Three-Man Digging Machine

Three-Man Digging Machine
Production information
Manufacturer Brooks Incorporated[1]
Class
Technical specifications
'Mech type Inner Sphere IndustrialMech
Mass
Chassis
Armor
Engine
Speed km/h
Armament



In late 2920 the Free Worlds League government contracted Brooks Incorporated to create IndustrialMechs that massed greater than one hundred tons. It was rumored that the League hoped this research would lead to Superheavy BattleMechs. Head scientist George Hamilton created the Three-Man Digging Machine (nicknamed the Hedgehog after a Star League tripod experiment) twenty years later. Three-legged and piloted by three miners, the machine was cutting edge technology for the Third Succession War era. However, the 12 meter[2] height and more than 100 ton mass of the machine when combined with difficult three-legged locomotion meant it could only operate on worlds with Terran-standard gravity or less. When locked in for drilling however, the stability was much praised. Because of the mass and bulk, the Hedgehog was shipped disassembled. Brooks discontinued production of the hedgehog in the early years of the thirty-first century, citing operational limitations and a flagging economy.[1][3]

In 3005 several of these machines were used by miners on Dahar IV to fight off a Draconis Combine raid.[2]

Notes[edit]

  • No game statistics have ever been published for the Three-Man Digging Machine.
  • Originally mentioned in the 1987 The Galtor Campaign it was described as "fast enough to rush the Kurita Mechs and agile enough to dodge most of the laser and missile fire" which is unlikely to be true for a Superheavy IndustrialMech. It also gave the height as 40 feet (12 meters) though current rules require Superheavies to be 18 meters.

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Interstellar Operations: Alternate Eras, p. 153
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Galtor Campaign, p. 38
  3. Technical Readout: Vehicle Annex Revised, p. 220

Bibliography[edit]