Sunday, January 29, 2012

Battleground Weird WWII: Mk. V Light Tank

Mk. V Light Tank

AA Mk. V w/Twin 15mm MGs

AA Mk. V w/Quad .50cal MGs

Notes:  The Mk. V was obsolete at the outset of the war and was primarily used as a trainer but that shouldn't stop ya for using it for some Weird WWII Home Guard engagements so get the BGWWII rules and give Dad's Army a slight edge over a bayonet fight.
Date Introduced:  Mk. V (Mid '35) & both Mk. V AA Models (Early '36)
Users:  Commonwealth (as a trainer only).
Vehicle Chart:  We use the Mk. VI Light Tank vehicle chart from the Crusade for Empire supplement.
Crew:  3 (commander, gunner & driver)
Riveted Construction:  All models of the Mk. V have riveted construction and will suffer as such if struck at the appropriate locations by enemy fire.  Any non-penetrating hits to a location with rivets will force any crew that might be at that location to take an immediate D column hit.  Apply any effects as normal with the exception of any MC or Suppression results will be considered -1 action for the effected crewman for the remainder of the battle.  Apply what locations are covered by this rule via the WYSIWYG rules.
Poor Cross-Country Mobility:  The Mk. V has poor cross-country performance and will be treated as a wheeled-vehicle when moving off-road.
4" Smoke Dischargers:  The Mk. V has two sets of 4" smoke launchers fixed to either side of the turret loaded with smoke rounds.  The commander uses an action to fire the launchers in which both fire a smoke round that will then smoke the front 180-degrees of the turret's front.  The launchers can only be reloaded externally and it will take a crewman one action to do so for each launcher.  If only one set is loaded and then fired, it will only produce a 90-degree smoke cloud to the front side of whatever launcher was fired.  Availability is 15 for all Mk. Vs.  The AA models are not provided with these launchers.
Searchlight:  The Mk. V has a small searchlight fitted to the right side of the turret next to the cupola that can be operated by an exposed crewman.  Alternatively, the searchlight can be locked in place and will shine forward of the turret whichever direction it is pointed.  The spotlight illuminates a 20-degree cone that extends out to 28".
Commander as Loader:  The commander acts as loader in both AA models of the Mk. V.  Because the main guns are machine guns, there is no No Commander penalties when firing.
15mm AA Model:  This Mk. V model mounts dual 15mm machine guns within a rudimentary open-topped turret.  When firing, roll 3 To Hit dice per weapon and roll for location or result for each hit.  If a weapon Jams, only that weapon does allowing the others to fire as normal.  It takes the commander a single action to clear one Jam result per weapon.  The crew will receive Partial Tank Cover from enemy fire from the front but will not receive any cover from flank or rear fire.
Quad AA Model:  This AA model has a small rudimentary open-topped turret armed with quad .50cal machine guns.  When firing, roll 3 To Hit dice per weapon and roll for location or result for each hit.  If a weapon Jams, only that weapon does allowing the others to fire as normal.  It takes the commander a single action to clear one Jam result per weapon.  The crew will receive Partial Tank Cover from enemy fire from the front but will not receive any cover from flank or rear fire.  The quad weapon overworked the commander quite a bit thus causing the weapons to Jam on a 18+.
Open-Topped:  Both AA models are all Open-Topped vehicles and will be bound by those rules as such.
Tarpaulin Cover:  All Open-Topped models are equipped with tarps as basic kit.
Police Use:  It is possible that some Mk. Vs might have found use with local law enforcement.  If gaming with a large urban police department then the Availability will be a 3 for a single vehicle.  Note that AA models are not included in this.
Home Guard Use:  The possibility of the outdated Mk. V to find its way into a British Home Guard unit is quite high thus the Availability of D4 vehicles is a 10 for any model.
Wargaming Piece:  I am not aware of any 1/48 or 1/50 scale die-cast toys or model kits of any Mk. Vs so if you stumble across one let us know.

          Wt   Sz   HF   TF   HS   TS   HR   TR   HT   TT   Sd   Ld   TR   Ty   Smk   HMG   CMG   AAMG   Gun   AP   APCR   HEAT   HE   HE Size 
*1        5     S     2     2      2     1      2      1     1     1     9   -----    N    T     15      -----    MMG    -----    LCMG  ---     -----      -----    -----      -----
*2        5     S     2    -----    2    -----    2    -----   1   -----    9   -----    N    T    -----     -----     -----     -----        *     -----    -----      -----    -----      -----
*3        5     S     2    -----    2    -----    2    -----   1   -----    9   -----    N    T    -----     -----     -----     -----       **     -----    -----      -----    -----      -----
*Dual 15mm LCMG
**Quad .50cal LCMG
*1-Mk. V/*2-15mm AA/*3-.50cal AA

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