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Basilisk

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A battery of Basilisks firing.

The Basilisk is the main line artillery piece of Imperial Guard Regiments throughout the Imperium, designed to provide medium to long-range fire support. Among the most numerous and well-known of the Guard's artillery the Basilisk is based on the Chimera chassis and mounts an Earthshaker Cannon for direct and indirect fire.[1][2a][3][4]

Battlefield Role

While many regiments will have a mix of other artillery, including Manticores, Griffons and Colossus Bombards, and each one will have its own role to fill, it is the Basilisk which is the most common and most often to be called upon to bombard the enemy. These self-propelled artillery pieces are most effective when used in massive batteries of hundreds of guns to deliver devastating barrages on the enemy's position, while their mobility allows them to keep pace with infantry advances.[1][2a] This indirect fire will be directed by their parent company's forward observers or other officers trained to direct artillery,[3] and while not particularly accurate it allows the Basilisk to remain out of harms way as it blasts concealed enemy positions or fortifications from long range.[2a] Besides these sustained bombardments the power and range of the Earthshaker Cannon allows for other type of artillery missions: counter-battery fire to suppress enemy guns, box barrages to isolate enemy units and prevent their reinforcement, harassing fire, and destructive fire of selected targets.[5] Most missions use high explosive rounds, but to Basilisks are often issued other more specialized rounds, such as smoke shells, incendary shells and illumination shells for lighting up a battlefield at night.[3]

 
An Imperial Guard Basilisk

The powerful shells fired by the earthshaker cannon are capable of smashing apart the enemy lines with ease and are designed to cause catastrophic damage at the impact zone. Targets at the epicentre of such a detonation are immolated immediately, while those in the vicinity are pulverised by the deadly shock wave. The unmistakable shriek of the Basilisks’ incoming ordnance is rightly feared by the enemies of the Emperor.[6] Shells fired by the Basilisk are a metre long[16] and can create blast-zones many kilometres across.[17] The shells can blast a crater fifteen metres in diameter into the ground on impact.[16]

However the Basilisk has also proven its worth as an assault gun, using cannon's low angle of elevation to engage targets at short range in direct support of troops. The high explosive shells fired by the Basilisk are as devastating to infantry and tanks as they are to fortifications, however it is no replacement for a true Battle Tank.[2a][3] The lack of ablative armouring and exposed fighting position leaves the Basilisk highly exposed to enemy fire and hostile environments, although many patterns go some way towards correcting this by incorporating an Enclosed Crew Compartment.[2a][4] Basilisks tasked for direct fire support will be detached from their parent company and placed under the temporary command of the tank or infantry company it is intended to support.[3] Basilisk's have been observed in a variety of roles, such as anti-aircraft.[10]

During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, the Basilisk was also used by siege units of the Space Marine Legions.[7] The Iron Warriors, in particular, were noted to have fielded many in their role as expert siegebreakers.[8] The Ultramarines are also known to have fielded Basilisks.[9] The Basilisks used by the Solar Auxilia were semi-automated and mounted on the environmentally-sealed chassis of the Mars-Solar pattern Leman Russ.[21a]

Technical Information

The Basilisk is fully mobile and can keep up with infantry advances and, if necessary, can be deployed in moments.[1] It retains all the basic features of the Chimera, but replaces the troop compartment for an open top firing platform for the main cannon and armoured gun shield. The driver and vehicle commander sit forward in the vehicle as in the Chimera, with the commander manning the Basilisk's hull-mounted Heavy Bolter, while the gunner and loader operate the cannon.[3] Its main weapon is the Earthshaker Cannon, firing 132mm shells to a range of over fifteen,[3] twenty[14] or even a hundred kilometers[15] and a muzzle velocity of 814 m/s.[3]

Some Basilisk will incorporate an enclosed fighting compartment to provide additional protect for the exposed gunner and loader, however the added recoil restrictions means they are unable to use the more powerful six and seven charges when firing their cannons, slightly limiting their maximum range compared to open-topped or platform-based artillery.[4] The Basilisk can also incorporate four recoil braces that can anchor the vehicle to the ground during combat operations[13a] and an autoloader which allows it to fire a shell every few seconds.[13b]

The Basilisk can also have a gunsight for the gunner that incorporates a range counter and multiple magnification levels.[16] The Basilisks Multi-burn engine,[18b] the Vulcanor pattern, type XVI twin coupled rotary bio-gas power engine,[18a] can run on gasoline, kerosene, alcohol, charcoal, vegetative matter and other fuel sources.[18b]

Basilisks also include a Searchlight and Smoke Launchers as standard, while many crews will modify their vehicle with Camo Netting, a Dozer Blade, Extra Armour, a Hunter-Killer Missile and/or a pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber/Storm Bolter.[2b]

Vehicle Name: Basilisk[3] Main Armament: Earthshaker Cannon[3]
Forge World of Origin: All Known[3] Secondary Armament: Heavy Bolter[3]
Known Patterns: I-XXVII[3] Traverse: 3°[3]
Crew: Commander, Driver, Gunner, Loader[3] Elevation: From 0° to 59°[3]
Powerplant: Vulcanor 16 Twin Coupled Multi-Burn[3] Main Ammunition: 20 Rounds[3]
Weight: 40 tonnes[3] Secondary Ammunition: 300 Rounds[3]
Length: 7.08m[3]
Width: 4.86m[3] Armour
Height: 4.38m[3]
Ground Clearance: 0.45m[3] Superstructure: 100mm[3]
Fording Depth: Hull: 150mm[3]
Max Speed - on road 35kph[3] or 60kph[18b] Gun Mantlet Gun shield 60mm[3]
Max Speed - off road: 21kph[3] or 45kph[18b] Vehicle Designation: 0427-941-3011-BA02[3]
Transport Capacity: None Firing Ports: N/A
Access Points: N/A Turret: N/A[3]


Forge World Variations

  • Armageddon pattern - Enclosed fighting compartment, giving its crew some extra protection.[3]
  • Urdesh pattern - Used by the forces of Chaos.[19]
  • Vanaheim pattern - Distinctive gun shield.[3]
  • Bayonet pattern - Forgeworld unknown. Enclosed fighting compartment, heavy chassis with sponson lascannons. Described as a "Mini-Baneblade".[20]
  • Mars-Solar Pattern — Used by the Solar Auxilia.[21b]

Regiments known to contain Basilisks

Usage by the Forces of Chaos

The forces of Chaos have been observed fielding Basilisks[24] Chaos Space Marines, such as the Iron Warriors, are also known to make use of Basilisks. Both as the Traitor Legions of the Horus Heresy[8] and later as the various Warbands of post heresy and beyond[25]

Usage by Xenos

The Orks have been observed converting Basilisks into Looted Wagons.[23]

Images

Trivia

 

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

Sources

 

This article or article section is based on information included with miniatures showcased in Warhammer: Visions. These showcases regularly featured miniatures submitted with written content by the hobbyist that made them and, as such, their content may or may not be in contradiction to established background lore.

Imperial Guard Vehicles and Artillery
Armored Vehicles Defender • Chimera (Chimerax • Chimedon • Chimerro) • Centaur RSV • Devil Dog • Hellhound (Bane Wolf • Devil Dog) • Hippogriff • NT-20 • Pegasus (Pegasus AAV • Pegasus Command) • Salamander Scout (Salamander Command • Salamander Scout) • SC-3 • Sentinel • Shedu • Tauros • Taurox (Taurox Prime) • YT-9
Tanks Behemoth Primal • Destroyer • Kurtis Tank • Leman Russ (Annihilator • Assault • Conqueror • Eradicator • Executioner • Exterminator • Incinerator • Punisher • Siege • Vanquisher) • Scylla • Siegfried • SteG-4 • Thunderer
Heavy Vehicles Crassus • Gorgon • King Russ • Macharius (Omega • Vanquisher • Vulcan) • Malcador (Annihilator • Defender • Infernus • Vanquisher) • Ragnarok • Rogal Dorn • Valdor
Super-Heavy Vehicles Banehammer • Baneblade • Banesword • Capitol Imperialis • Command Tractor • Doomhammer • Hellhammer • Icarus • Leviathan • Shadowsword • Stormblade • Stormhammer • Stormlord • Stormsabre • Stormsword
Self-Propelled Artillery Basilisk • Bayonet • Colossus • Dominus • Earthwrecker • Griffon • Hydra • Manticore • Medusa • Minotaur • Praetor • Wyvern
Field Artillery Bombast • Earthshaker • Götterdämmerung • Heavy Anti-Aircraft Gun • Heavy Lascannon • Heavy Mortar • Malleus • Medusa • Multiple Rocket Launcher • Siege Cannon • Thudd Gun
Other A-50 Armoured Transport • Aquilus • Armoured Car • Atlas • Cargo-6 • Cargo-8 • Cargo-12 • Cargo-20 • Centaur Carrier • Centurion • Cyclops • Half-Track • Hades • Hellbore • Heracles • Hyena • Jeep • Jungle Class Clearance Bulldozer • Land Crawler • Mole • Remote Mine • Robot Crawler • Samaritan • Soft Skinned Vehicle • Termite • Thirty-Sixer • Tigermoth Skimmer • Trojan • Vulpa
Watercraft Inflatable assault lander • Landing craft • Orca • Poseidon • Sea skimmer • Swift boat • Triton
Rare/Relic Aethon • Aurox • Carnodon • Dracosan • Excertus • Hermes • Testudo
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