Overview: The Rhino is a little known four-legged BattleMech created by Dr Harrison of the Brigadier Corporation. The design is an attempt to overcome the disadvantage a four-legged Mech suffers in close combat due to its lack of arms. This was accomplished by strengthening the Mech's internal structure and adding a ram plate. This, coupled with the superior stability of the quadropod footing makes the charge attack of a Rhino particularly devastating. Although the design improvements made the Rhino an effective close assault Mech, the Star League military was not impressed, so few Rhinos were ever produced. Only a rare few operational Rhinos are scattered about the Inner Sphere today. Capabilities: The Rhino's internal structure has been reinforced, at a cost of ten percent of the Mech's total weight. The ram plate was mounted on the front allows the Rhino to deliver terrific punishment from a charge (1.5 time normal charge damage), while it remains unharmed. The arrangement also has the secondary benefits of allowing the Rhino to walk through buildings unscathed and giving it limited protection from physical attacks. The only real disadvantage caused by the ram plate is that it prevents the mounting of forward firing weapons in any of the torsos. This forces weapons to be placed in the head and legs where there is only limited space available, thus keeping the Rhino from carrying heavy weapons. Dr Harrison tried to compensate for this by equipping the Rhino with five medium lasers; the theory being that while one medium laser does not do much damage, five together can seriously damage even a heavy Mech. The Rhino also has a medium laser firing into the rear arc to discourage attacks from behind. Battle History: The Rhino was never produced in great enough numbers to make any significant contribution to any major battle. It has, however, done remarkably well in single combat. One notable victory for a Rhino occurred during a Marik raid on Ford. While defending the planet's main spaceport, a Lyran mechwarrior was surprised when a Rhino came crashing through a building and then onto his Zeus, knocking it to the ground. While the Lyran pilot tried desparately to stand his Zeus back up, the Rhino kicked and stomped on the downed BattleMech. After regaining his feet, the Lyran, obviously unfamiliar with the Rhino, made the mistake of trying to slug it out with his opponent. The two normally devastating punches of the Zeus did less damage than he'd expected as they thudded into the Rhino's ram plate. The Marik pilot responded by firing all of his lasers. Realizing his mistake, the Lyran resorted to his weapons, but it was too late. The Rhino's second laser salvo crippled the already badly battered Zeus, and forced the Lyran pilot to eject. The Rhino had bested a twenty-ton-heavier Mech, suffering only minor damage. Despite such successes, military experts are still not impressed with the Rhino. They claim that the majority of Rhino victories can be attributed to the ignorance of most mechwarriors as to the capabilities of the Mech, due to its rarity. As an example, the case of Leftenant Kim Laurens of the AFFS is often cited. Leftenant Laurens, familiar with the design, destroyed a Kurita Rhino by using her Phoenix Hawk's superior mobility to keep the Combine Mech from closing the range while she slowly shot it apart with her large laser. Variants: Since so few Rhinos were ever built, it is often difficult to replace ram plates lost in combat. In such cases, some of the medium lasers are often removed and heavy weapons are mounted in the torsos. There is no standard variant and such modifications vary from Mech to Mech. A Rhino without its ram plate does normal charge damage, but only receives halt damage due to the reinforced internal structure. Damage from walking through buildings, punching, and clubbing is likewise reduced by fifty percent. RHN-10 Rhino Mass: 60 Tons Chassis: Brigadier 900F Power Plant: Pitban 240 Cruising Speed:43.2 kph Maximum Speed: 64.8 kph Jump Jets: None Jump Capacity: None Armor: Star Slab Armament: 7 Martell Medium Lasers Manufacturer: Brigadier Corporation Communication System: Garret 600 Targeting/Tracking System: Garret GRNDTRK 15 Type: RHN-10 Rhino Tons Tonnage: 60 tons 60 Internal Structure: 12 Engine: 240 Pitban 11.5 Walking MPs: 4 Running MPs: 6 Jumping MPs: 0 Heat Sinks 17 7 Gyro: 3 Cockpit: 3 Armor Factor: 184 11.5 Location: Int Structure: Armor Value Head 3 9 Center Torso: 20 27/10 Rt/Lt Torso: 14 25/8 Rt/Lt Arm: 10 18 Rt/Lt Leg: 15 18 Weapons and Ammo: Type Location Critical Tons Ram Plate CT 2 6 Medium Laser RA 1 1 Medium Laser RA 1 1 Medium Laser LA 1 1 Medium Laser LA 1 1 Medium Laser H 1 1 Medium Laser LT (rear) 1 1 Back to BattleTechnology 12 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1990 by Pacific Rim Publishing. 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