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Voss wrote:
A gunship, while potentially good at specific mission, is never practical.

Please can everyone remember I said practical for hat it was designed to do, like a thunder hammer isn't practical but is practical as a melee tank destroyer.

 deotrims 16th wrote:

Voss wrote:
A gunship, while potentially good at specific mission, is never practical.

Please can everyone remember I said practical for hat it was designed to do, like a thunder hammer isn't practical but is practical as a melee tank destroyer.

So the Land Crawler I mentioned that everyone has ignored?

Literally every vehicle ITT could not function without them.

Stormatious wrote:Well technically speaking how is a motor bike not the most practical vehicle for the imperium?

Its the lightest vehicle, easily modified, you could chuck a extra wheel on the back so it becomes a trike, and have it tow some extra stuff.

Because a bike can only transport two people, three at a pinch with a sidecar. It has no weapon mounts, unless we're looking at an SM bike (which requires extensive maintainance, a minimal amount of bolter ammo, and the heaviest weapon it can carry is a bolter, a heavier weapon with a sidecar perhaps). It offers no protection to the driver aside from head on, isn't exactly durable itself, and it's carry capacity is smaller than any other vehicle.

Any APC or tank built around ruggedness is more practical considering the simple range of what the Imperium could need.
Poor logistics (common in the Imperium)? A tank which runs on nearly any fuel, or can self-repair, is essential.
Transporting men or munitions? Any APC will fill this well.
Defensible position, protecting the people around/inside or assaulting the enemy? A decent tank will suffice.
Need some extra firepower? Most APCs have some pintle mount at least.
Modularity to take other upgrades that can drastically change the role of the basic chassis? Rhinos and Chimeras are perfect.

All of the above needs, the Rhino and Chimera meet perfectly.

I may be biased, but id like nominate the Imperial Knight.

They can harvest mass materials, hence why they have giant chainsaws. Their height and having legs rather than tracks or wheels allows them to traverse all terrain with ease, and they're also very fast. They are also very adaptable, allowing them to change their equipment as necessary. They can carry things as well, just swap that chainsaw for a giant hand. Troop transport might be an issue (unless you're willing to climb onto its back) but it has enough firepower to defend any transports that ARE carrying troops.

Speaking of firepower, Knights can kill almost anything they are pointed at. Need to destroy a horde of heretics? Unload a gatling cannon into them or simply step on them. Tank giving you no end of trouble? Giant Meltas and so so many rockets. Someone wants to attack your house? Go on, charge that Valiant, I dare you. Need some surgical threat removal to stop that Warboss barking orders at his Boyz? Oathbreaker Guidance System baby.

They're damn hard to kill as well, apart from being armoured to the teeth, the pilot can angle his Ion Shield to stop most incoming fire (in lore anyway, in game a 5++ isnt much to write home about). Theirs also the sheer presence of the knight, a huge robot with giant guns can really boost troop morale, or terrify anyone who's got to fight it, but vice versa if one is destroyed, killing a knight would bolster the enemies morale and make your allies realise how dangerous the foes are, although if it is destroyed it can always make a noble sacrifice and blow itself up, taking some guys down with it.

A downside i suppose would be availability, they cant be mass produced without STCs and we know how rare those are, and even some knight houses have limited numbers of them.

Short version: Practical? very if you have access to one, but its getting one in the first place that might be an issue.

Also they can throw a tank at someone. So cool points I guess.

Chimera.

All the advantages of a Rhino (less it’s cargo), plus heavier weapons capable of taking out vehicles in its own class, can act as a mobile command unit, and they’re amphibious.

Of course, being an old Grognard, it is in fact based off the Basilisk chassis, rather than the other way around.

Damned ‘new’ background. Get off my lawn!

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

Of course, being an old Grognard, it is in fact based off the Basilisk chassis, rather than the other way around.

Damned ‘new’ background. Get off my lawn!

Heh, not many remember that. Of course it doesn't quite make any sense that way. Real life Self-propelled guns have almost universally been pieced together using an existing tank chassis rather then being purpose built as SPGs. They almost all started life with someone saying "Hey, lets stick a big cannon on the back of this!"

Taurox. Perfect gun placement in relation to doors. Keeps the adrenaline flowing.

Everybody here is waaaaayyy too witty for my rather pedantic discussion of the Rhino, and why space marines use it instead of the Chimera (light weight for air lift, durability, interchangeable parts with other variants, better side protection for a force that needs to close with the enemy, etc.)

I think given that space marines are not practical, the rhino should be discounted from this discussion forthwith. The only natural choice is the Chimera, the true might of the Imperium.
It's faster than a speeding Carnifex, more powerful than a Primaris and able to ford small rivers with a single incantation to the machine spirit.

 Olthannon wrote:
I think given that space marines are not practical, the rhino should be discounted from this discussion forthwith. The only natural choice is the Chimera, the true might of the Imperium.
It's faster than a speeding Carnifex, more powerful than a Primaris and able to ford small rivers with a single incantation to the machine spirit.

Because Space MAAAAHREEENS are the only ones using Rhinos.

Stormraven Gunship.

Great for mowing down Heretics and Xenos filth alike.

Who gives a damn about being amphibious when you just fly over the creek the same as any other terrain?

None of these other riff raff machines can carry their buddy under a large number of circumstances.
Bikes and Drop Pods can't pick up extras - props to the bike for dragging Heretics around though.
Chimera can't carry Space Marines.
Rhino can't carry Terminators.
Stormraven can carry your buddy in all armour and even if they're in a Dreadnought. Most flexible transport by an Imperial Mile.
Do we give a damn about Primaris? Not really.

RH-1-NO APC.

It's reliable enough for specific examples to keep running for 10,000 years and to survive with limited mechanicus support, runs on basically anything that'll burn, flexible enough to transport space marines, sisters of battle, inquisitors, heresy-era imperial army troopers and adeptus arbites (who at a short squadron per major courthouse are actually probably the most prolific user...), and able to be easily adapted into everything from command vehicle to IVF to light tank to artillery vehicle.