Stampede 2

#### Overview

Designed during the 1790s RT, the Stampede 2 was the main assault gun of the Shirudan Shogunate when it saw deployment by 1801RT. It was developed to replace the more vulnerable Stampede 1. Unlike its predecessor, the Stampede 2 no longer uses an open-topped fighting compartment mounted on a light chassis. For most of the war, the Shirudan combat doctrine focused upon turretless, tracked Assault guns, supplemented by a few turreted landships like the Halai or the Preste Raud. In the opening weeks of the Great War, assault guns like the Stampede 1 and the SP-M made up the mainstay of these armoured units, though advances in weapons technology would facilitate the need for improvement.

Manufactured by Daigo heavy industries, the Stampede 2 met the requirements for a larger, more powerful chassis with rugged off road capability and a far more deadly main gun. Wider, rubber rimmed road wheels spreads the hefty weight much more evenly while the higher ground clearance allows for easier travel over rough ground. However the updated and complicated design came with the significant downside of high production costs. Initial expenses to create the fleet were high and the cost of maintenance and replacement induced by combat losses proved too expensive to continue. Therefore the Stampede 2-2 was created with a simplified, reduced design made from lighter, inexpensive materials. The significant limitation in this design was that it proved much less resilient than the previous model, with higher casualty rates from more commonplace penetration by enemy weapons.

Both Stampede models would feature a crew of four: Commander, Gunner, Loader and Driver.

The Stampede 2 would continue to see frontline service until the war’s end but would not be manufactured in favour of the more easily mass produced 2-2. Both engines would later be phased out in favour of more manoeuvrable turreted models.

#### Armament

The Stampede 2 was first equipped with the 90mm anti tank gun, fitted with a muzzle break. The gun was exceptionally powerful with prototype ammunition that proved deadly against alliance landships. However, supply issues and the desire to maintain a common round across the heavy units meant that with the shift to the Stampede 2-2, the gun was replaced by the 75mm- sharing the same shells as the multitude of other armoured vehicles used by the Shogunate. The reduction in lethality was deemed an acceptable casualty in favour for the far more easily supplied 75mm round.

Stampede 2s of both models were never official issued with coaxial or infantry support weapons. However Shirudan units would go to lengths to acquire automatic weapons to affix onto their vehicles- from heavy, to medium to light machineguns of various makes, in order to combat the threat of infantry.

#### Variants

* Stampede 2: First production variant. Expensive model with heavily armoured frame and side armour. Carries the 90mm gun

* Stampede 2-2: Mass produced successor with lighter armour in an effort to make the design more affordable, leading to a reduction in survivability. Mounts the 75mm instead of the 90mm for common ammunition usage.

* Stampede M-2: Self propelled artillery piece mounting a high velocity mortar.