Cray
General
Reged: 07/27/01
Posts: 4131
Loc: North America
|
FLS-3R Sunburn
#80841 - 01/23/04 05:32 PM (24.27.227.23)
|
|
|
[Again, in light of the General Discussion thread, "Clan Weaponry without the Clans"...]
The first DCMS troops to encounter the FLS-3R "Sunburn" did not know the Terran Hegemony Armed Forces referred to the big mech as the "Super Flashman," and thus dubbed it "Sunburn" for its weaponry. (It was probably indicative of what THAF FLS-3R mechwarrior thought of the real name when they began referring to the mech by the Kuritan nom de guerre.) Those DCMS invaders also gave a regiment of defending THAF FLS-3Rs defending Dieron a perfect open field banzai charge.
More intelligent military historians recognize the credit for the victory belongs to the mother who dropped her infant son (and future DCMS general) on his head too often. However, since the "Super Flashman / Sunburn" were more directly for the carnage, the new battlemech drew enthusiastic praise. That it was a basically sound assault mech meant the praise elevated it into "all time ultimate bad ass assault mech" status. This in turn ensures battlemech experts will be forever correcting armchair generals that the Sunburn is only a good assault mech, not the ultimate assault mech, and that a company cannot defend a planet against a Kuritan division. Maybe a regiment.
The FLS-3R Sunburn started life (in 2843) as an attempt to "slightly enlarge" the Flashman into a "highly mobile assault mech," i.e., a 100-ton mech with a top speed of 65kph. This would give the THAF an assault mech that would prevent another Mizar Debacle (2842), where THAF Atlas IIs were outmaneuvered and destroyed by Lyran (aka, "Thundering Herd") Zeuses. (THAF aerospace power won the day, and Mizar militia hovercraft dispatched the Zeuses while running circles around them, but still.)
As an extrapolation of a relatively solid design, the "Super Flashman" development proceeded smoothly. The 375 GM extra-light engine was enlarged to a 400 GM extra-light. Chassis and actuators received strategic reinforcements. Ferrofibrous was initially considered, but then discarded for space reasons. New large pulse lasers were mounted, and new DHS were stuffed into the engine. The "Super Flashman" would be ready for production in 2845.
A fresh gust of sanity rolled through the THAF procurement department in 2844. Another Mizar Debacle (it was only a frickin' company of Atlas IIs, and it took the Lyrans a battalion of Zeuses) could be avoided by better escorts and training. However, the Super Flashman had potential, and the THAF did have quite a few standard models of assault mechs - some streamlining might be in order.
The 400XL was kicked out of the center torso and placed with the time-tested 300 Vlar. Another large pulse laser was added and prodigious numbers of the new compact DHS were stuffed into the frame. The first backers of the "Super Flashman" project had hoped for a great deal of parts commonality with the existing FLS-10K and upcoming FLS-11K. However, the mid-project changes resulted in the mech sharing a 3-ton gyroscope with the Atlas and...well, actually, many THAF mechs. The 300 Vlar was also very common among THAF medium, heavy, and assault mechs. The result was dubbed the FLS-3R Sunburn.
FLS-3R SUNBURN
Clan Tech
5 tons endosteel internal structure
19 tons 300 Vlar
....Walking: 3
....Running: 5
....Jumping: Not well
16 tons 26 DHS
3 tons gyroscope
3 tons cockpit
19 tons armor
....See: Atlas
30 tons 5x Large Pulse Lasers (RA/RT/CT/LT/LA)
4 tons 2x Medium Pulse Laser (RTR/LTR)
1 ton Beagle Active Probe (H)
Advanced Satellite Uplink
DHS: RL/LL, 3 RA/LA, 3 RT/LT
Endosteel: RA/LA, 3 RT, 2 LT
No hand actuators present
VARIANTS
With the same modularity as the FLR-10K and -11K, the Sunburn has stayed updated throughout its decades of service, and some units have been known to alter it. A popular change is to replace one or more large lasers with the new generation ER PPCs (i.e., Clan). The active probe is often replaced with ECM, with probe:ECM ratios varying from company to company.
The FLS-4R traded its MPLs, Active Probe, and a ton of leg armor for one of the new targeting computers. This factory rebuild necessitated some rearrangement of the internal structure. The FLR-4R proved so popular with new, fresh recruits (i.e., those with worse gunnery skills than senior mechwarriors) that it was dubbed the "Munchkin Machine" or "Munchkin Magnet," depending on the THAF unit.
--------------------
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
|
|
0 registered and 1 anonymous users are browsing this forum.
Moderator: Nic Jansma, Cray, mattbuck, ShadowMasterCM
Print Topic
|
Forum Permissions
You cannot start new topics
You cannot reply to topics
HTML is disabled
UBBCode is enabled
|
Rating:
Topic views: 991
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit
Reply
Quote
