Burke II

Description
Designed during the occupation of Terra in the late 28th Century, the Burke II was an experimental Superheavy Combat Vehicle created for the Armed Forces of the Rim Worlds Republic.

Its creation was due in part to Rim Worlds Republican troops' affection for the original Burke Defense Tank. The Republicans forced Leopard Armor to create a new and more powerful version of the tank. Development began in August 2776, just prior to the invasion of Terra which would occur early the next year. Only two examples were produced for trial runs at the time of the invasion in January 2777. They were deployed in defense of Europe, where they saw combat in Munich at an old airport. The two Burke IIs used their powerful guns to decimate SLDF armor forces. During the course of the battle, they began to run low on ammunition and their destruction came at hands of a lance of SLDF BattleMechs as they were unable to escape due to their limited speed.

When SLDF forces liberated Leopard Armor, the battle damage done to the factory destroyed the means to reproduce the prototype tanks.

Weapons and Equipment
Weighing in at 140 tons, the Burke used a then-experimental superheavy chassis. This chassis allowed designers to fit large weaponry and ample ammunition for the crews to use in combat. The tank was a powered by a 280-rated Fusion Engine, which propelled the tank to a slow 32kph maximum speed.

Leopard Armor designed the Burke II to emulate the best aspects of original design. Concentrating on firepower as its priority, engineers cut back on other aspects of the vehicle. One of these changes was the thin layer of armor protection. Engineers utilized weight saving Ferro-Fibrous Armor, with 6 tons concentrated on the front of the vehicle, less so for rest of the vehicle.

The Burke's main guns were four 20-Class assault grade autocannons, which were mounted in the vehicle's turret. Eight tons worth of ammunition are dedicated to these weapons. This gives the cannons 10 volleys of fire each before running out of ammunition. Though never used during the time of the invasion, the tank was also fitted with two forward mounted 5-tube Long-Range Missile Launchers. These launchers were fed by single ton of ammunition, which could sustain 12 volleys of fire.

Design Quirks
The Burke II Superheavy Tank has the following Design Quirks:
 * Distracting
 * Prototype
 * Trailer Hitch
 * Obsolete/2787

Related Designs

 * Burke