First unveiled on the eve of Operation: GREAT FLOOD in Capellan space, the subject of this week's article is the Gùn. Rolled out in 3134, the Gùn is intended as a militia and garrison 'Mech, despite being a fully capable OmniMech in its own right. Massing 20 tons, the Gùn is the lightest that a conventional BattleMech can aspire to, and shares that mass with the ubiquitous Stinger, Wasp, and Locust trio, and also with the very similar Flea.
Built on Capella in the Capellan Confederation (where else?) and on Lockton in the Magistry of Canopus, the Gùn can be found in the CCAF, the MAF, and even here and there in the Andurian Defense Force. For the most part, the Gùn is a decided oddity in general, nevermind for an OmniMech. Designed as an infantry support 'Mech, the primary purpose of a Gùn is to advance with the infantry, and provide a cheap yet capable transport option for the CCAF's mechanized battle armor units.
Constructed on an Ceresplex Light Omni Endo-Steel chassis to save mass at the expense of internal space, the Gùn gets off to a promising start. Where that start careens into something unexpected occurs at the next stage of development. A Rawlings 100 standard fusion engine propels the Gùn up to a running speed of just a hair over 86 kilometers per hour. This earns it the dubious distinction of being the slowest 'Mech in its tonnage increment, sharing that “honor” with the Hornet. Indeed, of all known BattleMechs to date, the next slowest 'Mech to be found is the Mandrill, fully ten tons heavier. And, of course, the Urbanmech, also in the 30 ton group. August company, to be sure. While there are no jumpjets hard-wired into the chassis, it is technically possible for the Gùn to mount a full complement, though no current configuration does so.
While the Endo-Steel chassis is intended to save mass at the cost of space and expense, the standard engine takes the opposite approach and saves expense at the cost of mass. This has the side-effect of making the Gùn durable enough on its own to weather a few seconds of dedicated heavy firepower, so the decision is not necessarily a poor one. In fact, considering the overall cost of the base chassis of the 'Mech, using a standard engine is a shrewd cost cutting measure that maintains a good level of effectiveness for the price. Another cost cutting measure in the form of a small cockpit makes the Gùn a challenge to pilot, but frees another ton of mass to use in the armament and armor of the 'Mech.
Speaking of armor, the Gùn is protected by three and a half tons of Ceres Standard armor plating. This is enough to cover just more than 80% of the chassis maximum, but definitely leaves the pilot wanting more. As it stands, a simple medium pulse laser will strip all of the armor off any location that is not the Center Torso or Head, though it will only go internal from the rear. Both the aforementioned locations, however, will be breached by a direct large laser hit. A single PPC or AC/10 slug will take the Head clean off, which can't do a whole lot to make pilots happy. On a frame like this, sacrifices must be made.
Those sacrifices, however, yield fruit in the form of the Gùn's payload. Not less than ten tons of podspace, fully half the 'Mechs mass, are available for weapons and equipment. Supported by the base ten double heatsinks of the 'Mech, this is more than enough to accomplish the Gùn's primary role. In fact, some might argue that this is more podspace than the Gùn needs, or that any sane pilot would want to ride into a fight given so little armor. Three common configurations make very different uses of the space available, though all follow the same general tenets.
First, the 'Mech takes a leaf out of the venerable Urbanmech's playbook and typically mounts a single large caliber weapon, though the primary configuration also boasts a pair of supporting weapons. Additionally, all weapons on all configurations are mounted on the arms, making for superb battle armor transport capabilities. Finally, despite the ammunition on the primary, Gùn configurations are armed solely with energy weapons. This serves the two fold purpose of allowing Gùn units to stay in the field as battle armor transports long after a ballistic- or missile-armed transport would have to retire to rearm. Secondly, it also keeps ammunition costs down, reinforcing the image of a cost-effective, easily acquired and replaced garrison 'Mech.
The primary configuration of the Gùn sets the tone for the rest of the common configs. Taking up the majority of the podspace is a single Plasma Rifle, fed by two tons of ammunition, in the Right Arm. Opposite that in the left sit two ER Medium Lasers. The primary weapon on this configuration has the fairly short maximum range of 450 meters, but within range the Plasma Rifle is a good candidate for the most versatile weapon available for any tonnage. Capable of solid punches at 'Mechs while also playing merry hell with an opponent's heat scale, the rifle is even better at engaging aerospace fighters due to the unforgiving nature of an ASF's heat scale. Against non-heat tracking units such as infantry, battle armor, and conventional vehicles, the rifle deals significant extra damage. In the open, a single volley from the energy weapon is enough to completely incinerate entire platoons by itself. The two lasers add good punch for the 'Mech's size out to 360 meters. While short ranged, the Gùn's primary configuration is unmatched in offensive versatility.
Configuration A represents the logical extreme of a 20 ton 'Mech with 10 tons of space. There is only one weapon on this configuration, in the form of a Heavy PPC in the Right Arm. On a frame moving that slowly, with that little armor, the HPPC is
begging to be destroyed in line combat. That's why the Gùn does not participate in line combat when at all possible. Against civilian vehicles, or the lower tech, less capable vehicles that an insurgency or enemy militia units are likely to muster, the devastating punch of the HPPC ensures that nothing wants to get within 540 meters of the Gùn A except infantry. Even then, since it's suicide to send a Gùn into battle alone and unsupported, there's more than likely another that can ruin the infantry's day nearby.
The final configuration, labeled simply “B”, may best be described as the Raven's younger sibling. While this particular sibling may be frailer of limb and feebler of punch, it is if anything stronger in mind. Mounting both Angel ECM and a Bloodhound Active Probe (in the Right Torso and Left Torso, respectively), as well as a TAG module in the Left Arm, the Gùn B is able to provide all of your electronics warfare needs, short of relaying the HPG message for reinforcements itself. The sole offensive weapon is an ER Large Laser in the Right Arm.
A group of notable pilots has done enough with the Gùn to warrant mention. A unit full of screw-ups, an up and coming officer in the McCarron's Armored Cavalry's second regiment volunteered to lead the errant lance of Gùns. Sang-wei Garrett O’Donnell immediately whipped the unit into fighting shape, and the lance is now one of the most requested in the entire regiment for infantry support special missions.
Using a Gùn is fairly straightforward. You don't have the armor to tangle with... well, anything that isn't infantry for any length of time. Neither do you have the speed to disengage from anything that has any speed at all. More so than any other 'Mech in recent memory, use of cover and blocking line of sight is necessary to use a Gùn. Hit and fade attacks are a good idea in cities or heavy woods, and using the primary's plasma rifle to set fires may actually be more useful to the group than using that limited ammunition to engage the enemy. Lack of maneuverability is a serious issue. As the entry mentions, the B is rarely deployed out of range of friendly artillery, and that's a good rule to use. The more you can keep enemies ducked out of sight, the more freedom you have to maneuver.
The Prime functions in a very different manner from the A and B, since it offers the only dedicated anti-infantry punch of the configurations. If you encounter an infantry unit that you absolutely need dead, send a Prime after it. If you encounter an armored target, bring forward the As. Enemy ECM, or a C3 Network, or other advanced electronics, bring forward a B, same for if the enemy is dug into fixed positions. In such a way, no Gùn is really able to do everything, but all Gùn configurations together are able to accomplish just about everything, once friendly artillery is included.
Fighting a Gùn is even easier. Shoot at it. Doesn't even really matter with what, just be aware that the A is going to hurt what shoots at it, the Prime is going to roast infantry alive, and the B is going to shut down everything you love and hold dear in the world. It's like playing rock-paper-scissors. Kill the A with infantry, kill the Prime with 'Mechs or other long range weapons, and kill the B with something that doesn't use electronics to do it, and that can preferably avoid the return fire from the Arrow IV battery just over the next ridge.
The Gùn is entirely too new for Camospecs, but you can find the
Master Unit List entry for it right here.
