Rommel

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Rommel.jpg
Rommel Tank
Production information
Manufacturer Defiance Industries
Production Year 3027[1]
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
Communications System TharHes Muse 54-58K
Targeting Tracking System TharHes Mars5
Heat Sinks 10
Armament
BV (1.0) 550
BV (2.0) 961


Description

The Rommel was designed concurrently with the Patton in the early 3000s when Defiance Industries decided that a vehicle to replace 'Mechs was needed. 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 in other concealment, and then use its devastating armament to cripple or destroy a BattleMech. 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 sustain more punishment, yet slip away faster to fight again from another position.

Weapons and Equipment

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

  • Gauss 
    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[2]
  • Rommel Howitzer 
    This version of the Rommel removes the standard weaponry and replaces it with weapons that are allegedly easier for newer troops to use and less likely to fall victim to electronic warfare or Anti-Missile systems. The main gun is a Long Tom Artillery Cannon. This weapon can inflict massive amounts of damage on the target and it's immediate surroundings and it doesn't require a great gunner. The LRM-5 was replaced by a Thunderbolt 5 launcher to provide more punch at the cost of range. Two front mounted ER Medium Lasers provide ammunition-independent fire. Twelve tons of Heavy Ferro-Fibrous armor protects the tank. BV (2.0) = 1,507[5]
  • Rommel Howitzer (Production) 
    The production model of the Rommel Howitzer replaces the XL engine with a standard fusion engine to reduce costs. This reduces the tank's top speed to 54 km/h. This version also carries a half-ton less of the Heavy Ferro-Fibrous armor, but the weapons systems remain the same as the prototype's. BV (2.0) = 1,353[6]

Related Designs

  • 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.

Design Quirks

The Rommel Howitzer (Production) variant is subject of the following Design Quirks:[6]

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.[7]

Gallery

References

  • Combat Operations, p. 120
  1. MUL online date for the Rommel
  2. Record Sheets: 3058 Unabridged (Inner Sphere), p. 157
  3. Technical Readout: 3085, p. 191
  4. Record Sheets: 3085 Unabridged — Old is the New New, p. 42
  5. Experimental Technical Readout: Steiner, p. 11
  6. 6.0 6.1 Technical Readout: Prototypes, p. 57
  7. Herbert A. Beas II in official rulings on the CBT forum: [1] and [2]

Bibliography