Hammar class medium tracklayer
| Hammar class | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type: | Medium Tank |
| Designed in: |  Imeriata
|
| Service history | |
| Produced: | 1978- present |
| Users: | Imeriata |
| Wars: | The first new Frelandian war. The second new Frelandian war. Northern Venezuean liberation. The crimson war. The Al-Jzr Al-Khḑrān war. The Vorraidian war. The Imerian-C'tani War Imerian colonial campaigns. |
| Production history | |
| Designer: | Birger auf Björkenholm |
| Designed: | 1973 |
| Manufacturer: | the royal merchant guild (Kopparbergs automobil företag) |
| Variants: | Standard variant Drak hammare Howitzer hammare Female varian self propellant shell hammare |
| Specifications | |
| Weight: | 62.3 tonnes |
| length: | 9.30 m |
| Width: | 4.5 m |
| Height: | 3 m |
| Crew: | 4 (commander, 2 gunners, driver) |
| Armour: | 180 mm thick. |
| Primary armament: | 1 x smoothbore 35 pounder Khönungkannon |
| Secondary armament: | 2 X 16x80mm Martin Tyngre kulsprute gevar |
| Fuel capacity: | 1,200 liters |
| Fuel: | Disel operated |
| Operational range: | 550 km |
| Speed: | 65 km/h |
Background
The history of the Hammar class tracklayers started with the first Tracklayer rolled out of the factories in the middle of the Imerian civil war to be used by the royalists against the syndicalist frontlines in the hope of being able to smash through the enemy lines. While the tracklayers showed themselves to be slow cumbersome and even underpowered in a lot of field so did they show themselves to be rather nice to take cover behind for the infantry if nothing else. The designs that were adopted in these days were however something that stuck and the medium tracklayers were the forefathers of the modern medium tracklayers and even if they have been increased a lot in size and their weapon have been sized up to something that would normally be reserved for the rear artillery and the armour been a bit more slopped than the original brick wall just as the engine had been replaced so have the general outline been kept to this day.
However in 1971 was it decided that the royal guard was in the need of a new generation of Medium tracklayers and after looking on a bunch of applications and models so did the royal guard finally buy the production rights to the hammar class tracklayer of the Kopparbergs automobil företag and the tanks saw battle first just as most of the new weapons that came out during the seventies and early eighties in the first new Frelandian war where the tracklayers were used in the first and only battle supporting the naval infantry that landed to crush their enemies.
It did however play a larger role during the liberation of northern Venezue when the tracklayers advanced over the nation that had seen their government be destroyed in a nuclear blast and smashed aside bandits, rouge generals and panicking government loyalists to claim as much land as possible for the federation and even today after three years so is the sight of Hammar-class tracklayers a cherished one in the growing Imerianised Northern Venezue and the Image of tank commanders coming with food, security, stability and freedom is a very cherished one in Northern venezue.
During the The Al-Jzr Al-Khḑrān and the Vorraidian wars however were the tracklayer forced to stay in the background as most of the fighting were done in dense jungles or in the closed tunnels of the imperial city however in both wars so did the Hammar class show itself to be up to the task when it was able to fight as it shattered a Vorraidian assault in the realm of Wharmark during the Imerian expedition there. It should be noted that there are huge differences in the tracks between the first and latest generation of hammar class tracklayers as the larger front wheels that were so characteristic for the earlier versions were discovered finally during the c'tani defence to be a very big target and they were downsized to offer better protection for the wheels. Similarly were these wheels slightly updated a few years afterwards for a better suspension system to be installed.
Main cannon
To deal with enemy armour and infantry hordes, the Hammar-class medium tracklayer is armed with the bandläggare 120mm khönunga kannonen, a smoothbore conversion of the 35 pounder (120mm) field artillery piece to be better suited to be used for combat in a tracklayer. The main cannon is capable of being loaded with as many as 20 shells in the cannon tower's magazine while another 20 shells are stored in the cannon itself and with the attached autoloader so are the cannon able to unleash a rather high rate of fire towards it's enemies. Other improvements that have been made to the cannon is a new stabilisation system that allows the cannon to fire the 120 mm HEAT shells, 120mm high explosive shrapnel shells designed to take out enemy infantry and the new 120mm self propelled shell that is able to be fired from the cannon for long range combat where the self propelled shell can take out enemy armour and artillery positions to cover the advancing infantry.
Using a it's main artillery, the Hammar-class' main gun is capable of firing a conventional shell to a distance of 3800 meters, with rocket-assisted shells capable of double that.
Secondary cannons
To keep itself protected from common foot soldiers and to be able to provide covering fire for the infantry that it will support so are the Hammar-class tracklayer armed with two 16x80mm Martin Tyngre kulsprute gevar attached to the cannon tower and the front of the tank to enable it to fire both forward towards the enemy as well as towards their main target. Both machine guns have flexible mounts, so you can aim it even if the tank or cannon tower is not aiming in the right direction.
Armour
To protect itself from enemy attacks so are the hammar class tracklayer armoured in the front and it's cannon tower with a 180mm thick multi layered armour consisting of a combination of plates of steel, ceramic, and depleted uranium in alternating layers to provide the enemy with a massed shield of protective armour to fend off enemy rounds, shells and grenades. However this all but impregnable shield is not as all encompassing as one would imagine and it gets thinner around the sides to lighten the weight of the tracklayer. The rare is similarly even thinner and the bottom of the tracklayer is hardly defended at all compared to the rest even if a small layer of armour can be found here to at least provide enough protection against personal grenades and bullets even if more powerful explosives will be able to pierce it.
Electronics devices
To be able to face enemies on the field, the Hammar-class tracklayer is equipped with a laser range finder to help the crew aim their cannon properly, just as the driving compartment is outfitted with an electric tea boiler and small fridge to store cream and milk.
Fire control
The Hammar class medium Tracklayer is not only outfitted with its standard fire control system but the gunner is also given a 8x periscope to allow him to spot and aim his cannon towards the enemies and the commander of the tank is also given a independent periscope that allows for a 2x magnification to help him keep a better eye on the battlefield.
Divine runes
To further ward off enemy attacks are the tracklayers protected by magical runes calling upon the gods of the chronicles, the fierce god of the sun, or the two faced goddess in her aspect as the protective mother depending on the priest involved in the creation to make the armour even more resistant to attacks but also to give the armour the higher chance of his glancing off the surface rather than piercing it entirely due to the somewhat less than customary edges one would find on regular tracklayers employed by less blessed races.
Heraldry
As a heavier tracklayer so is the hammar class tracklayer allowed to wear it's own heraldry on the field of battle and in the shape of a banner as well as a shield hanging on it's front so is it clearly marked to allow it's commander the honour of being established on the field of battle even if he is not allowed to use an heraldric emblem of his own. This is also handed out as tabards for the crew during formal events even if they make due with the regular leather vests that guardsmen in command of machinery wear. This makes tracklayer crew one of the only units given a dress uniform.
Versions
Female Version
The female Medium tracklayer is armed with a shorter and thinner 50mm autocannon to deal with infantry and lighter vehicles compared to the larger cannon worn by the standard male variant even if the female variant is capable to lay down a massive amount of almost 400 rounds per minute which combined with its two machineguns makes the female variant able to hail a massive rain of destruction down upon its enemies and it have proven itself quite useful as a infantry support vehicle in larger battles
Drak hammare
Armed with an flamethrower so are the drakhammare class tracklayer designed to be used to clear out trenches, cities and dense jungles where enemies can easily find cover and could be able to hold out almost indefinitely against federal armour and infantry. However armed with the heavy flamethrower so is the drakhammare tracklayer able to launch thick flame at a target more than 100 meters away.
Howizer
Instead of being armed with the standard long 180mm canon so is the Howitzer variant armed with a short howitzer cannon which converts the tank into a attackgun that is more than able to provide covering fire as well as acting as a mobile artillery piece for the infantry and armoured units that would need to make sure that the enemy kept their heads down. As a result so are the howitzer tracklayers rarely equipped with self-propelled shells or anti tank shells but rather armed with high explosive artillery shells.
However due to the size of its cannon so does he howitzer sacrifice range for the ability to fire indirectly at enemy targets.
Self-propelled shell version
Armed with six longrange missiles so is this variant a long range support vehicle as it can fire at targets at a much greater distance than the normal cannon is able to do, it is also equipped with a better targeting computer which enables it to also carry SAM's to deal with incoming airplanes.
Armour recovery version
The armoured recovery vehicle is armed with only a simple machineguns but it is equipped with a large crane to allow it to to pick up and drag destroyed armoured vehicles to federal lines. It is also equipped with a more powerful engine compared to the rest of the tracklayer versions to allow it to recover heavy objects upon the battlefield.