Rhino Tank/Profile

## Overview

(Объект 434 / Object 434 | Allies: Rhino-B MBT | Celestial: “犀牛”B中型破阵战车[Xī Niú])

Designation:Anti-armor Tank

Designer: Kharkov-Morozov Mechanical Manufacturing Design Bureau(ХКБМ)

Manufacturer: Kharkov-Morozov Mechanical Manufacturing Design Bureau(ХКБМ)/ The 183th Ural Tank Factory/ Dresden special motor vehicle manufactory/ Mishkoltz vehicle manufactory

Mass-Produced at: War Factory

Key Features:

>>Type 2A21 115mm smoothbore cannon

>>The third generation of composite armor based on the basis of Апокалипсис(Apocalypse)

>>Heavy chassis that some parts are inherited from the hammer tank

>>БМ-31-2  'Андрюша(Andryusha)' Rocket Mine Laying System

>>Type 1A33 fire control system

>>6D-2 Lantern-shape laser communication/microwave transmission array ×10

>>Small stainless steel flask that can be hidden in a combustion chamber of rockets

## Background

"War is the best mentor for all designers" This saying holds true even for Soviet Tankers and Designers who were born in tanks.

The appearance of tanks in the European War completely changed the face of land warfare. However, it seemed the armed forces of Europe (excluding the Kaiserreich) were late to recognize the significance of these new toys. Perhaps it would be much later, triggered by a great deterioration of the international situation, that many would come to realize their importance.

In reality, it did not take too long for this realization to be made.

The European war brought unbearable exhaustion upon countries across the continent. Uprisings erupted in one country after another, led by common people and soldiers alike who had been pushed to their limits. The turmoil of the Great European Revolution thoroughly shattered the old state machinery in many lands across Letania and Eastern Europe, both inside and out.

Although the Western European countries managed to contain the Spartacist-Bolshevik alliance to the east of the Elbe-Danube-Alps, the process of post-war recovery in each country continued to inject fuel into the war machine, and the economic crisis of the 1910s only served to accelerate its restart, leading to an gradual increase of tensions in Europe.

To the east of the Elbe River, the newly established socialist republics, making great strides in their efforts towards industrial modernization, did not ignore the looming threat from the West; as Kaiserreich Germany built up its massive armoured force, socialist Germany, Poland, Soviet Russia, Austria-Hungary and other republics quickly responded by mobilizing their industry and organizing their troops based on a "Mutual Defense Agreement" concluded in the past. After the outbreak of Civil war in the mid 1920s, clashes between armored forces in the North German plains and central Germany led to the rapid development of armoured warfare doctrine in both the East and the West; although this war ended in a stalemate under the intervention of the North Atlantic nations (Edenia in particular), the collapse of the remaining Eastern European monarchies brought forth by a new series of wars happening simultaneously in the Balkans allowed Eastern Europe to step forward into a new age.

The North Atlantic countries, which had only informal cooperation and "tacit understanding", felt unable to face this huge threat alone. After the war in the 1920s, Edenia finally came to the understanding that it had to play a more active role in Europe to prevent the European market from falling under Bolshevik control. Therefore, based on the framework of the Allied forces temporarily organized for the German regional war in the mid-1920s, a new military alliance, the "allied forces", was formally established. To the east of the Elbe Danube Alps, the socialist states further deepened the mutual aid tradition practiced after the Revolution in response to the hostility of the west, and organized a de facto military alliance tit for tat to counter the Allies. Although the organization does not formally exist, Western and Chinese observers generally refer to the actual military alliance as the "Great Red Force".

As a result, Eastern and Western Europe came into opposition, and an arms race was launched.

Although an arms race is about equipment, the construction of military equipment cannot be discussed without considering strategic plans and the existing conditions.

The first strategic plan adopted by the Great Red Army after the German Civil War envisioned the GRA advancing westwards in a 3 pronged attack, relying on mechanized assault tactics proposed by the Soviet Red Army, using heavy tanks as chisels and motorized Infantry and Medium tanks as the main force. This combined arms operation was to span 2 weeks, ending with the swift capture of the entirety of Western Europe. Sights would then be set on the British Isles.

It was around this doctrine that the old Hammer main battle tank (Celestial code: Hammer Breakthrough Fighting Vehicle(铁锤破阵战车), Allied code: Hammer MBT) was originally designed. It was to be a balanced medium tank, successor to the earlier Object 166 (Объект 166) prototype (Celestial code: Rhino Main Battle Tank(犀牛破阵战车), Allied code: Rhino MBT) designed on the basis of combat experience gained during the German civil war. It had the ability to perform rapid assaults and was armed with a quick firing main gun, meant to suppress Western European mobile ground forces which were then mainly composed of light armored vehicles. The surplus space left over from installing the 85 mm medium caliber gun could also be used to install the TS-1 leech beam weapon derived from the electromagnetic harpoon project designed for the early model of the Apocalpyse (Апокалипсис) heavy tank (Celestial code: Apocalpyse Heavy Tank(天启攻坚战车), Allied code: Apocalpyse HT). This weapon made the Hammer even more dangerous - the special beam based on electromagnetic technology could maniuplate the intermolecular forces acting within a target's armor, thus restoring a Hammer's own durability while simultaneously causing damage to its target, and could even seize weapon systems from destroyed enemy vehicles.

Unfortunately, however, while the beam was often praised by tank crews, it was also a nightmare for maintenance workers: a combat-seasoned Hammer tank typically had armor made of all kinds of materials welded together on a molecular level and damaged weapons permanently attached onto its auxiliary weapon station, neither of which were possible to detach from the tank for maintenance using conventional engineering methods. This meant that Hammers often could not be completely repaired after battles, and had to be scrapped and recycled altogether.

Additionally, the feasibility of the old strategic plan had always been shrouded by the looming shadow of the unpredictable deployment speed of Edenian troops; If Edenia's huge fleet of air and mechanized ground forces were to be delivered to Europe in time, the idea of occupying all of Western Europe in two weeks would be nothing more than wishful thinking.

At the same time, the hypothetical opponents of the Great Red Army in in West Europe were beginning to incorporate heavy equipment into their armoured forces. The 85 mm tank gun, which was previously just adequate for penetrating Western European armor, became increasingly unable to cope with the increasingly well protected armor of its envisioned targets.

To make matters worse, a certain eastern power had been trying to rebalance the distribution of power between the sea and the land, putting unprecedented pressure on the Siberian Military Region. Forget the sophisticated "art of war" the Celestial Empire might use to guide its operations, the mere presence of its well-equipped, well-trained and modern army across the border alone was enough to make the Soviet Army feel nervous and uneasy.

These shifts in the world situation gave the upper echelons of the Soviet Red Army no choice but to ponder: Is the current role of the Main Battle Tank in Red Army war doctrine still relevant to present conditions? Is the Hammer tank, which at the time had already been mass produced, still up to its task of being the mid-end backbone of the Red Army in a future war? The military leaders of fraternal republics in Eastern Europe scratched their heads at the same concerns. It was in response to these pressing questions that the 18th Great Red Army Military committee proposed a new construction policy for future military equipment. Under the guidance of the new policy, the overall development and design of tank and armored vehicles was to be completed by the Soviet Union. Upon receiving the approval of the top of the Soviet army, the General Administration of the armored tank corps instructed the Nizhny Tagil machinery manufacturing design bureau, which had designed the Hammer tank, and the Kharkov-Morozov mechanical manufacturing design bureau, which had designed the Rhino tank, to engage in a new round of design competitions with the purpose of creating the next generation main battle tank of the Red Army.

Due to the unique environment in the Soviet Union, this competition was not so much a competition between design bureaus as it was a competition between individual designers. Kartsev, a gifted designer at the Nizhny Tagil Design Bureau, installed the 2A20 115mm main gun which had been previously installed on the Rhino MBT on a Hammer chassis, hoping to mass produce the next generation main battle tank using already existing Rhino and Hammer production lines. Kartsev's design did away with the Hammer's side secondary weapon station and allowed the TS-1 leech beam to be used only as a special maintenance port to supplement the damaged armor of the tank. This allowed the main gun to be centered, such that a larger main gun could be mounted on the tank without causing problems caused by shifts in the tank's the center of gravity or mobility issues. Additionally, as such a design only called for modifications to the turret, it could be built the existing Hammer tank production line could be directly converted to the updated one, with the production line for the Hammer chassis requiring no changes at all, greatly reducing procurement costs. Under the persuasion of the accounting bureaucrats of the State Planning Committee of the USSR, the top brass of the Soviet army were induced into becoming "very satisfied" with all aspects of this design, and at one point even decided to mass produce it as the "Hammer B" without further discussion.

While Kartsev was busy with cutting production costs, Morozov resolutely chose another technical approach. By pulling strings he had accumulated in the intelligence departments of the USSR and socialist Germany, he had previously been able to obtain glimpses of the latest developments in Allied tank design and technological advancement. It was with these insights that he launched the research and development of Kharkov's next generation main battle tank.

With more and more intelligence reports that the Edenian and Rhinian armies were planning to equip their tanks with heavier armor and the new L7 105mm gun, internal opinions at the top of the Soviet army were clearly divided. Designs based on the Hammer chassis were becoming gradually outperformed by new threats faced by the Soviet army. The entry of the Edenian army and a rising Celestial Empire into the balance of powers had rendered the original Soviet strategic plan void and null. The design requirements for the new tank came to call for unprecedented firepower and armor for its class.

It was a result of these conditions that the Kharkov Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau's Object 434, which from its inception had included provisions for a high caliber smoothbore gun and an improved version of the Apocalypse tank's armor package was chosen as the initial design scheme for the next generation of the Great Red Force's main battle tank.

After this, Kartsev was asked to lead the Nizhny Tagil team in the creation of a low cost model of Object 434. Being skeptical of the new design, he decided to make a new tank combining elements from Object 434 and the Hammer-B. But this is another story.

Morozov's new Object 434 MBT can be described as a Cross-age design. The new 2A21 115mm smoothbore gun, developed by the OKB-9 design bureau, was the largest to be installed in a main battle tank, and gave the Soviet Army a shocking firepower advantage in each land encounter; after the outbreak of the war, even the Edenian Guardian tank, prized for its armor, could not offer much resistance against the 2A21's armor-piercing projectiles.

At the same time, benefiting from breakthroughs in material science, Soviet engineers were able to create 3rd generation composite armor, which incorporated aluminum ceramic materials in place of the then widely used phenolic glass fibers. This advanced composite armor package, initially developed for the "Apocalypse" project, a top secret plan to ensure the absolute land dominance of the Red Army, was transferred onto the new tank. This new armor was capable of deforming and deflecting kinetic penetrators, reducing their effective penetration in the process. Anti Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) were subject to a similar effect, with the ceramic composite armor material being able to effectively deflect and scatter the metal jet produced by shaped charge warheads. These two effects enabled the new Soviet tank to shrug off artillery and missile attacks alike.

On the other hand, in order to offset the reduced fire rate of the new smoothbore gun (relative to the Hammer's 85mm gun), Soviet Engineers equipped the new tank with the then experimental 1A33 FCS. This Fire Control System ensured that Object 434's shocking firepower could be accurately guided onto enemies of the Red Army.

With the assistance of this combination of technologies, the Object 434 prototype succeeded in impressing the Soviet Army on proving grounds, the roar of the 115mm smoothbore gun coupled with powerful APFSDS makes it a very furious weapon, it can counter or surpass Heavy Tanks owned by potential competitors; This tank is equipped with a powerful 5TD-F Engine and also provides Excellent mobility, and its mobility doesn't decrease when facing the old Hammer Tank.

After demonstrations of the "434 project" the General Administration of Armored tank forces gave this design as "Top Secret", making the Allies and the Celestial Empire's identification "unknown". The tanks started mass production and entered to the battlefield. however, the Celestial Intelligence said that the tank is a modified Rhino tank and named it the "Rhino B", same goes for the Allied Forces. it's not surprising to identify the said MBT. the battle damage on several tanks including the Celestial Empire and the Allies that their tanks have been took a beating, and they realized that this Rhino Tank is a new type of tank with terrifying firepower and an impenetrable armor.

In the Final trials of production, This fantastic main battle tank was also like those new equipment for the Soviet Air Force, which made the Soviet leaders and the Planning Economic Commission understanded that fantastic products have a fantastic cost.---

The Production costs of the Obj 434 prototype is more the twice of that to the Hammer tank, equipped with new treads, engine, and the smoothbore gun which occupy alot of costs, Kartsev stood up and replaced the trades and other electronic equipment from the Old Hammer tank. Kartsev had relations with the Eastern German agency and used the Improved Version of the civil 900-horsepower diesel engine was introduced to replace the 5TD-F Engine. These "regressions" significantly reduced the costs of the Object 434 prototype tank, because it need only a small improvement before it can be put into mass production.

Some suspect that Kartsev and the Officials of Leningrad Factories had an unspeakable deal that they want to protect the Hammer Tank production line, but this plan is to reduce cost while maintaining firepower and defenses. Both the Planning Economy Comittee and the Army are satisfied; with comprehensive efforts in many aspects, this cost reduction quickly passed the review and became the finalized mass production line

Considering the threats from both West and Eastern sides rising in conflict, the Top of the Soviet believe that it is necessary to improve the Tank's effectiveness and performance of defensive operations and tasks.

"Maintaining an offensive position in all directions is not in line with the current doctrine of the Red Army. We need a main battle tank that can act as the Sword of the Red Army when attacking and as a Shield for the Red Army when defending."

When The letter starting with these words was sent to Kharkov-Morozov Machinery Manufacturing Design Bureau, Everyone's faces are confused. They don't know what other requirements will force them to modify their "baby" tanks.

When everyone was dazed and confused, Nizhny Tagil Machinery Manufacturing Design Bureau's genius designer, Kartsev, began to make a great contribution: He got Inspiration from the Old BM-31 "Andryusha" Missile Launcher, the fomous "Teapot" can launch in 30.5cm diameter rocket toward the enemy's head in a few seconds; He considered: in Defensive Operations, the weapon can delay Enemy advancement and save remaining reinforcements; if we can install a BM-31 Missile Mine Launcher behind the tank, that means we can have a perfect role of defensive operations?

Obviously, Kartsev was right. Using the mature Andryusha missile launcher production line, BM-31-2 Missile Mine Launcher was installed behind the turret of the new tank. The cost of the tank process is not high, it can make a full use of the 1A33 FCS. the advantage of the Ballistic solution of the FCS. In this way, the mines thrown by the missile in a defensive battle will become a nightmare for Enemy tank Battalions: "Is it clear that the last batch of the tank divisions were safe last time, and this batch of tanks explodes on the road when they advance, should we begin attacking?"

The Planning Economy Comittee and the top of  the army recieved satisfactory answers and quickly approved the mass production of the new tank; due to the participation of the committee, the final improvment of the project was to add the extra to the original design. the Missile Mine Launcher added became intact to the FCS, but was rather sacrificed the mobility than the Hammer tank with the same device and chassis. Although the design bureau was not pleased but the designers have nothing to do so. After all, the final decision doesn't belong to them.The fast running object 434 is not as good as the approved and mass-produced object 434.

Interestingly, the design of the Missile Mine Launcher has been welcomed to Soviet Army Tankers. the Commissars in charge of inspections are not familiar with the structure of the new tanks. They tend to search vodkas hidden by the crew in in the tank compartments, ignoring the exterior that can be seen in a glance, the Autoloader, the barrel of the main gun, and the shells that emptied the propellant, these places find a good drink hidden by the drunken tank crews from the Caucasus. the Commissars are trying to prevent the tankers accidents during battle, on the other hand, the hidden vodkas are easy to become risky in battles, if the vodka in the barrel will affect the first shot of the tank, or if the vodka is stuck in the autoloader, this will affect the loading time of the tank, and the crew may unable to fire with the gun, making the enemy gets the advantage. these are all lessons of Blood, or the lessons of Vodka.

After the new MBT in service, the Commissars of the Red Army who patrolled are very satisfied, they never find hidden hip flasks inside the tank, however, the hip flasks are hidden in the combustion chamber of the missile launcher behind the turret; The chamber is big enough and the hip flasks will be blowed away when missiles launcher, this would not affect the combat effectiveness on this tank. Alcohol drinking may cause a reduction of combat effiencey, except for the Soviet Army.

The battlefield identification of the Celestial Empire and the Allied forces are accurate, because the Obj 434 mass producted unit was incorrectly defind as Rhino tank. the Celestial Empire will continue to be inaccurate because of the two model tanks. The Rhino, which is now had a smoothbore gun, a Missile Mine Launcher at the rear, and a suitable FCS, is now the production of the Obj 434 Process. the Soviet Army accepted the tank as their main frontline use of future conflicts.

Rhino is called "Reliable Rhinoceros" which is Versetaile, and well armored tank.

Additional Lore: "The Design of the Rhino tank was based from the Second World War and used in the Psychic Dominator Disaster, however they didn't return during  Post-War Crisis. When time manipulation happened, Hammer tanks were produced in mass numbers, the Hammer tanks were destructive at Normal timelines, After the Uprising, a Second Time manipulation happened. Rhinos returned into a glorified state,known as Rhino B. but the Hammer Tank was designed into a Spider Tank than being a Tank itself.

## Notes from the Field

* **Ares Smoothbore** - the new 2A21 11.5cm smoothbore gun can take down Several Allied and Celestial tanks with its tremendous firepower. for Allies, make sure you have units to confront the Rhino Tank

* **Almost Impenetrable Armor** - Same armor used in Apocalypse but in a simplified way, however, the Reliable Rhinoceros has more Defense than any of the Tank's factions, and can even survive serious Artillery attacks! this also improves the protection of the crew.

* **Andryusha** - the lastest weapon of the Rhino, behinde the main turret, this launches a Missile which allows the Rhino to do a Defensive line and ambush the enemy. Seasoned tankers will use this as an Ambush the Allies so keep them in watch!, Let Lenin guide the missiles for you!

* **Large Scale Production** - Rhino B, being the Reliable Rhino, as the mass produced Obj 434, is rather expensive than the Hammer Tank, its advantages are its high firpower rate and its great effectiveness in combat. the Soviet troops in regional conflicts imrpoved the combat environment for the division troops.