| BTM II "Poozer" | |
|---|---|
| |
Design
| |
| Designer | Unicide |
| Role | Battle Tank |
Specifications
| |
| Weight | 40 tonnes |
| Armor | 150 / 100 / 100 mm |
| Primary Armament | x1 75mm Short Cannon |
| Secondary Armament | x1 7.62 Ranging machinegun |
| Powerplant | 10.0L Boxer 6 (Petrol) |
| Top Speed | 12 MPH (14 with fuel) |
The Battle Tank, Medium II "Poozer" is a multi-role tank developed primarily for short-range combat.
Development[]
The BTL I was found to simply be too small and lightly-armed for tank combat. A larger, heavier-armed tank was needed. The BTM II's original specs were simply to carry a 75mm gun (one step up from the BTM I's 50mm) and have at least as heavy armor.
Characteristics[]
The BTM II, on paper, performs acceptably compared to the BTL I. It carries a larger gun and has roughly the same level of mobility. However, in practical testing the BTM II performs abysmally, mainly owing to ergonomic and usability issues with its weapon system.
The fire-control system is essentially unchanged from the BTL I. A machine-gun, firing bullets calibrated to theoretically fly the same as the main gun's shells, is used to test range. When the machine-gun hits the target, the cannon should also.
This worked fine for the BTL I's high-velocity, flat-trajectory 50mm cannon. However, the short cannon employed on the BTM II drops far more dramatically. This, combined with the gunner's limited visibility and the lack of any spotting system for the commander, lead to aiming times of up to thirty seconds in testing conditions and accuracy far below the 50% mark.
These awful results doomed the BTM II to never see combat. This terrible performance also lent it its nickname in part. The tank's front is vaguely reminiscent of that of a Panzer IV and it's a piece of shit, hence "Poozer".
Crew[]
The BTM II marked the beginning of the multi-crew arrangement now common in the (cool name here maybe?) series.
The BTM II has room for three crew members. A driver (seated in the left front hull) handles manuvering. A gunner, seated in the left side of the turret, handles aiming and firing the main cannon and coaxial machine gun. A commander, seated in a hatch in the right side of the turret, handles situational awareness.
All crew members can swap seats without leaving the tank. In addition, the tank can be operated fine with a single crew-member; additional members just allow each member to focus on one task. This multi-man arrangement does lead to increased space needed to house the crew.
Variants[]
BTM II Mk2[]
An attempt to salvage the II. The BTM III's spotting system was retrofitted to the tank, allowing the commander to spot targets and the gunner to engage relatively quickly. Though this yielded moderately-better results, the tank still underperformed.