At the time of the Crusade, the 17th Support company was solely equipped with Leman Russ Demolishers. Rare to deploy as a whole unit, normally squadrons being attached to other armor and support companies, it was the fact that the Ryza pattern vehicles all were outfitted with amphibious assault packages that saw them deployed "en masse" during the raid. The presence of such a number of dual-drive outfitted support tanks in a single company, especially of the heavier variety, clearly indicates a direct logistical request made to the Departmento Munitorum as-such, though the original reasoning is lost to time, the tactical opportunity this enabled was without a doubt fortuitous. The entirety of the 17th was painted in the "panzer-stripe" pattern of the Azov tanks, here leveraging the color schemes found in the dry scrub land and wadis of the region.Attachment:
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While the company initially had a full muster of 10 tanks, battlefield attrition had reduced their numbers to the 7 initially attached to the diversionary force; A number deemed sufficient to provide the close range support expected to invaluable in shifting the enemy from prepared dug-in positions in the industrial sector. Critically however, when fording the river the attached 965th Merkeva commander's tank foundered during the crossing leaving the secondary Lt in command during the operation, seen here with the copula hatch painted with the honor marks beginning to appear in those Azov units directly lead by T'tenba commanders.Attachment:
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Despite being an under-strength Company, the power of the Demolisher Cannon was not to be under estimated in the claustrophobic conditions found in city-fighting. The Ryza Star-burn pattern Plasma Cannons can plainly be seen here as the secondary weapons equipped on all the tanks of the 17th. The pattern is known for having a notoriously fickle machine-spirit requiring frequent administration of the Rites of Maintenance by tech-adepts, the superior heat-dissipators allow a 17% increase in firing rate from more common patterns.
Technical Note: The 17th employed an alternate marking scheme utilizing the right turret to denote company. A rarer form though once consistent with Imperial Battle doctrine. The inconsistent application of this scheme, as can be seen on these two tanks, however leads historians of the Imperial Crusade to question if this had a tactical significance or was simply an artifact of war. Also note the white battle honors awarded to the tank crews prominently displayed on the side hatches.Attachment:
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As was common with many close order support tanks, the presence of additional defensive plates, sandbags, and the like were ubiquitously present. While the efficacy of their presence is debatable, crews often would swear by the improved protection of their driver's viewport from shrapnel and bullet strikes preventing them being fouled or misaligned which admittedly often mean the difference between life and death in battle.painting note:
This is another of those "sitting around forever never got to them" ebay lots. Picked them up around 2010 and really have been trying to clear out older stuff from the
lead-mountain. Interestingly they had been base coated with a color I was never able to identify and couldn't match anywhere and my luck stripping these 3rd edition tanks was nill. This meant when I painted them
I couldn't make a single mistake as touchups were effectively impossible. Was actually stressfull looking back on it
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