Chippewa

Chippewa 3025.jpg
Chippewa
Production information
Manufacturer Bowie Industries

Vandenberg Mechanized Industries

Production Year 2584[1]
Model CHP-W5
Class Heavy aerospace fighter
Tech Base Inner Sphere
Cost 5,410,530 C-bills[2]
Technical specifications
Mass 90 tons
Structural Integrity 9
Frame Bowie 50
Power Plant PlasmaStar 270
Armor Wyatt Coresteel Standard
Fuel 400 - 5 tons
Armament
Communications System Rander 200
Tracking & Targeting System Rander TA5
Heat Sinks 25 single heat sinks
BV (1.0) 1,554[3]
1,154[4]

Description[edit]

Designed for the Star League, the heavy Chippewa isn't extremely fast, but it has an impressive array of armament. Mostly used in the Lyran Commonwealth, the Chippewa has become House Steiner's main heavy fighter. Prior to the start of the First Succession War, Steiner captured the Bowie Industries plant on Dell, where W5 models were produced until House Kurita successfully destroyed the plant in a raid. Another major production site was the Bowie Industries on Wyatt until 3068, when the Word of Blake nuked it during the Jihad.[5]

A heavy fighter, the Chippewa utilizes its large wings to provide added maneuverability when fighting in an atmosphere. The outer portions of each wing can retract inward, allowing for the fighter to be stored aboard transports more easily.

Weapons and Equipment[edit]

Short or long range, it is best to stay away from a Chippewa. With the Exostar LRM-15 and SRM-6 racks to the front, backed up by two Martell medium lasers in the nose and four McCorkel large lasers in the wings, the Chippewa can lay down a devastating first strike. For rear protection, two McCorkel small lasers are mounted in the tail. The Chippewa was the first SLDF fighter to mount specialized Laser Insulators, however the technological know-how to produce this insulation was lost during the Succession Wars and later models were built without them.

Variants[edit]

  • CHP-W8 
    This variant exchanges the LRM and SRM launchers in the nose for an MML-7 with Artemis IV for better close combat ability. BV (1.0) = 1,484[12]
  • CHP-W10 
    A House Davion modification that eliminates two of the large lasers for an extra nine and a half tons of armor. BV (1.0) = 1,516[13] (1,487)[14], BV (2.0) = 1,820

Custom Variants[edit]

  • CHP-X-P Chippewa Gladstone 
    The personal Chippewa of Michael Gladstone, a deserter from the Lyran Regulars, the Chippewa Gladstone can be found near the Rim Collection acting as an escort for various merchant DropShips and JumpShips. Modified to carry a pair of ELRM-15 launchers in the nose, Gladstone can engage enemy forces from much further out than they expect. The standard armor has been removed and replaced with laser reflective armor, which means energy weapons are far less effective against the Chippewa. If an enemy does manage to close with Gladstone they'll receive a rude shock: ten ER medium lasers and enough double heat sinks to use them. In the technology-starved Periphery, the Chippewa Gladstone is one of the most effective and fearsome aerospace fighters in service. BV (2.0) = 1,635[15]

Related Aerospace Fighters[edit]

  • Chippewa IIC - The Chippewa IIC was developed and used by Clan Mongoose during the Golden Century. Keeping with the heavy-hitting role of the original Chippewa, the IIC mated an advanced targeting computer to several ER lasers, while Streak SRMs and LRMs rounded out the weaponry. BV (2.0) = 3,341[17]

Notable Pilots[edit]

  • Cassandra Blake - A skilled Free Worlds League pilot, by the time she was 21 she had downed five enemy fighters and was granted the right to pilot a captured Chippewa. She later went on to become one of the youngest generals in the League's history and eventually take on the role of Quartermaster General.

Notes[edit]

  • Author Blaine Lee Pardoe stated in a blog entry that, according to his memory which he admitted could be wrong, the Chippewa was among the aerospace fighters for which he invented the name and wrote the original background as initially published in TRO:3025, after being given only its art and game stats to work with for the TRO entry. He named it after his college mascot.

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. MUL online date for the Chippewa
  2. Record Sheets: 3039, p. 289
  3. Record Sheets: 3039, p. 289
  4. AeroTech 2 Record Sheets, p. 160
  5. Jihad Hot Spots 3072 p. 17
  6. Record Sheets: Operation Klondike, p. 89
  7. Historical: Operation Klondike, p.161
  8. Objective Raids, p. 78
  9. Record Sheets: 3039, p. 290
  10. AeroTech 2 Record Sheets, p. 161
  11. Record Sheets: 3039, p. 291
  12. Record Sheets: 3039, p. 294
  13. Record Sheets: 3039, p. 288
  14. AeroTech 2 Record Sheets, p. 162
  15. Experimental Technical Readout: Pirates, p. 13
  16. Record Sheets: Unique Fighters, p. 5
  17. Era Digest: Golden Century, p. 36

Bibliography[edit]