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this vehicle is a primitive(A) Support vehicle.

it does not follow the rules in two aspects:
1. the Minimum TL for a tracked medium vehicle would be B, but as tracked tanks were around in 1917 i would say the rules are not entirely precise.
2. i use fractional accounting with a base of 1 Kg
the weapons are from the TRO 1945

Type/Model:    Steam tank 
Tech:          Earth 1914
Config:        Tracked Vehicle
Rules:         TL/a medium tracked vehicle, armored
Mass:          30 tons
Power Plant:   Steam engine
Cruise Speed:  10 km/h
Maximum Speed: 20 km/h
Armor Type:    Steel Bar 5
Armament:      
 5 Machine Guns
 1 37mm Gun
Manufacturer:  (Unknown)
  Location:    (Unknown)
Communications System:  signalling flags
Targeting & Tracking System:  Mk1 Eyeball w/iron sights

--------------------------------------------------------
Type/Model:    Steam tank 
Mass:          30 tons
Construction Options:  Fractional Accounting

Equipment:                                 Items    Mass
Int. Struct.:                                         0      10,8
Engine:        steam engine                    0      7,8
    Cruise MP:   1
     Flank MP:   2
Fuel:                                                  0        2,340
range: 1000 Km
Heat Sinks:      0 Single                    0       ,00
Cockpit & Controls:                          0      0,0
Crew: 6 commander,driver,engineer,boilerman,communicator,gunner
Turret Equipment:                            0       0,062
Armor Factor:   64 pts Steel bar 5     0      6,4

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Front:                     3         14
   Left / Right Sides:        3      13/13
   Rear:                      3         10 
   Turret:                    3          14

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Items    Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
1 37 mm Gun                Turret   0  50  2       0,6
ammo loc: Body
1 Machine Gun            Turret   0  5000 2      0,220
ammo loc: Body
1 Machine Gun            Front    0          1       ,020
1 Machine Gun            Left     0          1       ,020
1 Machine Gun            Right    0          1       ,020
1 Machine Gun            Rear     0          1       ,020
1 Cargo                        Body    0           1        ,638
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                           0         9     30,00
Items & Tons Left:                           0     0,00

_________________
typos and spelling-mistakes are property of the finder. english is not my mother-tongue.

Looks good to me, I could see something like this being found on a world some where out in the deep Periphery...

_________________
Karagin-

Darkness is a friend of mine. Sometimes I have to beat it back, or it would overwhelm me. Shirley Meier

[url]http://karagin12.livejournal.com/[/url]

The Wookiee, he's not wearing any pants!

[img]http://www.heavymetalpro.com/countries/mil-army.gif[/img]

very deep periphery...

i put it up as "earth 1914" because i would rather see it in an alternative history on earth, sort of a steampunk Version of WWI.
it is a technology that would have been available in 1914.
it has a 360° turret with a main gun that could damage lightly armored tanks.
it is faster than a mark tank.
and last but not least its armor should protect it from light artillery firing on it.
i think it would in fact be an improvement over what was really used in WWI until faster tanks came up.

about the layout:
the engine and boiler would be in the middle, with the boiler being to the left and the engine being to the right.

behind the boiler there would be a compartment with the wood or coal stored in bunkers at the sides.
it is the workplace of the man feeding the boiler.
the boilerman would also operate the rearfiring MG, wich has 1000 shots stored there.

in front of the boiler the main compartment would be, there is no connection between front and rear compartments.
at the front left the driver would sit, operating the steering brakes.
at his right the commander would be positioned, he has a periscope to see around and operates the front M
the engineer would operate the steam engine and the right MG, so his position is in the rear right of the front compartment.
the signaller operates the signalling flags wich go up on a signalling mast.
he can use his own periscope to watch out for signals that are for him.
he also operates the left MG, so his Position would be on the rear left of the front compartment.
3000 shots of the machinegun ammo would be stored in the front compartment.

the turret would be on the roof of the vehicle, off center to the right, balancing the weight of the boiler
it would be as far to the front as possible.
inside the turret the gunner would operate the 37mm gun and the coaxial machinegun.
at the rear left of the front compartment the signalling mast would be.
at the rear center the funnel would be.
the turrets traverse would not cover the entire circle, there would be blind spots where the signalling mast and the funnel are.
1000 shots of the machinegun ammo and the 37mm ammo would be stored directly under the turret.

for internal communication internal telegraphs are used, they work in the same fashion that the machine-telegraphs on a ship work.
one telegraph that is operated by the commander signals the direction of targets to the gunner.
another is used to give commands to the gunner.
the gunner also has a telegraph that he can use to point out where he sees possible targets. it also has a pointer connected to the commanders periscope.
the communication with the rear gunner/boilerman works the same that the communication with the gunner works.
the boilerman has five telegraphs : 1. for orders from the commander 2. direction indicator 3. advice from the engineer 4. his telegraf to the commander for indicating targets 5. informations from him to the engineer, that one has a second receiver at the commanders place.
two telegrafs are connecting the commander with the signaller, one for each direction.
two more telegraphs connect the commander with the engineer.
also the driver and commander sit aside of each other their communication is also done by telegraphs, the driver would usually look out so he would not see handsigns of the commander.
sound signals cannot be used for internal communication, as the vehicle would just be too loud.

the disadvantages of my construction are:
1.the turret cannot fire in all directions and the gun cannot fire at targets that are too close.
2. the machinegunners also have other things to do, attacking the vee from the rear might cause the boilerman to neglect feeding the boiler for example.
3. the signalling flag system is rather limited, but that is a limitation of available technology.
4. the commander has too many telegraphs to operate/watch as well as his periscope and his own machinegun.
5. the gunner has to load and operate two weapons.

a later version might improve that by doubling the crew and trying to put the funnel throug the turret. the funnel would be higher and also be used as a signalling mast.
the crew would be: 1.commander(front middle) 2. Driver(front left) 3. internal communication.(behind them) 4. front machinegunner(front right)
this 4 crewmembers are seperated from the rest by a wall, that also keeps noise away from them so they might communicate orally
5. left machinegunner 6 right machinegunner 7 engineer 8 boilerman 9 rear machinegunner 10 37mm-gunner 11 turret machinegunner 12 signaller .

_________________
typos and spelling-mistakes are property of the finder. english is not my mother-tongue.

i found out it is not possible to build a 200 ton steam tank with bar 5 armor, as the sum of internal structure and engine would be larger than the vehicle weight, this is the case as soon as the vehicle is classified as heavy(more than 100 tons)

so here comes the land-ship (the term was used by the british minister of the navy, Winston Churchil, when the army rejected the tank-concept. W.C. wanted the concept to be further developed so he declared tanks were "land ships" and thus a responsibility of the navy..) so this is what comes to my mind when i read "land-ship":

Type/Model:    Steam tank "landship"
Tech:          Earth 1914
Config:        Tracked Vehicle
Rules:         TL/a medium tracked vehicle, armored
Mass:          100 tons
Power Plant:   Steam engine
Cruise Speed:  10 km/h
Maximum Speed: 20 km/h
Armor Type:    Steel Bar 5
Armament:      

Manufacturer:  (Unknown)
  Location:    (Unknown)
Communications System:  signalling flags
Targeting & Tracking System:  Mk1 Eyeball w/iron sights

--------------------------------------------------------
Type/Model:    Steam tank "landship"
Mass:          100 tons
Construction Options:  Fractional Accounting

Equipment:                                 Items    Mass
Int. Struct.:                                         0      36
Engine:        steam engi                     0      26
    Cruise MP:   1
     Flank MP:   2
Fuel:                                                  0        7,8
range: 1000 Km
Heat Sinks:      0 Single                    0       ,00
Cockpit & Controls:                          0      0,0
Crew: 4 commander,driver,engineer,boilerman(for base operation wo/weapons)
Turret Equipment:                            0       0,062
Armor Factor:   204 pts Steel bar 5     0      20400

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Front:                     10         51
   Left / Right Sides:        10/10      51/51
   Rear:                      10         51
   

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Items    Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
1 Cargo/payload                        Body    0           1        8,8
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                           0         1     100,00
Items & Tons Left:                           0     0,00

that is the base construction, without any weapons. weapons or cargo could be added as needed.

i imagine a 5 meter wide 13 meter Long and 4 meter high body. the body is a box with triangular bow and stern. the body is separated into two decks. the upper deck is flat and hexagonal, it carries all the weapons and payload. the lower deck is rectangular. its 5 metres wide, 8 metres long and 2 metres high. it carries the steam engine and boilers. from its front and rear corners there are slopes to the front and rear end of the upper deck. the lower deck has two steps at both sides, the steps are 50 cm high and a meter wide, under that steps the tracks and suspension are to be found.
on top of the upper deck is a bridge, it is 5 metres wide two metres deep and two metres high. it is the place for the commander and communications. behind it two funnels and the mast can be found. the funnels are 3 metres apart and 4 metres high. the mast is 10 metres high.

one Version of the armament:

1 37 mm cannon front                    50 shots 0 2 0,600
4 37 mm cannons left    broadside 200 shots 0 5 2,400
4 37 mm cannons right  broadside 200 shots 0 5 2,400
1 37 mm cannon rear                     50 shots 0 2 0,600
1 MG                  front                 1000 shots 0 2 0,060
4 MG                  left     broadside 4000 shots 0 5 0,240
4 MG                  right   broadside 4000 shots 0 5 0,240
1 MG                  rear                   1000 shots 0 2 0,060
cargo                 body                                   0 1 2,200

this Version would add 10 gunners and 10 machinegunners to the base crew. 4 officers would command them.

_________________
typos and spelling-mistakes are property of the finder. english is not my mother-tongue.

Personally I stay away from the Support Vehicle construction rules, they are not very friendly. I find it easier to use the normal vehicle rules and add the things I want in as I go, mainly because somethings the weights aren't going to hurt the vehicle or you need a lot of them to even add up to anything that matters weight wise. Example, the six shot smoke launchers found on many tanks and IFVs, they don't weight much and they don't cause the vehicle to lose speed or cargo space or the ability to mount other weapons, yet in this game they actually cause all of that. Guess it comes down to what you want the vehicle to do etc...

_________________
Karagin-

Darkness is a friend of mine. Sometimes I have to beat it back, or it would overwhelm me. Shirley Meier

[url]http://karagin12.livejournal.com/[/url]

The Wookiee, he's not wearing any pants!

[img]http://www.heavymetalpro.com/countries/mil-army.gif[/img]

thats right, the smoke screen launchers, searchlights first aid box etc. are so small they would usually not count or just count as kilos of weight, those should usually be house ruled as not haveing to be rounded up. but for the rules they weigh half a ton...
thats why i have usually used FA on a base of one Kg in my support vehicles.

_________________
typos and spelling-mistakes are property of the finder. english is not my mother-tongue.

Land Ironclad, this one has 4 57 mm cannon in two twin turrets in the Center line, one to the front, one to the rear, with firing arches that overlap in the broadsides.the Body is the same that the "land battleship" has.

2 57 mm cannons turret 1                   100 shots 0 2 3,2
turret equipment:                                                             0,3
2 57 mm cannons turret 2                   100 shots 0 2 3,2
turret equipment:                                                             0,3
1 MG                  front                 1000 shots 0 2 0,060
4 MG                  left     broadside 4000 shots 0 5 0,240
4 MG                  right   broadside 4000 shots 0 5 0,240
1 MG                  rear                   1000 shots 0 2 0,060
cargo                 body                                   0 1 1,200

_________________
typos and spelling-mistakes are property of the finder. english is not my mother-tongue.