Salvatican Main Battletank

The Salvatican Main Battletank has become one of the countries most iconic images. These hulking machines made their debut under the rule of Cornwall; King Monarch The Third codenamed The Devon MK1. They were the mass produced answer to Bull Head's mechanized fighting forces. Unfortunately for Salvatica, these lumbering tanks proved all but useless in the frozen tundra of Bull Head. It's limited mobility coupled with it's difficulty to maintain and service made the tanks more of a hindrance than a benefit, and thousands of tank crews literally sat inside these immobolized machines and froze to death. It didn't face as many mobility problems in the south, but given the advanced target aquisition systems and mobility of that regions tanks, The Devon MK1 was for all intents and purposes, again immobile. It's maximum speed was a very impressive 30 MPH, and it's main gun was a powerful 75 mm cannon. But considering Felonian tanks of the day could attain speeds of 75 MPH, and mounted 140 mm cannons backed by computerized target aquisition systems, the performance of The Devon became woefully inadequate. To make matters worse, the 75mm cannon shells were totally ineffective against the composite, reactive armors of Felonian tanks of the day. A single Felonian tank could literally destroy dozens of Devon MK1s without suffering any meaningful damage. This became most apaprent during the opening battle of the invasion of central Salvatica. 1000 Devon MK1s and 25,000 soldiers were eliminated by six Felonian tanks, and 600 troopers. But Cornwall loved his tank, and he wasn't about to let the awful figures convince him of it's obsolete nature. He was certain that with their link to The Felonian continent severed, they could outlast the Felonians hold up in the south, and unify the continent if only they could start doing some damage. And so The Devon MK2 was rolled out. The weight balloned from the modest 30 tons, to a heavy 65 ton behemoth. The 75mm main cannon was replaced by a ridiculous 300 mm main gun built into the body, and the speed dropped to a sluggish 10 MPH. The 300 mm main gun could defeat Felonian armor, however, the body mounted gun was so cumbersome and inaccurate that it was impossible to hit a moving target with it from less than half a mile. This MK2 version was less effective than the original, but due to a propaganda move, it was credited with the destruction of four Felonian tanks. (Which was technically true, but what the Generals failed to mention was that three of the destroyed tanks were first captured, then shot with the main gun at near point blank range) Sadly, Cornwall's belief in the tank was bolstered by these results, and he expected victory with the roll out of the Devon MK3. This version would be the last major upgrade to the vehicle. It recieved a newer, more powerful engine, the 75mm cannon returned in a fixed turret, and the 300 mm main gun was downsized to a 200 mm cannon. The armor was increased by half a foot. Speed rose to 25 MPH, but the results just didn't change. It was still virtually immobile in the frozen terrain of Bull Head, and still too primitive a vehicle in the south. By the time the wars ended 100,000 of the tanks three versions had been built, the majority of them MK1s. The MK4 is the newest version, and it features another engine upgrade, and the 75mm gun has been replaced by a 76mm rotating gun turret. The main gun was again downsized into a 150mm gun with vastly improved accuracy (though it still serves best as an artillery piece rather than an anti-tank weapon) Speed rose back to 30 MPH. This last version was built by Durandel as part of Salvatica's reconstruction. The Devon tanks are iconic in the 'mainland', but only because of the propaganda surrounding them. In the long run, they represent one of the Monarchy's greatest technological achievements, but are ironically held back by that very same regimes distaste for Felonian inspired weaponry.

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