Sunday, June 12, 2022

Battleground Weird WWII: HYDRA "Scylla" Heavy Armored Car

Note that this pic is of the German prototype and not of the HYDRA model.  This is due to no HYDRA Scylla has ever been photographed intact due to its self-destruct feature.

Notes:  HYDRA's first produced armored car was actually the canceled German Mannschaftstransportwagen I project.  HYDRA was able to acquire one of the six prototypes and began to upgrade and modify it to their needs.  The Scylla was mass produced and is the most common armored vehicle used by HYDRA forces during WWII.
Date Introduced:  Early '44
Users:  HYDRA
Crew:  The Scylla has a crew of 4 (commander, gunner, asst. driver/radio op. & driver) and can carry an additional 4 fully armed infantry.
Gyro-Stabilizer:  The Scylla is fitted with a gun stabilizer that increases accuracy when firing on the move.  All Scylla have a reduced To Hit penalty of +3 To Hit when both moving while firing as well as firing in previous action.
Belly Escape Hatch:  The Scylla has a belly escape hatch that allows the crew or passengers to dismount under the vehicle.  Once the individual exits the armored car they will be prone under the vehicle.  Only a single crewman or passenger may exit the hatch at any given time.
Hull-Mounted Flamethrower:  The Scylla has a hull-mounted flamethrower fitted to the front right side of the vehicle.  The flamethrower is operated by the asst. driver/radio op. and takes an action to fire within a 90-degree fire from its position.  The flamethrower has enough fuel for 8 shots and will use the Man-Portable flamethrower template.  The tip of the template will be placed 2" directly in front of the flamethrower's position.  Any prone figures between the template and vehicle will make an immediate Morale Check and any standing will suffer an automatic Gory Death.  All normal flamethrower rules apply.  In addition, any penetrating hit to the front 13 or right side 9 locations will result in an automatic Catastrophic result on the Penetration Effects chart.
Cross-Country Performance:  The vehicle's more sturdy suspension, all wheel drive and 8-wheels gave it great cross-country performance.  Because of these characteristics, the Scylla are not penalized with 1/2 movement over rough ground, shell holes, fields, mud, etc. but can move their full speed as normal.
Sand Tires:  In North Africa, many vehicles were fitted with large balloon-like tires that helped the vehicle move better in the desert sands. If any vehicle is fitted with these tires, they will be able to move at 3/4 their normal movement instead of 1/4 and  receive a -1 bonus when making Bog Checks when moving through sand.  Availability is 10 for units of in Africa and a 5 for any theater.
Snow Chains:  Snow chains were fitted to the tires of vehicles to help them better grip onto icy surfaces.  If a vehicle has snow chains then it will receive a -1 bonus to any Bog Checks made on icy or snowy roads.  Availability is a 10 or less on any front.
Amphibious:  The Scylla is fully amphibious without any preparation needed by the crew.  The armored car can transverse water by moving at 1/2 its normal speed while in the water via its rear-fitted propeller.  All To Hit rolls to a swimming Scylla will be at a +1 due to its small size when in the water.  The vehicle can only fire its turret-mounted weapons when partially submerged.  The vehicle will follow all amphibious rules as normal.
NBC Sealed:  HYDRA was the first military to seal their vehicles to protect the crew and passengers from any possible contamination due to their common deployment of such weapons on the battlefield.  The crew and its passengers are immune to any chemical, radioactive or biological contaminates if the vehicle is Buttoned Up.
Advanced Infra-Red Gear:  Due to the advancement of HYDRA's scientific branch, the Scylla has a IR sight fitted to the driver's, gunner's and commander's sights and vision blocks and all the weapon slits as well.  The vehicle's has a set of headlights forward and aft of the vehicle and all have dual IR and normal light settings.  It will take an action to change headlights to each setting by the commander.  The headlights will shine out 16" within their 90-degree cone in both normal and IR settings.  Their is also an IR spotlight that it fitted to the top of the turret that is able to be rotated from within the turret by the commander.  This IR spotlight can shine out 32" within its 45-degree cone.  Any targets within any spotlight cone will be sighted and fired at as if in normal daylight conditions.
Weapon Slits:  The Scylla has three weapon slits, one forward and two in the rear, which allows the crew or passengers to fire their side arms from within the vehicle.  All weapon slits  have a 90-degree fire arc and will always suffer a +1 To Hit when firing from the slit.  Note that prone infantry 2" away from the vehicle's front slit and prone infantry 4" away from the rear slits cannot be fired at.  Infantry standing within 3" from the forward and 5" from the rear slits will receive Partial Tank Cover.  Pistols, machine pistols, rifles, assault rifles and light machine guns can all fire from a slit.
Dismounting Infantry:  Any infantry dismounting will do so via the large hatch on the roof of the rear of the Scylla.  It will take the dismounting infantry an action to open the hatch if not already and another to dismount.
Fighting Exposed:  Any infantry riding within the Scylla may fight as if in an open-topped vehicle if they leave the large rear hatch open.  This allows the infantry to fight in the similar fashion to those within a half-track transport.  This also leaves the vehicle vulnerable to enemy fire when the hull is exposed as such.  Treat the HT of the vehicle as open-topped if the hatch is left open.
Self-Destruct Mechanism:  Because of the advance nature of the Scylla and SOP for HYDRA material, the vehicle is fitted with a self-destruct charge that will completely destroy the vehicle if activated.  It takes the commander, or someone at the commander's station, to activate the charge.  The charge will then detonate 3 actions later, completely destroying the vehicle and anyone inside it.  Place the Large HE template in the center of the vehicle when it detonates and treat anything under the template as normal.  This charge can also be activated via remote-control but this is only allowed via a BM's call.

           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
           12     M     5     7      2       3      5       3      2       2     10/*-----   N   AC   -----      **        LMG     -----     40LAC 18      -----      -----     -----      -----
*-See the Amphibious rules above/**-See the Hull-Mounted Flame Thrower rules above

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