Iron Heart Industries produced a variety of combat vehicle designs before the coming of the Rifts including several tank designs. The problem was that several purchasers were interested in a lighter design which could carry the same main gun as the Iron Hammer heavy tank. The 200 mm cannon was one of the most massive cannons ever carried on a tank and is extremely powerful for a conventional cannon. This was selected for the lighter design using the frame of the Iron Fist tank with the cannon mounted in a fixed forward position. The design was designated a "Tank Destroyer" instead of being considered a tank. Really it is designed to attack any heavily armored vehicle including robot vehicles. Some believe the design is in competition with the Iron Armory "Storm Tiger" tank with a 380 mm heavy rocket launcher but in this case, the Iron Heart design was much more flexible. The Iron Axe design was developed just a short time before the factories were captured by the Coalition and only a handful were built. An interesting tactic tried by several mercenary companies that have several Iron Axes in their inventories is to escort them with the lighter Iron Thunder light tank and use the Iron Axes for heavy assault. Unfortunately, a large amount of the Tank Destroyers were captured while still under construction and were scrapped by the Coalition due to a preference for robot vehicles. This design has attracted a lot of interest by combat crews due to its firepower combined with good mobility and several companies have designed vehicles similar.
As previously listed, the Iron Axe shares the same frame and chassis as the Iron Fist. This allowed a large reduction in design and production. The Tank destroyer also carries about the same amount of armor as the Iron First tank but the profile of the tank destroyer is slightly lower and the armor is thicker in areas due to the tank destroyer not mounting a turret. The engine and power train are also identical to those on the Iron Fist and the Iron Axe is available with a conventional power source, electrical propulsion powered by batteries, and by a small fusion reactor. Fusion reactors were not produced by Iron Heart Industries but were instead purchased from outside sources. About half of all remaining Iron Axe tanks carry fusion reactors as their power supply. Weight of the tank destroyer is around 36 tons and the Iron Axe has a top speed of 60 mph on roads. Electronics are identical to other Iron Heart designs and are limited compared to those carried on designs from other manufactures like Iron Armory and Northern Gun. Still, they are adequate for most requirements. A crew of three is carried like the Iron Fist but the tank destroyer does not have space for any passengers.
The 200 mm cannon carried on the Iron Hammer is mounted in a fixed forward position on the Iron Axe. It can angle up to 20 degrees upwards but otherwise is moved by maneuvering the tank destroyer. Due to the huge size of each round, the tank destroyer uses an auto-loader system. The auto-loader system from Iron Hammer could not be fitted into the design and the system from the Iron Fist was too small so a new auto-loader had to be developed. Also due to the large size of each round, only a limited payload can be carried on the Iron Axe. As the tank destroyers main roll is to kill tanks, normally anti-tank rounds are carried exclusively. The tank Killer does not mount a light rail gun co-axial to the main gun but does mount a light rail gun which is controlled by the tank commander. As well, the forward laser is retained in the Iron Axe tank killer. Both light weapons are most often used against attacking troops and light vehicles which do not warrant the use of the main gun. The top rail gun is also used against attacking aircraft due to the fact that the main gun cannot elevate enough to engage attacking aircraft and is limited in movement. The tank destroyer mounts the box mini-missile launchers carried on the Iron Maiden APC to give the tank destroyer more flexibility and good short range firepower. The designers were considering back-fitting the launchers to the Iron Fist tank but the facilities were captured by the Coalition before this was implemented.
Model Type: IH-15-TD
Class: Tank Destroyer
Crew: Three: one driver, a gunner, and a commander.
M.D.C. by Location:
| Cupola on top: | 75 | |
| Rail gun on Cupola: | 60 | |
| Reinforced Crew Compartment in the Turret: | 50 | |
| 200 mm Smooth Bore Cannon: | 150 | |
| Forward-mounted Laser: | 25 | |
| MLRS-24 Mini-Missile Launchers (2, Sides): | 40 each | |
| Smoke / Gas Dispensers (2): | 15 each | |
| [1] Main Body: | 525 | |
| Reinforced Crew Compartment (main body): | 120 | |
| [2] Track Treads (2): | 90 each |
Notes:
[1] Depleting the M.D.C. from the main body will shut the tank down
completely, rendering it useless.
[2] Depleting the M.D.C. of a tread will immobilize the tank until
it is replaced. Replacing a tread will take 1D6x10 minutes by a trained
crew (2 replacements are carried on board) or three times as long by the
inexperienced. Changing the tread is only possible when the vehicle is
not under attack.
Speed:
Ground: 60 mph (96 km) on land. The vehicle is designed to traverse
virtually all terrain and can climb at up to a 60% grade although at a
much slower speed (About 10% of maximum road speed). It can also climb
barriers and ford trenches. The vehicle can also handle side slopes of
up to 30%. Buttoned up, it can travel under water at 25 mph (40.2 km)!
Maximum Effective Range: 600 miles (960 km) on conventional
fuel or via electric motor before needing refueling; unlimited if nuclear
(10 year life).
Statistical Data:
Height: 9.6 feet (2.9 meters)
Width: 10 feet (3.0 meters)
Length: 32 feet (9.8 meters)
Weight: 36 tons (33 metric tons) fully loaded
Cargo: Minimal storage space; about four feet (1.2 m) tor extra
clothing, weapons, and personal items. Three Wilk's 447 laser rifles and
two WI-23 missile launchers with five loads each are stored in a compartment
behind the driver's seat.
Power System: Combustion, electric or nuclear fusion (10 year
life span).
Black Market Cost: 3 million with combustion engine, 4.0 million
for one with an electric motor, 22 million with nuclear engine (life-span
of 10 years).
Weapon Systems:
Special Equipment:
[Coalition TM, Iron Heart Industries TM, Northern Gun TM, Phase World TM, and Triax TM are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and
Palladium Books Inc.]
By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).
Copyright © 2003, Kitsune. All rights reserved.
