Mastiff Medium Tank

**Key Features** | »» 88mm KwK 36 L/56 cannon»» .30 cal machine gun in remote turret»» Steel stowage racks (rusted)»» Improvised armor (sandbags, concrete slabs, anything)»» United States flag

*"There ain't nothin' that can stop us!"*

- Mastiff driver.

## Tactical Analysis

* **Still a Contender**: Though it has seen better days, the robust Mastiff is still capable of holding its own against the main battle tanks of other powers. With a 88mm main gun, a .30 cal machine gun, and heavy treads that allow it to squish infantry, the Mastiff is the backbone of Continental ground forces.

* **Hope This Hurts**: The Mastiff is not an opponent to be taken lightly. Even if one appears to have the upper hand, Mastiff drivers are known for their tendency to charge at the enemy lines while firing as quickly as possible, something which can turn the tide of battle. The speed at which the Mastiff moves makes it difficult for enemies to hit it, and with its considerable mass, it can be used as a literal battering ram. On the other hand, this manoeuvre could easily leave the Mastiff in a poor position afterwards.

* **Dang.**: Like all Continental vehicles, the Mastiff starts considerably weaker than its cost would indicate, and must be upgraded to be at its full effectiveness. In particular, the Mastiff's main gun, when unupgraded, really struggles against enemy armour.

* **Rally Around**: Some Mastiff crews are hailed as national heroes and even make their presence known in Continental propaganda. The sight of a Mastiff Tank with a giant American flag draped across its front will revitalise troop morale and cause the troops near the Mastiff to fight with more ferocity than normal.

## Background

 File:ConfedMastiffInGame.png
The **Panzerkampfwagen VI. Mastiff**, or **Mastiff Medium Tank**, was a German tank first built in 1947, which saw extensive service during the Second World War. Armed with a powerful 88mm cannon, the vehicle was designed as a direct answer to the T-40, then the workhorse of the Soviet Union's tank divisions.

 File:VM-ConfedMastiffMediumTank.png
At the time of its construction, it was the largest, heaviest, most advanced heavy tank in the world, years ahead of its competitors, it's a shame its logistics weren’t as advanced and the materials it consumed were frankly ridiculous. Unfortunately for the Germans (or maybe fortunately in light of its many design flaws discovered years later), when the Soviet Union rolled into Poland they unleashed the T-55 Anvil Heavy Tank, which drastically outgunned the Mastiff. With the formation of the Allied Nations, the Mastiff was selected as the Allied main tank, and after the inclusion of American engine upgrades and a heavy strip-down of its armour, turning it from a heavy tank to the medium tank its known for, it was manufactured in massive numbers; some 35,000 tanks were produced across eight countries and war factories across the world during the war with even more produced afterward.

 File:MastiffIRL.jpg
In combat the Mastiff performed admirably, usually in conjunction with its lighter counterpart, the Beagle, the Mastiff would strike Anvils from beyond their maximum range with their 88mms, drawing their attention and allowing the Beagle to flank enemy formations and deliver risky, close-range killing blows to the enemy rear armour. The design was not without its problems, suffering from underpowered engines and frequent breakdowns, but these flaws were eventually smoothed out as production ramped up and better standardizations and quality controls, and contributions by various nations, were implemented.

After the war, thousands of Ausf. B Mastiff tanks were stored in the *"Boneyard"*, a vast desert facility in Nevada, where they were allowed to rust under the desert sun in case the situation ever got bad enough to require their services again.

## Global Upgrade

**Health**: Tank lengthens, turret enlarges, and sandbags are mounted on.

**Power**: The gun barrel lengthens and enlarges, turning into a 105mm cannon.

**Speed**: Tank tracks split, becoming four "wheels", with exhaust pipes poking out the back.

**Rate of Fire**: Gains two additional, rotary, gun barrels, rotating every time it fires.

**Armour**: Armour skirts completely cover the tracks and gain a gun shield.

**Vision**: Syndicate cameras are mounted on the tank front and around the turret.

## Behind the Scenes

* The Mastiff Tank is based off the German King Tiger, though it went through several design iterations before that. The major being that the Tiger was a HEAVY tank in the Original timeline, and not a good one (let's just say its predecessor, the Tiger, had frequent engine breakdowns and consumed a lot of materials, and the King Tiger turned those issues up to eleven).

* One of the things retained through all the designs was the metal basket on the outside of the turret, a feature retained from the original M1 Abrams design.

## Just the Stats

 **Armour Type** | Heavy Armour

 **Kill Reward** | 8800

 **DPS** | 29.3

 **DPS** | 10