Tohil Carryall

Tohil Carryall
MLR Carryall during operations in eastern Charnea (2004)
Type	Transport truck Self-propelled artillery SAM system Multiple rocket launcher
Place of origin	Mutul Charnea
Service history
In service	1967–present
Used by	Charnea
Wars	Akzay War Ninvite War Fahrani Civil War
Production history
Designer	Muwan 5 Manich Azut Army Depot
Designed	1964
Manufacturer	Muwan 5 Manich
Produced	1967–present
No. built	14,000+
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	13.71 tonnes (30,225 lb)
Length	6.65 m (21 ft 10 in)
Width	2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Height	2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Crew	3-5
Engine	KM-B Diesel 200hp
Payload capacity	5,500kg
Suspension	6×6 wheeled
Fuel capacity	8.1L
Operational range	500 km
Speed	75 km/h

The Tohil Carryall is a type of military vehicle derived from commercial M5M Tohil trucks modified by the Charnean Army for service in a variety of roles. The Carryalls are known among the troops by the name Amnis meaning "Dromedary", and are sometimes referred to as Tohil's dromedaries, due to their typical role of hauling supplies, transporting personnel and mounting heavy weapons. Various modified vehicles are derived from the basic Carryall, including fuel tankers, mobile command posts, as well as some armed combat vehicles serving as self-propelled artillery and mobile SAM systems. The Carryall is an important pillar of the Charnean military through its service in the command, logistics and fire support roles. The features of the Tohil truck which are common to all Carryalls is a six-wheel drive, with axles fitted with six heavy-duty off-road tires in three pairs, a three-seat cab, and a modest carrying capacity of 5,500 kg. The truck is small enough to be easily moved long distances by rail, although it also has a noticeably smaller carrying capacity than other types of heavy military trucks. The practice of modifying the Carryall trucks to carry K7 105mm howitzers, 122mm multiple rocket launchers and other weapons stems from limitations at the procurement level in the Charnean Army which made it more practical to modify civilian trucks rather than to purchase purpose-built military vehicles, particularly for roles in which the vehicles would not be expected to have protection against direct enemy fire.

History

Tohil trucks first entered into Charnean military service in 1967 as logistics trucks intended to move men and supplies from the nearest railhead to the area of operations, for which the M5M Tohil was valued over other models thanks to their 6x6 configuration which could provide better off-road performance. At first, modifications to the vehicles were done at a small scale by local commanders. The most common modification in the 1960s and early 1970s was the rebuilding of the trailer section to carry a payload of missiles, usually a multiple rocket launcher, in order to service directly as a mobile fire support vehicle as opposed to simply towing such weapon systems into position. The ad-hoc nature of Tohil modifications would end in 1974 when Azut Army Depot, the main ICA Arsenal in eastern Charnea, centralized the modification efforts. At the Azut Depot, the ICA could bring in proper machine tools and heavy equipment to establish assembly lines and serialized production of the modified vehicles. This changed the nature of the modified Tohil trucks in Army service from improvisations to official standardized variants.

Variants

Transports

The basic Carryall as it was first adopted is simple transport truck with a rubberized canvas cover over the cargo bed to protect supplies or passengers from the elements. When compared to the commercially available M5M Tohil truck, the main difference is a six-tire configuration as opposed to the common ten-tire configuration with a pair of rear dual axles with four tires each on the commercial models. This was preferred as the larger single tires, although offering less load-bearing capacity, would improve the traction and maneuvering characteristics of the truck which were considered vital for its off-road operations. The basic Carryall remains an extremely common type of vehicle of the ICA due to its ubiquitous role as a logistics support vehicle connecting the rail-bound supply network with units in the field. Tanker Carryalls serve in a very similar role, moving fuel beyond the reach of pipelines and rail-bound tankers to the units in the field, which often demand large quantities of fuel thanks to the high level of motorization of the ICA.

K7 Mobile Gun

The Mobile Gun is a self-propelled artillery piece consisting of a Carryall modified to carry a K7 105mm gun. The K7 gun, developed at the Jekara proving grounds, is a 105mm light howitzer specially developed by the Charnean military's weapons development unit to compete in terms of range with heavy 155mm guns which are in many cases too heavy to carry on light vehicles and redeploy quickly in accordance with typical ICA mobile warfare tactics. Using base bleed ammunition to extend its effective range, the K7 is capable of hitting a target 32 kilometers away, which approaches the maximum range of many modern 155mm guns and exceeds in the 25 kilometer range of the ICA's towed 155mm howitzers. In order to take full of advantage of this superior range, the Mobile Gun variants are fitted with modern fire control systems and computer equipment to increase its accuracy and effectiveness in counter-fire. The typical crew of the Mobile Gun is 5, with a vehicle crew of two and artillery crew of 3, for which the Carryall's typical 3-man cab is extended to accommodate the additional personnel. The mounting of the K7 gun onto the Carryall chassis includes outriggers and extending plates which help to carry the force of the recoil of the gun without damaging the vehicle's frame or suspension. These extensions can be deployed in under a minute or retracted in 30 seconds by an experienced crew, allowing the Mobile Gun to fire and relocate quickly. Excluding this deployment time, the Mobile Gun system has a rate of fire of 6 shells per minute. The K7's 105mm shells produce less recoil force compared with heavy artillery, easing the engineering requirements of such modifications and reducing the overall stress on the truck.

Tijat truck

The MLR Carryall, known in Charnean military parlance as a Tijat (lit. "Many Missiles") truck is the standardized version of the most common Carryall modification which entailed mounting Elatian-made 122mm MLR launchers on the backs of the otherwise unmodified Carryall trucks. This type and model of MLR launcher was the logical choice for the creation of a motorized MLRS as both the launchers and the rockets are readily available to the Charnean Army in significant quantities thanks to long standing procurement relationships between the ICA and the Elatian defense industry. The standard type Tijat from the Azut Depot has several additional modifications which the original ad-hoc MLR Carryalls lacked. These added features include stabilizing pylons which can be quickly deployed or retracted by an experienced crew, serving to stabilize the launcher and prevent it from shifting while firing a salvo of rockets which improves overall accuracy. The Azut Depot also added a loading arm to assist with reloading the MLR in the field. The Tijat's stabilizers are simpler and faster to deploy compared to the Mobile Gun's outriggers, and the MLR system allows the truck to output much more firepower in a short amount of time, albeit with lesser accuracy than that of the K7 gun. Nevertheless, it is for these characteristics that the Tijat Carryall variant is prized by ICA artillery units and its generally more common than the Mobile Gun.

Shelter trucks

The Carryall modified to hold a fully enclosed box shelter on its chassis which can serve as a work or living space for troops. This derivative of the basic Carryall therefore has a variety of subtypes which vary little from one another in terms of the modifications made at Azut and the structure of the vehicle, but which are loaded with specialized equipment based on the role required. The most basic type of Shelter truck is a mobile barracks which can house the living quarters for several soldiers, which is used to support units which are deployed for long periods of time away from established ICA bases and outposts. Although it is intended to provide living space for four troops, in the field they most often are used to support six soldiers. Such vehicles are not typically used to house the men of roving units in combat zones, instead mainly finding use with the long ranging desert patrols of border guard ground units who may spend several days encamped near a town or village in the Ninva.

Shelter trucks can also be used as mobile workspace, especially for types of work which require equipment and conditions not suited for use out in the open or in a typical encamped setting. In particular, shelter trucks are used as command posts for the HQ element of a mobile unit or as field clinics to provide medical care to troops. Such "Carryall Clinics" are significantly slower, larger targets with no appreciable armor protection when compared to the ICA's typical combat ambulance vehicles such as the A13 Abawen, and so excepting dire emergencies they are only used to transport wounded in areas where there is little to no risk of being fired upon by the enemy.

Strategic Carryalls

The Strategic variants of the Tohil Carryall are those which are modified to carry long ranged missiles, namely surface-to-air and surface-to-surface standoff missiles. Because the more modern and sophisticated missiles in the ICA's inventory are mounted on dedicated SAM vehicles with specialized equipment, the Strategic Carryalls are never used to carry such weapon systems. Instead, they are typically used to deploy older weapon systems, especially medium-ranged SAM missiles, which have been acquired in large quantities at relatively low cost from suppliers such as the Mutul, Elatia, or Onekawa-Nukanoa as these nations modernize their arsenals. Many of these older systems have aging carrier vehicles which are not practical to maintain, making the Carryall trucks the next best option to mount these weapon systems onto mobile platforms. These are among the most modified of all Tohil Carryall variants due to the extensive equipment and engineer demands to effectively carry and fire large, long ranged missiles with complex guidance systems.