OBT Forum

Name: Von Luckner Heavy Tank (Society)
Manufacturer: Ironhold Gamma Complex
Introduced: 3071
Obsolete: 3077

Overview
The initial shock of the ilKhan's call to reaving left the Society in a precarious situation, militarily. Their manufacturing programs, spread across several, independent cells, were virtually non-existent and relied heavily on their host Clans' stolen materiel. In order to jump start their military's presence in the Kerensky Cluster, Society leaders made the decision to commandeer all of the remaining Brian Caches in order to meet their needs.

The quality of the units emerging from the caches ranged from excellent to poor, with many units being so out-dated as to be declared more of a liability than a help in combat. Units like the Magi were cannibalized for their parts, with the rest of their components being melted down for scrap. On the opposite end of the spectrum were the valuable Royal 'Mechs and vehicles; the SLDF's elite forces during Kerensky's initial crusade against the Usurper.

In an effort to not only spare themselves valuable months on R&D as well as procurement of advanced materiel, it was decided that the best of the SLDF units would be retrofitted for combat on the modern battlefield and, when resources became available, manufactured en masse. The first of these relatively cost-efficient units was the Von Luckner.

Description
The Von Luckner is a classic design whose role on the battlefield is characterized by a withering display of firepower at point-blank ranges. The Terran Hegemony strayed from this design philosophy when upgrading their vehicle corps however, increasing the range of the vehicle at the sacrifice of the vehicle's trademark punch. The result was a utilitarian MBT whose battlefield role ranged from guarding larger, more expensive BattleMechs to acting as ad hoc anti-aircraft batteries. It's obvious to the informed observer as to why the Society decided upon the Von Luckner as their first line of vehicular upgrades.

Two LB-10X auto cannons are mounted on the turret, providing the user with superior penetration abilities and a ready-made flak gun. Society technicians decided to upgrade the Artemis-equipped LRM-15 with nine tubes of the hyper-advanced improved tactical missile rack, feeding it with a healthy four tons of varying munitions. An anti-personnel gauss rifle is used in place of the small pulse, taking over the minimal anti-infantry duties expected at the time of its creation. This decision was likely made to avoid the inclusion of additional heat sinks and amplifiers, keeping maintenance time to a minimum. Lastly, the quartet of Streak SRM racks were upgraded to their Clan equivalent on the turret of the vehicle.

A major diversion from the original plans was the replacement of the extra-light engine with a more cost-efficient fuel cell. Although they parted with their warrior brethren in many ways, the Society's leadership was in general agreement that XL engines were best reserved for their OmniMechs and Aerospace assets. Vehicles would come a distant third in priority. This decision was made in no small part by the discovery of an abandoned deuterium facility once manned by the Jade Falcons.

Deployment
After the massive assault on the Steel Viper enclave in 3072, the Society had free reign to manufacture their war machines on Ironhold. Once the remaining Jade Falcon facilities had been rebuilt (those not destroyed by the Vipers' careless bombardment), the Von Luckner was the first non-OmniMech produced by Society technicians. Although production was small by Clan standards, it was abundant enough to fill out the vehicle Uns of several cells before Gamma Complex was overrun by Clan Coyote in 3077.

Variants
Prior to the assault, several Star League vehicles were upgraded using Clan technology, though they kept most of their Inner Sphere equipment. The only major change was the exchange of the LRM-15 for the improved ATM-9 and complete removal of the small pulse laser from the turret.

Approximately one out of every seven Von Luckners manufactured included a Nova CEWS. This was accomplished by removing the Micro Pulse Laser, a ton of iATM-9 missiles and two of the Streak SRM-2s from the turret. A Nova-equipped variant often contained the coordinator of a vehicle Un, switching in-and-out of active networks to finish off severely damaged opponents from afar.

Notable Pilots
During the brief campaign to overrun Clan forces on Babylon, the Society's warriors took the field for the first time in their retrofitted Star League equipment. Piloted mainly by defectors from various Clans, a lone vehicle Un was manned entirely by a sibko from the Amirault line, which had been bred in secret on Niles. The gunnery and piloting crews were comprised of a hodgepodge of cast-offs and failed recruits from warrior training, but the commanders were made of sterner stuff: Each vehicle was headed by a genetic clone of Lair Seidman, former Khan of the Hell's Horses. Though the warriors had competed in no bloodname competition, they each believed it was their right to claim the bloodname of their genefather, regardless of testing or trial.

The senior commander, a warrior called James Seidman, was a gifted cavalryman and a genius at coordinating vehicular warfare. During the battle, a Star of Viper Medium 'Mechs squared off against the mostly green troopers under Seidman's command. Undaunted by the overwhelming skill and firepower of the Vipers, the Society commander ordered his tanks to organize into an circular formation, with the point unit being outfitted with a Light TAG laser. The Un was ordered to take as much fire as possible before signaling surrender to their attackers in succession along the battle line. Just before James Seidman's Von Luckner was critically damaged by an ER PPC hit, he ordered the entire Un to power up their vehicles and resume fire on the stunned Viper warriors, who has expected the honorable surrender to be upheld. Just before the last Viper 'Mech had signaled defeat, Seidman ordered the TAG equipped unit to fire on the Star Commander's 'Mech, annihilating the remains of the Ice Ferret from afar.


Von Luckner Heavy Tank (Society)
Von Luckner Heavy Tank (Society)

Mass: 75 tons
Tech Base: Clan
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: X/X-X-X
Production Year: 3070
Cost: 4,940,750 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,599

Power Plant:  225 Fuel Cell Engine
Cruise Speed: 32.4 km/h
Flanking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Armor:  Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
    1  iATM-9
    2  LB 10-X ACs
    4  Streak SRM-2s
    1  AP Gauss Rifle
    1 Unknown CASE
Manufacturer:
    Primary Factory:
Communications System:
Targeting and Tracking System:

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      40 points                7.50
Engine:             Fuel-Cell Engine             225                      12.00
    Cruise MP:  3
    Flank MP:   5
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             1                         0.00
Control Equipment:                                                         4.00
Lift Equipment:                                                            0.00
Turret:                                                                    2.50
Armor:              Ferro-Fibrous                AV - 201                 10.50

                                                      Armor     
                                                      Factor   
                                               Front     45       
                                          Left/Right   40/40       
                                              Turret     45       
                                                Rear     31       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat     Spaces     Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
iATM-9                                       FR        6         1         5.00
2 LB 10-X ACs                                T         4         2        20.00
4 Streak SRM-2s                              T         8         4         4.00
AP Gauss Rifle                               T         1         1         0.50
CASE                                         BD        -         0         0.00
@LB 10-X (Cluster) (20)                      BD        -         0         2.00
@LB 10-X (Slug) (20)                         BD        -         0         2.00
@iATM-9 (ER) (7)                             BD        -         0         1.00
@iATM-9 (7)                                  BD        -         0         1.00
@iATM-9 (HE) (7)                             BD        -         0         1.00
@Streak SRM-2 (50)                           BD        -         0         1.00
@AP Gauss Rifle (40)                         BD        -         0         1.00

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      7    Points: 16
3          1       1       1       0      3     4   Structure:  4
Special Abilities: CASE, EE, FLK 0/0/0


Von Luckner Heavy Tank (Refit)
Von Luckner Heavy Tank (Refit)

Mass: 75 tons
Tech Base: Mixed
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: X/X-X-X
Production Year: 0
Cost: 11,944,500 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,438

Power Plant:  225 Fusion XL Engine
Cruise Speed: 32.4 km/h
Flanking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Armor:  Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
    1  (CL) iATM-9
    2  (IS) LB 10-X ACs
    4  (IS) Streak SRM-2s
    1  (IS) Small Pulse Laser
    1 Unknown CASE
Manufacturer:
    Primary Factory:
Communications System:
Targeting and Tracking System:

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      40 points                7.50
Engine:             XL Engine                    225                       7.50
    Cruise MP:  3
    Flank MP:   5
Heat Sinks:         (IS) Single Heat Sink        10                        0.00
Control Equipment:                                                         4.00
Lift Equipment:                                                            0.00
Turret:                                                                    3.00
Armor:              Ferro-Fibrous                AV - 197                 11.00

                                                      Armor     
                                                      Factor   
                                               Front     41       
                                          Left/Right   40/40       
                                              Turret     45       
                                                Rear     31       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat     Spaces     Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(CL) iATM-9                                  FR        6         1         5.00
2 (IS) LB 10-X ACs                           T         4         2        22.00
4 (IS) Streak SRM-2s                         T         8         4         6.00
(IS) Small Pulse Laser                       T         2         1         1.00
CASE                                         BD        -         0         0.00
@LB 10-X (Cluster) (20)                      BD        -         0         2.00
@LB 10-X (Slug) (20)                         BD        -         0         2.00
@iATM-9 (ER) (7)                             BD        -         0         1.00
@iATM-9 (7)                                  BD        -         0         1.00
@iATM-9 (HE) (7)                             BD        -         0         1.00
@IMP-9 (7)                                   BD        -         0         1.00

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      7    Points: 14
3          4       3       2       0      3     2   Structure:  4
Special Abilities: CASE, FLK 1/1/1


Von Luckner Heavy Tank (Command)
Von Luckner Heavy Tank (Command)

Mass: 75 tons
Tech Base: Clan
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: X/X-X-X
Production Year: 3070
Cost: 6,799,750 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,568

Power Plant:  225 Fuel Cell Engine
Cruise Speed: 32.4 km/h
Flanking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Armor:  Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
    1  iATM-9
    2  LB 10-X ACs
    2  Streak SRM-2s
    1 Unknown CASE
    1  Nova CEWS
Manufacturer:
    Primary Factory:
Communications System:
Targeting and Tracking System:

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      40 points                7.50
Engine:             Fuel-Cell Engine             225                      12.00
    Cruise MP:  3
    Flank MP:   5
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             2                         1.00
Control Equipment:                                                         4.00
Lift Equipment:                                                            0.00
Turret:                                                                    2.50
Armor:              Ferro-Fibrous                AV - 201                 10.50

                                                      Armor     
                                                      Factor   
                                               Front     45       
                                          Left/Right   40/40       
                                              Turret     45       
                                                Rear     31       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat     Spaces     Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
iATM-9                                       FR        6         1         5.00
2 LB 10-X ACs                                T         4         2        20.00
2 Streak SRM-2s                              T         4         2         2.00
CASE                                         BD        -         0         0.00
Nova CEWS                                    BD        2         1         1.50
@LB 10-X (Cluster) (20)                      BD        -         0         2.00
@LB 10-X (Slug) (20)                         BD        -         0         2.00
@iATM-9 (ER) (7)                             BD        -         0         1.00
@iATM-9 (7)                                  BD        -         0         1.00
@iATM-9 (HE) (7)                             BD        -         0         1.00
@iATM-9 (IIW) (7)                            BD        -         0         1.00
@Streak SRM-2 (50)                           BD        -         0         1.00

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      7    Points: 16
3          2       2       1       0      3     2   Structure:  4
Special Abilities: CASE, EE, FLK 0/0/0