BattleMech Technical Readout
Name/Model: Rattlesnake JR-31
Designer: Ghostcat
Source(s): Custom Mordel.Net Units
Technology: Inner Sphere (Mixed)
Technology Rating: F
Tonnage: 35
Role: Striker
Configuration: Biped BattleMech
Era/Year: Dark Age / 3149
Rules (Current): Standard
Rules (Era): Standard
Rules (Year): Standard
Total Cost: 6,265,575 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,398
Chassis: Standard
Power Plant: 245 XL
Walking Speed: 75.6 kph
Maximum Speed: 118.8 kph
Jump Jets: Rawlings 45
Jump Capacity: 210 meters
Armor: Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
7 Medium Lasers
Manufacturer: General Motors
Primary Factory: New Valencia
Communications: Hammerstorm Hugin Mk XXI-E with ECM with Guardian ECM Suite
Targeting & Tracking: Hammerstorm Munin XVI
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Overview:
The Rattlesnake II?s history started with a long-forgotten psyops
operation against the Draconis Combine. In 3042, after the shock of
facing Star League-era BattleMechs during the War of 3039, House
Davion?s Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Operations developed.
Operation Trapdoor. Using the technology recovered from the Helm
Memory Core, Trapdoor took established ?Mechs, tore them down, and
rebuilt them into radically different machines while mostly
retaining the outward appearance of each original ?Mech.
For identification purposes,these new variants were
given a different code name while retaining a variation of the original
?Mech?s designation. The best-known Trapdoor ?Mech was
the JR7-31 Rattlesnake, which was inspired by the Jenner.
The brainchild of Dr. Robert Madson, the Rattlesnake carried more
firepower and heavier armor than its inspiration. The exact number of
Rattlesnakes built is unknown, but at the height of Trapdoor, between
twenty and thirty were in use. This chassis was distributed among
Armed Forced of the Federated Suns regiments stationed in the Draconis
March. For ten years, the Rattlesnake and other Trapdoor models tried to
sow confusion among the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery and the
Internal Security Force, mixing battlefield clashes with planned leaks
though news items. It is debatable how successful the operation was, but when the Clan
Invasion began in 3049, Operation Trapdoor had already been
discontinued. The remaining Trapdoor ?Mechs remained in use, but only
a few survived to the end of the Word of Blake Jihad.
After the Draconis Combine seized New Avalon in 3146, the AFFS
scrambled to find new ?Mech models that could be used to counter the
DCMS?s advance. While searching through old records, an MIIO team
rediscovered the Trapdoor ?Mechs and resurrected them. After retooling
the JR7-31?increasing its weight by ten tons?and negotiating with Clan
Sea Fox for its manufacturing capabilities, the redesigned Rattlesnake II saw the light of
day in 3149.
Capabilities:
Like the original, the Rattlesnake II is intended to close on a target
quickly, unload its firepower all at once, and move away at the same
speed. It also relies on medium lasers?two Clan-made extended-range
medium lasers, backed up by four standard medium lasers and a Clanbuilt
small laser. With its heavy armor, an electronic-countermeasures
suite, and a Myomer Accelerator Signal Circuitry system,
the Rattlesnake II is designed to be in the thick of the fighting.
In addition to the ER medium lasers, the RSN-1 also boasts other
ClanTech components: an XL engine, double-capacity heat sinks, and
ferro-fibrous armor. The original design specifications proposed
incorporating stealth armor, but integration problems resulted in the use
of Clan armor instead.
Deployment:
Rumors claim that newly built Rattlesnake IIs are being sent to Combineoccupied
worlds to give the Federated Suns resistance forces a needed
weapon against the occupiers. There are reports that a Combine supply
depot on Tsamma was raided by a guerrilla force consisting of Jenners
carrying significantly more firepower than normal. The four ?Mechs
overwhelmed the Combine Strider and Phoenix Hawk guarding the
depot, then destroyed the infantry garrison and stood guard as the
guerrillas grabbed all the supplies they could load onto trucks.
After the supply trucks left, the Rattlesnakes laid waste to the depot and escaped,
outrunning the DCMS response force before fading back into Tsamma?s
jungle.
Variants:
In line with the original plan for the RSN-1, the RSN-2 successfully
incorporates stealth armor, but at the cost of lighter armor, a reduced
jump distance, the Clan ER lasers, and the MASC system. This variant
makes for a high-endurance raider capable of hitting targets deep behind enemy lines.
The JR7-31, the original Rattlesnake with seven medium lasers,
occasionally saw its ECM unit replaced with a C3 slave unit, becoming
the JR7-31P. These models are now being manufactured once more and
have found their way into the hands of local March Militia units and
mercenaries.
Notable MechWarriors:
Colonel Gordon Wozniak: Gordon Wozniak was one of the few
MechWarriors known to have piloted a Rattlesnake during the height of
Operation Trapdoor. During Clan Jade Falcon?s invasion of Toland,
Gordon was a member of the Antietam Guards, and he and two
lancemates stumbled across a Masakari in a blind canyon. The resulting
firefight saw all three Rattlesnakes swarm the Falcon ?Mech. Although
Gordon?s first-person account of the battle was published in
a magazine a couple years after the event,
historians claim his account doesn?t ring
true.
Gideon Wozniak: The son of Gordon Wozniak, Gideon served in
Stone?s Lament during the Jihad, rising to command Third Battalion,
known as Stone?s Hammers. After Terra was secured in 3078, he resigned
from the newly formed Republic Armed Forces and went to Solaris VII
in 3084 to fight Victor Skiles in an arena match filled with bad blood
and outside interference. Gideon?s personal Rattlesnake featured some
Clan ER medium lasers, a targeting computer, and an Angel ECM suite.
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Equipment Mass
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Internal Structure: Standard 3.50
Engine: 245 XL 6.00
Walking MP: 7
Running MP: 11
Jumping MP: 7
Heat Sinks (Double): 11 [22] 1.00
Gyro: Standard 3.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Armor Factor: 116 6.50
Type: Ferro-Fibrous (C)
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head: 3 9
Center Torso: 11 15
Center Torso (rear): 6
R/L Torso: 8 11
R/L Torso (rear): 5
R/L Arm: 6 11
R/L Leg: 8 16
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Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage
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Jump Jet CT 1 0.50
Medium Laser CT 1 1.00
Guardian ECM Suite RT 2 1.50
3 Jump Jets RT 3 1.50
Medium Laser RT 1 1.00
3 Jump Jets LT 3 1.50
Medium Laser LT 1 1.00
2 Medium Lasers RA 2 2.00
2 Medium Lasers LA 2 2.00
================================================================================================
Alpha Strike Statistics
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Point Value (PV): 42
TP: BM, SZ: 1, TMM: 3, MV: 14"j
Damage: (S) 4 / (M) 4 / (L) 0, OV: 0
Armor (A): 4, Structure (S): 2
Specials: ECM, ENE
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