HOME | DD

Description

And another update, this time for the first medium tank to serve in the Vetokite Army in the Nationstates roleplay site. The original upload can be found here: www.deviantart.com/viridiagami…

From the Vetokite Imperial Armour Museum guide:

"Just a few short years later, it became clear that the reliance on the fast yet weakly-gunned Cavalier was leaving a vital flaw in the Army's mobile forces. The surrounding countries were always ahead in production of tanks, building on their greater knowledge of armoured vehicles. The matter came to a head in August 1941 when a battalion of enemy tanks penetrated the south-western border, pushing back the 194th Infantry Regiment and holding their ground until the 24th Armoured Regiment fought them out in a battle of attrition. Only the numbers of the 24th sufficed to push the heavier tanks out, and the after-action reports made frequent reference to the poor penetration of the 2-pounder anywhere other than at the rear."

"Within a period of a few months, a new prototype rolled out the gates of a Broughton's Brothers factory in Ilunsheim. Modelled with a slimmer and shorter version of the same turret as that of the Quaker, this new design mounted a 6-pounder gun with a co-axial machine-gun. The design mounted even thicker armour than both the M137A and the M140A and retained the angled plate scheme from the Quaker. By then, radio technology had advanced sufficiently that the tank could fit in a set for tank commanders in the turret, but its placement adjacent to the rear turret meant that any penetration would destroy it. The new armament also introduced a first for the Tank Corps when the "6-pdr, HE-57 base" round was developed, partly due to the tactical necessity of the type, but also to the desire of the Tank Corps commander, Senior General Haverstone who continually pushed for faster and faster mechanisation of the army. The design, formerly titled the Model-141A Herald Medium Tank, proved a success, with the anticipated order of one squadron of the new mediums in every light company quickly finding itself reversed. Despite this, production ceased in 1944 in favour of the Model-141C."

"In contrast to the light tank the hull was based off, the Model-141 did see two variants of the main design emerge. The 141B was the first tank in Vetokite service to be equipped with a fully-cast turret, which also saw the removal of the co-axial machinegun, replaced instead with a .303 pintle mount intended for rudimentary anti-air capabilities. However, it was rapidly succeeded in service by the 141C, which also updated the entire hull as a cast-piece, in addition to replaceing the Siddley-Puma petrol engine with the Chrysler A57. This in turn necessitated the engine compartment being made taller, whilst the crew compartment moved to the rear. Finally, the 141C introduced the 12-pounder (76.2mm) gun as its main armament, which was to prove one of the iconic weapons of the Vetokite Army throughout the mid-1940's to the 1950's."

"The depiction here reflects a Model-141A attached to the 1st Squadron of A-Company, in the 22nd Carrishem Lancers Regiment, during the early stages of their mechanisation as part of the Talbott Reviews. This model is depicted with a rear-mounted stowage bin, which often were lined with sandbags as a form of makeshift armour by tankers who found themselves on assignment to the volatile Eastern Marches. (Though the Volscae Imperium did not instigate any formal moves to war following the events of the early 1930's, it was not uncommon for border skirmishes to occur) Depicted with the symbol of the 2nd 'Northstar' Corps, the 22nd were the first unit in the army's moves towards full mechanisation as part of the Reviews (although later events saw the delay in the mechanisation of the various infantry divisons until the 1970's)."

Height: 8.2ft (2.49 metres)
Length: 17.38ft (5.3 metres)
Width: 6.88ft (2.1 metres)
Weight: 11.7 (long) tons
Crew: 4x (Commander/Radioman, Driver, Gunner, Loader)
Engine: Siddeley-Puma 98hp petrol engine
Armour: 15-20mm riveted steel turret, 12-18mm riveted steel hull
Main Armament: 1x 6-pounder (57mm) gun
Ammunition: 72x (40x AP, 32x HE)
Co-Axial Armament: 1x 303. machinegun
Ammunition: 300x rounds

Made for myself in my Vetok account for Nationstates. Please do not use without permission.

Description

And another update, this time for the first medium tank to serve in the Vetokite Army in the Nationstates roleplay site. The original upload can be found here: www.deviantart.com/viridiagami…

From the Vetokite Imperial Armour Museum guide:

"Just a few short years later, it became clear that the reliance on the fast yet weakly-gunned Cavalier was leaving a vital flaw in the Army's mobile forces. The surrounding countries were always ahead in production of tanks, building on their greater knowledge of armoured vehicles. The matter came to a head in August 1941 when a battalion of enemy tanks penetrated the south-western border, pushing back the 194th Infantry Regiment and holding their ground until the 24th Armoured Regiment fought them out in a battle of attrition. Only the numbers of the 24th sufficed to push the heavier tanks out, and the after-action reports made frequent reference to the poor penetration of the 2-pounder anywhere other than at the rear."

"Within a period of a few months, a new prototype rolled out the gates of a Broughton's Brothers factory in Ilunsheim. Modelled with a slimmer and shorter version of the same turret as that of the Quaker, this new design mounted a 6-pounder gun with a co-axial machine-gun. The design mounted even thicker armour than both the M137A and the M140A and retained the angled plate scheme from the Quaker. By then, radio technology had advanced sufficiently that the tank could fit in a set for tank commanders in the turret, but its placement adjacent to the rear turret meant that any penetration would destroy it. The new armament also introduced a first for the Tank Corps when the "6-pdr, HE-57 base" round was developed, partly due to the tactical necessity of the type, but also to the desire of the Tank Corps commander, Senior General Haverstone who continually pushed for faster and faster mechanisation of the army. The design, formerly titled the Model-141A Herald Medium Tank, proved a success, with the anticipated order of one squadron of the new mediums in every light company quickly finding itself reversed. Despite this, production ceased in 1944 in favour of the Model-141C."

"In contrast to the light tank the hull was based off, the Model-141 did see two variants of the main design emerge. The 141B was the first tank in Vetokite service to be equipped with a fully-cast turret, which also saw the removal of the co-axial machinegun, replaced instead with a .303 pintle mount intended for rudimentary anti-air capabilities. However, it was rapidly succeeded in service by the 141C, which also updated the entire hull as a cast-piece, in addition to replaceing the Siddley-Puma petrol engine with the Chrysler A57. This in turn necessitated the engine compartment being made taller, whilst the crew compartment moved to the rear. Finally, the 141C introduced the 12-pounder (76.2mm) gun as its main armament, which was to prove one of the iconic weapons of the Vetokite Army throughout the mid-1940's to the 1950's."

"The depiction here reflects a Model-141A attached to the 1st Squadron of A-Company, in the 22nd Carrishem Lancers Regiment, during the early stages of their mechanisation as part of the Talbott Reviews. This model is depicted with a rear-mounted stowage bin, which often were lined with sandbags as a form of makeshift armour by tankers who found themselves on assignment to the volatile Eastern Marches. (Though the Volscae Imperium did not instigate any formal moves to war following the events of the early 1930's, it was not uncommon for border skirmishes to occur) Depicted with the symbol of the 2nd 'Northstar' Corps, the 22nd were the first unit in the army's moves towards full mechanisation as part of the Reviews (although later events saw the delay in the mechanisation of the various infantry divisons until the 1970's)."

Height: 8.2ft (2.49 metres)
Length: 17.38ft (5.3 metres)
Width: 6.88ft (2.1 metres)
Weight: 11.7 (long) tons
Crew: 4x (Commander/Radioman, Driver, Gunner, Loader)
Engine: Siddeley-Puma 98hp petrol engine
Armour: 15-20mm riveted steel turret, 12-18mm riveted steel hull
Main Armament: 1x 6-pounder (57mm) gun
Ammunition: 72x (40x AP, 32x HE)
Co-Axial Armament: 1x 303. machinegun
Ammunition: 300x rounds

Made for myself in my Vetok account for Nationstates. Please do not use without permission.