Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer
The Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer was an Adeptus Mechanicus and Legio Astartes heavy assault vehicle of the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy era.
Overview
An experimental design based upon the Spartan Assault Tank chassis, internal capacity was removed to make way for its Neutron Laser Projector and its required power sources. Constructed from reverse-engineered Dark Age of Technology-era wreckage recovered from Deep Hyades-VI by Explorators, controversy arose over the weapon's notorious instability. Nonetheless, the Cerberus and its Neutron Laser Projector proved effective enough to rival the larger and more common Turbo-laser Destructors found on Titans and Shadowswords.[1] For anti-infantry defense, the Cerberus is equipped with sponson Heavy Bolters.[2]
Shortly before the outbreak of the Heresy, the first Cerberus vehicles were delivered to a number of Space Marine Legions.[1] Due to the complexities to maintain the vehicle and growing complaints of a corrupted Machine Spirit, very few remain in service as of M41.[3a]
Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyers could further be outfitted with Flare Shields.[5]
Technical Information
| Vehicle Name: | Cerberus[3b] | Main Armament: | Neutron Laser Projector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forge World of Origin: | Mars/Anvilus Nine | Secondary Armament: | Heavy Bolter sponsons |
| Known Patterns: | I-IV | Traverse: | |
| Crew: | Driver, Commander, gunner | Elevation: | From -10-5° to +20° |
| Powerplant: | Reactor system unknown | Main Ammunition: | ~20 Five second blasts |
| Weight: | 174 tonnes | Secondary Ammunition: | 2,000 rounds |
| Length: | 10m | ||
| Width: | 6.1m | Armour | |
| Height: | 5m | ||
| Ground Clearance: | 0.5m | Superstructure: | 95mm |
| Fording Depth: | Hull: | 95mm | |
| Max Speed - on road | 35kph | Gun Mantlet | N/A |
| Max Speed - off road: | 30kph | Vehicle Designation: | N/A |
| Transport Capacity: | None | Firing Ports: | N/A |
| Access Points: | N/A | Turret: | N/A |
Known Named Cerberus
Images
Iron Hands Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer[2]
Plastic Cerberus model for The Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness[4]
Epic-scale Cerberus models for Legions Imperialis[6]
Sources
- 1: The Horus Heresy Book One - Betrayal, pg. 228
- 2: Forge World (last accessed 28 May 2015)
- 3: Imperial Armour Volume 2 - Second Edition:
- 4: Warhammer Community: LVO 2023 – The Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer Eats Lesser Tanks for Breakfast (posted 27/01/2023) (last accessed 27 January 2023)
- 5: Liber Astartes (2nd Edition), pg. 86
- 6: Warhammer Community: The Big Summer Preview – Armoured reinforcements for Legions Imperialis (posted 18/7/2025) (archived from the original, last accessed 18 July 2025)
