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This design is not meant for entry into the contest but rather to provide background for the WVR-7T.

The Wolverine WVR-6T is one of the least known variants of the Wolverine.  Following the Reunification War, the Star League imposed numerous restrictions on the Periphery states.  In the Taurian Concordat, they forbade the production of the Concordat's Toro battlemech.  Instead the production lines of Taurus WarWorks were retooled to produce the Wolverine.  Over the next 150 years, the Wolverine would received a number of modifications and improvements, ultimately resulting in the WVR-6T model in 2738.  The WVR-6T would continue in production at Taurus Territorial Industries [Ed Note: Taurus Territorial Industries was formed in 2787 at the direction of the Concordat government through the merger of Taurus WarWorks, Concordat Territorial Manufacturing and Hyades Heavy Industries] until 2812, when production halted following the destruction of the Hyades Orbital Foundry, which produced the Endo-Steel chassis, in an industrial accident.

The Taurian Wolverine incorporated a number of advanced technologies. This was due to the Concordat having captured and reverse engineered a number of these systems during the Reunification War.  The Concordat was originally allowed to continue production of these advanced technologies to serve as a source of supply for the SLDF occupation forces.  As the years went on, the Concordat began to incorporate these items into the mechs produced for the TDF.  In a surprising move, the SLDF did not object. It is believed that the the SLDF felt even with these advanced weapons the TDF was no match for them. 

The Taurian Wolverine was designed to meet the needs of the TDF for a recon mech with an anti-infantry capability. The chassis of the Wolverine has been upgraded to an Endo Steel Frame. Having reverse engineered the technology during the Reunification War, the Concordat, who had a large number of orbital facilities to support their large navy, established the Hyades Orbital Foundry over Taurus to produce Endo-Steel during the final years of the war.  Despite some concerns from the SLDF, the facility remained in service and provided replacement parts to the local SLDF forces.  Finally in the 2700s, the factory was allowed to provide Endo-Steel Chassis to local manufacturers for the TDF.  The Wolverine was one of the first mech's upgraded with the lighter materials. 

The weight savings allowed the replacement of the older Whirlwind Autocannon with an Armstrong Armaments Class 5 Ultra Autocannon. Produced at their Sterope plant, the new weapon effectively doubled performance of the older weapon, although their was an increased risk of the weapon jamming. To provided the same battlefield endurance as the original Wolverine, the -6T carries 2 tons of autocannon ammo. With so mach ammo in the mech, the design team added a CASE to the right torso, protecting the mechwarrior from any ammo explosions. 

The secondary weaponry on the -7T is largely similar to the -6T.  The 6 tube SRM rack has been downgraded to a 4 tube launcher, while the medium laser in the head has been retained.  The only addition to the weapon systems is a Lushann Small Pulse laser from Lushann Industrials Limited in the Outworlds Alliance.  This weapon provides the Wolverine with an anti-infantry capability that the TDF felt the mech was lacking. 

In addition to upgrades to the weapons, the Wolverine features a number of changes to its cooling, armor and electronics.   The cooling system had been upgraded with double strength models.  While heat has never been much of an issue for the Wolverine, the new heatsinks ensure the mech will never overheat in combat.  The armor has been upgraded with advance Ferro-Fibrous armor, again a technology that was reverse engineered from the SLDF during the Reunification War.  Featuring 10 tons of armor plating, the Taurian Wolverine features almost 20% more protection then the standard -6R model. Most of this armor has been added to the legs and torso of the mech.  The final improvement is the addition of a Beagle Active Probe.   As with most of the other advanced technology on the Wolverine, this had also been reverse engineered during the Reunification War.  The capabilities of the Active Probe allow the Wolverine to better spot enemy units, greatly improving its performance as a scout. 

The Wolverine -7T was a common mech in the TDF and could be found in almost every scout lance, serving along side Wasps, Locusts, Stingers and Commandos. Production of the mech continued until 2812 when the Hyades Orbital Foundry was was destroyed in an industrial accident.  Efforts to rebuild the foundry were abandoned when the Concordat become involved in the foolish Taurian-Canopian War in 2813. The Wolverine remained in service with the TDF however many were soon downgraded to the WVR-6R model as advanced weapons and armor were replaced with simpler models.


Model WVR-6T
Mass: 55 tons
Chassis: Taurus WVR Endo
Power Plant: Vox 275
Cruising Speed: 54.0 kph
Maximum Speed: 86.4 kph
Jump Jets:  Rawlings 55
Jump Capacity: 150 m
Armor: Durallex Medium Ferro Fibrous Armor
Armament:
   1 Armstrong Armaments Class 5 Ultra
   1 Shannon Fore SRM Rack
   1 Martell Medium Laser
   1 Lushann Small Pulse Laser
Manufacturer: Taurus WarWorks
Primary Factories: Taurus
Communications System: Tek BattleCom
Targeting and Tracking System: Garret T11b with Beagle Active Probe

Type: WVR-6T Wolverine
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Tonnage:    55 tons

Equipment:                 Mass
Internal Structure   Endo      3
Engine      275         15.5      
   Walking MP:   5
   Running MP:  8
   Jumping MP:  5
Heatsinks       10 (20)      
Gyro                  3
Cockpit               3
Armor Factor   179         10
         IS      Armor
Head         3      8   
CT         18      25/8
R/L Torso      13      20/6
R/L Arm      9      18
R/L Leg      13      25

Weapons & Ammo   Location   Critical   Tonnage
AC/5 Ultra         RA      5      9
Ammo AC (40)      RT      2      2
Ammo SRM (25)   RT      1      1
CASE          RT      1      0.5
SRM 4          LT      1      2
Beagle Active Probe   LT      2      1.5
Medium Laser      H      1      1
Small Pulse Laser   LA      1      1
Jump Jet          CT      1      0.5
Jump Jets         RL      2      1
Jump Jets         LL      2      1

The WVR-8K was developed by the Victory Industries in response to a DCMS request for an anti-air capable battlemech.  Lacking any production lines for the Rifleman, the DCMS was forced to use the Jagermech, which was produced by Independence Weaponry on Quentin.  Never a popular mech, and made even less so with its close association with the Federated Suns, the Jagermech was seen as a less then desirable mech.  It did not help that the mech was very lightly armored and had what was considered a weak weapons array.  Even after being upgraded with advanced technologies the Jagermech was considered ineffective. 

Issusing a call for a new anti-air battlemech, Independence introduced a new version of the Jagermech.  meanwhile Victory Industries on Marduk also entered a design into the contest.  The Victory entry was based on the Wolverine chassis.  In the waning days of the 3rd Succession War, before the technological revival of the 3030s, Frankenstein mechs began to become common.  One of the more famous such mechs was the Wolfman. Piloted by Valdis Ullman of the Legion of Vega, the Wolfman had been hastily created on Bergman's Planet, using the legs and lower torso of Ullman's Wolverine mated to the upper torso and arms of a damaged Rifleman.  While not the most effective mech in existence, the newly named Wolfman performed well and served in the DCMS for many years. The engineers at Victory, inspired by the Wolfman set about to turn the Wolverine into an Anti-Air defense unit.

While the WVR-8K would retain the Nissan 275 XL engine that was used in the -7K model, the chassis was redesigned to incorporate Rifleman style arms for the mech's main guns. Since they were going to have to make extensive changes to the chassis, the designers decided to switch to an endo steel frame, freeing up mass for other changes.  All of the -7Ks weapons were removed and replaced with a pair of Imperator Code Red LB-10X Autocannons, one in each arm.  These weapons are considered the best anti-aircraft weapons in existence, their cluster rounds have proven high effective against fast moving aerospace fighters.  Paired with each autocannon is a Victory 23R medium laser. 

The weight of the large auto cannons necessitated the removal of all of the mechs other weaponry. The designers also removed 3 heatsinks and switched to standard models.  With the low heat generated by the auto cannons this has not been an issue during field trials.  Other changes include the removal of the jump jet system and a slight reduction in the armor protection compared to the WVR-7K. 

The new Wolverine performed exceptionally during field trials and was accepted for service over the new Jagermech from Independence Weaponry.  Given it's visual similarity to Ullman's mechs, the Wolverine has acquired the name the Wolfman.

There is only 1 variant of the Wolfman currently in existence, the WVR-9K.  During the development of the mech, the design team experiment with a model mounting a pair of Imperator Ultra AC/5 Autocannons in place of the Code Red models.  The weight savings from these smaller guns allowed the designers to protect the ammo bins with a CASE system.  They were also able to retain the Wolverine's Jump Jets and add an additional half ton of armor.  However during testing this model was not as effective against aerospace fighters and was prone to jamming issues with the Autocannons.  While the test pilots were impressed with the mech's mobility, that did not offset the other issues.  There has been a suggestion that should there be a LB-X autocannon in the class 5 rating it might make this variant more viable.


Model WVR-8K
Mass: 55 tons
Chassis: Crucis-A Endo
Power Plant: Nissan 275XL
Cruising Speed: 54.0 kph
Maximum Speed: 86.4 kph
Jump Jets:  Norse Industries 7S
Jump Capacity: 150 m
Armor: Starshield A
Armament:
   2 Imperator Code Red LB-10X
   2 Victory 23R Medium Lasers
Manufacturer: Victory Industries
Primary Factories: Marduk
Communications System: Neil 6000
Targeting and Tracking System: Garret D2j

Type: WVR-8K Wolfman
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Tonnage:    55 tons

Equipment:                 Mass
Internal Structure      endo      3
Engine      275XL         8      
   Walking MP:   5
   Running MP:  8
   Jumping MP:  0
Heatsinks       10       
Gyro                  3
Cockpit               3
Armor Factor   160         10
         IS      Armor
Head         3      8   
CT         18      24/6
R/L Torso      13      20/5
R/L Arm      9      16
R/L Leg      13      20

Weapons & Ammo   Location   Critical   Tonnage
LB-10X         RA      6      11
Medium Laser      RA      1      1
Ammo (20)      RT      2      2
LB-10X         LA      6      11
Medium Laser      LA      1      1
Ammo (20)      LT      2      2



Type: WVR-9K Wolverine
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Tonnage:    55 tons

Equipment:                 Mass
Internal Structure      Endo      3
Engine      275XL         8      
   Walking MP:   5
   Running MP:  8
   Jumping MP:  5
Heatsinks       10       
Gyro                  3
Cockpit               3
Armor Factor   168         10.5
         IS      Armor
Head         3      8   
CT         18      24/8
R/L Torso      13      20/6
R/L Arm      9      16
R/L Leg      13      22

Weapons & Ammo   Location   Critical   Tonnage
AC5 Ultra         RA      5      9
Medium Laser      RA      1      1
Ammo (40)      RT      2      2
CASE          RT      1      0.5
AC/5 Ultra         LA      5      9
Medium Laser      LA      1      1
Ammo (40)      LT      2      2
CASE          LT      1      0.5
Jump Jet          CT      1      0.5
Jump Jets         RL      2      1
Jump Jets         LL      2      1

The Wolverine was one of your favorites, wasn't it Bradshaw?

I was more partial to the Griffin or Shadow Hawk myself in the 55 ton weight class.

I read up on the Mech of the Week Article which really does nice job of highlighting the Wolverine as an overlooked 55-ton classic especially when compared to the Griffin or the Shadow Hawk. I must confess that those more popular Mechs are my favorites but the Wolverine has it uses at close range. I’m thinking of some variants myself now and thinking of some modifications I can make to this tight quarter slugger.

Perhaps my impression of the Wolverine is ‘tainted’ by our use of it which I think Bradshaw will remember. Critter's embarrassing MASC failure that left his lance helpless versus those helicopters deployed infantry really colors my opinion. I only briefly mention it in the June 3057 section of Robert Takiro’s Personal Logs under this link.

https://www.ourbattletech.com/forum/index.php?topic=3047.msg45458#msg45458

Well I hope you can do better than that incident from the past. Look forward to seeing some more interesting designs!

Wait until I have access to more advanced technology 

Wait until I have access to more advanced technology 

Or more space cause you ran out on the post word limit it appears and got cut off!

Otherwise nice job Ice, just remember to post your remaining Wolverines in their entirety.

Another excellent Irose entry as well which reminds me of a lighter Exterminator with Short Range Missiles instead of Longs.