Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Fighting armor with armor - Sturmpanzerwagen A7V

After the deployment of the Tank Mark I, Germany engaged in a crash development program of their own tread-laying armored vehicle. What they ended up building was a large, boxy vehicle with a crew of 18(!), armed with captured Cockerill-Nordenfelt 57mm cannon and MG08 machineguns.
While better than no tank, the A7V had many flaws. While its armor was thick, at 30mm on the front, 20mm on the rear, and 15mm on the sides, it was mild steel, not hardened steel like the British armor. The tank was built using a commercial Holt chassis, which gave it very little ground clearance, and the overhanging nose and tail meant its cross-country mobility was as limited as the early French Chars. The crew of 18 was difficult to coordinate, particularly since they came from different branches of the service (artillery, infantry, and engineers) and weren't accustomed to serving together. The tank was also top-heavy, with at least one ending its service upside-down in a sand pit. It was fast on roads, but had a short range and was prone to mechanical breakdowns. While better than no tank, it was less useful overall than the male British tanks of the time and the Renault FT. Additionally, only 20 of the A7V were built; the German military generally had more captured British tanks available than their own tanks.

Survivors: The only remaining A7V is Mephisto, captured by Australians at the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux and taken back to Australia as a trophy. It's currently on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, but is supposed to return to its regular home at the Queensland Museum in 2018.

Sturmpanzerwagen A7V
Fire Control: 0
Armament: 57mm L/26.3 Cockerill-Nordenfelt forward, 2xMG08 left, 2xMG08 right, MG08 aft/left, MG08 aft/right
Ammo: 180x57mm and 15,000x7.92mm
Fuel Type: G, A
Veh Wt: 30 tonnes
Crew: 18 (commander, 2 drivers, 12 machinegunners, gunner, loader, engineer)
Mnt: 15
Night Vision: None
Tr Mov: 15/8
Com Mov: 7/3
Fuel Cap: 500
Fuel Cons: 100

Config: Veh
Susp: T:6
HF: 5
HS: 2
HR: 3
Special: On any sort of rough terrain, the driver must make an Average driving check to avoid a mishap if the vehicle makes any movement. The difficulty of the check increases as normal if the driver Pushes It.

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