer

Cost (W/O Pods): 3,515,625 C-Bills (or equivalent)

Quirks:

Non-Standard Parts
Over-sized

Easy to Pilot
Easy to Maintain
Stable

Overview:

The Sicily is the most important single type found in any SLDF Division. It's only competition comes in the Div's Landtrains and these; by their fixed configuration are still less strategically valuable.

Description:

The Sicily is a long (32m) and wide (10m), fully tracked armoured vehicle. Unlike many SLDF platforms, it is not articulated and boasts a single track unit on each side with 15 road wheels and a trailing Idler. Treads are 2.5 meters wide, running the length of the vehicle and run up to nearly the top of the hull, with only a study fender, level with the top of the primary hull above them.

The crew compartment runs nearly the length of the hull to aid service of secondary hull modules, but the vehicle is driven and commanded from the front. The crew compartment is by necessity roomy.

The fusion reactor/engine complex is located behind the driver, with the transmission to his front and access to the remainder of the crew compartment and the bottom of the engine through a tunnel. The large size of the engine makes service problematic and it must often be removed for serious maintenance. At 32.5 tons, this is no joke. In early production Sicilies, this was an difficult, dangerous and lengthy process, but the current incarnation can manage an engine removal in less than six hours, with replacement in just over 8.

The hull design itself is naturally buoyant, but this is supplemented by the large pontoons attached to the outer hull through and over the suspension so that the Sicily floats easily and with great stability, even when loaded with a 52.5 ton Omnipod. These foam-filled pontoons provide the remainder of the needed bouyancy and also support the majority of the side armour, protecting the suspension.

Without an Omnipod mounted, a Sicily looks like a long, tracked flat-bed vehicle wearing a doughnut-style life-preserver. With an Omnipod; the Sicily's appearance changes drastically.

Deployment:

Each Division, regardless of type, boasts a special "Divisional Combat Support Company (Sicily)" organization, consisting of a reinforced platoon of ten Sicily Combat Support vehicles and the support and staff to operate them in all their configurations.

Three Sicilies were captured intact during the Jihad and studied by WOB on Terra. All were confirmed destroyed at the culmination of the war.

With the high complexity of the design and it's demand, as well as other taxing requirements, the SLDF is having trouble equipping all it's Divisions (and some smaller formations) with the requisite eight Sicilies demanded by MTO&E 67.15.16, let alone expanding it further. While Div Commanders would love to have a full two Platoons of Sicilies (12, or +50% current allocation) assigned to them, a big stumbling block is that most unit commanders below brigade and many line soldiers loath the troops assigned to the Sicily Companies as they are seen as slackers.

There are, however plans being studied to bring the Sicily Companies up to this strength as well as assign an additional company at the Corps level. These plans, however are currently on hold pending further review and clarification of the logistical and industrial demands of the next 20-50 years.

The Sicily is not exported.

Capabilities:

The Sicily is a modular, amphibious, armoured support vehicle, equipped with hydro-pneumatic suspension able to change the vehicle's ground clearance from 0.22 to 2.13 meters. This capability is useful in cross-country performance, in leveling the vehicle in operation and in lowering the chassis to drive under the various omnipods, in order to lock and unlock them from the chassis.

The Sicily is highly mobile, able to achieve and maintain 54kph on flat, level surfaces, cross rough ground with ease, is fully amphibious with zero preparation and tow any trailer up to it's own mass, though this last capability is rarely used in practice. A Sicily without an Omnipod mounted is called a "Dragster" by the crews as it can reach 82kph in flat runs on good ground. With it's unintentionally aerodynamic appearance, crews describe operating an unladen Sicily in low-gravity as a surreal experience.

Sicily Omnipods are standalone-capable with access to external power supplies, though only the MASH, Mobile HQ, Mobile HPG and Paving complex are commonly operated in this way. Each pod boasts stabilizing and support outriggers which make possible the Sicily's unique drive-in, drive-out omni-reconfiguation capability. Sicily crews pride themselves in being able to switch pods and go from "Green to Green" in less than 25 minutes.

The Heavy MASH pods are always in use; whether on the back's of Sicilies or not; despite being officially part of the Sicily Company, they are administratively part of the Division-Level medical assets. The pods themselves may be used while mobile, within limitations; the Sicily's hydro-pneumatic suspension makes this possible, but for full capability, must be allowed to unfold and expand into the full, 92-bed hospital, configurable for everything from emergency trauma en masse to pre/post-op. If unfolded and in use; the Sicily can only manage 10kph or less safely, but it can move. Sicily commanders must have excellent map and compass skills in order to plot routes which are as short as possible, while remaining practicable for the vehicle to move with a fully expanded MASH unit on board.

The Mobile HPG pod provides a more capable mobile unit than the stock mobile HPG to supplement the Division's land-train mounted models and allows disparate units to be reliably deployed across star systems and interstellar space and remain in contact.

The Mobile repair unit incorporate the capabilities of a large mobile field base, as well as tools, lifthoists and cargo space to handle almost any repair job even a Mech or Armoured Division might require.

The Mobile Radar Pod provides an unmatched ground-based early warning, observation and tracking capability which us useful for up to theatre-level operations. These are traditionally used alongside the Division's heavy artillery assets, especially the air defence forces.

The Heavy Crane is useful for heavy engineering and recovery operations and unmatched outside the super-heavy crane landtrain-car.

The cargo option is rarely used, but when it is needed for reasons of high demand or difficult terrain, it is priceless to be able to deliver a full 52.5 tons of cargo in one lift. Sicilies have been tested with some very large loads and single payloads right up to 52.5 tons; LVT 400 Fusion engines on their way to be recycled or converted to XL engines. Sicilies can carry or tow heavier loads, but this slows them down a great deal and causes unusual wear and tear to the suspension. In practice, Sicilies can transport mechs or tanks up to arourd 50 tons, but the arrangement is unsatisfactory to MPs and Traffic Techs and also difficult to manage in practice without heavy cranes and a lot of time.

The Mobile HQ provides a forward command centre that boasts capabilities and space which cannot be found outside a landtrain.

The Paving complex is a complete unit able to support the very heaviest surfacing operations up to starport construction and massive super-highways. It is possible to reconfigure the Paving complex to produce and lay Star League Standard heavy-gauge rail lines (both maglev and conventional), but this requires at least a 36-hour turn around by a heavy maintenance unit and some 300 man-hours.

The Engineering pod has diverse capabilities and uses, but was designed for an express purpose; creating in one pass a stout, defensible security perimeter for large base areas, especially in the rear area. Fully deployed, it is clumsy apparatus and slow, but it's progress is sure and steady and it's product is reliable.

Limitations:

The Sicily boasts no weapons of it's own. And is only lightly armoured. It is also only highly mobile when compared to vehicles of similar mass; a Sicily cannot run from more mobile opponents, even if it ditches it's pod and tried to run. To Sicily crews, this is anathema.

The biggest limitation of the Sicily is that a Division only has eight of them. What makes them so important is that for a given operation or campaign, a Division commander must select the right mix of configurations, at the right time and place to provide the highest, most effective and this is key; the most appropriate support.

While the Sicily can reconfigure and move relatively quickly, immobile omnipods are not so easily moved where they are needed.

The Sicily Company is a large and frankly unwieldy and normally wasteful organization. Assignment to one is highly sought because at any given time, while personnel must be on hand to operate all the pods on hand, in practice, while some remain in use in situ and training is constant; the actual battle rythmn necessitates a lot of down time. If it wasn't for the effectiveness of the Sicily itself and the usefulness of the company as a whole to the Division, the concept would have been discard as wasteful long ago. As it is, the comparatively easy duty makes assignment to a sicily company a common reward or convalescent posting.

While Sicily companies can share an easy comradery and relaxed atmosphere, the mixing of trades can also cause friction. Sicily company commanders are often heavily taxed just keeping track of where all their personnel are in terms of attachments, detachments and leave.

Notes:

I would model the Sicily as having four Armour locations; front, sides and rear, like a smaller vehicle. Without an Omnipod; i'd use the same hit-location tables as a normal vehicle, with a pod, I use 6, with the rear-sides being hits on the pod and I have the pod have to include it's own armour.

I think most of the pods are self-explanatory, but it should be noted that the heavy crane pod includes additional outriggers, a turret for a truly massive crane and just armour the crane turret.
« Last Edit: 23 May 2016, 18:17:04 by beachhead1985 »
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

 

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