| I don't remember THAT on the list!
This article (Sledgehammer Disappearing Artillery), or a section of this article, is not considered canon until Team Paradox has considered it so. It may or may not be part of Paradox, in either the game or the Lore. Usually, its status will be debated in the the discussion page of the appropriate article. |
| Sledgehammer Multiple Missile Launch Platform | |
| |
| Faction |  Soviet Union
|
| Building Type | Base Defence |
| Function | Strategic Artillery |
| Cost | Unknown |
| Construction Time | Unknown |
| Power | Unknown |
| Ability | Reactive Armour Temporary armour boost, cannot attack |
| Constructs | N/A |
| Dev. Status | Conceptual |
| Country of Origin |  Azerbaijan SSR
|
| Manufactured at | Vodnik Rocket Arsenal, Baku |
| Key Features | » Brick and Mortar Base » Upscaled MML-20 Multi Missile Launchers » Ceramic Armour Shell » Missile Loading Crew (disgruntled) » Ominous Dome Shape |
Tactical Analysis[]
- Drive it into them: The Sledgehammer Disappearing Artillery is a converted Radar Dome, refitted with large racks of rockets. The result is a crude but effective artillery platform that can unleash devastation on foes far away, in the form of massive rocket barrages that can saturate large swathes of ground.
- Turtling: If the enemy somehow closes the distance, or if the Sledgehammer risks being hit by counter battery fire, the personnel can temporarily activate a reactive armour shell that protects the platform from attack, while the personnel inside reload the rockets.
- Revenge of the Angry Birds: The Sledgehammer's formidable range, however, will do no good against aircraft, which can strike at Sledgehammers without fear of retaliation - except from other defences, of course. Also, it suffers from a problematic minimum range.
- Reloading in progress: Disadvantages of the Sledgehammer include a complete lack of precision and a slow firing rate. Also, unlike other strategic artillery, Sledgehammers are immobile, although they are cheap enough to be deployed in huge numbers.
Operational History[]
Towards the end of the Second World War, Stalin's Soviet forces began to be pushed back from Europe, Allied divisions were rapidly over-running the Soviet defensive lines, because they had not expected the swift Allied counter offensive. With enemy forces bearing down on bases, more cunning commanders took the extreme measure of telling their workmen to gut out the Radar Dome in their bases to rapidly replace scanners and other such equipment with any form of artillery piece they could muster. When the Allies finally reached firing range, the dome would open and artillery would shell the Allied tanks until they got too close for the gun to fire at, when the dome would close in an effort to preserve the gun should the base survive. Needless to say, although it didn't stop the Allies from eventually breaking through and winning the war, it slowed them down considerably and added thousands to the casualties on the Allies' part. These guns were dismantled after the ceasefire as a sign of goodwill on the Soviets' part.
After the events of the Third World War and an all too familiar scenario of the Allies driving their way back through Europe, new Premier Davidova decided that an easily, cheaply and quickly constructed artillery platform was required to consolidate any Soviet gains in the future. Various designs were considered, but in the end the old Radar-Dome-With-a-Gun-in-it won out with only modest modifications. Davidova had realized that the Allied tanks moved very quickly, and the MML system used on Myeche MML Tracks was very effective at bogging down fast moving vehicles. Piecing two and two together, she decided that the old gun would be replaced with an upscaled version of that system.
The new defence was dubbed the Sledgehammer Multiple Missile Launch Platform, also known as the Sledgehammer Disappearing Artillery or simply the Sledgehammer, and has yet to see use on the battlefield, but trials against Bullfrogs modified to perform like Allied tanks are very promising.
