A5 Juggernaut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The HAVw A5 Juggernaut, sometimes nicknamed "Rolling Slabs", is a vehicle from the fictional Star Wars universe.
First used during the days of the Old Republic, and later by the Galactic Empire. Considered the most powerful military land-vehicle (until the AT-AT moved into full production), the Juggernaut served in numerous conflicts during the, Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War, notably the defense of Kashyyyk portrayed in Revenge of the Sith. A number of these tanks were also acquired by the Rebel Alliance.
It had five sets of wheels and had cockpits on each end of the craft, thus being capable of going in opposite directions without turning. Indeed, turning the vehicle is a time consuming task.
Armed with three heavy laser cannons, one medium blaster cannon and two concussion grenade launchers. It could carry up to 50 troops or several light military speeders, speeder bikes and other small repulsorcraft.
[edit] HAVw A6 Juggernaut
Also known as the Clone Turbo Tank, this heavy assault vehicle was developed by Kuat Drive Yards and introduced in the later stages of the Clone Wars. Actually intended to provide remote outposts with enough firepower to defend themselves against droid attack, its value was soon recognised by Republic tacticians as well. It soon all but replaced the AT-TE and TX-130S as the primary ground assault vehicle. Rolling across the ground on 10 massive wheels, it could transport up to 300 troops and/or up to 1000 tons of cargo in its heavily armoured interior. Powered by a huge reactor, sheathed in extremely heavy armour plate and loaded with multiple highly devastating weapons systems, the HAVw A6 Juggernaut was one of the most powerful and deadly assault vehicles ever made, superseded only by the Imperial All-Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT). Droid commanders very rightly feared its presence on the battlefield.
The massive blocky body and large rolling wheels meant that it was often (rather unlovingly) called the ‘rolling slab’ by troops and vehicle commanders. As it was so heavy and unwieldy, the Juggernaut was next to impossible to turn round. This problem was solved by the addition of another, smaller driving cockpit at the ‘rear’ which meant it could be driven from either end. Juggernaut crews debated heavily as to which were the true front and back ends, but the general consensus is that it usually drove from right to left when seen from a position such as that in the left-hand image above. While highly difficult to turn round a full 180°, each of the Juggernaut’s 10 massive wheels was divided into 3 independently spinning sections, providing actually quite good manoeuvrability – at least for a vehicle that size. The size of the wheels also meant that it was less susceptible to sinking in soft ground than the walkers of the Grand Army of the Republic as even with its massive bulk the weight was much more evenly distributed.
It was usually used in much the same way as the AT-TE – it would roll into the battle and deploy large numbers of troops under withering fire protection and then move off to act as a heavy assault vehicle in the role of obliterating enemy vehicles, infantry, fixed weaponry and more or less anything else that wasn’t friendly. It was well equipped indeed for this role – the capacity for up to 300 troops made it a very effective transport, far more so than the AT-TE; the heavy laser cannon (which would actually later be copied and improved on in the AT-AT and was one of the most powerful ever used in a ground assault vehicle) was devastating against enemy vehicles, buildings and fixed weapon emplacements; the two medium blaster cannons swept aside enemy infantry with ease; the twin double light blasters covered the front end against infantry attack; the missile launchers here highly effective against more or less anything within their effective range of 30 km; and the heavy repeating blaster cannon rounded off the arsenal by providing more assault power against vehicles and effective anti-air cover. It was also able to achieve speeds of up to 160 km/h when going full pelt along flat ground, could carry provisions for 20 days and fuel for 30,000 km and was almost 50 m long. All in all, the Juggernaut was very well chosen as the backbone of the ground forces of the Grand Army of the Republic.
The A6/Turbo Tank follows a theme of role integration seen in Star Wars military hardware; much like the iconic Star Destroyers are not just warships but also troop transports and aircraft carriers, the Turbo Tank and its walker relatives are not just troop transports but also mobile operation centers and main battle tanks.
At least a dozen A6 Juggernauts saw action in the Battle of Kashyyyk near the end of the Clone Wars, and continued in the service of the Galactic Empire, though they would be largely relegated to support roles in unimportant battles and during the Outer Rim marches. Although most replaced by the Imperial All-Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT) which could traverse a wider variety of terrain, the Juggernaut still retained advantages in capacity, stability, speed, and firepower (particularly noteworthy was how the AT-AT lacked any sort of anti-air battery).
[edit] Appearances
The Juggernaut first appeared in design sketches for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, but never made it to film. It was then adapted for EU stories and statistics and finally appeared in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, as the A6-model. In Star Wars Essential Guide to Vessels and Vehicles, it is suggested that priority Imperial commanders got the AT-AT, while Juggernauts went to backwater conflicts. Furthermore, the technical data given for the vehicle (bearing in mind that up until Episode III, the Juggernaut was considered EU) gives its size at roughly half of the model shown in the film. The new name of "Clone Turbo Tank" was most likely created because Marvel Comics owns the rights to the name Juggernaut, who is one of their famous characters, for the production of toys.
[edit] External link
| Vehicles of the Galactic Empire | |
|---|---|
| Entries in italics denote vehicles from the Expanded Universe | |
| Ground vehicles | |
| AT-ST | AT-AT | AT-TE | 74-Z Speeder Bike | Juggernaut | AT-PT | TIE crawler | |
| Starfighters | |
| TIE Fighter | TIE Interceptor | TIE Bomber | TIE Advanced x1 | TIE Avenger | TIE Defender | TIE/D fighter
TIE Hunter | TIE Phantom | Assault Gunboat | Missile Boat | Skipray Blastboat | A-9 Vigilance |
|
| Capital ships | |
| Star Destroyer | Super Star Destroyer | Executor | Nebulon-B Frigate | Corellian Corvette
Lancer-Class Frigate | Interdictor Cruiser | Carrack-Class Light Cruiser |
|
| Other | |
| Lambda-class shuttle | Death Star | Walker Dropship | World Devastator | Sun Crusher | |
| See also | |
| Star Wars air vehicles | Star Wars aquatic vehicles | Star Wars ground vehicles | Star Wars starfighters | Star Wars support craft |
|
