TJ Sawviper
| TJ Sawviper | |
|---|---|
| |
| A TJ-3 tank in Sam'thuman training exercise | |
| Type | light tank |
| Service History | |
| Place of Origin |  Sam'thuma
|
| Year Designed | 2078 |
| Manufacturer | various, worldwide |
| Number Built | |
| Variants | TJ-1 through -5 |
| Service Dates | 2080 to date |
| Used By |  Nolophon Caletica Sam'thuma Sinoptikon |
| Wars | |
| Specifications | |
| Crew | 2 |
| Length | 5.0 m |
| Width | 1.47 m |
| Height | 2.14 m |
| Weight | 6.5 tonnes |
| Armor and Armament | |
| Armor | 22 mm |
| Main Armament | 37 mm gun or 7.92 mm machine gun |
| Secondary armament | crew's personal arms |
| Mobility | |
| Power Plant | (typ.) FIDO 4-cyl petrol 48 hp (36 kW) |
| Suspension | vertical springs |
| Road Speed | 12 km/h |
| Power/Weight Ratio | 8 hp/tonne |
| Range | 70 km |
The TJ Sawviper tank is the predominant armor weapon system in use by the Sam'thuman military. It mounts only a machine gun and small rifled cannon, but it works well even three decades after its first production, in wooded terrain. The vehicle's TJ designation is assumed by most to refer to "Tank, Jungle" in Ingliz. Its small size does suit it best for use among heavy woods, but Sam'thumans don't refer to it as a jungle tank. Rather the J is for janndi; echis carinatus, the East Danetian saw viper. That snake is small, deadly, and quick -- all intended characteristics of the TJ. Compared with more modern armor, it is underpowered, under gunned, and slow, but its design parameters suit it well for forest use. Indeed, Odessa's or Antara's big main tanks would founder in thick jungle, where the TJ's less than 1.5 meter width permit it to travel the forest tracks that often pass for roads across Sam'thuma.
Though its name does not refer to a logging saw, the TJ in Sam'thuman and Heloan use almost always has a petrol-powered chainsaw stowed. Any forest route blockage can thus be quickly cleared.
Sam'thuman industrialist Javindi Nisrumettiram came up with the design for the TJ after his first attempt to supply armor to the Sam'thuman military failed. His very large prototype T-10 vehicle bogged in soft soils, hung up on trees, and in a coup de grace, collapsed a roadway above the Binzusham Gorge. Its iron carcass remains at the bottom of that gorge. Still wanting armored combat power like the larger nations were developing, Nam Gomoruphtar's military minister Choyem Hibestos asked for a more suitable design. The TJ-1 resulted. Variants made in some overseas factories are licensed; others are unsanctioned copies. Sam'thuma itself has only produced the TJ-1 and TJ-3.
In addition to armored infantry, most armies use the TJ as a tractor for mobile artillery, supply wagons, or even ambulance carts. The Synoptik Communalist Armed Minions have outfitted a number permanently with earthmoving blades - so long as pointed forward, the extra weight is made up for by acting as added armor. Only the TJ-4 variant works well in this role, with a transmission featuring an extra-low gear.
