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M551 Sheridan

2021-05-16T09:20:21Z

2A01:E34:ED23:C7C0:1DD7:D6AD:8AB3:1BCC: Rearranged the info for readability.

[[File:Sheridan.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Airborne!]]
{{topquote|Always make the enemy think you know more than you really know.|Gen. Phillip Sheridan}}

The M551 Sheridan was an American <s>Light Tank</s> Airborne Assault Vehicle that was rushed into service to meet the demand for armored vehicles in Vietnam. Unique for its time, the 152mm main gun was able to fire anti-tank guided missiles FROM THE BARREL. Although the missile option was never used in Vietnam and were ultimately replaced with the more ubiquitous BGM-71 TOW missile launcher. Instead, the Sheridan was primarily an infantry support vehicle, using its low-velocity cannon to fire HE Shells.

==In Team Yankee==
[[File:Sheridan Stat card.jpg|300px|left|The Stats]]
The Sheridan is the only tank that you can take as part of the Huey Infantry Combat Team since it was the only tank you could throw out of the back of an airplane where the airborne needed it most.

The M81 152mm gun is an interesting weapons system. At close ranges (out to 16") it uses a HEAT shell with AT 21 and a firepower of 1+. Yes, you can one-shot T55s from the front, and with the brutal rule infantry and other units without an armour save have to reroll their successful saves. Unfortunately, you only have a ROF of 1 when moving or halted, although with a ''Stabilizer'', you don't get +1 to hit for moving. For ranges in excess of 16" (because you physically cannot shoot it less than that), you can use the MGM51 Shillelagh (Shill-lay-lee) Guided Missile. The Shillelagh is an AT 22, firepower 3+ missile that can smack targets out to 48" away. However, you can't fire the Shillelagh on the move.

Now since the difference between AT is negligible, and the firepower disparity is the difference between killing a target 2/3rds of the time and killing it every time, you might wonder why would you ever use the Shillelagh. Well, it mostly comes down to defences. The M551 only has a front armour of 4, so basically, any AT weapon is going to cut right through it like it wasn't even there, and 30mm autocannons from the BMP-2 and the Scimitar will shred you, but 4 armor might suffice against NATO IFVs in field exercises. However, you should keep the enemy at an arm's length and use concealment to avoid taking fire: it might be stronger than an M113 but it dies when tanks look at it funny. This method will extend the lifetime of your Sheridan, but you can't utilize the HEAT shell.

You also get a pair of MGs for dealing with infantry, of which the .50cal can be used for air defense.

The M551 Sheridan is the cheapest NATO tank weighing in at only 2 points per vehicle and can be taken in platoons ranging from 2 to 5 tanks.

==IRL==
[[File:Sheridan IRL.jpg|300px|right|thumb|EAT THIS IVAN!]]
God, where to begin with this one? The M551 was a cursed design on so many levels it becomes funny so tragic it is...

As with most such cases, one has to look to the immediate post-WWII and the Korea War to see where it all started. During that period, the US Army was fielding the M41 ''Walker Bulldog'' as a light tank. A compromise between mobility and firepower, it was fast for a vehicle of its size and had good firepower for a light tank. Except the M41 wasn't exactly light: it was about the same size and weight as a WWII medium tank. It was too big for reconnaissance and too heavy for air drops, and would drain its fuel tank dry in less than 100 miles. All in all, it was a complete failure as a light tank and just barely adequate for frontline combat.

Fast-forward to the early sixties: the Army is pushing for a successor to the M41. This time, they want a proper LIGHT tank for doing light tank duties, and there's a promising prototype, the T92... And then those goddamn Red bastards have to come and ruin the day as they start fielding air-droppable, amphibious and ATGM-equipped 'light tank' designs. The Army saw, took duly note, and decided that whatever the Reds had; they had to have too! Exit the T92, as while it can be made air-droppable it cannot easily made to be amphibious, and the Army adamantly believed their light tank needed to do both to oppose those dirty commies.

This however got them into a pinch: having switched to the MBT doctrine and already pouring massive budget in the MBT-70 project (another can of worms best left opened for another day and place), the Army simply could not ask for more budget for yet another tank. So they [[Rules lawyer|elegantly reclassified]] the new project as an "Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle" instead, and pushed it through with the alluring sales pitch the vehicle would be [[awesome|lightweight, amphibious, air-droppable, and able to use both state-of-the-art caseless munitions and ATGMs]]. In theory, the perfect lightweight jack-of-all-trades to support the bigger full-fledged tanks currently in development.

Sadly enough, in practice the Sheridan turned out to be a [[FAIL|complete and utter master-of-none]]. It was air-droppable and amphibious, yes, and its light structure made it less at risk to bog down or throw tracks than his bigger M48 and M60 cousins. But for the rest. Nothing. Worked. As. Intended! The worst offender was the ''Shillelagh'' ATGM: the Army's performance demands from Ford Aerospace for the missile circa 1963 were audacious--too audacious for 1960s or 1970s technology, not if it was going to be mass produced. Part of the problem was that due to limitations of the guidance system, designed in the 1960s, a ''Shillelagh'' ATGM could not be fired at closer than 730 meters, held by some to be greater than the distance to which the main gun could be fired with any accuracy. It took that long to stabilize and begin accepting guidance input from the gunner. Worse, the tank might have been air-droppableb but the ATGM's themselves [[FAIL|weren't]], as the solid rocket fuel tended to crack during drop testing. To compound problems further, the 152mm gun/launcher was such a high caliber for the Sheridan's overall size that every time it fired the vehicle bucked backward and all the fucking electronics had to go through a full reboot, making switching from HE shells to ATGM's a pain. (It is sad/hilarious that of the over 80.000 produced ATGM's, no more than a dozen were ever fired at a real enemy over the entire lifespan of the M551.)

Thus, with the end result buggier than an iPhone the Sheridans in Vietnam simply weren't issued any ATGMs, limiting them to chuck their caseless HE at footsloggers. The 152mm gun did have an antipersonnel flechette round available late in the war, and records of its use in Cambodia make it sound [[rape|highly effective]]. But, while the infantry loved the Sheridan for its direct-fire support, the lack of a working AT ammunition got them [[rape|REKT]] in turn when the northern commies sent proper MBT's into the dance. This proved to be the beginning of the end for the Sheridan, and it was gradually phased out over the end of the 20thst century. As final nail in the poor Sheridan's coffin, [[Herp|in their stupidity the US Army retired it during the 90's without a proper replacement]]. Projects like the RDF LT were launched and many companies opened private ventures. [https://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=79&ProductID=8989 The latter of which is now being introduced into the game]. Today the Army is holding a competition for a new Light Tank. With the big three (General Dynamics, BAE Systems and Raython) offering up their own platforms for the program as the Stryker based M1128 Mobile Gun System isn't up to the task. Insult to injury, when the Sheridan was retired from active service, the National Training Center picked up a couple and [[pretend|dressed them up as Soviet Bloc vehicles (T-72s, T80s, and BMPs)]] to help train US servicemen in identifying possible enemy tanks.

{{US Forces in Team Yankee}}

[[Category:Vehicles]]

Machine Spirit

2021-05-16T08:52:59Z

2A01:E34:ED23:C7C0:1DD7:D6AD:8AB3:1BCC:

[[File:No machine spirits.jpg|thumb|right|300px|When your [[servo-skull]] is corrupted by [[Slaanesh]]]]
{{Topquote|Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.|[[Arthur C. Clarke]]}}

In the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, everyone thinks machines have souls.

Even worse, they very well might be right. Because that is just how weird everything is in the big blackness of the grimdark future.

This isn't really that absurd a belief, considering how we tend to anthropomorphise things like computers and cars - ascribing them personalities, habits and so on. The idea of Machine Spirits is what develops when you let this rampage unchecked by common sense among [[Adeptus Mechanicus|a technocratic & theocratic ruling class.]] However, what's important to know is that prior to humanity's downfall and the Dark Age of Technology, artificial intelligence was widespread in what was a typically utopian future. Given that the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] have a hard-on for hoarding ancient technology, it's not unreasonable to assume that particularly old and/or complex machines do in fact think for themselves. This turns into nightmare fuel when you realize that Mars is honeycombed with factories, warehouses and other facilities in varying states of disuse - facilities that were first the battlegrounds between the different groups of survivors when the [[Dark Age of Technology]] came knocking, and then ''again'' between the loyal and [[Dark Mechanicus|heretical]] halves of the Mechanicus during the [[Horus Heresy]]. Hideous self-aware weapons of death still stalk the lower levels, possibly tainted by Chaos and definitely insane from 10,000 years of solitude and the machine equivalent of PTSD. (Look to what happened to [[Arkhan Land]] on his expeditions for instance.)

The [[Imperium]] at large knows little of this, but Machine Spirits are the reason put forward by the Mechanicus to have everyone maintain machines and treat them with respect. They generally vulgarize the complex subject for the plebs as a simple ''quid pro quo'': take care of your gear, and it will take care of you in turn. And the best part? It works. Even if the average citizen has no idea what they're doing exactly, having their machines work correctly is motivation enough for everything a Techpriest tells them to do; from the simple daily ritual of cleaning to appease a [[Lasgun]] to the incredibly complex rites performed to reawaken the demanding and temperamental machine spirits of [[Titans]].

There is also one other problem that one tends to forget--there actually ''are'' things called Machine Spirits. After the rebellion of the [[Men of Iron]] during the [[Age of Strife]], Artificial Intelligence was declared "Abominable Intelligence" by decree of the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor of Mankind]]. To get around this, human brains were recycled and placed into the more complex machines (namely shipboard AIs and other cogitators, and presumably any robots who couldn't be replaced with servitors) which would then process the more complex information and control systems under the direction of a human. Being recycled from dead humans, they're understandably pretty cantankerous. Plus there are several signs that some advanced equipment, such as [[Land Raider]]s, Titans, and various old spaceships, have actual inorganic A.I. (albeit with an extremely specific scope of intelligence) These machines remain in operation despite -and in some cases, because of- the Mechanicus' inability to fully understand how they work. That said we have been given a pretty big glimpse: in [[Dark Angels|''The Unforgiven'' by Gav Thorpe]], we learn that Space Marines too damaged for cybernetic reconstruction but ''aren't'' worthy of a [[Dreadnought]] are turned into the machine spirits for Land Raiders.

It is also implied sometimes (depending on the source) that Machine Spirits may be more real than first thought. There are examples of weapons that have no power source still being able to fire ''themselves''. There was also at least one instance of a bunch of gears that were not connected to anything but each other (i.e. no motor) actually moving on their own after being ''talked to'' by a Tech-priest (maybe micro-motors? The Mechanicus is actually advanced). Or a gun that actually felt that it failed its master. Considering the Dark Age of Technology's feats, it is possible that dark age humans had successfully found a way to bend the warp into machines to give the machines their own "soul". This may also have helped cause the Iron War. After all, what does Chaos do with unprotected, unaware souls? Heh, yeah. Anyway, most "leftover" Machine Spirits tend to be a bit crazy, though, and using human brains merged with tech is safer because at least you know how the brain works. Hah, sort of.

In truth, and after checking most fluff material both from the Imperium's codices and Black Library novels you can find there is plenty of examples of Machine Spirits actively working along with Techpriests, Space Marines, Titan crews, etc, and they will show enough independence of thought to get mad if an enemy hurts their operators or know when to sacrifice themselves if there is no other way to get the task done. One such famous tale is the Land Raider known as Rynn's Might that belonged to the [[Crimson Fists]] Chapter, which survived the missile that leveled their fortress-monastery. [[Awesome|Despite not having any crew on board, the machine spirit fought a solo war against an attacking Ork Warband, killing its Warboss and many of his followers overnight, before finally being destroyed.]]

Some authors imply that the existing machine spirits are actually the remaining "Men of Gold", the only true and relatively benevolent machine spirits. These machine spirits are not particularly fond of helping their human caretakers as they have little reason to despite being extremely powerful and having full knowledge of the object they inhabit. Tech-priests rarely interact with these passive aggressive mechanical individuals and have almost no memory of the event, even so these spirits often require a lot of convincing just to make the on/off switch work.

Another interpretation is the machine spirit is the Dark Age of Technology's equivalent to Siri. It is an AI, but not a sentient one. [[Standard Template Construct| STC]] technology was designed to be as inherently easy to use as possible, which would include making everything a smart device that could understand verbal commands. Not true AI, the smart devices could hear commands and try to orient themselves to do what their operator wanted, even if the right button wasn't being pushed. Now, keep in mind that the current Imperium is working on copies of copies of replicas of crudely reprinted versions of the original STC instructions (duplicated imperfectly by rote). There are still elements of the smart device listening and wanting to follow their human's commands, but they have a garbled understanding of vocabulary (or in another scenario, said human is speaking the incorrect language due to several thousand years of divergence). The Tech priests in turn have developed their rituals to be heard and understood by the machine spirits, unknowingly speaking keywords the device can try to decipher. In short, a Techpriest could be speaking instructions to Siri descendants in just about everything they do when it comes to tech.

There exists another possibility. Given how incredibly advanced humanity was, there could be micro-circuitry which, due to its sheer complexity, developed in such a way that it provided a sort of pseudo-brain for many pieces of technology in a sort of subconscious manner with a vague, general awareness. Techpriests might have discovered this on their own and found ways to interface and communicate with these semi-entities.

A final, stranger theory is that "machine spirits" are actually the work of the [[Void Dragon]]. He, and some Necrons, can directly control machinery. Combine this with how the creators of much of the more complicated machinery in the Imperium actually [[Heresy|worship]] the Dragon under the guise of the [[Omnissiah]] and one starts to wonder if the Dragon has something to do with all of this. Perhaps a mutually beneficial and permanent deal with the Emperor to protect human tech from being corrupted by Data Daemons in exchange for passively feeding on it?

Hell it could be a case of all of the above depending on the individual piece of technology. Which would go a long way to explaining why the Mechanicus have such a hard time. The Rules keep changing on them drastically and they have no idea there's more than one set of rules.

==See Also==
*[https://youtu.be/ZvmbKkmqbSM?t=2m21s How an actually caring Machine Spirit reacts whenever it feels its user is being threatened.]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gash0294Mzw a much better example than the one above. Props for being much less Weaboo.]
*[https://youtu.be/G9FGgwCQ22w?t=132 How not to interface with a malfunctioning Machine spirit.]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xsVX6029rU How to really, really, REALLY piss off a Machine Spirit]

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]