TDH-1X Thunder HammerOverviewWhat started out as a drunken bet between two Defiance Industries employees in 3030, became an obsession that did not come to fruition until 3041. Two engineers were arguing the benefits of the TDR-5S Thunderbolt vs the WHM-3R Warhammer, when a test pilot, deep in his cups, bet them that they couldn't design a single Battlemech with the capabilities of both chassis. One of the engineers, drunker than the other accepted the challenge. And thus began the strange odyssey that was the TDH-1X Thunder Hammer.
Despite his best attempts, the design proved impossible due to extreme heat issues until 3041, with the Federated Commonwealth wide distribution of Double Heat Sinks developed at the the NAIS.
CapabilitiesStarting with the lower body of a salvaged Longbow and reinforcing and modifying Thunderbolt and Warhammer body components as needed, the Thunder Hammer's body came together quickly. The weapons array also came together with equal speed, mearly pulling them, mounts and all, directly from donor Mechs. The Mechs swift progress quickly ground to a halt when they discovered that they could never come close to installing sufficient heat sinks to make the Mech practical. The Mech remained in this state for the next ten years, stubbornly refusing to yield a solution to the engineers obsessive tinkering. Finally, in 3041, with the availability of NAIS developed Double Heat Sinks, the Thunder Hammer found new life. Only need an extra pair of freezers to make the load out practical, the design was finally finished.
The Thunder Hammer's startling weapon loadout begins with a Warhammer's paired Donal PPCs. Combined with the Thunderbolt's Delta Dart missile launcher, giving the Mech a very respectable long range punch. Backing up the long range weapons is a frightening array of weapons, with no fewer than five Medium Lasers of mixed makes, a Sunglow Large Laser, and a Holly SRM 6 launcher. The Warhammer's Magna Small Lasers, as well as the Machine Guns from both the Thunderbolt and Warhammer are almost ridiculous afterthoughts. However, much to the designers dismay, the Thunderbolts Bical SRM had to be left out to make room for the Warhammer's searchlight, an important part of the Warhammer's O/P 1500 ARB targeting and tracking system. All of this firepower was protected by a massive fifteen and a half tons of Valiant Lamellor armor, giving the Mech greater protection than the mighty Banshee 3S, if only slightly.
With the rush to adopt the lostech coming from the NAIS, Defiance Industries allowed the Thunder Hammer to be tested, even going as far as to construct a second prototype to test a slightly different loadout. As testing began, it became clear that while the Mech possessed excellent armor and astonishing firepower, the Sunglow was hampering the Mechs performance. The Large Laser placed too much of a heat load no matter which range band the weapon was used in. Other engineers suggested the removal of the Sunglow, but the designer refused, saying it would "violate the design's integrity".
This, along with the lack of any other of the lostech bells and whistles, ultimately led to Defiance Industries and the AFFC not accepting the design. Currently, in a storage bunker deep within the bowels of Hesperus II, it is rumored that both Thunder Hammer prototypes still exist, mostly due to a lack of desire or need to disassemble them.
VariantsThe only constructed variant of the Thunder Hammer, the 1Xa, attempts to make the Mech even closer to it's namesakes. It does this by dropping one ton of armor and replacing the single Holly SRM 6 with a pair of Holly SRM 4s, each drawing from a single one ton ammo bin. While not an exact match to the Thunderbolt's SRM 2 plus the Warhammer's SRM 6, it does possess the same number of tubes.
A second proposed variant of the Thunder Hammer was never actually built, but the plans do still exist. The proposed 2X design, using the 1Xa as a starting point, deleted the problematic Sunglow Large Laser in favor of two additional Double Heat Sinks. The remaining three tons were used to upgrade the three Diverse Optics Medium Lasers with three Defiance P5M Medium Pulse Lasers.
Mass: 85 tons
Chassis: StarCorp 100
Power Plant: 255 Strand
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph
Maximum Speed: 54.0 kph
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: None
Armor: Valiant Lamellor
Armament:
Two Donal PPCs
One Sunglow Type 2 Large Laser
Two Martel Medium Lasers
Three Divers Optics Type 8 Medium Lasers
Two Magna Small Lasers
One Delta Dart Long Range Missle 15-Rack
One Holly Short Range Missle Pack (6)
Two SperryBrowning Machine Guns
Two Voelkers 200 Machine Guns
Manufacturer: None (Custom Prototype)
Communications System: O/P 3000 COMSET
Targeting and Tracking System: O/P 1500 ARBType: TDH-1X Thunder HammerBattle Value (BV1): 1385
Tonnage 85 tons 85
Internal Structure 8.5
Engine 255 Strand 13
Walking MPs 3
Running MPs 5
Jumping MPs 0
Heat Sinks (Double) 12 [24] 2
Gyro 3
Cockpit 3
Armor Factor 248 15.5
IS AV
Head 3 9
Center Torso 27 41 / 10
Rt/Lt Torso 18 25 / 9
Rt/Lt Arm 14 26
Rt/Lt Leg 18 34
Weapons and Ammo
Type Loc Critical
PPC RA 3 7
PPC LA 3 7
Large Laser RA 2 5
Medium Laser RT 1 1
Medium Laser LT 1 1
Medium Laser LT 1 1
Medium Laser LT 1 1
Medium Laser LT 1 1
Small Laser RT 1 0.5
Small Laser LT 1 0.5
LRM 15 LT 3 7
Ammo (LRM) 8 CT 1 1
SRM 6 RT 2 3
Ammo (SRM) 15 RT 1 1
Machine Gun RT 1 0.5
Machine Gun LT 1 0.5
Ammo (MG) 100 CT 1 0.5
Machine Gun LA 1 0.5
Machine Gun LA 1 0.5
Ammo (MG) 100 LA 1 0.5Type: TDH-1Xa Thunder HammerBattle Value (BV1): 1310
Tonnage 85 tons 85
Internal Structure 8.5
Engine 255 Strand 13
Walking MPs 3
Running MPs 5
Jumping MPs 0
Heat Sinks (Double) 12 [24] 2
Gyro 3
Cockpit 3
Armor Factor 232 14.5
IS AV
Head 3 9
Center Torso 27 39 / 10
Rt/Lt Torso 18 25 / 8
Rt/Lt Arm 14 24
Rt/Lt Leg 18 30
Weapons and Ammo
Type Loc Critical
PPC RA 3 7
PPC LA 3 7
Large Laser RA 2 5
Medium Laser RT 1 1
Medium Laser LT 1 1
Medium Laser LT 1 1
Medium Laser LT 1 1
Medium Laser LT 1 1
Small Laser RT 1 0.5
Small Laser LT 1 0.5
SRM 4 RT 1 2
SRM 4 RT 1 2
Ammo (SRM) 25 RT 1 1
LRM 15 LT 3 7
Ammo (LRM) 8 CT 1 1
Machine Gun RT 1 0.5
Machine Gun LT 1 0.5
Ammo (MG) 100 CT 1 0.5
Machine Gun LA 1 0.5
Machine Gun LA 1 0.5
Ammo (MG) 100 LA 1 0.5Type: TDH-2X Thunder HammerBattle Value (BV1): 1330
Tonnage 85 tons 85
Internal Structure 8.5
Engine 255 Strand 13
Walking MPs 3
Running MPs 5
Jumping MPs 0
Heat Sinks (Double) 14 [28] 2
Gyro 3
Cockpit 3
Armor Factor 232 14.5
IS AV
Head 3 9
Center Torso 27 39 / 10
Rt/Lt Torso 18 25 / 8
Rt/Lt Arm 14 24
Rt/Lt Leg 18 30
Weapons and Ammo
Type Loc Critical
PPC RA 3 7
PPC LA 3 7
Medium Pulse Laser LT 1 2
Medium Pulse Laser LT 1 2
Medium Pulse Laser LT 1 2
Medium Laser RT 1 1
Medium Laser LT 1 1
Small Laser RT 1 0.5
Small Laser LT 1 0.5
LRM 15 LT 3 7
Ammo (LRM) 8 CT 1 1
SRM 4 RT 1 2
SRM 4 RT 1 2
Ammo (SRM) 25 RT 1 1
Machine Gun RT 1 0.5
Machine Gun LT 1 0.5
Ammo (MG) 100 CT 1 0.5
Machine Gun LA 1 0.5
Machine Gun LA 1 0.5
Ammo (MG) 100 LA 1 0.5
