Plainsman

Plainsman.jpg
Plainsman
Production information
Manufacturer Pinard Protectorates Limited
Mission hovertank
Type Hovercraft
Technical specifications
Mass 35 tons
Armor Starslab/3
Engine Earthwerks Incorporated 140 Internal Combustion Engine
Speed 150 kph km/h
Crew 3
Armament

two (2) turret-mounted Harvester 20K SRM 6 Launchers and one (1) front-mounted Harvester 2K SRM 2 Launcher

BV (1.0) 413
BV (2.0) 413


The Plainsman was a 35-ton hovertank produced by Pinard Protectorates Limited, at the behest of the Wolf's Dragoons.


Description

The fast and hard-hitting Plainsman is a staple of many second-echelon forces throughout the Inner Sphere. The Plainsman was actually conceived as part of the Wolf’s Dragoon re-armament program of 3030. The Plainsman’s design focus was on reliability and low-maintenance, so only tried-and-true components were used throughout. The resulting solid design is considered by many to set the benchmark for durability and serviceability in hovertanks.


Capabilities

Beside it's reliability, the Plainsman brings considerable speed and punch on the battlefield. Though lightly armored, the tank has proven its worth in hundreds of battles throughout the Inner Sphere. The Earthwerks turbine has sometimes been called bulky and noisy while spooling up. However, its ability to run for 5,000+ hours with no more than a prayer of thanks for daily maintenance has saved considerable man-hours and sweat for service techs across the Inner Sphere. The Star Slab armor dates back to the time of Kerensky, but improvements since then prevent the micro-cracking problems common in earlier versions.

Deployment

The Plainsman is cuurently used by many second-echelon units in the Lyran Alliance, Free Worlds League and the Draconis Combine. The 2nd Shin Legion's recon company also deploys the Plainsman. Perhaps the Plainsman's most notable operation was during the War of 3039. On Sadalbari, a Federated Commonwealth home guard militia company was in the process in replacing it's battle-weary Pegasus hovertanks with [[Plainsman}} hovertanks.

Armament

The Plainsman's twin turret-mounted SRM 6's and front mounted SRM 2 afford the hovertank with considerable short range firepower. The SRM 6's share 30 reloads between them while the SRM 2 can draw from 50 reloads.

Variants

Pinard Protectorates Limited experimented with split-turret designs to allow the SRM 6 launchers to be independently targeted to different arcs of fire. However, extensive testing found the complicated split-turret design to be unreliable under field conditions. This condition undermined the primary philosphy of the Plainsman's orignal design goal. The testing also determined that splitting the fire of the twin SRM 6 launchers actually reduced the Plainsman's overall punch.

The Quikscell Company on planet Oliver approached Pinard to produce a variant of the Plainsman with an upgraded weapons system. PInanrd subcontracted to produce a modified version of the FireScan targeting system. Reports suggest the Plainsman's target accuracy may be increased by a much as 20 percent.

Pinard has also acquired Streak Missile Launcher technolgy that it intends to utilize in the two turret mounted launchers. The resulting varient carries tow Holly Streak SRM-4 launders in the turrent while the front mounted HarvesterSRM 2 is retained. Pinanrd also plans to market a field upgrade kit to allow installation of the Holley Streak SRM-4 on existing versions. Although the upgrades make the Plainsman even more deadly at short ranges, the well-known ruggedness and reliability of the Harvester launchers ensure a strong demand for the standard version of the Plainsman.

Pinard also offers the Plainsman "Scout" version. The Scout replaces the front-mounted SRM 2 and its ammo with a Beagle Active Probe system. This change also allows an additional half-ton or armor to critical areas in order to compensate for the lost firepower. Pinard's sales representatives recommends that every Plainsman platton should include at least one of the more expensive scouts. However, most units typically add only one Scout per company on the average.

References