Shadrak
09/06/16 03:12 AM
98.101.165.111
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The artillery carrier systems, derived from the LRM carrier chassis, emerged in the mid 2600's as a cheap self-propelled artillery system that assisted Great House powers in their efforts to circumvent Council Edict of 2650 (Directive 30).
While a standard battery of field artillery at the time of the directive's implementation consisted of six artillery pieces, the original artillery carrier consisted of two thumper cannon mounted in a single firing system including a single recoil system and a single loading system. These artillery carriers were organized in a standard company of twelve vehicles divided among three platoons. This gave commanders access to nearly four times the capability available in a standard artillery battery.
Unfortunately, the systems allowing for the dual thumper cannon to be used on the same platform required an excessive amount of maintenance in order to keeps the system fully mission capable. The dual thumper system required two dedicated technicians per vehicle (more than twice normal for similarly sized combat vehicles) and the dual thumper vehicle required a full reset after firing 500 total rounds.
To make maintenance less complex, manufacturers introduced a Long Tom variant in the 2690s. This variant reduced the maintenance requirements for the vehicle and made the system more effective in the minds of the commanders that used them.
This system would be phased out later in favor of other systems primarily because of the systems expense.
A similar variant mounting dual Arrow IVs was released in the early 2700s, but this variant largely failed as purchasers normally found higher-quality systems to be a better investment.
Thousands were produced prior to the fall of the Star League and more of the dual thumper systems were built during the Succession Wars, but other systems, including towable field artillery pieces, proved to be more popular.
The idea received renewed interest in the Taurian Concordat in the 3060s as the Light SRM carrier was seen as an optimal system for fire support with its high payload but light armor and slow speed. Nearly one in ten Light SRM Carriers produced from 3063 to 3072 was an artillery version, though less than 20 percent of the artillery variants utilized an Arrow IV system. The vast majority mounted a Thumper cannon...
From 3080 until 3100 the Light Thumper Carrier was the most common self-propelled artillery system operating in the Inner Sphere.
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