M56 Scorpion SPG Tank
The M56 Scorpion is a small light SPG (Self Propelled Gun) from the US. This small tank packs a lot of punch with its 90mm gun. Good for flanking & sniping. However it has no armor, so you need to act quick. This is highly realistic, a near 1:1 replica.
This is one of my smallest tanks I’ve made. The size is also nearly exact to the real one, which was one of the main things I wanted to get correct. I tried to get as many details right as I could. I wanted to make a "goblin" tank, bascially a small tank with a big gun or guns. And since this is basically just a gun on tracks, it was a good choice. But I think the tank is kinda interesting as it can also be airdropped and has such a unique design. No armor but packs lots of punch with the 90mm M54 battle cannon. Snipe or flank are the tactics you have to choose from. It took a lot of time to get all of the details correct and I had to use lots of XML parts and tricks to get it right. I also wanted it to be useful in low physics/multiplayer, which it still has issues with but it does work and there are no real problems, it’s just that the gun is a bit more wobbly but it doesn’t break completely. The driver even gets access to night vision binoculars, instead of cameras like the real one has.
I first used a flat 6 cylinder engine, just like the real one. But I had to turn it into a 10 cylinder due to how weak it was. The gearbox used only has 2 gears, low and high gear, but thats all it needs. It is important to check the engine temperature, as it has slight overheating problems. Try to keep it under 100C, if it gets over that a red light will blink on the drivers panel, you will need to stop the tank and wait for the engine to cool down. So try to take brakes and stop from time to time. Now I don’t know if the M56 has neutral steering or not, mine does but I assume the real one does too. But don’t do too sharp turns at high speed or there’s a risk of flipping the tank. Also don’t turn in quick succession, each turn lowers the RPS for a few seconds. It is also recommended to keep the gun locked while driving under longer periods, the gun lock also disables the gun from firing and shall be used when not in combat.
It can be single crewed in theory as the driver can also operate the gun, this is not present on the real one. It also consumes diesel fuel at a somewhat high rate, but the range shouldn’t be too bad. The gun breach also opens automatically when spawned and after firing, more realistic and easier to reload. The tank is small enough to be spawned in train spawns, making it more accessible. If you want you can also switch the vertical controls to inverted.
The order for a light vehicle was given to Cadillac, which started developing the vehicle under the designation T101, in around the 1950’s. It was design to be light enough to be airdropped by heavy assault gliders, and used by the US airborne forces. Eventually in 1959 it went into full production and was delivered to troops. Later seeing service in the Vietnam war. However there the USMC favored the more protected M50 Ontos, which served the same role. The Scorpion was eventually replaced by the M551 Sheridan, a tank with many of its own issues.
All of the microcontrollers are made by me as they usually are. Updates might come of course, if there are problems or stuff I want to change. But also… I might do the T55E1 car/tank thing, it’s similar but on wheels. Otherwise I hope you enjoyed this, see you in battle.
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