A Goffs Battlewagon in the heat of battle
A Battlewagon is a catch-all term used for any type of Ork assault tank and heavy armoured troop transport. The term Battlewagon seems to refer overall to a category of large Ork armoured vehicles. A Battlewagon can be wheeled, tracked or a combination of the two and is used in many battlefield roles. It always carries a large complement of weapons.
Sometimes these armaments are just Big Shootas, while on other vehicles they are large Killkannons. Battlewagons possess thick armour plating, multiple turrets and death rollers or rams. They also carry mobs of Ork Boyz, either internally or clinging onto its many handholds.
Ork Battlewagons rumble to war on a collection of tracks, tyres and massive spiked rollers. Whether lumbering gun-fortresses, bright red speedsters or gaudy rust buckets smeared with Ork glyphs, Battlewagons are massive slabs of motorised junk built to carry big mobs of Greenskins into battle. No matter a Battlewagon's individual peculiarities, all fulfil the essential role of an armoured attack vehicle for Ork forces.
A solid wedge of these mighty vehicles can provide a warband with a (somewhat rusty) mailed fist that can be driven down the throat of the enemy. With gunz booming and Deff Rollas coated in mud and gore, Ork Battlewagons carve a path of bloody ruin through the foe while their Ork passengers blaze away at the dazed survivors, bellowing "WAAAGH!" at the top of their lungs.
Variants
A Deathskulls klan Battlewagon
Ork Battlewagons are as diverse in construction and weapons complement as the Greenskins who create them. A Battlewagon always possesses a heavy chassis, sometimes salvaged from other suitable vehicles such as the Imperium's tanks or heavy armoured transports. Others will be custom-built vehicles created from scratch by an Ork Mek and his assistants.
Like other Ork vehicles a Battlewagon continues to be kustomised and grows to become an ever larger contraption as its owners add more weapons, extra fighting gantries and new engines, until a Battlewagon has grown into a true Battle Fortress. A Battle Fortress is a massive Battlewagon, expanded to the size and armament capacity of an Imperial Guard super-heavy tank. Such vehicles are favorite mounts for the most powerful of Ork Warbosses.
There is no such thing as a standard Battlewagon, and there exist many named sub-types among the Ork forces. Titles such as Lungbursta, Gobsmasha, Krusha, Bonecruncha, Gorespeeda and Dakkawagon are used by the Orks to describe each kustomised Battlewagon's specific role. The Lungbursta and Gobsmasha are armed with large, noisy kannons whilst the Krusha is outfitted with a spiked death-rolla on the front and drives into the heart of the enemy, steamrolling over enemy infantry. The Gorespeeda is a popular vehicle with Speed Freeks and Evil Sunz, maximising its transport capacity to deliver mobs of Boyz into the thick of the fighting.
A Battlewagon armed with a Supa-Kannon sacrifices all its other weaponry to mount this huge artillery piece. Most often this weapon is nothing more sophisticated than a looted Imperial Earthshaker Cannon. Among the Ork klanz, the Goffs and Evil Sunz dislike the very idea of artillery and rarely make use of a Supa-Kannon, preferring weapons that allow them to more directly enter the fray. For their part, the Bad Moons, Blood Axes and Deathskulls greatly enjoy the sheer power of artillery pieces and have been known to unleash the power of a Supa-Kannon upon the foe.
Some Meks kustomise a Battlewagon chassis to carry a large Lifta-Droppa. In addition to its use moving heavy machinery about, demolishing buildings and clearing scrap, the Lifta-Droppa makes use of an unknown tractor-beam technology to pick up and move objects around the environment with anti-gravitic ease. Battlewagons outfitted with a Lifta-Droppa are known as Liftwagons. The Lifta-Droppa is powered by an "atom-smasha" reactor, which Meks take great glee in overloading, often with spectacular and deadly results.
Wargear
- Killkannon - The Killkannon is usually mounted on Battlewagon turrets. What these guns lack in accuracy and range, they more than compensate for in explosive punch and sheer, deafening noise.
- Kannon - A Kannon is a large-bore artillery piece, a crude but effective weapon that fires anti-tank shells or fused fragmentation rounds.
- Lobba - Lobbas are large, noisy mortars that are typically mounted onto Battlewagons.
- Zzap Gun - Zzap Guns fire unstable bolts of lightning. They have the potential to punch through the hull of even the heaviest enemy vehicle amid crackling showers of sparks, but have a tendency to overload and electrocute the operating gunner.
Optional Wargear
- ‘Ard Case - An armoured roof increases a wagon’s survivability...a bit.
- Deff Rolla - A deff rolla is a great spiked roller that brings the colossal weight of the Battlewagon to bear on anything in its way.
- Grabbin' Klaw - Mounted on a pivoting crane arm and controlled by a number of kunnin' levers, a grabbin' klaw latches on to enemy tanks to prevent them 'runnin' away'.
- Red Paint Job - Orks believe that a vehicle painted red can outstrip a similar vehicle that isn't. As odd as it may seem, they're not wrong.
- Reinforced Ram - A vehicle fitted with such a blunt but effective ram can plough through wreckage, walls and enemy vehicles with equal ease.
- Stikkbomb Chukka - A stikkbomb chukka is a crude mechanism that lobs volleys of stikkbombs into the midst of the foe.
- Wreckin' Ball - Orks love demolition almost as much as they love war. The spiked wreckin' balls they mount on their vehicles fulfil both desires at once.
Notable Battlewagon Formations
A Goffs klan Blitz Brigade
- Blitz Brigade - An Ork Blitz Brigade is a motorized formation comprising a large number of Battlewagons, and was a common sight on the dust-choked battlefields of Armageddon. Often the first warning the enemy will have of its approach is the distant rumble of numerous tank engines, followed swiftly by the Orks' opening salvoes. Moments later, the Blitz Brigade will be upon the foe, its Battlewagons ramming or smashing aside anything in their path, crushing defenders and defences alike beneath their massive bulk. The initial waves are sometimes laden with Boyz, eager to get into the fight at the earliest possible opportunity, but the role of a Blitz Brigade is primarily to destroy, not to deploy. Even without holds full of passengers, the sudden, devastating assault of a Blitz Brigade has broken many an enemy battle line wide open.
Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Techncial Specifications
| Technical Information | |||
| Designation: | Battlewagon | ||
| Vehicle Codename: | N/A | ||
| Vehicle Type: | Assault Tank/Heavy Troop Transport | ||
| Crew: | Twenty Ork Boyz; If mounting a Killcannon, it may only carry twelve | ||
| Estimated Weight: | 55 tonnes unladen (approx.) | ||
| Length: | 10 metres (approx.) | ||
| Width: | 6.5 metres (approx.) | ||
| Height: | 4.5 metres (approx.) | ||
| Estimated Max Speed: | 60 kph on road, 45 kph off road | ||
| Main Armament: | Low velocity heavy gun (85mm) equipped with explosive shells, multiple Xenos pattern light autocannon (ref "Big Shoota") | ||
| Secondary Armament: | Varies | ||
| Traverse & Elevation: | Varies | ||
| Ammunition: | (Main Gun) 20 rounds (Approx.) | ||
| Armour Type: | Superstructural 20 mm-110 mm plating improvised ablatives | ||
| Technical Information | |||
| Designation: | Battlewagon (Supa-Kannon) | ||
| Vehicle Codename: | N/A | ||
| Vehicle Type: | Self-Propelled Gun | ||
| Crew: | Driver/multiple gunners (Varies) | ||
| Estimated Weight: | 62 tonnes unladen (approx.) | ||
| Length: | 10 metres (approx.) | ||
| Width: | 6.5 metres (approx.) | ||
| Height: | 5.5 metres (approx.) | ||
| Estimated Max Speed: | 40 kph | ||
| Main Armament: | Heavy high velocity long-barrelled field artillery piece mounted for direct fire and bombardment. | ||
| Secondary Armament: | Varies by modification. | ||
| Traverse & Elevation: | 120/+60 (Main Gun) | ||
| Ammunition: | (Main Gun) 30 rounds (Approx.) | ||
| Armour Type: | Superstructural 20 mm-110 mm plating improvised ablatives | ||
Sources
- Codex: Orks (7th Edition), pp. 35, 59, 68, 82, 175-176
- Codex: Orks (4th Edition), pg. 102
- ‘Ere We Go: Orks in Warhammer 40,000 (1st Edition), pp. 71, 75
- Imperial Armour II - Ork, Eldar & Dark Eldar Vehicles for Warhammer 40,000, pg. 28
- Imperial Armour Volume Eight - Raid on Kastorel-Novem, pp. 157-159, 161-162
- The Red WAAAGH! - A Codex: Orks Supplement (7th Edition), pp. 88-90,
- Waaagh! Ghazghkull - A Codex: Orks Supplement (7th Edition), pp. 12-13, 16-17, 19-20, 30, 67, 69, 80, 84, 142-144
- White Dwarf Magazine 128 (UK), "Warhammer 40,000 - New Rules for Vehicles in Warhammer 40,000: Warhammer 40,000 Vehicles," by Rick Priestley, pg. 36
- Forge World - Ork Battlewagon with Supa-Kannon
Gallery
