Chimera
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This article is about the tank. For other uses of Chimera, see Chimera (disambiguation). |
The Chimera is the primary armoured infantry transport for the Imperial Guard. Highly durable and practical it has been used as a chassis for many other vehicles and has been in service for many thousands of years, typifying the fast moving warfare favoured by the Imperial Guard.[1][2a]
Contents
Battlefield Role
The primary duty of the Chimera is to accompany tanks into battle and provide protection for the Guardsmen within so that they may support the tanks. Standard doctrine states that after the Chimera reaches its objective it lays down covering fire with its heavy weapons while the squad within disembarks and advances. The Chimera then falls back to a firing position from which it can still support the infantry and await orders to race forward and collect the squad again to reposition them.[3b] When operating as part of an armoured advanced the Chimera often operate ahead of or on the flanks, as well as side-by-side with the Leman Russ Battle Tanks, providing additional weight to the tanks' massed firepower.[1] Besides the added mobility, firepower and protection, Chimeras allow infantry to take extra gear, including med-kits, vox equipment and more ammunition, making them far more efficient than their foot-slogging infantry.[3b] The Chimera is less useful though when forced to fight in urban settings or as part of static defenses.[1]
The Chimera can fulfill additional roles and many basic variants of the standard vehicle exist. With their communication equipment and scanners Chimeras are suitable command vehicles, while those with Dozer Blades can clear terrain for heavier vehicles to move through or provide nighttime illumination from their Searchlights.[2a] While generally armed with a Multi-laser and Heavy Bolter, those fitted with a Heavy Flamer are popular when fighting in dense terrain such as jungles and forests; usually one in three Chimeras will be outfitted as a flame tank if other infantry close support vehicles, such as Demolishers, Thunderers and Hellhounds, are unavailable. Those equipped with Autocannons also fulfill the light anti-vehicle role, while Gryphonne IV makes a unique Chimera variant mounting twin-linked Heavy Bolters, particularly effective against dense infantry formations such as Ork mobs and Tyranid swarms.[3b] Chimeras have also been used by the Inquisition to transport Inquisitors and their stormtroopers,[4] Purity Seals affixed to the hulls to protect the vehicles' machine spirit and its passengers from daemonic possession.[1]
Technical Information
The Chimera is a rugged and dependable machine able to operate in the most hostile environments,[2a] thanks to onboard oxygen tanks.[3b] It is also amphibious, able to traverse dense swamps and marshes, even rivers, in order to outflank the enemy.[2a]
A driver and gunner sit forward in the hull, operating the hull-mounted Heavy Bolter, while the commander sits in the turret and operates the turret-mounted Multi-laser.[3b] The hull-mounted bolter can be switched out for a Heavy Flamer, while the turret can instead be fitted with a Heavy Flamer, Heavy Bolter,[2b] Autocannon or twin-linked Heavy Bolters.[3b] In the rear of the vehicle is the troop compartment with room for twelve Guardsmen and their equipment with entry and exit provided by a back access ramp. The compartment also has mountings for six lasguns along either either flank of the vehicle, allowing the infantry within to fight from the Chimera's protective bulk, while the top hatch allows one of the embarked troopers to fire a heavy weapon, though this makes the vehicle more vulnerable to enemy fire.[2a][3b] In addition the Chimera comes standard with a Searchlight and Smoke Launchers, while other common modifications include Camo Netting, a Dozer Blade, Extra Armour, a Hunter-Killer Missile and/or a pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber/Storm Bolter.[2b]
| Vehicle Name: | Chimera[3c] | Main Armament: | 2 x Heavy Bolter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forge World of Origin: | Gryphonne IV | Secondary Armament: | Heavy Bolter or Heavy Flamer |
| Known Patterns: | II-XI | Traverse: | 360° |
| Crew: | Commander, Gunner, Driver | Elevation: | From -8° to +25° |
| Powerplant: | Vulcanor 16 Twin Coupled Multi-Burn | Main Ammunition: | 1000 Rounds |
| Weight: | 38 tonnes | Secondary Ammunition: | 400 Rounds or 10 Shots |
| Length: | 6.90m | ||
| Width: | 5.70m | Armour | |
| Height: | 3.72m | ||
| Ground Clearance: | 0.45m | Superstructure: | 150mm |
| Fording Depth: | Hull: | 100mm | |
| Max Speed - on road | 70kph | Gun Mantlet | N/A |
| Max Speed - off road: | 55kph | Vehicle Designation: | 0427-941-3062-CH124 |
| Transport Capacity: | 12 | Firing Ports: | 6 (3 left, 3 right) |
| Access Points: | 1 Rear | Turret: | 150mm |
| Vehicle Name: | Chimera[3d] | Main Armament: | Heavy Flamer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forge World of Origin: | Gryphonne IV | Secondary Armament: | Heavy Bolter or Heavy Flamer |
| Known Patterns: | III-IX | Traverse: | 360° |
| Crew: | Commander, Gunner, Driver | Elevation: | From -8° to 25° |
| Powerplant: | Vulcanor 16 Twin Coupled Multi-Burn | Main Ammunition: | 20 Shots |
| Weight: | 38 tonnes | Secondary Ammunition: | 400 Rounds or 10 Shots |
| Length: | 6.90m | ||
| Width: | 5.70m | Armour | |
| Height: | 3.72m | ||
| Ground Clearance: | 0.45m | Superstructure: | 150mm |
| Fording Depth: | Hull: | 100mm | |
| Max Speed - on road | 70kph | Gun Mantlet | N/A |
| Max Speed - off road: | 55kph | Vehicle Designation: | 0427-941-3004-CH080 |
| Transport Capacity: | 12 | Firing Ports: | 6 (3 left, 3 right) |
| Access Points: | 1 Rear | Turret: | 150mm |
Forge World Variations
- Mars pattern — Armed with turret-mounted Multi-laser.[3e]
- Gryphonne IV pattern — Armed with turret-mounted Autocannon or twin-linked Heavy Bolters.[1][7]
Vehicle Variants
Chimera variants:
- APDS-6a Defender — A variant produced on Armageddon as a stopgap for the planet's PDF in the wake of the Ork invasion.[3a]
- Chimerro
- Chimerax
- Chimedon
- Samaritan[6]
- Storm Chimera — A configuration issued to specalised units of the Death Korps of Krieg for frontline assaults. Modified with additional extensive abalitive armour and primarily armed with an Autocannon.[10]
Other vehicles based upon the Chimera chassis:
- Hellhound
- Basilisk
- Griffon
- Medusa Siege Tank
- Salamander Command Vehicle
- Salamander Scout Vehicle
- Hydra Flak Tank
- Manticore
- Trojan
- Death Strike Missile Launcher
- Pegasus AAV
- Pegasus Command
- Pegasus Armored Fighting Vehicle
- Balius pattern in-battlefield refueling tank[11]
Regiments known to contain Chimeras
- 527th Valhallan Infantry Regiment[Needs Citation]
- Armageddon Steel Legion - Defence of Hive Infernus[3f]
- Cadian 98th Armoured Regiment - Luxor Uprising
- Cadian 113th Mechanised Infantry Regiment - Cadian Gate garrison force
- Inquisitorial Storm Troopers - Service of Ordo Malleus Inquisitor Hector Rex[3f]
- Krieg 18th Armoured Regiment - Barbarius Campaign
- Krieg 23rd Mechanised Infantry Regiment - Cleansing of Radnar
- Magdellan 6th Armoured Regiment - Battle of Tsaragrad
- Mordian 84th Armoured Regiment
- Mortant 7th Regiment 'Headhunters' - Sacking of Colonia
- Palladius 8th Armoured Regiment "The Warhounds" - Atria Wilderness campaign
- Phyressian 81st Armoured Regiment
- Tallarn 3rd Armoured Regiment - Defence of Balle Alpha (twin-linked Heavy Bolters)
- Valhallan 193rd Armoured Regiment - Achernar Prime, Tymari Glacier Offensive
Images
Chimera with Multi-laser (5th Edition)
Chimera equipped with a Multi-laser[6]
Chimera equipped with an Autocannon[7]
Chimera equipped with twin-linked Heavy Bolters[7]
Chimera equipped with a Heavy Flamer[9]
3rd Edition Chimera[8]
Sources
- 1: Codex: Imperial Guard (2nd Edition), pg. 30
- 2: Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition)
- 3: Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy
- 4: Imperial Armour Volume Two - Space Marines and Forces of the Inquisition, pg. 200
- 5: Imperial Armour Volume Three - The Taros Campaign, pg. 257
- 6: Games Workshop
- 7: Forge World (Saved archive page, dated Dec 2002, last accessed 1 July 2015)
- 8: Codex: Armageddon (3rd Edition), pg. 13
- 9: Forge World (Saved archive page, last accessed 1 July 2015)
- 10: Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus, pg. 193
- 11: The Eye of Medusa (Novel), ch. 3
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