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BaneWolf00

A Mars Pattern Bane Wolf of the Astra Militarum

The Bane Wolf is a variant of the Hellhound flame-thrower tank that is used by the Astra Militarum, and both vehicles are based upon the Imperial Chimera armoured transport chassis. The Bane Wolf variant of the Hellhound replaces the Hellhound's Inferno Cannon with a special chemical weapon known as a Chem Cannon that makes it more effective in an anti-infantry role. The Chem Cannon is very potent against all types of infantry, even heavily armoured elite soldiers and those wearing power armour.

A deceptively simple adaptation of the Hellhound, the Bane Wolf replaces its promethium storage with bulky canisters of toxic gas. This incredibly corrosive fume has been certified by the Magos Biologis as inimical to almost every life form in the galaxy. Ejected from the tank's Chem Cannon in hissing jets, the hideous substance chews through ceramite and chitin alike in microseconds. The victim is dissolved by the virulent chemicals; blood boils and organs rupture, skin erupts into bubbling lesions and sloughs from crumbling bone until, eventually, the target is reduced to a slick of organic sludge to be ground beneath the tank's whirring tracks.

Commonly, Bane Wolf crews are remote, taciturn individuals who do not mix with other Guardsmen. Their vehicles are as likely to see action quelling the uprisings of traitorous Human Chaos Cults as they are against deadly xenos threats, and to deploy the Chem Cannon against fellow Humans, no matter how debased, can be a harrowing experience. It takes a particular kind of nihilist to crew such a short-ranged and grotesque terror weapon.

The sacrosanct formula of gas used in a Bane Wolf's Chem Cannon is dictated by the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Even so, various regiments have been known to employ their own makeshift concoctions. One such mixture, known as "the penitent's breath," was used to scour a heretical uprising from the scum-pits of Savlar. The iridescent spray proved effective, but the Bane Wolf crews who employed it were themselves swiftly executed for heresy afterward.

Bane Wolves are only used when the complete eradication of the enemy is warranted. They are rarely deployed as part of an Imperial Guard force, as the gas and fumes produced by the vehicle's main weapon are powerful enough to kill even Space Marines. The risk of collateral or friendly damage is high.

There are several different patterns of the Hellhound and its variants in use by the Imperium, such as the Artemia Pattern which replaces the vehicle's turret with one that is remotely controlled from inside the vehicle by the vehicle's commander. This allows the tank to make do with a crew of only two.

The Mars Pattern Bane Wolf replaces the standard pattern's single large fuel tank with several smaller fuel tanks that can be hidden inside the remnants of the Chimera chassis' troop compartment. The use of the smaller fuel tanks is preferred as they make the Hellhound and its variants more difficult to identify when compared to regular Chimera transports.

Armament[]

BaneWolf01

The Bane Wolf's turret-mounted Chem Cannon

The Bane Wolf replaces the standard hull-mounted Inferno Cannon found on the Hellhound with a Chem Cannon. The Bane Wolf is the only known Imperial Guard unit that makes use of the Chem Cannon, and in fact the Bane Wolf is the only unit in the entire Imperium that is known to make use of it.

The Bane Wolf stores the toxic gases that fuel its main weapon in modified versions of the promethium storage tanks used on the standard Hellhound. The vehicle is also armed with a hull-mounted Heavy Bolter, which can be replaced with either a Heavy Flamer or a Multi-Melta.

The tank can also be outfitted with the following enhancements: Camouflage Netting, Extra Armour Plating, a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, improved communications equipment, a mine sweeper, rough terrain modifications, a Pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber or Storm Bolter, track guards, a Searchlight, a Dozer Blade or mine plough, and Smoke Launchers.

Unit Composition[]

Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications[]

Bane Wolf
Vehicle Name: Bane Wolf Main Armament: Turret-mounted Chem Cannon
Forge World of Origin: Graia, Mars, Artemia Secondary Armament: Hull-mounted Heavy Bolter
Known Patterns: Unknown Traverse: 360 degrees
Crew: 1 Commander, 1 Driver, 1 Gunner Elevation: -8 to 25 degrees
Powerplant: Vulcanor 16 Twin-Coupled Multi-Burn Main Ammunition: Unknown
Weight: 35 Tonnes (approx) Secondary Ammunition: 400 Rounds
Length: 6.90 metres Armour:
Width: 5.70 metres
Height: 4.10 metres Superstructure: 150 millimetres
Ground Clearance: 0.45 metres Hull: 120 millimetres
Max Speed On-Road: 70 kilometres per hour (approx) Gun Mantlet: N/A
Max Speed Off-Road: 55 kilometres per hour (approx) Vehicle Designation: Unknown
Transport Capacity: N/A Firing Ports: N/A
Access Points: N/A Turret: 150 millimetres

See Also[]

Sources[]

  • Codex: Astra Militarum (8th Edition), pp. 45, 105
  • Codex: Astra Militarum (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), "Hellhounds," "Fast Attack-Hellhound Squadron"
  • Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition), pp. 50, 101
  • Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard (Second Edition), pp. 73, 262, 267
  • Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus, pg. 196
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