Rommel
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| Rommel Tank | |
| Production information | |
| Manufacturer | Defiance Industries |
| Mission | Close Range/Urban Combat |
| Type | Tracked |
| Cost | 2,908,813 C-bills |
| Technical specifications | |
| Mass | 65 tons |
| Armor | 11.5 |
| Engine | 260 Fusion |
| Speed | 64.8 km/h |
| Crew | 3 |
| Armament |
|
| BV (1.0) | 550 |
| BV (2.0) | 961 |
Description
Designed concurrently with the Patton, Defiance Industries decided that a vehicle to replace 'Mechs was needed in the early 3000s. Since 'Mech production was nearly at a standstill, the ability to produce and field armored vehicles became a necessity no Successor State could ignore. The strength of the Rommel is shown in its great urban warfare abilities. A Rommel may lie in wait down an alley or other concealment, then use its devastating armament to cripple or destroy a 'Mech. The main advantage the Rommel has over other, older designs is a combination of higher speed and more armor. With even more armor than a Demolisher tank, the Rommel can take more punishment, yet slip away faster to fight again from another position.
Armament
The Rommel uses a single Defiance 'Mech Hunter Autocannon/20 as its main armament. Able to cripple light and medium 'Mechs with a single well-placed shot from the main gun, the Rommel can also keep an enemy at bay with a Coventry LRM-5 System while retreating to another position. If attacked by infantry, or as a last resort, the tank commander can aim a single ASL Small Laser.
Variants
- Patton - The Patton tank is built on the same chassis, but carries an Autocannon/10, LRM-5, Small Laser, and a Flamer for anti-infantry work. The reduced weight of the main gun compared to the Rommel enables it to mount more armor.
- Axel - Produced in a Mark I and a Mark II version on Spittal by Benson and Bjorn since the inception of the Free Rasalhague Republic, the Axel tanks are internal-combustion-engine variants of the Rommel and Patton designs, respectively.
- Gauss Rommel - This version of the Rommel replaces the standard weaponry with a Gauss Rifle, a pair of Medium Lasers, and a pair of Machine Guns in the turret. For additional anti-infantry capabilities, this version also mounts a pair of Machine Guns on the front of the tank and a single Machine Gun covers the rear. The only real weakness is that the design only provides a half ton of ammunition for all five Machine Guns. BV (2.0) = 1,178[1]
- Sealed Rommel - This variant uses Environmental Sealing to participate in amphibious attacks. It carries Heavy Ferro-Fibrous armor and a Guardian ECM Suite to protect itself, and trades in its weaponry for a Heavy PPC and a Streak SRM-6. To defend itself in the water, it also carries a bow mounted SRT-4 system.[2] BV (2.0) = ????
Notes
Rumours claiming that the Rommel was produced on Perdition, in the Taurian Concordat, as early as 3025, were based on faulty intelligence and have since been proven as false.
- Several early BattleTech products, most notably the Technical Readout: 3025 and Objective Raids, erroneously stated the Taurians produced the Hatchetman 'Mech and the Rommel tank. This has since been stated to be plainly wrong, and an error in the earlier products, by the line developers.[3]
References
- Combat Operations, p. 120