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I have decided to avoid any foot sloggers in my first IH patrol/mobile list. So every infantry unit is riding in a vehicle. Naturally I want to also include Dreadnoughts in this force (who wouldn´t?) although I am not completely sure, if these walkers can keep up with vehicles. Lets say we are talking about Contemptors only. Does anybody know how fast they can approx. go (mph)?

I may well have missed something here... but why would mph matter? Are you playing with some fan rules that introduce actual speeds to vehicles?

An Iron Warrior's Mechanised force in the novella Tallarn: Ironclad that is sent to retrieve a MacGuffin by Perturabo is led by a Contemptor and contained many Dreadnoughts.

@Strg Alt: Imperial Armour Volume 2, 2nd Edition: War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes puts the top speed of Contemptors at 12kph on road and 7kph off. Boxnaught are 10kph on road, and 5kph off. I'll let you convert that into mph.

Thematically, why is the mechanized force being brought to the field? It it just an armored spearhead, mustered to break the line? Or a rapid strike force to cover ground and strike distant targets?

For the first, raw speed is not a requirement. For the second it’s more relevant.

While dreads can probably lumber/jog long distances and keep up a steady pace, I’m pretty sure they are not going to be able to keep up with the tanks. But they can still maintain a steady clip, and pack a punch. So it might be worth slowing the force down to keep with them.

Terrain also could play a part in keeping the force together. Dreads are going to make their time more independent of what the ground looks like. And honestly, the concept of dreads forging a path for the tanks strikes me as cool. Ripping up trees and smashing boulders with powerfists, while the lead tanks with dozer blades clear the smaller stuff. Next thing the enemy knows, marines are pouring out of rhinos on a flank they thought was unassailable.

Why not just Pod them in? (or say they were Podded/transported in before the battle commences.)

But yes it's true that Dreadnoughts are sort of the odd unit out of the Marine lineup in terms of keeping up with extended ground advances. Everybody else can just hop in a tank and go.

 Insectum7 wrote:
Why not just Pod them in? (or say they were Podded/transported in before the battle commences.)

But yes it's true that Dreadnoughts are sort of the odd unit out of the Marine lineup in terms of keeping up with extended ground advances. Everybody else can just hop in a tank and go.

Question... how excactly after having been podded in, do the dreadnoughts survive?

Because the mobile force will probably go for an even deeper strike and not wanting to sit around since, arty, is a thing, so assuming then they will push on, what do the dreads do? Sit around waiting for reinforcement infantry to pad out their technical weakness?

Fluff-wise there are multiple Legion vehicles that can carry Dreads. On the tabletop there's just the Mastodon IIRC.

beast_gts wrote:
Fluff-wise there are multiple Legion vehicles that can carry Dreads. On the tabletop there's just the Mastodon IIRC.

And Dreadclaws, which conveniently don't need retrieval like more "modern" Drop Pods.

If speed is the only factor, you’re better off leaving the dreadnoughts behind or calling in a drop pod if needed. The dreadnought could however travel at about the same pace as the tanks combat speed. Most 30k tanks are incredibly slow even at full speed. Armored vehicles fight at a much slower speed than their top speed. The dreadnoughts likely can keep up with this pace and they bring elements protection elements to the armored spearhead, particularly if they have the air defense radar system the dreads can take.

In Fallout 4 the player has access to power armour. One upgrade of the legs is superior speed. When sprinting your character is really fast and obviously much quicker than running around without an armoured exoskeleton. The gear does the work for you and being powered by a nuclear plant provides you with a lot of energy. It almost feels like riding in a skin-tight car.
The same approach applies to the long-legged Contemptor Dreadnought. It looks as if it could also go fast when running. In regards to speed I don´t mean combat speed. Your force is on the highway and wants to go from A to B without aerial transports for the dreadnoughts being available.

Here are just a few technical data I could dig up for Imperial vehicles but sadly there wasn´t one for a Dreadnought:
In Nomine Imperatoris 40K Vehicles [Speed (km/h), Weight (tons, empty), Height (m)] (2001):

Rhino
Road: 70
Off-Road: 55
Weight: 30
Height: 3.6

Razorback
Road: 70
Off-Road: 55
Weight: 31.5
Height: 4.95 (includes turret)

Land Raider
Road: 51
Off-Road: 48
Weight: 72
Height: 4.11


What is odd about this technical data is the fact that the Razorback should be slower than the Rhino when both have the same engine and drivetrain specifications. Also the Land Raider´s off-road speed is only marginally slower than it´s cruising speed on the road. Hmm, it seems the devs pulled those numbers out of thin air.

I guess the book Gurps Robots/Vehicles might help me out here. It´s guidelines help to calculate weight, speed and other technical data for constructs. How tall & heavy could be approx. a Contemptor Dreadnought?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Gadzilla666 wrote:
@Strg Alt: Imperial Armour Volume 2, 2nd Edition: War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes puts the top speed of Contemptors at 12kph on road and 7kph off. Boxnaught are 10kph on road, and 5kph off. I'll let you convert that into mph.

Thanks!

Google-Fu says this about bicycles & walking speeds of humans:
The average speed of a road bike when riding on roads with a flatter elevation profile is between 14 and 18 mph (23-29 km/h).
The average walking pace is 2.5 to 4 mph, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Well, I must say a somewhat geriatric speed for the Boxnaught had to be expected but that of the Contemptor is a shame. As I said I will play around with the Gurps books on the weekend. There are also already sample robots who might fit the bill of a Contemptor.

Not Online!!! wrote:

 Insectum7 wrote:
Why not just Pod them in? (or say they were Podded/transported in before the battle commences.)

But yes it's true that Dreadnoughts are sort of the odd unit out of the Marine lineup in terms of keeping up with extended ground advances. Everybody else can just hop in a tank and go.

Question... how excactly after having been podded in, do the dreadnoughts survive?

Because the mobile force will probably go for an even deeper strike and not wanting to sit around since, arty, is a thing, so assuming then they will push on, what do the dreads do? Sit around waiting for reinforcement infantry to pad out their technical weakness?

I figure the Dreads show up for critical events, and once the area is secured they get air lifted. I mean they can keep up with a march for a while, but it the Marines really have to move then you pull the Noughts out for a redeploy.

The old 2nd ed and I think Epic systems have the tanks moving far faster than the dreadnoughts. Which is pretty well expected tbh.

Although in the very early days a Land Raider could carry a Dreadnought. They were quite a bit smaller back then though!