TME-46 Thunder Child Surface Naval Destroyer

STATISTICS

OVERVIEW

No music for you! Sorry

    The TME-46 Thunder Child is intended as a heavy steamport defense vessel and is especially effective against BattleMechs and AeroSpace fighters.  It is named for the H.M.S. Thunder Child, the British warship that blasted two Martian Tripods when everything else had failed in H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds.  Like its namesake, the TME-46 is capable of taking down a couple big 'Mechs with it.

CAPABILITIES

    One of the few designs equipped with an extra-extralight engine, the TME-46 devotes more than half of its tonnage to its withering array of autocannon.   Four shotgun autocannon in a turret can quickly mow down both 'Mech and airborne resistance while two light autocannon in side sponson support the sides.  While the armor is somewhat lighter than most TME vehicle designs, the Thunder Child makes up for it in sheer firepower.

DEPLOYMENT

    One notable deployment of the TME-46 has garnered the design endless praise.  On a world under siege by the ruthless Clan Smoke Jaguar, a certain seaport was evacuating its citizens by a massive naval effort.  These civilians would be brought to a well-protected off-shore island fortress where they could hold out until Inner Sphere reinforcements arrived.  Protecting this evacuation was a squadron of Thunder Child destroyers, one standard (the Reliant) and two -A variants (the Repulse and the Warspite).  When the seaport was attacked by three Stars of OmniMechs, the small Thunder Children were out of sight among the huge steamers.  Two medium 'Mech Stars were waylaid within the city by infantry and armored forces while the assault 'Mech Star moved to the harbor.  It was later revealed that the Smoke Jaguars had orders to not let anyone, civilian or otherwise, escape.

    When the five assault 'Mechs (two Daishi's, two Man O' Wars and a Masakari) appeared out of downtown on the seafront, all three Thunder Children opened up on the lead Daishi.  Riddled with holes, this Daishi was torn asunder within ten seconds.  As the Thunder Children were hiding around the fleeing civilian vessels, the Clanners couldn't see the source of the attack and began to fall back.  As they did so, a second combined salvo ripped the second Daishi to shreds.  The Masakari pilot spotted the Warspite and ordered the short-range brawler Man 'O Wars to charge into the water.  As the Masakari pilot took pot shots at targets of opportunity and the Man 'O Wars entered the water, he also called in an airstrike on the hapless fleet.

    At this point the Thunder Children split up.  The standard Reliant remained within the fleet of escaping ships to provide support as the -A variants Repulse and Warspite moved in to take on the 'Mechs.  Shrugging laser fire off of their hulls, the -As opened up on the first Man 'O War to touch the water.  Riddled by four rapid-fire autocannon, it stumbled and fell on the shore.  With the second Man 'O War chest-deep in the water and threatened by the -As, the Masakari peirced the Warspite's left side with a laser barrage.  Taking on some water but still moving strong, the Warspite discharged its autocannon at point-blank range at the partially submerged Man 'O War, blowing holes in its center torso at the water line.  The 'Mech quickly flooded with cold water; it sank into the water, its fusion engine extinguished.  The Warspite, showing favor to its undamaged right side, and the nearly untouched Repulse charged the Masakari's shoreline position, spewing fire all the way.  The Masakari lost its arms and one leg in the exchange, while the Warspite took some superstructure damage and the Repulse went without some armor.  As the Thunder Children turned to rejoin the escaping fleet, the Man 'O War downed at the shore painfully regained its legs.  Eight rapid-fire autocannon later and the Man 'O War had no legs to lose.

    A few minutes later two Jagatai heavy Aerospace Fighters swung down raining death from the skies.  The already-wounded Warspite was badly hit and several civilian vessels were damaged.  Yet vengeance was swift; a barrage from the Reliant's shotgun autocannon removed one of the fighters' control surfaces.  As one Jagatai came around for a second pass, the pilot of the second one ejected as it gracefully coasted into the ocean.  Both the Reliant and the Repulse shouldered the brunt of the second attack, but the stalwart Reliant discharged another salvo, piercing the Jagatai's fuel tank.  The final Clanner exploded into a million billion bits garnished with flame and smoke.

    Amazingly, no civilians in the fleet were killed and all three Thunder Children survived the battle.  By the time the fleet made it to the island fortress port, the Warspite was extremely low in the water, the Reliant had lost use of its port sponson and its turret's internals were nearly exposed, and the Repulse's bow was blunted and pitted.  This major victory against a greatly superior force greatly supported the TME-46 Thunder Child's shining reputation.

VARIANTS

    The TME-46 Thunder Child is extremely popular with the navies water-rich planets, strategic sea port militias, and the navies of strategic worlds with sea-based centralized military command structures.  The major production variant, the TME-46-A, removes the sponson, replaces the shotgun autocannon with rapid-fire autocannon and increases the armor.  This design is slightly more popular than the original.

    DESIGNER'S NOTES:    I like the H.M.S. Thunder Child.  It was the only Earth-bound thing in the entire book to kick much Martian butt.  As BattleMechs are sort of akin to Martian Tripods, then there should be a naval vessel which whoops up on those two-legged tin cans.  It's fun to watch what four Ultra autocannon do to a 'Mech.

    Wondering what the music was?  It's "Eve of the War" from Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds.  Its a sort of rock-opera thing written in the mid-to-late sixties based on the Wells' novel.  It is extremely popular with people who've heard it.

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