Hammer Tank
From Command and Conquer Wiki
| Hammer Tank | |
|---|---|
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| Unit | |
| Affiliation | |
| Role |
Main Battle Tank |
| Armament |
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| Protection |
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| Production | |
| Cost |
1000 |
| Build time |
0:10 |
| Produced by |
Soviet War Factory |
| Function | |
| Abilities | |
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
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| “ | Who's looking for a good pounding? - Hammer Tank | ” |
The Hammer Tank replacing the previous Rhino Tank, is the Soviets WWIII-era main battle tank. This current Soviet MBT has a 85mm anti-tank cannon, and the remarkable TS1 Tsarsky Leech-Beam that has the ability to rip off bits of metal and weapons from vehicles to repair the tank's armour and increase its firepower by fitting the stolen weapon to it's left hand side-compartment.
The Hammer Tank deals somewhat less damage and is slower than the Guardian, it's Allied equivalent, but makes up for this with better armour, a somewhat higher rate of fire and much greater versatility thanks to the Leech Beam, which can grant it anti-aircraft or anti-infantry capabilities; something the Guardian lacks. Of course, such capabilities come with some cost and the Hammer is a little more expensive than the Guardian.
Contents |
[edit] History
| “ | Did he just scratch my paint?! - Hammer Tank under enemy attack | ” |
In a lonely corner of the sprawling Arkhangelsk Tank Plant sits Building 19, a large gray monolith whose only notable feature is a pair of oversized hangar-style doors emblazoned with the building's number. Perhaps it is fitting that the backbone of the Soviet armored corps, the so-called Hammer main battle tank, would be built in such an austere setting. The Hammer Tank is truly a utilitarian weapon built to adapt well to unpredictable battlefield conditions. And to the Soviet military and the nation's people, it is not a weapon at all, but a tool, as its name suggests.
The Hammer's outward appearance is unmistakably Soviet Union design. The blocky hard-angled chassis, the aggressive exposed treads, and the bulky cockpit are reminiscent of earlier Soviet battle tanks. However, the offset cannon and the unusual-looking protuberance in the front of the vehicle do set it apart from earlier models. The Hammer's heavy armor plating protects its crew from all but the heaviest concussive impacts. At the same time, its standard 85 mm autoloading cannon is a proven anti-vehicle weapon, offering excellent rates of fire and lower chances of ammunition accidents. One might expect the turret to spin wildly each time the cannon fires, but a complex recoil-management-and-stabilization system redirects the kick of the gun and keeps the gunner on target through multiple shots. Surprisingly, this technology was "off-the-shelf", being based heavily on the stabilization system used to keep Sickles and Terror Drones upright, modified to handle the explosive force of firing the cannon. Had a solution not been readily available, however, the design team would have created one from scratch, because the offset of the cannon was a critical part of the Hammer tanks most astounding innovation.
Like many discoveries throughout the annals of scientific history, the invention of the TS1 "Tsarsky" Leech-Beam was purely accidental. Arkhangelsk scientists researching magnetic harpoon technology for the Apocalypse project were surprised to find that concentrating the tractor beam and increasing the frequency allowed the device to literally rip metal objects apart (a discovery which nearly caused the collapse of Building 19). The resulting weapon granted two significant boons to the already-impressive Hammer. First, by re-calibrating the magnetic field, segments of shorn vehicular debris could be melded to weak sections of the Hammer's armor, effectively regenerating hull strength in the midst of a battle while the beam was active. Second, by increasing the amplitude at the time of the vehicle's destruction, entire weapons could be incised from the enemy with little to no damage to the weapon itself. Using advancements in Soviet mass production capabilities, Soviet engineers devised a multifunctional weapon interface mounted on the left side of the turret, allowing nearly any weapon to be re-attached. Given its ability to simply steal the armaments of nearly any armed vehicle while patching up any damage sustained in battle, the sheer versatility of the Hammer eclipses that of nearly any other unit in the Soviet arsenal.
Even with such an advanced weapon system, the Hammer Tank's image is not nearly as glamorized as that of other Soviet weapon systems, such as its larger sibling the Apocalypse. Regardless, the workers in Building 19 take great pride in their creations. They must realize that the Hammer Tank represents the core of Soviet military strength, and their calm determination and commitment shows in the final product, for which every Hammer crew is thankful. So say the official sources, which have made no comments on accusations that some Hammer crews have increasingly shown thuglike, callous behavior in the field. Perhaps as a result of wielding such a powerful device on the frontlines of their Motherland's many battlefields.
[edit] TS-1 Tsarsky Leech-Beam
- Main Article: Leech Beam
| “ | Hold Still! - Hammer Tank | ” |
The TS-1 Tsarsky Leech-Beam is the Hammer Tank's secondary attack. It uses a magnetic beam to steal armor and weapons off enemy tanks, allowing the tank to effectively repair itself and gain a secondary weapon. This gives the Hammer a unique versatility that no other weapon has. In addition, the range of the Leech-Beam is considerable, longer than the 85mm cannon itself. The Leech-Beam can also steal armour from buildings but does not have any effect on infantry.
| “ | GIVE ME THAT!!! - Hammer Tank using leech beam | ” |
Note that the Hammer Tank that is leeching an enemy vehicle does not have to destroy the vehicle itself in order to gain it's secondary weapon, it just has to have the Leech Beam locked on the target when it is destroyed. This is useful when leeching tougher enemies such as Assualt Destroyers, Apocalypse Tanks, King Onis, Giga Fortresses, etc, which Hammer Tanks are largely in effective against. For example, a commander can start leeching an Assualt Destroyer and then finish it off quickly with Twinblades or something powerful.
[edit] Notes from the field
| “ | Give it here, chump! - Hammer Tank | ” |
Battlefield reconnaissance has revealed at least these facts about the Hammer Tank:
• Ready for Battle -- The Hammer is a true main battle tank. Hammer crews are well-protected from small arms and light cannon fire while they lay waste to enemy vehicles. Hammer Tanks offer a fine balance of power and speed for a low cost, now that the Soviets have streamlined their production.
• Pound for pound -- The Hammer's 85 mm cannon cannot effectively target smaller enemies such as infantry and is of course unable to target aircraft at all. This means that anti-armor infantry and aircraft pose a real threat to Hammer Tanks, which is why most commanders use them together with support units such as Sickles and Bullfrogs. The Sickle, in particular, naturally complements the Hammer Tank.
• Adaptable -- The Leech-Beam gives the Hammer a degree of flexibility not found in other main battle tanks. While it of course takes longer to dispatch enemy vehicles than the main cannon, deliberate use of the Leech-Beam can cause the Hammer to gain anti-infantry or anti-aircraft capabilities it normally lacks. Additionally, the ability to regenerate hull strength while in combat has allowed well-trained Soviet Hammer divisions to defeat much larger forces, simply by retreating behind a the main battle line to use the beam's significant range while unharmed vehicles draw fire instead. The practice of shuffling damaged tanks into and out of the line of fire has become known as the "Battle Barynya," with some divisions going so far as to compose lyrics for the dance, most of them unsuitable for print.
• Ready to Crush -- Although the Hammer's main gun is normally ill-suited against infantry, the tank is sufficiently fast and heavy enough to simply roll over smaller threats. As this is a rather gruesome mode of defense, rumors that many Hammer crews relish in this particular tactic are unlikely to be true
[edit] Trivia
| “ | Just look at this body compared to the Teeny little Japanese Tank to my left! SHUT UP! OW! - Hammer Tank and Tsunami in Tutorial | ” |
This unit has its gun on the right side like the Scorpion Tank of the Brotherhood. The design of the 85mm gun and it's placement also bears much resemblance to the Scorpion. Also, in the blueprints, the gun is placed on the wrong side. The generally curvy and bulky layout of the tank is something it shares with the Bullfrog and is a generally Soviet design feature.
The Leech Beam is similar to the Nod's Avatars' Commandeer Technology ability in Tiberium War III, except that the Hammer Tank can rip weapons off the tanks of all sides, not just their own side, which was the case for the Avatar. The Hammer Tank can also do it at a distance, whereas the Avatar had to walk right up to the vehicle in question. This makes it a bit similar to GLA tanks as well, because they also upgrade their weapons from scavenged parts of vehicles.
A Hammer Tank was seen in Tutorial and it often got victimized several times by the other factions' tanks. The Commander even used a Shrink Beam on it.
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