Golden Age Weaponsmiths M109 Self Propelled Howitzer

The M109 was a very effective pre-rifts artillery vehicle that served for a long period of time in the United States Army aand Marine Corp. It was also sold in large numbers to other nations. Because artillery never really goes out of date, a surprising number survived in National Guard armories until the coming of the Rifts. Some of these armories were in well protected and out of the way areas and survived the coming of the rifts. Golden Age Weaponsmiths has found a good number of these units and have refitted them and sold them. Many mercenary companies have found that they like the M109 and it is to the point that Golden Age Weaponsmith is considering converting one of their automobile factories to produce these vehicles.

The most important problem to be solved is that the vehicles are very vulnerable to weapons fire from post rifts weapons. The solution was to add modern external armor to the vehicle. Weaponry is unchanged with the exception that they now use post rifts ammunition types. The 155 mm uses standard artillery rounds and the 50 caliber machine gun fires ramjet rounds. These Howitzers only carry a very limited amount of ammunition so they are normally escorted by trucks or other vehicles that carry additional ordinance. The M109 must plant before firing its howitzer (takes 3 minutes to set up). One additional weapon system can be added to the self propelled artillery design. Groups purchasing these tanks will often have a mini-missile launcher added to the vehicle design.

While the M109 does not have the sensor systems that most vehicles built on Rifts Earth have, the vehicle does have a direct fire telescope and extra sensor systems can be added.

Model Type: GAW M109
Vehicle Type: Self Propelled Howitzer
Crew: Three (Driver, Gunner, and Commander).

M.D.C. by Location:

	[1] Tractor Treads (2):	45 each
	Howitzer Turret:	140
	Howitzer Barrel:	70
	12.7 mm Machine Gun:	20
	[2] Main Body:	280

Notes:
[1] Depleting the M.D.C. of a tread will immobilize the Howitzer 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 advisable when the vehicle is not under attack.
[2] If all the M.D.C. of the main body is depleted, the vehicle is completely shut down and is unsalvageable.

Speed:
Ground: Cruising speed on land is 35 mph (56.3 kph) on roads and 30 mph (48.3 kph) off road maximum.
Maximum Range: 217 miles (349 km)

Statistical Data:
Height: 9.8 feet (3 meters)
Width: 10.2 feet (3.1 meters)
Length: Main Body: 20.3 feet (6.19 meters) and With Gun Forward: 30.1 feet (9.17 meters).
Weight: 26 tons (23.6 metric tons) empty and 27.5 (24.9 metric tons) combat loaded
Power Source: Diesel Engine.
Cargo Capacity: Minimal, enough for equipment with crew
Black Market Cost: 175,000 Credits. If fitted, any extra weapons systems will add to the cost of the Howitzer.

Weapon Systems

1. 155 mm Howitzer: Very powerful and long range weapon that is capable of 360 degree rotation The M109 must plant before firing its howitzer (takes 3 minutes to set up).. It fires standard artillery and is normally fired indirectly on the target but can be fired as direct fire if necessary. The cannon is loaded by a gunner so the gun fire will slow down eventually. While the cannon is original, it uses modern Rifts artillery rounds and can use both non rocket assisted and rocket assisted rounds.
   Effective Range: 13.7 miles (22 km) for non rocket assisted and 23.5 miles (36.4 km) for rocket assisted projectiles.
   Mega-Damage: By artillery round type (Go to Battlefield Artillery for Rifts for more information: Fragmentation 2D4x10, High Explosive 2D6x10, Armor Piercing 3D6x10, Plasma 4D6x10, and has a vast number of other type of rounds as well).
   Rate of Fire: 4 rounds per minute (1 per melee) for three minutes, 1 round per minute (4 melees) for 60 minutes, and 1 round per 3 minutes (12 melees) after that.
   Payload: 15 rounds but can be loaded from exterior to retain rate of fire.
2. 12.7 millimeter Machine gun: Located outside of tank meaning that the gunner (The commander) must be outside of the Howitzer when using the Machine gun. Uses WI-20 Heavy Ramjet rounds.
   Mega Damage: Single shot does 1D4 and 40 round burst does 5D6.
   Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner
   Effective Range: 3,000 feet (914.4 meters)
   Payload: 1,000 rounds (25 bursts).

[Golden Age Weaponsmiths TM, Wellington Industries TM, and Iron Heart Industries TM are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
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By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune ).

Copyright © 1998, Kitsune. All rights reserved.