Editing CVRT (section)

==Spartan (Blowpipe)==
[[File:TB123.jpg|300px|right|thumb|The Stat Card]]
===In Team Yankee===
A division level support unit granted to your lowly company of heroes, the Blowpipe Section (Battery in Real Life sizes, a section would mean 2 blowpipe operators with their assistants) provides a versatile choice for anti-air at 1.5 points per vehicle, taken in a unit of 2, 4 or 6. Compared to its direct opposite the Tracked Rapier, Blowpipes provide fewer shots per point with a firepower of 4+, compared to the Rapier's 3+. In addition, it also has a lower range of 48 inches compared to the Rapier's 64 inches.

It doesn't fair any better against the Marksman which blows it out of the water in terms of offense, defense and versatility. The only advantage the Blowpipe has against the Marksman is the lower front armour meaning it can start on the battlefield in games with deep reserves.

So why take blowpipes in the first place? Two reasons: You've gone mad and decided to waste precious points, or you're running a recon themed list of light units only.

Despite the open hatch, it retains a top armor of 1 suggesting that Blowpipe operators are either made of steel or utterly drunk from all that Irish Guinness they've been drinking off duty.

===In Real Life===
Unlike the ingame models, the actual Blowpipe AA Battery would almost always dismount rather than fire while standing out of an open hatch. In addition to being far harder to aim in the confines of a vehicle, Spartans are incredibly poor at hiding (most vehicles are). A dismounted battery has the ability to reach ideal anti-air positions such as hilltops or forest clearings, giving additional stealth and sometimes giving an easier time aiming at the target. After firing a volley or until an order to fall back is given, depending on the mission, the Battery would then remount and displace to the next location. In the event that troops actually needed to fire from the hatch, it would typically be a result of the aircraft being spotted far too late; air defense units would almost always get a heads-up to prepare for incoming aircraft from a certain direction.

The Blowpipe model comes separately, so you may consider basing him and an assistant on a 2 man base to represent the section dismounting rather than firing from the back. Treat the base as absent for all purposes; the models commit suicide should their favorite teapot meet an untimely end.

Alternatively, you might proxy these guys with Stormer HVMs. Essentially a British ADATS, the stormer uses the CVRT platform with starstreak missiles. Fully capable of destroying the heaviest of APCs and aircraft, but next to laughable in the face of a battle tank. If you hate painting infantry but want a Blowpipe platoon, the Stormer makes an excellent proxy for a 1990s army.

The Blowpipe in TY is actually considerably better than the real life weapon for reasons of balance. The weapon uses a Manual Command to Line Of Sight (MCLOS) system where the missile must be manually steered onto its target with a joystick (even though the Blowpipe's guidance is initially semi-automatic, like the SACLOS system used by many ATGMs of the day, such as the TOW, with the missile gathered to the centre of the sight's crosshairs by the infrared optic atop the aiming unit. Two to three seconds after launch, missile guidance is switched to fully MCLOS mode.) This system was useful, as it allows aircraft to be engaged at any angle and is immune to most decoys, unlike heatseekers, which must approach from the rear and are confused by anything from flares to the Sun. However it was unfortunately contained in an ungainly front heavy unit due to a 'unique' design where the steering fins were stored in front of the missile and welded themselves on in flight... this meant many operators would accidentally smash their missile into the ground upon launch due to the weight suddenly shifting and was likened to "trying to shoot pheasants with a drainpipe".  It was used by both sides during the Falklands War with neither the British or Argentinians having much success, with only two recorded hits out of 100 launches by both sides, and placed into storage. A number were exported, notably to the Mujahedin in Afghanistan, who also gave up trying to use the weapon, leading to a number of units being found in arms caches as late as the 2010's.

The MCLOS setup does allow use against ground units, reflected in Team Yankee, ironically something the missile had some success with, being able to hit large, lumbering ground targets far more easily than aircraft but lacking the warhead to do any real damage to anything larger than an APC.