Valdor Tank Hunter

A Valdor Tank Hunter of the Vraksian Traitor Militia

The Valdor Tank Hunter is an ancient heavy main battle tank of the Imperial Guard that was first developed during the Horus Heresy as a weapon to help counter the Land Raider tanks of the Traitor Legions. The Valdor is based on the Malcador heavy tank chassis, and is named after Captain-General Constantin Valdor of the Legio Custodes, a great hero of the Imperium during the Horus Heresy. The Valdor Tank Hunter is equipped with an ancient and powerful weapon known as a Neutron Laser Projector that is powerful enough to destroy its targets on the molecular level.

History

The Valdor Tank Hunter was developed sometime during the Horus Heresy by the Adeptus Mechanicus as a way to help the armoured regiments of the Imperial Army fight against the Land Raiders that were being deployed in great numbers by the Traitor Legions. Ancient records found at the Scholastica Bellicose on the planet Mordia show that the tank was most widely used during the Great Scouring after the Heresy, when the Imperium led the great counter-attack against the Traitor Legions, driving them all the way to the Eye of Terror.

Two Valdor Tank Hunters of the Vraksian Traitor Militia

The Valdor Tank Hunter is considered an ancient relic in the 41st Millennium, with the number of Forge Worlds able to maintain, let alone construct the Valdor dwindling to just a handful. As a result, they are rarely deployed amongst the Imperial Guard's armoured regiments. The 1st Cadian Armoured Regiment, which helped to defend the Imperial Fortress World of Cadia in the Cadian Gate, possesses a total of only 5 Valdor tanks. During the Siege of Vraks the 88th Siege Army's intelligence officers believed that there was no more than 30 Valdor tanks stored inside of Vraks Prime's vast Departmento Munitorum storehouses, and these tanks were not utilised by the Vraksian Traitor Militia until much later in that terrible, grinding conflict. It is believed that a Dark Magos of the Dark Mechanicus arrived on the planet with the Steel Brethren Chaos Space Marines and helped the Renegades to activate and deploy the Valdor tanks in the Vraksian storehouses. The payment to the Dark Mechanicus for this aid was the provision of a complement of several fully-functional Valdor tanks and what is believed to be a data-core detailing how to construct the Valdor. This means that there is a dreadful possibility that the Valdor Tank Hunter may start appearing in the armies of the Forces of Chaos in the near-future.

Regiments Known To Field The Valdor Tank Hunter

• 1st Cadian Armoured Regiment - 5 Valdor Tank Hunter were stationed on Cadia to aid in its defence against the Forces of Chaos attacking the Cadian Gate.
• Vraksian Traitor Militia - The Valdor Tank Hunter was deployed during the Siege of Vraks by the Traitor forces that sided with the Apostate Cardinal-Astra Xaphan.
• Imperial Guard - The Imperial Guard fielded a large number of Valdor Heavy Tanks during the Great Scouring of the 31st Millennium, and the Guard still fields a small number of Valdors during the 41st Millennium.

Armament

The Valdor is armed with an ancient weapon known as a Neutron Laser Projector, which was developed during the Dark Age of Technology and thus very few Forge Worlds are still able to produce or maintain them. The weapon takes up most of the room inside of the tank, and the shielding for its required power generator is not very thick, so any major damage caused by an enemy attack could have disastrous consequences for the crew. If the weapon fails to transfer all of its energy into its target while firing, it could lead to a powerful feedback reaction that can damage the weapon. The Valdor is also equipped with a single sponson-mounted Heavy Flamer, but it can be replaced with a Heavy Stubber, Heavy Bolter, Autocannon, or a Lascannon. The tank can also be equipped with a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, a Pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber or Storm Bolter, extra armour plating, a searchlight, a dozer blade, or smoke launchers.

Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications

Mars Pattern Valdor Tank Hunter

Vehicle Name:	Valdor	Main Armament:	Neutron Laser Projector
Forge World of Origin:	Mars, Cyraxus II, Lathe-het	Secondary Armament:	Heavy Flamer
Known Patterns:	I - II	Traverse:	0 degrees
Crew:	1 Commander, 1 Driver, 2 Gunners, 1 Engineer	Elevation:	0 to 22 degrees
Powerplant:	HL330 v12 Multi-Fuel	Main Ammunition:	Unlimited; power drawn from generator
Weight:	96 Tonnes	Secondary Ammunition:	8 Shots
Length:	11.5 metres	Armour:
Width:	4.95 metres
Height:	3.7 metres	Superstructure:	180 millimetres
Ground Clearance:	0.65 metres	Hull:	160 millimetres
Max Speed On-Road:	25 kilometres per hour	Gun Mantlet:	N/A
Max Speed Off-Road:	18 kilometres per hour	Vehicle Designation:	8600-032-8656-ML038
Transport Capacity:	N/A	Firing Ports:	N/A
Access Points:	N/A	Turret:	N/A

Sources

• Imperial Armour: Apocalypse II, p. 9
• Imperial Armour Volume Seven - The Siege of Vraks - Part Three, pp. 119-121
• Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard (Second Edition), pp. 148-151, 267
• Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus, pp. 65, 81

Also See

• Imperial Guard Vehicles

Gallery

A Valdor Tank Hunter of the Vraksian Traitor Militia, armed with a Pintle Mounted Heavy Stubber

Ditto

A Valdor Tank Hunter in use during the Siege of Vraks

A Valdor Tank Hunter in combat against the Necrons during the Orphean War