Combat Vehicle Technical Readout
Name/Model: Spartan Hover APC
Designer: IronRaven Special Projects Group
Source(s): Custom Mordel.Net Units
Technology: Inner Sphere
Technology Rating: D
Tonnage: 35
Configuration: Combat Vehicle
Era/Year: Succession Wars / 2951
Rules (Current): Introductory
Rules (Era): Introductory
Rules (Year): Introductory
Total Cost: 648,125 C-Bills
Battle Value: 487
Movement Type: Hover
Power Plant: ConLee 105 Internal Combustion
Cruising Speed: 86.4 kph
Maximum Speed: 129.6 kph
Armor: ProtecTech 4
Armament:
1 Armstrong J11 Autocannon/5
2 Guided Technologies SRM 2s
Manufacturer: Scarborough, Ltd.
Primary Factory: Al Na’ir
Communications: Scarborough Talky-2
Targeting & Tracking: Scarborough Assault-1
================================================================================================
Overview:
The fourth member of Scarborough Limited's 35 ton family of Scimitar derived combat
hovercraft, the Spartan APC was directly derived from the Saladin tank destroyer. Introduced
to the market in 2951, it was intended compete with the likes of the Goblin while having
logistical commonality to the rest of Scarborough's line.
Using the same drive train and base chassis as the rest of the Scimitar family, it has the
same 129.6km/h top. With the same driver's station, the transition to the Spartan should be
easy. It lacks the turrets of the Scimitar and Saracen but is of similar height. The
armament of the Spartan is taken from Scarborough's existing inventory. The primary weapon
is an Armstrong J-11, mounted along the right side of the hull. It has a limited range of
traverse and elevation, and like the Saladin you have to point the whole craft at the
target. It is backed up with a pair of Guided Technologies SRM 2 racks mounted at the top
and facing forward, with fifty salvos carried in the hull. In many ways, it can be
considered a tank destroyer or at least a hunter of light vehicles such as other APCs.
In addition to the single roof hatch between the SRM racks, there is a large sliding hatch
on the left side of the hull giving access to not only the crew stations but also the troop
bay. Suitable for two squads of foot infantry, a squad of infantry and a heavy weapons team,
or a squad of jump infantry with room to spare. Mounting five tons of armour, the turretless
Spartan is protected on the Scimitar and Saracen, which is good for an APC in general and
particularly for a hovercraft of this size.
Blending the capabilities of a light-to-medium cavalry tank like the Vedette and being able
to deploy troops, in theory the Spartan should have sold, particularly to the DCMS who have
faced AFFS Goblins. Scarborough only made a couple hundred, but interest was lackluster. A
few survive to this day with Scarborough's corporate security and the infantry component of
the Arkab Legion, most of them were purchased by the Combine and FWL in test quantities.
While the logistics troops approved of it, high command with neither militaries made more
than initial purchases. Those craft, like many others, were used up in the Third Succession
War. But it seems that the reason it failed to take hold is just bad luck and in some way's
Scarborough's own disinterest. They had assumed that if you bought the other members of the
Scimitar family, the decision to buy the Spartan would be obvious, so they failed to lobby
their buyers for purchases. Without a hard push by the corporation, it was perceived in the
FWL that there was a lack of confidence in the design, and the DCMS had plenty of APCs that
fit their tactical doctrine that fits the ancient "battle taxi" model.
Variants:
Several versions of the Spartan were produced and many more were proposed.
The most common version was the Spartan Command Vehicle, which extended the frame of the
vehicle to convert it to a mobile command post. Removing the Armstrong autocannon allows the
mounting of a third SRM rack, several work stations inside and a number of roof mounted
antennas. The most interesting feature that Scarborough included with it's standard package
was a collapsible radio antenna that could be erected and connected to the Spartan CV via a
300m spool of fiber optic cable, to protect the command post from fire aimed at the
transmitter via signals intercept when the vehicle was stationary. The Spartan CV was sold
with the standard APC in packages with the intent of being part of a battalion with two CVs
and a company of APCs supporting two companies of infantry. This concept is flawed, as it
requires six Spartans to move a company of infantry, not four and not eight or twelve. While
the idea is solid, the dogmatic adherence to SLDF organization by the customer base ruined
any chance this organizational scheme would have had.
The Samaritan Armored Ambulance used the same extended frame and could carry a dozen walking
wounded or eight stretcher cases, along with two medics. It was to be fully unarmed and
fitted with two more tons of armour, and NBC-rated hatch between the medical bay and the
compartment for driver and vehicle commander to prevent CBRN exposure. The medical bay was
intended to be chemically sterilized and over pressurized independently of the forward
space. The Samaritan is considered by some to be an outgrowth of the Saladin by many
historians, and was developed in conjunction with Sukunabikona Medical Systems. The project
had entered limited production for evaluation purposes when an O5P investigation implicated
several corporate officers of SMS of being in the employ of the Federated Suns DMI. The
accused officers committed seppuku rather than face trial, and the incident not only lead to
the collapse of SMS, it torpedoed the chances of the Samaritan's adoption by the DCMS and
export approval.
The other versions of the Spartan that almost entered trials can also be classified as
variants of the Saladin tank destroy and are generally classified as such. They include an
LRM carrier, an AC/10 armed TD, and cargo carriers with both an enclosed box and an open
flatbed.
================================================================================================
Equipment Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard 3.50
Engine: 105 Internal Combustion 7.00
Cruising MP: 8
Flanking MP: 12
Heat Sinks (Single): 0 0.00
Control Equipment: 2.00
Lift Equipment: 3.50
Power Amplifier: 0.00
Turret: 0.00
Armor Factor: 80 5.00
Type: Standard
Armor
Value
Front: 22
R/L Side: 20
Rear: 18
================================================================================================
Weapons and Ammo Location Tonnage
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Autocannon/5 Front 8.00
2 SRM 2s Front 2.00
Autocannon/5 (Ammo 20) Body 1.00
Compartment, Infantry (2 tons) Body 2.00
SRM 2 (Ammo 50) Body 1.00
================================================================================================
Alpha Strike Statistics
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point Value (PV): 21
TP: CV, SZ: 1, TMM: 3, MV: 16"h
Damage: (S) 1 / (M) 1 / (L) 1
Armor (A): 3, Structure (S): 2
Specials: EE, IT2, SRCH
Write Review