ACV 7XX "Conqueror"
Moving Metal Mountain
There we were, hiding out in that shabby little town, getting 10 types of hell from the Admani's war dogs, and calling out for some bloody back up. Then, like a Knight of the Old Orders, a Conqueror crested the sandy dune behind us, and spit fire from its cannon, and in 7 minutes, it was all over.The ACV 7XX Series, commonly and officially referred to collectively as the "Conqueror" class, is a family of Armoured Combat Vehicles currently in service with the United Commonwealth Army, as well as in far more limited use by United Commonwealth allied nation's ground forces. The Conqueror family of vehicles was primarily designed by Danho Defence, of the Republic of Chongyuk, and would see service throughout the entirety of the Great Wars, fighting the Commonwealth's foes across 6 Worlds and 13 Continents, and more than earning its reputation as the most dangerous Armtrack the 12 Worlds had ever seen.
Origin of Concept
The Armoured Combat Vehicle 7XX "Conqueror" series represented a marked improvement over the preceding 6XX "Courser" series. In both cases, their name and designation refers more accurately to their basic chassis, with "XX" detailing the many specific models and variants. The Conqueror was designed in the earlier days of what would eventually become a "year of chaos" for the Foreign Affairs and Defence bodies of the United Commonwealth. The request to Industry for the basic idea of a new Armoured Combat Vehicle, in the year 150 A.S., came as a result of an international atmosphere that had very quickly become very, very concerning to the United Commonwealth, and its allies. That tension that seemed to hang in the air encouraged the decision by the leadership of the United Commonwealth, Political and Military, to allow the Office of Army Research and Development, or, OARD, to begin a crash research, development, testing, production, and procurement program, to immediately provide the United Commonwealth Army with a brand new, cutting edge "Armtrack" which would be able to stand up for itself in a major Ground War with an equally powerful enemy Military. The newer "Conquerors", while not being entirely revolutionary, brought with them many design and conceptual changes from the older "Courser". While the latter had been designed with speed and protection at the forefront, the Conquerors were designed to be able to "Rip armour like tissue", and take similarly punishing enemy fire with barely a scratch to the paintwork. In accordance with that, fortunes were poured into developing highly advanced Armour and Protection technology, as well as everything from advanced vehicle crew and inter vehicle communication systems, to vastly improved engines that combined high power outputs with exceptional ease in maintenance and repair.
Development, Production and Procurement
Once the main concepts had been hammered into existence, the sub-agencies within OARD began to offer design contracts to private Defence Industry corporations for bidding, and would eventually choose Danho Defence, of Danho Combined Industries, to be lead the process for "EX-7 (ACV)", the name given to what was still an Experimental research project. The full design process, from abstract blueprints and design capabilities to a fully functional prototype and design ready to begin production, would take 4 years, ending in 163 A.S., with the final unveiling of the vehicle to the public taking place at the Donguk Armtrack Foundry, which would soon be busy churning out Armtrack after Armtrack, operating alongside similar Foundries across the 12 Worlds to complete the massive orders for the vehicles give by the U.C. Army. This first Production Block for the ACV 711, the first model of the vehicle to see service, would number 5,500 Conquerors in total, all of which were rapidly sent out to combat units for immediate training. As the 2 decades of near constant war rolled onwards, the teams at OARD, Danho Defence, and many other large organisations, would continuously attempt to improve and upgrade every facet of the vehicle to meet the ever changing circumstances the United Commonwealth faced. Hence, the emergency funding for the initial "crash project" was continued, and would only increase during the Wars, resulting in what seemed like decades of innovation in everything from metallurgy, to electronics, to vehicle propulsion took place in a handful of years. By the end of the 3rd Great War, 4 "Combat" models of the Conqueror would be produced, designated ACV-711, -712, -713, and -714 respectively, each of which would also have a handful of their own unique variants and sub-models, suited to various specific contexts and tasks.
An Armoured Spear
The Conquerors main gun was designed by Ferdinand Holwitz Ind., and manufactured either directly by FH Ind. in its sprawling industrial empire, or under license by over a dozen other Defence Industry corporations. The weapons were famed during the Great Wars for their ability to keep to the Conqueror's promise to best even the mightiest forces anyone could throw at it. The first two iterations of the Conqueror, the -711 and -712 models, were armed with the Fh-80-A series of armtrack 120mm Field Cannons, which did their job well enough at first but would eventually be rendered obsolete, while the -713 and -714 models utilised the much improved Fh-100-A, which had a far longer range, muzzle velocity, and accuracy, as well as being better equipped to take on the more modern varieties of specialised ammunition. In addition to its legendary guns, which were said to carry the legend of "The Strong Arms of Holwitz" into eternal posterity, the vehicles came equipped with 2 machine guns, 1 mounted atop the turret for use by the Armtrack Commander, and a larger caliber weapon mounted coaxial to the main cannon. One of the most famous of the many legends surrounding the Conqueror, specifically the -714 model, was that one such vehicle once "punched a hole through 11 inches of solid steel, from 5 kilometres away, at night, in the middle of a sandstorm." Such stories are generally accepted as inevitable, and often false, but that particular incident was verifiably true, and dozens of similar tales, some less accurate than this one, would speak of Conquerors of various models performing incredible acts of gunnery, and leaving scores of their enemies as burning wrecks laid low before them.
Rolling Fortress
At its core, the Conqueror and its many iterations were designed with exceptional protection and survivability at the forefront. Great pains were made, and classified-fortunes were spent, in pursuit of that endeavour, and that grand obsession with sheer strength and protection would pay off vast dividends, culminating in war machines that seemed to be practically impossible to destroy in any fair battle, and most unfair ones.
Laminar Plating
The first two iterations of the Conqueror, the -711 and -712 models, were equipped with what was then a still revolutionary form of armour plating. Commonly refered to as "Laminar Plating", and in formal OARD and Army records as "CUIRASSIER", this was an early form of a type of armour that would very quickly become the ubiquitous with proper military vehicles Worlds over, as the later models, and the ACV-714 in partiular, would bring to an absolute pinnacle. The "CUIRASSIER" project had in fact been active for several years before the Conqueror itself would reach the design board, and started off as a theoretical addition to the ACV 6XX "Champion" series. Work on it began as a response to the creation of the Talon APOG in the 140s, which utilised a "Shock Jet" warhead to achieve its infamously lethal effects on enemy armoured vehicles. The basic idea behind the "Laminar Plating" was instead of presenting a solid block of metal to enemy fire, using multiple layers of different materials, with different properties, would allow the armour to better absorb the "Shock Jet" produced by such warheads, where a "cone" shaped layer of metal is turned into a stream of molten particles, which have proven to be excellent and piercing through even the thickest conventional armour. The -713 and -714 Conqueror models were equipped with an upgraded, far superior version of CUIRASSIER, namely the HUSSAR system, which was said to be more than twice as effective when compared to CUIRASSIER in protecting against both Shock Jet and Direct Kinetic Penetrator rounds. The years of gained battlefield and scientific experience contributed to the discovery of new, specialised materials, which substantially increased the armours effectiveness, allowing it to achieve its great feats of durability. Battlefield reports showcasing just how successful the Conqueror's conventional armour, even without the slew of additional AP Packages, was capable of withstanding even the most withering fire from enemy forces. The specific make up of the Laminar Plating itself is a closely guarded secret within the United Commonwealth, which has gone to great lengths to keep their considerable edge over any rivals in Armour and Protection for as long as possible. Even with the vast supply chains and industrial capacity spent on constructing armtracks, it is said the actual number of people privy to that secretive information numbers in the low hundreds, in the entirety of the 12 Worlds.
Common Armour and Protection Packages
In additition to the significant amount of rotection offered to the basic, unaugmented Conqueror, there have been several additional Armour Protection Packages designed to enhance the survivability of the Conqueror even further, as well as provide it with the specialised protection for more specialised threats.
Special Variants
The various main Models of the Conqueror have also came with their own unique, specialised "Variants", each tailored to specific tasks and purposes.
ACV 721-724: Engineer Breaching Vehicle
ACV 731-733: Engineer Repair and Recovery Vehicle
Price
7,500,000 U.C. Cheques
Weight
ACV 714: 65 Tons Standard, 76 Tons with Full Additions
Speed
55 km/h On-Road, 45 km/h Off-Road
Complement / Crew
4: 1 Driver, 1 Gunner, 1 Loader, 1 Commander
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Really enjoyed the information here, my friend. You present it very well. The writing feels precise and never lingers on a single subject for too long. I especially liked this fun fact: "punched a hole through 11 inches of solid steel, from 5 kilometres away, at night, in the middle of a sandstorm." I love little moments like that. It got a laugh, added some emotion to the article, and all while still being informative. That's quite an impressive shot.