Minotaur

The Minotaur is a rare self-propelled artillery tank of the Imperium of Man that can trace its origins back to the Great Crusade, and maybe ever eariler. The Minotaur uses the same chassis and engine as the Malcador heavy-tank, but is based on what appears to be an earlier variant, or the original chassis design. The Minotaur was designed as a forward deployment fire support vehicle, and this is proven by the amount of heavy armour and the vehicles extreme durability.

History
The Minotaur is an increasingly rare vehicle during the 41st Millennium, and is only fielded by specialized siege companies of the Imperial Guard. The origins of the Minotaur are clouded in mystery, many say that the tank served the Emperor during the Great Crusade, others believe it may be older, and that maybe the Malcador and Minotaur share a common STC ancestor. There are frescoes adorning the walls of the Templis Nemesii on Holy Terra that depict a war machine that resembles the Minotaur fighting during the Great Crusade, but the vehicles age and complexity may be evidence that it is even older.

In the 41st Millennium
During the 41st Millennium the Minotaur is a rare relic of war that very few will ever see, with the number of Forge Worlds capable of producing them dropping off steadily and the fact that they've been mostly replaced by the Basilisk, the Minotaur may soon become just another causality of war. Although it is rumored that the Minotaur is stockpiled into the thousands inside of Departmento Munitorum storehouses, only specialized siege companies of the Imperial Guard will ever get to deploy their awesome firepower. During the Siege of Vraks the Minotaur, along with the Valdor were uncovered by the Vraksian Traitor Militia in deep storage facilities, and as such wasn't deployed until late in the war, the Departmento Munitorum believed that there were at least 100 Minotaurs on Vraks Prime, after the war was over the remaining Minotaurs were turned over to the Adeptus Mechanicus to be re-consecrated back into the service of the Imperium.

Appearance
The Minotaur is built on a variant of the same chassis used by the Malcador heavy-tank, but unlike most other vehicles of the Imperium the Minotaur's weapons are mounted backwards, facing away from the crew compartment. The vehicles backwards design allow it to be easily driven into dugouts or emplacements, even using destroyed buildings or piles of rubble as cover, when it needs to move it simply drives out forwards through the path it had already made for itself. The Minotaur's deck layout is also unusual, everything from the engine and drive systems to the weapon and ammunition storage is spaced out evenly over the entire superstructure, the weapon system is housed in a centralized wide axis point, and features a complex hydraulic recoil suppression system. The centralized positioning of the weapon system allows the tank to remain stable while firing its weapons even of difficult terrain.

Armament
The Minotaur is armed with a rear-facing Twin-linked Earthshaker Cannon mounted on a central axis point with a complex stabilizer system. The weapons location allows ample room for a large number of shells, which are stored to the sides of the weapon in armoured storage lockers to protect them from enemy fire. The weapon is capable of laying down heavy barrages and accurate, though indirect fire even when under heavy enemy attack. The Minotaur isn't armed with any other weapons but can be upgraded with a Pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber or a Storm Bolter. The vehicle can also accept the following upgrades, an enclosed crew compartment, extra armour plating, a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, a dozer blade, a searchlight, and smoke launchers.

Known Users of the Minotaur

 * The Imperial Army - The Minotaur was possibly used during the Great Crusade by the Imperial Army.
 * Imperial Guard Siege Companies - Siege companies of the Imperial Guard have access to the Minotaur if they need additional firepower.
 * The Death Korps of Krieg - The Death Korps of Krieg acquired captured or salvaged Minotaurs during the Siege of Vraks.
 * Vraksian Traitor Militia - The Vraksian Traitor Militia used Minotaurs during the Siege of Vraks.

Gallery
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