compiled overview of the 80
ton Victor 'Mech, from various
BattleTech novels and game sourcebooks:
Originally built under a
Star League Defense Force contract in 2510, the VTR-9B
Victor served with distinction as a support
'Mech.
HildCo Interplanetary produced the
'Mech in three plants, all of which were destroyed during the
First Succession War. Of the estimated thousand
Victors produced, many disappeared along with General
Aleksandr Kerensky and the Star League Defense Forces, and still more were destroyed during the brutal battles of the
Succession Wars.
Unlike most assault
'Mechs, the
Victor is jump capable. As most
MechWarriors do not expect an assault
'Mech to be able to jump, the
Victors
jump jets enable it to give enemy troops a nasty
surprise. The
Victor's
Pontiac 100 autocannon provides excellent medium-range firepower, though some models have reported feed problems. The
Victor's left arm sports its major close-range weapons, twin
Sorenstein V medium lasers. A
Holly SRM-4 Missle Rack supplements the lasers.
The earliest models carried a sophisticated array of anti-
infantry weapons, including a
flamer and a
machine gun, which were later discarded because they caused severe overheating problems. The
Victor's original
Standus 20 tracking system was traded for a MacLandry 34 on all but the first-run prototypes because the Standus frequently projected "ghost" targets.
House Davion's famous
Avalon Hussars used their
Victors to great advantage against
House Liao forces in the mountains of Tsanna, Wei, and Redfield. The jump-capable
Victors proved more dangerous to the enemy in some situations than the heavier-armed
BattleMasters, and to this day several
Avalon Hussars pilots and officers prefer the
Victor over its better-armed cousin. The
Avalon Hussars also fared well against a
House Liao force of
Wasps and
Locusts on the planet
Wright in 3012. A Hussar attack
lance consisting of several
Victors encountered two Liao
recon lances and reduced them to rubble in minutes with a combination of jumping attacks and
autocannon fire.
McGee's Cutthroats also used
Victors in the battles for the planet
Suk. Several months of fighting reduced the number of operational
Victors, but the
'Mech turned the
tide in more than one battle.
In several engagements between
House Marik and
House Liao forces, the
Victor revealed a few minor weaknesses. In 3001, while battling for the city of Shul on the planet
Berenson, several
Victors assigned to Marik's
Regulan Hussars were crippled in close fighting because they lacked short-range weapons. Several more were felled by heavily armed
infantry platoons in Shul because the
'Mechs were not equipped with anti-infantry weapons.
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