Along the Silly Vehicle thread, I dug up an old design (originally
Striker, later translated to MT) of a tank (I'm not sure tank is a
strong enough word :-) heavily derivative of Michael Moorcock's _The_Land_
_Leviathan_.
CraftID: Land Leviathan, TL5, Cr 55,757,200
Hull: (630/1575) Disp=600, Config=7USL, Armor=40A
Turrets=32%, Unloaded=15,800.4tons, Loaded=18,420.9tons
Power: (18/36), Internal Combustion=99MW, Duration8.3/25
Loco: (63/126), Tracks, Road=15kph, Off-Road=1.5kph
Comm: Radio=VDist(50km)
Sensors: Radio Jammer=VDist(50km), Headlights*75
Off: Pen Max Auto Dng
Ammo Rnds Attn Dmg Range Tgts Spc Sig ROF
30cm Gun*40 HE 900 32 38 Dist(11km) 50 H 1/2
12cm Gun*80 HE 3,200 18 16 Dist(7km) 25 M 12
MMG*100 - 100,000 3/3 3 VLong 3 H 80
Def: It's just too awe-inspiring...
Control: Computer=0, Panel=Basic Mechanical*13,607
Accom: Crew=271 (Cmd=37,driver=1, engr=1, maint=1, gunners=220,
steward=9, medic=2) Seats=Adequate*271, Env=Basic Env
Other: Fuel=960kl, Cargo=630kl,
ObjSiz=Large, EMLevel=Faint
The original Striker Version had a much bigger crew (more realistic - a
15" gun in a turret ought to require more than a one person crew), and
room for staterooms, bunks, a battalion aid station. Plus in Striker
I had to design it from the top turret downwards, not just lump all the
turrets into one figure. Oh yes, I mustn't forget the telephone
switchboard from Striker, and the fact that each turret had a fire-
control officer in addition to all the guncrews (he had the telephone for
that turret). The one thing I like in the MT design is the 13,607
control panels. It makes sense that someting this big should use almost
60% of the hull for machinery.
Finally, the original description;
"It was a ziggurat of steel. Tier upon tier it rose, utterly dwarfing
the assembled machines which had already landed. [] On the topmost turret
(the smallest on the metal pyramid) were mounted four long-snouted guns, on the
second turret down there were six such guns, on the third there were twelve, on
the fourth there were eighteen. On the fifth tier could be seen banks of
smaller guns, perhaps a third of the size of the others, for use in close-range
fire. There were about thirty of these. On the sixth tier down were some
fifty similar guns, while on the seventh and bottommost tier were upwards of a
hundred of the most modern steam Gatlings, each capable of firing a hundred and
fifty rounds a minute. [] There were grilled observation ports in every tier,
and each turret was capable of swivelling independently of the others. "
"It was truly a symbol of the final war, of Armageddon! A leviathan
released upon the land, a monster capable of destroying everything in its
path, a steel-clad, gargantuan dragon bringing roaring death on all who
resisted."
(_The_Land_Leviathan_, by MIchael Moorcock)
Chris Bertani [email removed]