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Greetings!

Are there any official descriptions or visual layouts of the interior of Tau gravtanks? I am less interested in Devilfish and any possible other niche APCs, though such would also help. I'm gunning for Hammerheads and potential other hover tank models with this instance. I am particularly curious about crew placement inside the vehicles, in case anything has ever been mentioned.

Likewise, are there any good unofficial descriptions or visual layouts around?

Thanks in advance!

Nothing official that I’m aware of, but I’d pay good money, burn good incense and kick bad Grots for an Ad Mech Xeno Technology type book with all cutaway diagrams and that.

They did at least two I can remember. One for The Landraider, one for The Predator. These were produced as posters in the early 2000’s.

Inferno! Also had the occasional diagram type thing of Imperial Guard Tanks. I can’t remember exactly which got the treatment, but I’m confident the Leman Russ was among them, and quite possibly the Baneblade too.

But no Xenos equivalent.

Perhaps something similar (at least on a smaller scale) to the Manta? Curved edges and good use of space.

Thank you kindly, gentlemen! Those cutaway diagrams are ace (including the Rogue Trader ones), and could look splendid for various Xeno factions.

Does this mean there is nothing to go by in any of Forgeworld's Imperial Armour books? No mentions of interior layout?

I'm actually crossing my fingers that there is nothing established here at all, because this is a blank slate opportunity.

The Tau Manta and the interior of Orca dropships as seen in Fire Warrior is good inspiration. As is the Israeli Merkava tank's interior layout, which causes the large rear ramp shared with the Devilfish to make good sense for the Hammerhead. Crew survivability and smooth replacement of heavy battery units in the field would both seem appropriate, contrasted with clunky Imperial designs of cruder STC make. Perhaps even something of the S-103 may be of inspirational value. Mayhap.

I don’t recall such things, other than blue print type technical stuff of the completed vehicles?

Taros doesn't have any diagrams but it says the following:

"The rest of the gunship's interior contains the large capacitors and additional ammunition needed for the main weapons, as well as the gunship's other non-combat systems, such as climate control, comms etc.
...
A Hammerhead has 3 crew. In the cockpit is the pilot, behind him sits the co-pilot, who controls many of the sensors, communications and navigation equipment, as well as secondary weapon systems. Finally there is the Hammerhead's commander, who sits in top turret, and is primarily in control of the main weapon system via the gunship's targeting array. The hammerhead includes many automated override systems so any crewmember can take over anothers role in the event of casualties."

So what is the crew transport bay in adevilfish, is just repurposed in the Hammerhead for ammo and kit with the only other crewmember being the commander in the turret.

Excellent, thank you kindly Flinty!

Right, that settles it. Tau crew in the hull are positioned at the front, as with most historical human tanks, albeit one behind the other in aircraft cockpit fashion. I'll earmark what I had cooked up, to be used for some homebrew pattern model instead, since the standard variants are already covered in official background.

Cheers

The special characer Longstrike uses a pilot battlesuit to interface with a Hammerhead Gunship without the need of extra crew, so presumably the artwork of him using the suit shows the interior of a Hammerhead.

A Hammerhead has 3 crew. In the cockpit is the pilot, behind him sits the co-pilot, who controls many of the sensors, communications and navigation equipment, as well as secondary weapon systems. Finally there is the Hammerhead's commander, who sits in top turret, and is primarily in control of the main weapon system via the gunship's targeting array."

Big mistake on the Tau's part for making the Commander also the Gunner.

Depends on the level of effort required to fire the weapon. Currently a commander selects a target and orders the gunner to engage. If the hammerhead targeting array can do that part automatically, then the commander is not really doing anything different from today. Designating targets and choosing routes of approach/retreat from targets.

There hasn't been any info on the gravtanks but I suppose they'd be similar to the Orca and Manta.

 Flinty wrote:
Depends on the level of effort required to fire the weapon. Currently a commander selects a target and orders the gunner to engage. If the hammerhead targeting array can do that part automatically, then the commander is not really doing anything different from today. Designating targets and choosing routes of approach/retreat from targets.

Precisely. Gunnery can be handled by Abominable Intelligence.