Basilisk

The **Basilisk** is the standard self-propelled artillery piece of the Astra Militarum in the 41st Millennium, and is also the most common artillery piece used by the Imperial armed forces across the galaxy. The Basilisk is produced in vast numbers on all of the known Forge Worlds in the Imperium, and almost every Astra Militarum regiment maintains several in their arsenal.

## Overview

The Basilisk uses the same versatile and rugged chassis used by the Chimera armoured personnel carrier, and retains all of its features with the exception of its troop compartment, which is replaced with the Basilisk's main gun and gunnery platform. There are several different patterns of Basilisk tanks produced on different Forge Worlds, such as the Armageddon and Vanaheim Patterns, which offer enclosed crew compartments to help protect the gunnery crew from small arms fire. A Basilisk with an enclosed crew compartment is incapable of firing as far as the open-topped version, due to the recoil restrictions of the enclosed crew compartment.

The Basilisk is used to provide direct artillery support for other Imperial units that are fighting on the frontlines. Unlike other Imperial Guard artillery units such as the Griffon and the Bombard, the Basilisk is capable of leveling its weapon at the ground and can directly engage enemy units. The most common role for the Basilisk is the indirect bombardment of enemy units and fortifications, and it is usually held near the rear of the frontline alongside the Medusa and Manticore mobile artillery pieces.

When the situation requires it, a Basilisk can be pressed onto the frontline and used as a direct fire tank hunter or assault howitzer, but due to the vulnerability of  the Chimera's chassis to heavy weapons fire and the vulnerability of its crew, the situation will have to be dire indeed for a commander to order his Basilisks into the thick of the fighting.

Of all the Astra Militarum's ordnance units, the Basilisk is the most numerous. Like many self-propelled artillery pieces, Basilisks can keep pace with infantry advances, ready to unleash its payload at a moment's notice. Such devastating weapons are not intended to perform the same battlefield role as main battle tanks, however, their lack of ablative armour and exposed crew carriages making them too vulnerable to lead assaults. Instead, Basilisks are fielded in a support role to the front-line regiments.

Basilisks can be redirected, reloaded and fired relatively swiftly. The design of the Earthshaker Cannon allows the weapon to be elevated to a steep enough angle for it to fire its shells high over the battlefield and onto concealed enemy targets. Basilisks can therefore deploy out of harm's way where the enemy is powerless to retaliate. The powerful shells fired by the Earthshaker Cannon are capable of smashing apart the enemy lines with ease and are designed to cause catastrophic damage at the impact zone. Targets at the epicentre of such a detonation are immolated immediately, while those in the vicinity are pulverised by the deadly shock wave. The unmistakable shriek of the Basilisks' incoming ordnance is rightly feared by the enemies of the Emperor.

## Armament

The Basilisk's main weapon is an Earthshaker Cannon, a 132 millimetre gun that is capable of firing its shells over 15 kilometres at a velocity of 814 metres-per-second, and is fully capable of destroying enemy tanks and fortified structures with a direct hit. The weapon usually fires High Explosive shells but is also capable of firing Incendiary Shells, Smoke Shells, and Illumination Shells. The tank retains the use of the Chimera chassis' hull-mounted Heavy Bolter, which the vehicle's commander can use when under close-range enemy infantry attack.

The Basilisk can also be outfitted with several enhancements including an enclosed crew compartment, Camouflage Netting, Extra Armour Plating, track guards, a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, improved communications equipment, rough terrain modifications, a Pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber or Storm Bolter, a Searchlight, and Smoke Launchers. During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras, Basilisk artillery pieces could be outfitted with other upgrades such as an auxiliary drive system and Pintle-mounted twin-linked Bolters. The Basilisk was sometimes also used as a command vehicle for artillery formations.