Portal:Mechs

Portal topics: Portal:Mechs; Portal:Combat vehicles

The Mech Portal

A Warhammer BattleMech

A BattleMech (often abbreviated 'Mech, although that could technically also refer to IndustrialMechs) is an armored combat vehicle of roughly humanoid shape, standing 8 to 14 meters tall and typically massing from 20 to 100 tons. 'Mechs are best suited for ground combat, although they are also capable of operations underwater, in hazardous environments and in space.

In general, BattleMechs are considered superior to conventional combat vehicles, being faster, better armed and better protected, creating a firepower-to-manpower ratio which also gives them a logistical advantage. 'Mechs replicate many of the movements humans are capable of performing, which allow them to avoid, deflect or otherwise lessen the impact of weapons fire. There are even some stories about MechWarriors who are able to perform acrobatic feats such as shoulder rolls. The downside is the incredible expense associated with producing and maintaining 'Mechs - even the cheapest 'Mech can cost millions of C-bills - ensuring cheaper combat vehicles a continued role in warfare. Still, the best way to fight a 'Mech is with another 'Mech, preferably one larger and more powerful: duels between evenly matched 'Mechs have been known to last for hours. (Full article...)

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The Atlas is probably the best-known BattleMech to ever set foot on the modern battlefield. Designed with specifications from Aleksandr Kerensky himself in 2755 in the midst of the Cameron Edicts, the Atlas was originally intended to ensure SLDF superiority over the Star League member states. Though the inexorable arming of the Great Houses continued, the Atlas proved itself to be everything General Kerensky requested. With the largest amount of armor of nearly any 'Mech, crippling firepower, and the foreboding skull-shaped "Death's Head" cockpit/head assembly, the Atlas lived up to its reputation. The mere sight of an Atlas had been known to make even a veteran MechWarrior break out in a cold sweat, and theoretically a single Atlas can take on and wipe out an entire battalion of Stingers in exchange for minor armor loss.

The Atlas first combat trials came during the Amaris Civil War, where it served an instrumental role as a powerful command vehicle. Though General Kerensky is well-known for being the one who kicked down the palace doors of the Usurper in his Orion, it was his close friend Aaron DeChavilier who, in his Atlas, weathered the storm of enemy fire and breached the protective wall surrounding the complex. After this conflict it was therefore with little surprise that the General wished for all of these 'Mechs to accompany him on Operation EXODUS, but ironically of those MechWarriors who refused his summons fully two-thirds were Atlas pilots. These units were spread among the Successor States and Atlas factories on Al Na'ir, Hesperus II and Quentin would continue production of the 'Mech through the Succession Wars.

Most commanders were loath to tamper too much with such a successful 'Mech, but the recovery of the Helm Memory Core resulted in a number of ancient designs being updated with lostech, and the Atlas was no exception. The new AS7-K model was released in 3049, just in time to fight off the Clan Invasion. The Federated Commonwealth also briefly began production of their own model, the AS7-S, although following the civil war that line was discontinued and further variants have been introduced by the Lyran Alliance and Draconis Combine. Despite its age, well into the end of the thirty-first century there were no plans to replace the Atlas, and even the most cutting-edge designs will stop and pause when faced with the prospect of an Atlas bearing down on them.