Military Ground Vehicles of Your Nation Mk X

[Sycar]

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=syc ... id=1395435
What do yall think?

[The Manticoran Empire]

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=sycar/detail=factbook/id=1395435
What do yall think?

That's not bad.

[Anemos Major]

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=sycar/detail=factbook/id=1395435
What do yall think?

Everybody loves the Marder!

Would recommend fleshing these out a tad more; there's a lot more room for worldbuilding in the descriptions! Where did the concept for a modular vehicle family come from? When did they enter service? What specifically do you mean by "designed to be an infantry fire-support and anti-tank vehicle, the A05L slowly turned into a light tank towards the end of its development" - ?

Don't think I forced this thread to suffer through my most recent lineart spam, so here it is - a self-propelled howitzer (alongside a gun-mortar I drew previously to put the full range of Anemonian mechanised tube artillery on display):

[Triplebaconation]

nice

[Purpelia]

It's random question time.
Convertible drive vehicles made sense for preserving track and drive train wear at some point in the past. Like, say in the 1920's. And I know that today they no longer make sense because technology has made tracks better.
But just when is the cutoff point? Like what is the latest point in time where a convertible drive medium sized tracked vehicle (IFV for example or a light tank) would have made sense from that standpoint?

[The Akasha Colony]

It's random question time.
Convertible drive vehicles made sense for preserving track and drive train wear at some point in the past. Like, say in the 1920's. And I know that today they no longer make sense because technology has made tracks better.
But just when is the cutoff point? Like what is the latest point in time where a convertible drive medium sized tracked vehicle (IFV for example or a light tank) would have made sense from that standpoint?

There wasn't a cutoff point because things didn't actually change.

Convertible drive was an attempt to fix the strategic mobility issues of tracked vehicles without resorting to just using trucks or trains, because the USSR didn't have a lot of either but did have a lot of territory to cover. Everyone else just used trucks, trains, ships, etc. to move their tanks around. As it turns out, convertible drive was never a very good idea so the Soviets never widely adopted it and ended up just getting a bunch of trucks and trains from the Americans in WWII. This is a pretty common theme in Soviet industrial development; rather than just improve their infrastructure, they tried very hard to design around the lack of it.

And even today, tanks are still usually put on trains, trucks, ships, or planes when being transported across long distances.

[Danternoust]

I believe the best design decision for an armored ground vehicle expecting conflict in a hot region without encountering atomic biological or chemical warfare is by having the engine's air intake be the cabin like the M60. This will necessarily cause the vehicle's interior to be under-pressure, but reduces requirements for air conditioning.

To deal with cold regions, perhaps the radiator could be designed to redistribute heat from the engine (or auxiliary power unit) to the crew compartment, as well as be able to boil water.

There may be merit to a mild hybrid setup where the starter motor has the additional ability to aid in accelerating the vehicle, allowing for a reduction in engine size, at the cost of an extra, more expensive battery.

[Purpelia]

Or just install an air conditioning system. They don't cost that much any more.

[Austrasien]

I believe the best design decision for an armored ground vehicle expecting conflict in a hot region without encountering atomic biological or chemical warfare is by having the engine's air intake be the cabin like the M60. This will necessarily cause the vehicle's interior to be under-pressure, but reduces requirements for air conditioning.

It should be an option when weather and NBC conditions permit absolutely. But it is not a solution by itself. The cooling benefit of flowing air still depends on its heat and moisture content. Reducing the amount of sunlight absorbed by the vehicle with appropriate paints/netting is of great benefit. Incorporating insulation into the spall liner would also be beneficial.

To deal with cold regions, perhaps the radiator could be designed to redistribute heat from the engine (or auxiliary power unit) to the crew compartment, as well as be able to boil water.

A hot water or hot oil loop will probably cause more maintenance troubles than a simple electric heater powered by the engine. Electrically heated seats are particularly promising for getting a lot of heat for a little wattage - electrically heated vest/gloves/boots would be the most efficient.

Or just install an air conditioning system. They don't cost that much any more.

Also important though the cooling power required for whole vehicle cooling in hot/high sun conditions can actually be troublesome without additional measures.

[Danternoust]

I must admit I failed to consider tank warfare in tropical conditions, however I do not believe climate conditions inside the vehicle to be significantly worse than conditions outside the vehicle.

There may be an issue of dust ingress in desert regions, but Danternoust vehicles are clearly third rate models meant to be manned by peasants fighting in the freezing cold.

[New Vihenia]

making a convoy.

[Purpelia]

I question the wisdom of driving down a road with the sun clearly beating down on them in that way which would expose them to areal observation, especially with the mass of available cover on either side. But dam is that a good image.

[Austria-Bohemia-Hungary]

New SPAAG found
<.< >.>
>.> <.<
<.> <.>

[The Manticoran Empire]

I question the wisdom of driving down a road with the sun clearly beating down on them in that way which would expose them to areal observation, especially with the mass of available cover on either side. But dam is that a good image.

Forests tend to not be kind to wheeled vehicles. Plus, being on the road means they can drive faster.

[New Vihenia]

I question the wisdom of driving down a road with the sun clearly beating down on them in that way which would expose them to areal observation, especially with the mass of available cover on either side. But dam is that a good image.

Just think of it as some peace time exercise or they are returning to their motor pool.

New SPAAG found
<.< >.>
>.> <.<
<.> <.>

It needs an early warning radar and optics.

[Gallia-]

I think they're hiding in the turret or something.

[Purpelia]

Just think of it as some peace time exercise or they are returning to their motor pool.

I was actually making a (perhaps too well) veiled compliment at the quality of the light rendering in your scene.

[Sevvania]

The Mark XII Medium was a stopgap modernization introduced to Sevvanian armored corps in the late 1930s. The hull was shortened from the previous Mark XI model, the radio operator's position deleted, and the secondary turret replaced with a smaller machine gun cupola. Turrets fabricated to house the Mark XII's 75mm howitzer would later be re-armed and implemented on Sevvanian light tanks.

•In Service: 1939
•Crew: 5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, bow gunner)
•Armor: 40-50mm?
•Armament: 75mm howitzer, 7.62mm machine gun
•Speed: 25 mph

[New Antonalia]

(Image)
The Mark XII Medium was a stopgap modernization introduced to Sevvanian armored corps in the late 1930s. The hull was shortened from the previous Mark XI model, the radio operator's position deleted, and the secondary turret replaced with a smaller machine gun cupola. Turrets fabricated to house the Mark XII's 75mm howitzer would later be re-armed and implemented on Sevvanian light tanks.

•In Service: 1939
•Crew: 5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, bow gunner)
•Armor: 40-50mm?
•Armament: 75mm howitzer, 7.62mm machine gun
•Speed: 25 mph

Question, where does the driver sit? Unless you have an offset turret, there doesn't appear to be any place to put the driver, unless he's situated underneath the turret and in that case, I hope he doesn't mind concussions because every time the turret rotates, he'll be smacked against the vision port by either the gunner, loader, or commander. Also, if you got rid of the radio operator, why do you need that turret on the front? It's just superfluous in my opinion.

Good design overall though.

[Sevvania]

Question, where does the driver sit? Unless you have an offset turret, there doesn't appear to be any place to put the driver, unless he's situated underneath the turret and in that case, I hope he doesn't mind concussions because every time the turret rotates, he'll be smacked against the vision port by either the gunner, loader, or commander. Also, if you got rid of the radio operator, why do you need that turret on the front? It's just superfluous in my opinion.

Good design overall though.

The MG cupola is offset to the right of the driver, though this is difficult to convey in two dimensions. Superfluous is a good word for it, but I felt like I needed to put something in that gap in order to detract from the overall rubber ducky-esque silhouette.

[New Antonalia]

Question, where does the driver sit? Unless you have an offset turret, there doesn't appear to be any place to put the driver, unless he's situated underneath the turret and in that case, I hope he doesn't mind concussions because every time the turret rotates, he'll be smacked against the vision port by either the gunner, loader, or commander. Also, if you got rid of the radio operator, why do you need that turret on the front? It's just superfluous in my opinion.

Good design overall though.

The MG cupola is offset to the right of the driver, though this is difficult to convey in two dimensions. Superfluous is a good word for it, but I felt like I needed to put something in that gap in order to detract from the overall rubber ducky-esque silhouette.

You could extend the fighting compartment and mount a larger turret on it with a longer gun.

[The Manticoran Empire]

Would the tank and other armored fighting vehicles survive the transition to interplanetary warfare? I honestly don't think so. Since anyone in the high orbits could use KEWs or nukes to eliminate centers of resistance, the only use for ground troops would be as garrison troops or for surgical strikes against targets located in proximity to some sort of limiting terrain feature that renders the use of kinetics or nukes unacceptable, such as a civilian population center or a major mineral resource deposit.

[Arroyo-Abeille]

They could, but they wouldn't be used to take planets or anything like that. As soon as one side has orbital superiority it kinda just wins. Armored fighting vehicles of some kind could be useful to capture something like the 69th Soviet Signals Relay Center located on Europa or something.

[The Manticoran Empire]

They could, but they wouldn't be used to take planets or anything like that. As soon as one side has orbital superiority it kinda just wins. Armored fighting vehicles of some kind could be useful to capture something like the 69th Soviet Signals Relay Center located on Europa or something.

But why employ an armored vehicle, which is fairly heavy, when you can basically build a drop pod and drop Space Marines and Space Paratroopers onto the objective?

In theory, rather than building a bunch of armored vehicles and then designing a dropship to carry them from orbit to the ground and back again, you can build an armored squad-sized drop pod or an individual drop pod that basically gets kicked out of an orbiting ship and races towards the ground as fast as they can safely chuck it.

[Arroyo-Abeille]

They could, but they wouldn't be used to take planets or anything like that. As soon as one side has orbital superiority it kinda just wins. Armored fighting vehicles of some kind could be useful to capture something like the 69th Soviet Signals Relay Center located on Europa or something.

But why employ an armored vehicle, which is fairly heavy, when you can basically build a drop pod and drop Space Marines and Space Paratroopers onto the objective?

In theory, rather than building a bunch of armored vehicles and then designing a dropship to carry them from orbit to the ground and back again, you can build an armored squad-sized drop pod or an individual drop pod that basically gets kicked out of an orbiting ship and races towards the ground as fast as they can safely chuck it.

Because the enemy forces defending such structures will probably deploy armored vehicles.