Compiled overview of the 100
ton Thunder Hawk 'Mech, from various
BattleTech novels and game sourcebooks:
The
Thunder Hawk is a
Star League-era design developed and built for the SLDF by
Norse-Storm BattleMechs Inc. during the final six years of the
Amaris Civil War. General
Aleksandr Kerensky is believed to have taken all the remaining
Thunder Hawks with him on the
Exodus. However,
Norse-Storm recently announced its intention to produce and sell new
Thunder Hawks to
mercenary units as well as
Successor State militaries.
The
Thunder Hawk was designed as a fire-support
'Mech for assault
lances and companies, and it performs that role extremely well thanks to the devastating firepower of its three Norse Model M-7D
Gauss Rifles. One
salvo from these weapons is enough to destroy a light or medium
'Mech and seriously damage a heavy or assault
'Mech. Each
Gauss rifle is equipped with two tons of ammunition. Four
Defiance B3M medium lasers round out the weapons array, providing the pilot with backup weapons in case the
Thunder Hawk runs out of Gauss slugs.
The Thunder Hawk is a slow 'Mech with a top speed of only 54 kph, but the engineers felt that the tremendous
range and striking power of the three
Gauss rifles more than made up for the
'Mech's lack of
speed.
To allow the
Thunder Hawk the greatest possible
staying power, the design team at
Norse-Storm gave it 19.5 tons of ArcShield Heavy Type K
BattleMech armor for maximum
protection.
The
Lyran Alliance is the only
Successor State that currently fields
Thunder Hawks; the Alliance military has stationed several
lances of them along its border with the
Jade Falcon occupied zone. Thunder Hawks have also been spotted in the ranks of three mercenary units in Alliance employ;
Storm's Metal Thunder, the
Blackstone Highlanders, and the
Regiment Wreckers. All of these units are long-time employees of
House Steiner, and
reportedly each fields at least two lances of this deadly BattleMech.
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