Motorize your Infantry - with Style

[Gorgon]

Inspired by Weirdo's VotW artivle on small support vehicles and my desire to test the limits of the construction rules, I recently fooled around with support vehicles. Here's the first borderline useful results. The Piaggio Vespa - now for BattleTech!

First, the basic scooter. It's a bit slower than the real world counterpart, but it got off road capabilities. So a cross country scooter?

Code: [Select]

Type: Vespa (basic)
Chassis Type: Wheeled (Small)
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Mass: 100 kg
Battle Value: 6
   
Equipment                                         Mass (kg)
Chassis/Controls                                  59.0  (Tech Rating B)
Engine/Trans.                                      10.0  (Tech Rating B)
    Cruise MP:3
    Flank MP:5
Heat Sinks                    0                     0.0
Fuel                                                1.0
Armor Factor (BAR 2)          0                     0.0

                          Internal   Armor   
                          Structure  Value   
     Front                   1         0     
     R/L Side               1/1       0/0   
     Rear                    1         0     
   

Weapons
and Ammo              Location    Tonnage       
None
   
Cargo
    Bay 1:  Cargo (0.03 tons)       1 Door   

Notes:
Features Ultra-Light, Bicycle, Off-Road Chassis and Controls Modifications
All nice and good, now for the obvious, the Vespa 105 TAP

Code: [Select]

Type: Vespa TAP
Chassis Type: Wheeled (Small)
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Mass: 115 kg
Battle Value: 9
   
Equipment                                         Mass (kg)
Chassis/Controls                                   65.0  (Tech Rating B)
Engine/Trans.                                      12.0  (Tech Rating B)
    Cruise MP:3
    Flank MP:5
Heat Sinks                    0                     0.0
Fuel                                                1.0
Armor Factor (BAR 2)          0                     0.0

                          Internal   Armor   
                          Structure  Value   
     Front                   1         0     
     R/L Side               1/1       0/0   
     Rear                    1         0     
   

Weapons
and Ammo                          Location    Tonnage       
Recoilless Rifle                   Front        32.0   
Recoilless Rifle Ammo (1 shots)    Front        2.0     
   
Cargo
    Bay 1:  Cargo (0.005 tons)      1 Door   

Notes:
Features Ultra-Light, Bicycle, Off-Road Chassis and Controls Modifications
Advanced Fire Control(4 kg)
Here the differences are greater. Speed is about the same, off-road capabilities are once again added but the real improvement is the advanced fire control. The real scooter was simply intended as a transport for the M20, now you can use it to scoot and shot  >:D

Now for the fun part, the Piaggio Ape! The littelest, loveliest transporter known to humanity.

Code: [Select]

Type: Ape
Chassis Type: Wheeled (Small)
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Mass: 652 kg
Battle Value: 6
   
Equipment                                         Mass (kg)
Chassis/Controls                                   83.0  (Tech Rating B)
Engine/Trans.                                      64.0  (Tech Rating B)
    Cruise MP:3
    Flank MP:5
Heat Sinks                    0                     0.0
Fuel                                                5.0
Armor Factor (BAR 2)          0                     0.0

                          Internal   Armor   
                          Structure  Value   
     Front                   1         0     
     R/L Side               1/1       0/0   
     Rear                    1         0     
   

Weapons
and Ammo              Location    Tonnage       
None
   
Cargo
    Bay 1:  Cargo (0.5 tons)        1 Door   

Notes:
Features Ultra-Light, Bicycle, Off-Road Chassis and Controls Modifications
I cheated a bit by still treating it as a bicycle chassis, but oh well.
And of course I militarized it as a ultra light troop transporter.

Code: [Select]

Type: Ape (Mil)
Chassis Type: Wheeled (Small)
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Mass: 736 kg
Battle Value: 11
   
Equipment                                         Mass (kg)
Chassis/Controls                                  115.0  (Tech Rating B)
Engine/Trans.                                      72.0  (Tech Rating B)
    Cruise MP:3
    Flank MP:5
Heat Sinks                    0                     0.0
Fuel                                                5.0
Armor Factor (BAR 2)          0                     0.0

                          Internal   Armor   
                          Structure  Value   
     Front                   1         0     
     R/L Side               1/1       0/0   
     Rear                    1         0     
   

Weapons
and Ammo                       Location    Weight (kg)       
Machine Gun                     Front        44.0   
Machine Gun Ammo (100 shots)    Front        5.0     
   
Cargo
Infantry Compartment 500 kg

Notes:
Features Ultra-Light, Bicycle, Off-Road Chassis and Controls Modifications
So get your finest suit, paint some RAF roundels on the side and go rough up some death trikes!
 

[Daryk]

So is it standing room only, or are there seats for those guys? ???

[Gorgon]

Well, the infantry compartment has 500kg of 'space' but I imagine it as an open pick-up bed, with the soldiers hopping on, legs dangling over the edge. Basically a Vespa technical.

[Daryk]

Works for me!  ;D

[BATTLEMASTER]

I'm getting a kick out of picturing a Vespa scooter with a recoilless rifle :D

[Daryk]

There are pictures of those things on the internet...  8)

[BATTLEMASTER]

Holy cow that actually was a thing  :o

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespa_150_TAP

[Daryk]

Yep, that's it...  ;D

[Gorgon]

Holy cow that actually was a thing  :o

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespa_150_TAP

To be fair to the french army  and Piaggio it was never intended to fire the recoilles rifle while attached to the Vespa (or one the move!). It was meant to be a light, cheap way to give light infantry some additional fire power. Afaik it was used paratroopers during the Indochina War. But with fire control only being 4kg...   

[DOC_Agren]

I love the Ape...   :thumbsup:

[truetanker]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=peel+50&docid=608046376115788663&mid=34987FE39E9AC1AAF2D934987FE39E9AC1AAF2D9&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

I want BT stats!!!

TT

[DOC_Agren]

what to outfit your enemy with them?

[Gorgon]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=peel+50&docid=608046376115788663&mid=34987FE39E9AC1AAF2D934987FE39E9AC1AAF2D9&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

I want BT stats!!!

TT

Ask and ye shall receive!

I tried to stay as close as possible to the real thing: Wikipedia lists the empty weight at 59 kg and fuel capacity at 8 liters (~ 6 kg). A single seat under BT construction rules is 75kg, so the whole thing weighs 59 kg + 6 kg + 75 kg = 140 kg. Under tech level B that leaves us with 16 kg for luggage. Although you probably have to carry it externally. On the roof or something. The high speed for the original model is given with 60 - 70 kph, so including the +1 bonus for wheeled vehicles traveling on roads, I gave it a base speed of 4/6.

And If you want to arm it (of course you do): 21 kg is enough to fit one of the lighter infantry gauss rifles (the Tsunami or Grand Mauler) or a heavy gyrojet gun!

Code: [Select]

Type: Peel P50
Chassis Type: Wheeled (Small)
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Structural Rating: B
Engine Tech Rating: B
Mass: 140 kg
Battle Value: 6
   
Equipment                                         Mass (kg)
Chassis/Controls                                   92.0
Engine/Trans.                                      21.0
    Cruise MP:4
    Flank MP:6
Heat Sinks                    0                     0.0
Fuel                                                6.0
Armor Factor (BAR 2)          0                     0.0

                          Internal   Armor   
                          Structure  Value   
     Front                   1         0     
     R/L Side               1/1       0/0   
     Rear                    1         0     
   

Weapons
and Ammo              Location    Tonnage       
None
   
Cargo
    Bay 1:  Cargo (0.016 tons)      1 Door 

[DOC_Agren]

So...  I still think the best thing you can do with is it provide it to your enemies, but I do have 1 idea for it use it as a scout unit, to drive in and look around because you are not a threat to anyone in it.

[Daryk]

Eh... cargo Ferrets are pretty much that already...  ^-^

[DOC_Agren]

Eh... cargo Ferrets are pretty much that already...  ^-^

Yeah but if I see a Huey I might open up on it...  but that car it just some fool...

[Daryk]

That works when your enemy isn't in "shoot everything that moves" mode, sure...  ^-^

[Gorgon]

At 6 BV, you can flood the battlefield until your opponent just throws up their hands and refuses to every play with you again.


...a win is a win

[Daryk]

There are wins, and then there are "wins"...  ^-^

[DOC_Agren]

At 6 BV, you can flood the battlefield until your opponent just throws up their hands and refuses to every play with you again.


...a win is a win

Yep.. 
Do I need to I need to kill them all.