Editing Autogun (section)

===Battle Cannon===
[[File:Battle Cannon Leman Russ.PNG|200px|right|thumb|Battle Cannon]]
The big cheese of the Autogun family without going full on Titan. The Battle cannon is a larger and heavier version of the autocannon, its size restricting its use to vehicles only. It is the primary weapon of the [[Leman Russ Battle Tank]], where its explosive shells can decimate both infantry and other armor. It is also common armament on [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]], though for these mighty machines are used special Rapid Fire Battle Cannons with improved rate of fire and apparently magical ammo storage. Fluff (including the IA books with their rather dubious numbers) says it's a standard 120mm cannon, but just look at that thing, that 200mm easy, if we consider the squashed cartoon proportions of the older 40k models to be their proper, exact-scale appearance in lore. The newer [[Rogal Dorn Battle Tank]] has a twin battle cannon with ~150mm barrels, like many of modern 'next-gen' tank projects. Perhaps it uses sabot and so has a 120mm shell but the barrel is around 240mm. It is likely that either it is not sabot (despite some sources saying it is) or the 120mm refers to the projectile itself and not the barrel (being a reverse version of spigot mortar measurements), unlike the modern method, and so the covering for the projectile might not be included in the 120mm measurement thereby resulting in a much larger barrel than a 120mm shell should be used in. Due to it being of Autogun in function, it has a wide variation of different ammunition that it can use (regrettably, not on the tabletop, where it just fires HEDP shells with [[Orks]] of all people having [[Krusha Kannon|selectable ammo]]) such as:

*'''High Explosive:''' The standard round fired by Leman Russ battle cannons, HE shells like the Leman Russ Mk4 G4 round contain a highly explosive material such as Fyceline which detonates upon impact with the target. Since a high velocity is unnecessary for the shell to work, a smaller proportion of propellant allows for a larger amount of explosive material than in other shells. The explosion causes a blastwave lethal to anyone close by and shatters the thin shell casing into deadly high-speed shrapnel, making them deadly when used against infantry and light vehicles. While the sheer size of the blast can cause minor damage to armored vehicles, even stun or kill the crew within (if the 150-200mm measurement, HE shells lack the penetrative power of true anti-tank shells.
*'''Anti-Tank/Armour Piercing:''' Anti-tank or armor piercing shells like the standard Leman Russ Mk12 G4 round are used to destroy hardened targets such as enemy tanks or bunkers. They consist of a solid round topped with an adamantium tip covered by a soft metal cap. A large propellant charge launches the round at high velocities, where upon impact the metal cap melts and creates a "sticking" effect so that the adamantium tip does not slide off of sloped armor or break. Most AP shells cause damage through kinetic energy, the sheer violence (and mass) of a penetrating hit causing spalling within the enemy tank's interior to damage internal systems and kill crew. Others include a small high explosive charge which detonates upon impact, causing additional secondary damage.
*'''Infernus:''' Inferno shells like the standard Leman Russ Mk7 G4 round, also known as incendiary, phosphorine or thermite shells, work similarly to HE shells. However instead of an explosive charge these shells are filled with a combustible substance which instantly is scattered upon impact. The substance burns instantly and is particularly deadly when used against infantry.
*'''Smoke:''' Smoke shells to create an instant smoke screen, hiding the tank or other friendly forces from enemy observation.
*'''Hunter:''' Rare tank rounds that contain a small logic-engine similar to the one found on Hunter-Killer Missiles, locking onto a target and directing the shell's trajectory towards it. Just before impact, the shell's Machine Spirit causes it to rise above and hit the enemy vehicle on its thinner top armor. Hunter shells were only produced at the Forge World of Tigrus, which has since been overrun by the Orks. Most tank crews will therefore never even see a Hunter shell, much less have the honor of firing one. Essentially, gun-launched guided missiles, used by a variety of modern armed forces to give tanks a non-LoS anti-armour weapon which can also wreck helicopters.
{{clear}}