Iroquois Utility Helicopter TRO: Der Tag

[beachhead1985]

“Can’t seem to get rid of the damn things! I sent my last three back to the depot in ’35 and we got another eight back as general replacements later in 3036. Ridiculous!”
   -Technical Sergeant Arlan Vash, Blackwind Lancers, 3044


Type: Iroquois Utility Helicopter
Mass: 15 Tons
Crew: 4
Power Plant: Pratt & Whitney Canada PW-5500 series and copies
        Cruising Speed: 108 km/h
        Maximum Speed: 162 km/h
Armour Type: ProtecTech Light
Armament and Equipment:

   2x Sperry-Browning Machineguns (typical)

Manufacturer: Allied Aerospace (original)-2452

Location: Terra, Pollux, Mars, Galax (Boeing Interstellar), Inglesmond (LTV), Chara (Earthwerks), Ilyushin (Vandenburg Mechanized Industries)

Status (as of 3099): Production Complete (Terra 3081, Pollux 2767, Mars 3068, Galax 3032, Inglesmond 2798, Chara 2834)

         Production as Required (Ilyushen)

         Parts and Technical Support (Earthwerks Incorporated, Procyon 3065)

Communication System: O/P 50-B (original) or Cirxese ComCheck (standard from 2852)
Targeting and Tracking System: 2x Darwin Independent MK.2 FCS


Design Quirks:

   Easy to Maintain, Easy to Pilot, Multi-Trac, Rugged (1)
      -Poor Sealing, Fragile Fuel Tank, Obsolete (3033-3065)

Overview:

   The Iroquois is a long-serving workhorse found in the background of many fighting forces over an almost 600-year service life. Rarely the hero, but usually up to the job, the Iroquois can be described as having been ubiquitous in various times and places, a design that militaries large and small have found difficult to entirely do away with since it’s introduction by Allied Aerospace in 2452.

   The basic concept is for a light-medium weight general-purpose VTOL with a conventional layout and simple skid undercarriage that can handle most of an infantry unit’s cargo, transport and liaison tasks. Conceptually; if you needed more lift, you got a Cobra or Karnov, depending on the century and if you needed more guns and armour, you went somewhere else entirely. But so long as your stock and trade was lower-intensity warfare, supporting conventional forces; then the Iroquois could probably meet your requirements six days of the week.


Development:

   The Iroquois was a very early offering from shortly after the formation of Allied Aerospace as a conglomeration of a number of legacy Terran defence firms. Derided initially as uninspired, derivative and boring, the Iroquois quickly earned it’s place by first under-cutting competing designs and then out-lasting them in the field. While the type never earned a spectacular reputation, they were effectively everywhere by the turn of the 26th century and have remained endemic to Spheroid and Periphery forces ever since.

   The design of the Iroquois owes much to the aeronautical components of the HAF’s Desert Cobra, with some avionics derived from the earlier Redhawk Gunship, and the final product enjoying a small but significant commonality of parts, which served as a boon to all three types during the later 25th and early 26th centuries. Both other types were under licensed production by Allied Aerospace subsidiaries and this no-doubt factored in the development of the later Iroquois.

A contemporary of the earlier Mackie; the Iroquois benefited from then-advanced production techniques and materials-sciences advancements which had trickled through the Terran Hegemony military-industrial complex by the time of its own development.

Testing and trials were trouble-free, with the Iroquois often competing in an empty field as potential competitors were caught off-guard by the flexible, simple offering from a corporation already reputed to be a mushroomed, disorganized hodgepodge of leftovers. The Iroquois helped overturn this perception, but Allied Aerospace was still a long ways off from the agile, innovative house of ideas which would later produce the first LAMs.


Description:

   The design of the Iroquois is intentionally simplistic with the fuselage divided up into a rounded box or pod and a tail like a thick-hafted polearm surmounted by the proven technology of a NOTAR (NO-Tail-RoTAR) turbine and blade-like stabilizers. To the main “pod” is attached the basic skid undercarriage, with it’s hydraulically- deployed caster-wheels for moving the aircraft about on the ground.

   A chin-radome fairing protects key avionics below the station for the side-by-side pilot and co-pilot station. Behind this is the cargo/passenger bay accessed by a pair of large, sliding doors. In front of the doors, on either side are the stations for the power-assisted machinegun mounts, manned by the crew-chief and the dedicated door-gunner, usually the lowest-ranked member of the crew.

   From 2492, all Iroquois were refitted with new carbon-fibre rotors and an aerial refueling probe in the nose, in front of the pilot’s position.


Capabilities:

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--------------------------------------------------------
Type/Model:    Iroquois Utility Helicopter
Mass:          15 tons
Construction Options:  Fractional Accounting

Equipment:                                 Items    Mass
Int. Struct.:  10 pts Standard               0      1.50
Engine:        55 I.C.E.                     0      3.00
    Cruise MP:  10
     Flank MP:  15
Heat Sinks:      0 Single                    0       .00
Cockpit & Controls:                          0       .75
Crew: 1 Members                              0       .00
Rotor Equipment:  Main/Tail Rotors           0      1.50
Armor Factor:   44 pts Standard              0      2.75

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Front:                     2         12
   Left / Right Sides:        2      11/11
   Rear:                      2          8
   Rotor:                     2          2

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Items    Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
1 Machine Gun            Right    0  100     2      1.00
1 Machine Gun            Left     0          1       .50
Infantry Platoon Bay     Body                1      4.00
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                           0          4     15.00
Items & Tons Left:                           4       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        201,375 C-Bills
Battle Value 2:    173 (old BV = 77)
Cost per BV:       1,164.02
Weapon Value:      6 / 6 (Ratio = .03 / .03)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 1;  MRDmg = 0;  LRDmg = 0
BattleForce2:      MP: 10V,  Armor/Structure: 0 / 2
                   Damage PB/M/L: -/-/-,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: VA;  Point Value: 2
                   Specials: tran4

   The Iroquois is most-easily compared to it’s oft-times replacement or successor; the Karnov UR Transport of 2920 vintage, although versions of the much-earlier Cobra may appear more appropriate to the student of history. 

The Iroquois is slower than that Karnov’s 183+ Km/h top speed and carries a third-less cargo. But the Iroquois has nearly-twice the armour protection and carries a pair of machineguns for defensive purposes. Finally; the Iroquois, when-new cost less than half the Karnov’s 550k price tag in C-Bills, equivalent, at just 201,375 in 3025 C-Bills.

    Critics point out that the protection offered by two and three-quarter tons of ProtecTech is hardly worth mentioning, and that the machineguns of the Iroquois represent an armament which can be dismissed on most battlefields as ‘mere’. In addition, the New Earth Trading Company’s own public trials of the Karnov in the early 2920s, ably demonstrated its manifest advantages over the ancient Iroquois, humiliating a price-equivalent squadron of the older craft with a handful of bigger, faster Karnovs hauling more cargo.

   And of course; it’s hard to forget that the Karnov remained unmatched for over a century as a load-hauler due to its capacity to sling-lift light tanks and small BattleMechs; something the Iroquois could never do.

   But in maintenance; the Iroquois simply shines, with the P&W Canada powerplant representing less than half the maintenance requirements of the Karnov’s complicated DAV-190 Gas-Turbine complex and the Iroquois’ simple landing gear being almost maintenance-free.

   On any battlefield, VTOLs remain vulnerable and the Iroquois is no exception, but it is better-protected than some gunships, such as the Warrior-series. It’s also fast enough to keep up with the pace of most military operations and while rarely-used; the capability to refuel in-flight sets it apart from many VTOLs operating today.

   The dual-side-mounted machineguns generally fail to impress, but they are sufficient to cover an infantry platoon mounting or dismounting, as well as providing some degree of protection from nearby missile teams and hostile VTOLs that fly within their arcs.

   Of course, the purpose of the Iroquois lies in it’s cargo bay. This has a four-ton capacity and is especially-designed to accommodate both bulk cargos and various configurations of Infantry units. The layout is utilitarian, but functional and many crews modify the space to better-fit their needs or the needs of their passengers or clients.

   More mercurially; the Iroquois handles well and this persists into higher altitudes than most VTOLs are capable of, making the type a favourite for both “hot and high” and alpine operations. However; techs and crews must take note that the P&W Engines and their derivatives are more sensitive to dust and fine grit than other types and require filters for desert environments to remain operational. The magnetic chip collector is also both easily accessible and regularly in need of cleaning. It is best not to ignore the light in the cockpit when it is flashing.


Deployment:

   Diversified manufacturing sites and extensive licensing agreements have permitted the Iroquois to proliferate widely, despite the destruction and closing of many of its production lines through the centuries.

   Currently, there is no certain way to count out any given power deploying the Iroquois. They have been spotted in the deep periphery, in House and mercenary forces and even in Clan Second-Line formations.

   During the Jihad, it was found that the type made an able partner to smaller four-suit Battle Armour squads as the Iroquois’ cargo-bay proved able to handle most extant types in service, so long as they could manage to duck underneath the rotor-blades as they dismounted. As such, the Iroquois saw a brief resurgence in frontline units during the early and middle-years of the conflict with the Word of Blake.

   The last hundred years have been hard on the type’s remaining makers, however, with many lines closing for one reason or another. As the stock of parts on the open market began to dwindle in the late 3050s, Earthwerks Inc. begin work on expanding their Procyon facility to meet this market draw and train technicians on servicing and maintaining the type. At this point, however, it seems unlikely that the Procyon plant will branch out into manufacturing the Iroquois, or an updated variant.


Variants:

   Almost any vehicle in service as long as the Iroquois can expect to have a few well-known modifications.

   The most-common is probably, the “Stripped”-version, commonly seen in civilian and logistics service. This removes the machineguns and some armour protection, to bring raw cargo tonnage up to six full tons. However, this version does not expand the physical space of the bay and so is restricted to high-mass, low-bulk cargoes, such as spare-parts and ammunition to actually reach its full capacity. Stripped-Iroquois are occasionally found as racing and search and rescue helicopters, because of how well the PW-5500-series engines perform when unburdened.

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Type/Model:    Iroquois Stripped
Mass:          15 tons
Construction Options:  Fractional Accounting

Equipment:                                 Items    Mass
Int. Struct.:  10 pts Standard               0      1.50
Engine:        55 I.C.E.                     0      3.00
    Cruise MP:  10
     Flank MP:  15
Heat Sinks:      0 Single                    0       .00
Cockpit & Controls:                          0       .75
Crew: 1 Members                              0       .00
Rotor Equipment:  Main/Tail Rotors           0      1.50
Armor Factor:   36 pts Standard              0      2.25

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Front:                     2         10
   Left / Right Sides:        2        8/8
   Rear:                      2          8
   Rotor:                     2          2

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Items    Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
Cargo Bay Capacity       Body                1      6.00
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                           0          1     15.00
Items & Tons Left:                           7       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        178,125 C-Bills
Battle Value 2:    128 (old BV = 25)
Cost per BV:       1,391.6
Weapon Value:      0 / 0 (Ratio = .00 / .00)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 0;  MRDmg = 0;  LRDmg = 0
BattleForce2:      MP: 10V,  Armor/Structure: 0 / 2
                   Damage PB/M/L: -/-/-,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: VA;  Point Value: 1
                   Specials: tran6

   In the late 3060s, when the Iroquois began to find itself pressed once-more into frontline service, the LMG-version appeared; a simple refit of the standard Sperry-Brownings (or other types, as is common) for various models of the new and longer-ranged “light” machineguns. These have the same mass, but double the reach and some Iroquois crews prefer these for their capability to suppress AA Missile crews out to a farther distance. Afterall; they just need to keep their heads down for a moment, and then they Iroquois will be out of their range.

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Type/Model:    Iroquois Utility Helicopter LMG
Mass:          15 tons
Construction Options:  Fractional Accounting

Equipment:                                 Items    Mass
Int. Struct.:  10 pts Standard               0      1.50
Engine:        55 I.C.E.                     0      3.00
    Cruise MP:  10
     Flank MP:  15
Heat Sinks:      0 Single                    0       .00
Cockpit & Controls:                          0       .75
Crew: 1 Members                              0       .00
Rotor Equipment:  Main/Tail Rotors           0      1.50
Armor Factor:   44 pts Standard              0      2.75

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Front:                     2         12
   Left / Right Sides:        2      11/11
   Rear:                      2          8
   Rotor:                     2          2

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Items    Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
1 Light Machine Gun*     Right    0  100     2      1.00
1 Light Machine Gun*     Left     0          1       .50
Infantry Platoon Bay     Body                1      4.00
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                           0          4     15.00
Items & Tons Left:                           4       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        201,000 C-Bills
Battle Value 2:    173 (old BV = 77)
Cost per BV:       1,161.85
Weapon Value:      1 / 1 (Ratio = .01 / .01)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 1;  MRDmg = 0;  LRDmg = 0
BattleForce2:      MP: 10V,  Armor/Structure: 0 / 2
                   Damage PB/M/L: -/-/-,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: VA;  Point Value: 2
                   Specials: tran4

   The oldest Iroquois variant which has seen common acceptance must be the “Gunship” version. This is a relatively simple modification, producing an entirely serviceable light attack VTOL, which is fast and well-protected. The Gunship-variant simply adds armour on every side, puts an ammo bin in the cargo bay and splits the tubes of any handy SRM-4 to either side of the landing gear. The standard suggestion for a targeting system is to add a Cirxese Rockecheck to the spacious cockpit and this, together with retaining the MGs on either side of the fuselage gives the Iroquois gunship an expansive capability to engage multiple targets simultaneously, which most combatants lack.

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Type/Model:    Iroquois Gunship
Mass:          15 tons
Construction Options:  Fractional Accounting

Equipment:                                 Items    Mass
Int. Struct.:  10 pts Standard               0      1.50
Engine:        55 I.C.E.                     0      3.00
    Cruise MP:  10
     Flank MP:  15
Heat Sinks:      0 Single                    0       .00
Cockpit & Controls:                          0       .75
Crew: 1 Members                              0       .00
Rotor Equipment:  Main/Tail Rotors           0      1.50
Armor Factor:   60 pts Standard              0      3.75

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Front:                     2         18
   Left / Right Sides:        2      14/14
   Rear:                      2         12
   Rotor:                     2          2

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Items    Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
1 Machine Gun            Right    0  100     2      1.00
1 Machine Gun            Left     0          1       .50
1 SRM 4                  Front    0   25     2      3.00
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                           0          5     15.00
Items & Tons Left:                           3       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        346,875 C-Bills
Battle Value 2:    316 (old BV = 284)
Cost per BV:       1,097.71
Weapon Value:      52 / 52 (Ratio = .16 / .16)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 5;  MRDmg = 1;  LRDmg = 0
BattleForce2:      MP: 10V,  Armor/Structure: 0 / 2
                   Damage PB/M/L: 1/1/-,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: VA;  Point Value: 3

   A newer, but very popular modification arose during the 4th Succession War, first in House Liao-space and then spreading to the FedCom and elsewhere. This is the Medivac-version which sacrifices raw casualty-space for a half-ton of paramedic equipment, some additional and equitably-distributed armour and a set of prototype jet-boosters. The Iroquois had long been a common sight in medical-evacuation-circles, but this modification set the type apart and dramatically improved the outcomes of casualties served during this period of brutal fighting. Such was the pitch and intensity of combat that no thought at all was given to removing the defensive machineguns; despite any markings applied, these remained useful on the chaotic battlefields of the 4th War and have to this day.

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Type/Model:    Iroquois Utility Helicopter Medivac
Mass:          15 tons
Construction Options:  Fractional Accounting

Equipment:                                 Items    Mass
Int. Struct.:  10 pts Standard               0      1.50
Engine:        55 I.C.E.                     0      3.00
Jet Boosters:                                1       .30
    Cruise MP:  10
     Flank MP:  15 [20]
Heat Sinks:      0 Single                    0       .00
Cockpit & Controls:                          0       .75
Crew: 1 Members                              0       .00
Rotor Equipment:  Main/Tail Rotors           0      1.50
Armor Factor:   55 pts Standard              0      3.44

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Front:                     2         13
   Left / Right Sides:        2      13/13
   Rear:                      2         14
   Rotor:                     2          2

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Items    Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
1 Machine Gun            Right    0  100     2      1.00
1 Machine Gun            Left     0          1       .50
Infantry Platoon Bay     Body                1      2.50
Paramedic equipment      Body                1       .50
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                           0          6     14.99
Items & Tons Left:                           2       .01

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        1,036,725 C-Bills
Battle Value 2:    225 (old BV = 100)
Cost per BV:       4,607.67
Weapon Value:      7 / 7 (Ratio = .03 / .03)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 1;  MRDmg = 0;  LRDmg = 0
BattleForce2:      MP: 10V,  Armor/Structure: 0 / 2
                   Damage PB/M/L: -/-/-,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: VA;  Point Value: 2
                   Specials: tran2
   Finally, the most extensive and strangest variant of the Iroquois can barely be called as such. The “Skyhook” was devised and marketed by Allied Aerospace in the mid 2500s, as a flying crane for military units and proved successful in this role until the destruction of the last lines producing the model on Pollux in 2767, after which, modifications and support for this variant became scarce. The Skyhook takes an Iroquois cockpit and avionics suite and mates it to a new, more skeletal airframe with an extended tail and new 100-rated engine. Directly beneath the more-powerful P&W Canada PW-Century-00 turbine complex is a complete lift-hoist. Reliable performance figures for the Skyhook are hard to come by, with some anecdotes recounting perfect conditions and up to a remarkable 30-tons and others limiting the type to no-more than seven-tons under any weather conditions. It is not known if any Skyhooks remain in service or what their true capabilities might be, but regardless; there are superior models available now, though none with the Skyhook’s attractive 270,000 C-bills equivalent-when-new, price tag.

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Type/Model:    Skyhook Air-lifter
Mass:          15 tons
Construction Options:  Fractional Accounting

Equipment:                                 Items    Mass
Int. Struct.:  10 pts Standard               0      1.50
Engine:        100 I.C.E.                    0      6.00
    Cruise MP:  13
     Flank MP:  20
Heat Sinks:      0 Single                    0       .00
Cockpit & Controls:                          0       .75
Crew: 1 Members                              0       .00
Rotor Equipment:  Main/Tail Rotors           0      1.50
Armor Factor:   36 pts Standard              0      2.25

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Front:                     2         10
   Left / Right Sides:        2        8/8
   Rear:                      2          8
   Rotor:                     2          2

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Items    Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
1 Cargo Lift Hoist       Body     0          1      3.00
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                           0          1     15.00
Items & Tons Left:                           7       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        270,000 C-Bills
Battle Value 2:    140 (old BV = 25)
Cost per BV:       1,928.57
Weapon Value:      0 / 0 (Ratio = .00 / .00)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 0;  MRDmg = 0;  LRDmg = 0
BattleForce2:      MP: 13V,  Armor/Structure: 0 / 2
                   Damage PB/M/L: -/-/-,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: VA;  Point Value: 1

   While the Iroquois does share some parts in common with the earlier Desert Cobra and Redhawk Gunships, making it something of a franken-copter at the time, this was never greater than about 30% and consisted almost entirely of internal components and a few small assemblies.

   The later Dusty Utility Helicopter of SLDFiE-vintage, while inspired and based conceptually on the Iroquois cannot be considered a true variant, despite the obvious visual connection.

[beachhead1985]

Battle History:

   The Iroquois, while a fixture of later HAF and early SLDF operations, was never the backbone of their airmobile forces during the later part of the Age of War as some have claimed. That was always the Cobra, in one form or another.

   Instead; while the Cobra was the backbone, the more numerous and wide-spread Iroquois was the muscle and sinew behind the light infantry operations and airmobile logistics efforts of all major powers for centuries. But when the use of the Cobra declined, rapidly during the Succession Wars, the Iroquois took centre-stage in place of its elder stablemate. This central role waned once more from the mid 2900s onwards as the Karnov proliferated, but the Iroquois never entirely went away; it’s lower cost and ease of maintenance saw to that.

   The battle history of the Iroquois then, isn’t a record of the performance of a steady and reliable performer in the background, it’s the history of airmobile operations from the later 2400s onward.

   Such operations were crucial for HAF security efforts during the later part of the Age of War and ensured the success of SLDF and Great House forces in the Reunification War, particularly against the Taurian Concordant and the Rim Worlds Republic. Iroquois fought on both sides of the Amaris Civil War in a record of dueling light forces striking, maneuvering and withdrawing once again across hundreds of worlds in battles overshadowed by the mech-heavy operations of other theatres.

   The Succession Wars, saw the Iroquois called to service in response to raids on worlds small and large, where they acted as a defensive fire-brigade of sorts; shuttling over-taxed infantry forces in support of beleaguered outposts and threatened resources. These operations often fared poorly, with the lighter forces pitched against ‘Mechs and tanks dropped from orbit until heavier forces could arrive, often too late to do more than help bury the dead.

   It was in the bushwars of the last few-hundred years, up to the wars of the so-called Chaos March where the Iroquois really shined. In the hands of less-well-equipped forces, the rugged aircraft proved a faithful force-multiplier time and time again. Iroquois operations allowed nimble raids against more powerful forces and also provided for the pursuit of lightly-equipped guerillas and partisans.

   The Jihad was hard on the Iroquois and numbers dwindled wherever they were employed. Lacking major factory support meant that the type was finally on the receiving end of being replaced with other models when they were lost in action or became worn out. VTOL losses of all kinds during the war were staggering and survival of these forces often came down to attrition; which side could get replacement crews and airframes in the greatest number and fastest.

   Yet, the Iroquois still soldiers on today. Rarely found in front-line units, the type is instead the mainstay of militias and irregular troops on both sides of the law, with the Iroquois equally popular with raiders and raided.


Notable Vehicles and Pilots:

   Captain Janey McKee

      Based on the real person of Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class Jennifer McKee, the fictional Janey and her Iroquois were supporting characters in later seasons of the Hegemony-produced holo-serial “Tour of Duty”, which aired originally from 2587-2590.

   “Tour of Duty” was filmed in the varied terrain of Carver-V with the assistance of the planetary militia and followed the fictitious “Bravo Company” as they attempted to survive to the end of their individual tours on the front-lines of the HAF’s wars in the later stages of the Age of War.

   Initially filmed with a series of extras from the Militia acting as Bravo Company’s air support and battlefield taxi-service, McKee was added in the 2nd season to bring more attention to the sacrifices of people like the real-life CWO/2 Jennifer McKee who lost her life supporting HAF troops on Deiron in 2498.

   McKee was portrayed by Kied-native Danielle Gauthier as flamboyant, courageous and promiscuous. Gauthier was a former stunt pilot on the airshow circuit and did her own stunts; flying her Iroquois, “Rodeo Queen” very low and very fast, blaring period-appropriate “Slash” and “Junk” music from custom speakers mounted on the outside of the aircraft and contributing personally to battles by tossing grenades out her open cockpit window. The character of McKee was killed off near the end of the 3rd season when her VTOL was shot down during an attempted raid on a Combine POW-camp.

   McKee brought some needed lightening to the show’s overall down-beat atmosphere, but fans remained divided on her two-season run. The McKee family was reported to have been generally pleased with the portrayal, except that Gauthier’s long legs made it impossible for her to actually wear their daughter’s trademark cowboy boots in the cockpit, leading to numerous continuity errors, which fans of the show made light of. Instead, they insisted on one scene in the 3rd season where McKee used her helicopter to herd escaped cattle, similar to what Gauthier had done on her family’s own Buffalo farm back on Keid. This scene required extensive re-shoots and resulted in over 12-million H-Bills in damage as the writers set the scene adjacent to a low-income housing settlement, into which many of the enormous Limosin cows fled.

   Gauthier’s portrayal of McKee remains the most famous example of an Iroquois pilot, real and simultaneously fictional.

   8-Ball’s Air-Raiders

      A pirate band operating on Sheratan, Caph and later; Genoa in the Chaos March from 3058-3061, these bandits formed from a conglomeration of light forces cut-off or abandoned by their nations or employers during the fighting of Operation: GUERRERO. They operated a variety of VTOLs as their only consistent military assets and fought as a nomadic force surviving by raiding any vulnerable targets.

   Led by “Skipper” Kyle Clooney, known by his callsign, 8-Ball; they operated the Iroquois as the slim-majority of their fleet.

   Clooney always maintained that he was just doing what he had to in order to keep “his people” alive day to day and managed a force of diverse backgrounds and capability, including “wings” of transport/looting, salvage/theft, repair and medical specialists.

   Outside of this force, Clooney recognized no law and no innocents. Always a lover of substances from his FWLM-days, the ex-mercenary’s judgement began to fail sometime in 3060, culminating in the loss of his personal Iroquois gunship following a failed raid and a hard landing on an ex-mafia yacht. He ran afoul of the yacht’s new owners; a pair of ex-special forces soldiers and their friends when he blackmailed the two former commandos for their help in another raid, holding the others hostage.

   His own ride being worked on, 8-ball rode shotgun in another VTOL as the raid fell apart around him. The former Rabid Fox; “Saxon” adhered to the letter of his agreement with 8-Ball and demanded to be returned to his friends once his job was done. 8-Ball agreed, but swore revenge.

   Returning after the raid, he re-acquired his repaired Gunship from his techs and went after Saxon and his friends, only to discover the yacht mounted hidden weapons, which destroyed his VTOL before he could kill Saxon after running him to ground.



Key Recognition Features:

   The Iroquois features a highly-conventional layout and design, thus why it is normally described as a “helicopter” and not a VTOL; it simply lacks more exotic aerodynamic features. This categorizes it easily with other, less-inventive types today and in history.

   Spotters are advised to seek the combination of the rarely-seen fixed-skid undercarriage, four-bladed main rotor and NOTAR-tail assembly.

   The Iroquois does appear similar to the later “Dusty” developed by the SLDFiE, but is notably smaller and lacks the Dusty’s additional weapon systems. Also; the Dusty’s side-doors “cantilever”-upwards, while the Iroquois’ side to the rear.


Meta:

The Iroquois TRO can be seen as a prequel to my earlier Dusty, as the Dusty is based, heavily on the Iroquois, but the design itself first appeared in an issue of BattleTechnology. I modified my version, slightly to make it more survivable (faster and better-protected) and also to retain the reason for being of the twice-as-big Karnov; the 6-ton cargo bay. The original Iroquois is a slower, cheaper Karnov, with a nose-mounted MG, so from some perspectives is a better buy. My Iroquois is less brute-force capable, but more flexible, I also changed the name to make it more distinct.

So, do the Ainu stories take place in the Der Tag AU?

Right now, I’ll say; no. My TRO: Der Tag stuff is mainly meant to be a value-added addition to other people’s games of BT and not unique to my AU. Think of the Ainu stuff in this case as me being my own customer, so to speak; the Ainu Militia needed some transport VTOLs and you’re in a tight spot for those in 3025-play, if you aren’t Fed Suns-friendly in that Karnovs are your only game. I wanted something different, picked the Iroquois out of my back-catalog and here we are; sort of the poster-child from TRO: Der Tag stuff, it’s an extant type in Der Tag and perfect for your own games!

[Daryk]

Excellent write up, and +1 for using Fractional Accounting! :)

That said, the ones with 2.75 tons of armor, really need to move one point of armor from the front to the rear.  9 points plus 2 internals mean it could take a PPC shot, whereas there's really no difference between 11 and 12 points on the nose.

[beachhead1985]

Excellent write up, and +1 for using Fractional Accounting! :)

That said, the ones with 2.75 tons of armor, really need to move one point of armor from the front to the rear.  9 points plus 2 internals mean it could take a PPC shot, whereas there's really no difference between 11 and 12 points on the nose.

I never noticed that, but honestly, I don't think it's a good thematic fit if this thing can take a PPC hit *everywhere* and survive.

[Daryk]

Well, survival isn't guaranteed for a rear shot... it will inflict a crit chance... ;)

[beachhead1985]

Well, survival isn't guaranteed for a rear shot... it will inflict a crit chance... ;)

That's true...as soon as you are through the armour, right?

[Daryk]

Yep... 9 points still lets one point through to the IS.

[DevianID]

Im stuck on the image of the 4 ton real life Huey, so this 15 ton Iroquois is just so much bigger, carrying 28 troops instead of like 6, that Im having trouble visualizing it with name overlap.  Its kinda like a chinook bay with a standard rotor assembly for a slightly smaller transport.

Im not a fan of fractional accounting, but thats whatever... it only adds .25 tons of armor, so its not like its abusive with it.  I think its too lightly armored for a combat transport, as you will take fire and this will kill a whole platoon of troops when shot down.  That said, the side guns are a really useful thing for stopping side crit kills to the vehicle, so you do have some extra crit padding on your most vulnerable flank, so its not totally defenseless.  Still, I might prefer a slower speed for more armor; at 15 tons with a 3 ton engine for 10/15, but at a 2 ton engine you move 9/14.  That extra 1 ton of armor is worth it to keep troops alive on the insertion versus moving 1 hex.

Overall I like it, its a very serviceable midrange transport bridging the ferret to the karnov, though I clicked cause of the name expecting a 4 ton vtol Ill be honest.

[Daryk]

As long as Fractional Accounting is on the table, cutting the MG ammo to a quarter ton should help too.  That's another four points of armor...

[beachhead1985]

Im stuck on the image of the 4 ton real life Huey, so this 15 ton Iroquois is just so much bigger, carrying 28 troops instead of like 6, that Im having trouble visualizing it with name overlap.  Its kinda like a chinook bay with a standard rotor assembly for a slightly smaller transport.

Im not a fan of fractional accounting, but thats whatever... it only adds .25 tons of armor, so its not like its abusive with it.  I think its too lightly armored for a combat transport, as you will take fire and this will kill a whole platoon of troops when shot down.  That said, the side guns are a really useful thing for stopping side crit kills to the vehicle, so you do have some extra crit padding on your most vulnerable flank, so its not totally defenseless.  Still, I might prefer a slower speed for more armor; at 15 tons with a 3 ton engine for 10/15, but at a 2 ton engine you move 9/14.  That extra 1 ton of armor is worth it to keep troops alive on the insertion versus moving 1 hex.

Overall I like it, its a very serviceable midrange transport bridging the ferret to the karnov, though I clicked cause of the name expecting a 4 ton vtol Ill be honest.

It's sort-of what happens when you run the Huey through the technical and tactical conceits of the BTU.

I mean...look at our standard VTOL speeds compared to real-life examples?

So, yeah; Chinook trooplift, A-10 armour, with speed that can easily leave it in the dust behind many sports cars.

The Ferret and it's variants do a lot of what the historical Huey did IRL...with WAY more protection than any Huey ever boasted.

IIRC, the original in BattleTechnology was 10 tons, slower and mounted the MGs on the front...oh and carried only a single ton of infantry or cargo. With the Ferret already extant, it didn't make much sense, except as a deliberately-under-optimized VTOL and we have a lot of those already.

I went with more speed to push the speed=protection concept. It *can* work. And I could have protected it better-still, but again; from the era, lightly-protected VTOLs (for BTU values of protection) are the norm, so I stuck with that.

Another thing I wanted is for their to still be a reason for the Karnov to exist, you can also make it slower, drop the MGs and get up to the Karnov's 6-tons of cargo. At the same time, the Karnov isn't as available as it needs to be to fulfill this niche in intro-level play.

So, I sure-could make it better...but not without erasing the reason for being for other, canon designs.

As long as Fractional Accounting is on the table, cutting the MG ammo to a quarter ton should help too.  That's another four points of armor...

Another great Idea and why I LOVE Solaris Skunk-Werks, cause it lets me do stuff like that...at least in mechs. Can't do it in HMV or MML.

MANY of my custom mech designs use leftover fractional tonnage to pack in a bit more ammo. Ditto; whittling down senseless ammo bays for more survivability.

[Daryk]

One of these days, SAW will do Fractional Accounting properly (encompassing Controls and Turrets, e.g.).

[beachhead1985]

One of these days, SAW will do Fractional Accounting properly (encompassing Controls and Turrets, e.g.).

I love the Solaris programs. I'd love to finally be able to put HMV to bed with either improvements to MML or SAW, but I'd prefer SAW.

[Daryk]

Learning Java is on my bucket list for when the Navy fires me...

[beachhead1985]

Post-employment education program?

[Daryk]

Nah, I'll dig up a course online.  I want to fix Fractional Accounting for both SSW and SAW and see if I can get something AToW related made with a similar user interface.

[beachhead1985]

Nah, I'll dig up a course online.  I want to fix Fractional Accounting for both SSW and SAW and see if I can get something AToW related made with a similar user interface.

Does the US Military offer something like that, though? Post-service civilian retraining?

ATOW needs a chargen program DESPERATELY.

[Daryk]

Rjhancock is working on a project, and I made a spreadsheet (linked in my sig block) to help... :)