M312 Elephant
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The M312 Heavy Recovery Vehicle is a Mobile Assault, Support, and Recovery (MASR) platform in the Elephant line of vehicles developed by JOTUN Heavy Industries.[1][4]
Overview[edit]
Design details[edit]
Designed and manufactured by JOTUN Heavy Industries, the Elephants were initially used in the utility and farming industries during the early colonial expansion periods. After several decades serving in the civilian market, JOTUN was contracted by the UNSC to develop the Elephants and build them as armored repair and recovery vehicles. In the years since, the Elephant has been modified into several variants and upgrades, though the Elephant's basic design philosophy and versatility remain unchanged.[1]
The M312 is an earlier model in the Elephant series, predating the M313 and M318 variants. Unlike the M313, the M312 features an enclosed, armoured canopy that allows the vehicle to absorb most small-arms fire without endangering the occupants.[4] In the field, the Elephant is capable of deploying a number of stabilising supports, allowing it to "lock down" in the field to serve as a mobile forward-operations base for infantry units in the field.[2] Rather than the M313's single gunner-operated M41 Vulcan chaingun, the M312 instead boasts three (presumably) remote-operated AIE-486H machine guns mounted around the vehicle to provide fire at all angles of approach.[3] A single M247 general purpose machine gun turret can be mounted on the top of the Elephant for additional firepower,[3] alongside the installation of additional engines and ceramic armour plates to boost the vehicle's speed and defensive capabilities.[2]
In its role as a heavy recovery vehicle, the Elephant is capable of being used to retrieve damaged vehicles from the front lines to return back to base for repair.[4] This can also be used to tow other critical equipment to a necessary spot, such as a Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine.[5]
Known Elephants[edit]
- Recon Team India - Accompanied Lima onto the surface of Trove, before being captured by the Flood and rescued by Forge and Red Team.[6]
- Recon Team Echo - Accompanied Lima onto the surface of the Etran Harborage, before being captured by the Flood and rescued by Forge and Red Team.[6]
Operational history[edit]
Human-Covenant War[edit]
In 2531, when the UNSC Spirit of Fire arrived at Trove in pursuit of the Covenant Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee, who had captured Professor Ellen Anders, the UNSC forces onboard utilized three of the M312 HRVs to perform reconnaissance on the shield world's surface. Two of these were captured by the Flood, but were rescued under the leadership of Sergeant John Forge and Spartan-II Red Team.[6] These three M312s provided support in the battles on the shield world's surface.[7] When the UNSC forces were recalled to the Spirit of Fire, Bravo Platoon was accompanied by an Elephant.[8] After Pelican Victor 397 was shot down by Covenant forces while pulling the Spirit of Fire's FTL reactor to the Apex Site, Captain James Gregory Cutter decided it was too dangerous to use an airlift to transport the reactor any further. Instead, Forge decided to use an Elephant, the only ground vehicle with the mass to pull the reactor. The Elephant pulled the reactor up a series of ramps guarded by Covenant citadels before backing the reactor onto a slipspace translocation pad. The pad teleported the reactor to the Apex, leaving behind the Elephant which was outside of the pad's range.[5]
M312 Elephants were used during the Battle for Earth in 2552. One, armed with a dorsal turret carrying twin cannons and twin missile pods, was used during the Battle of Mombasa to secure the Conduit. It was ultimately boarded and destroyed by a Sangheili Commander.[9][10]
Post-war[edit]
In 2554, several Elephants took part in the Battle of Draetheus V when the planet came under attack by Merg Vol's Covenant faction.[11][12] In particular, Spartan Sarah Palmer used them in the form of a convoy to transport hundreds of escaping colonists to a Covenant airfield she had taken over in order to use Spirit dropships to evacuate everyone since most of the UNSC's aircraft had been destroyed. The convoy came under attack from Covenant forces, Suicide Unggoy in particular, but Palmer and UNSC Marines were able to successfully defend the Elephants on the journey which used rocket turrets to provide covering fire of their own. At the airfield, desperate Covenant forces attempted to prevent the colonists from escaping with the Spirits, the Covenant's only way off of the planet, attacking as they transferred from the Elephants to the dropships. However, Palmer and the Marines succeeded in covering the evacuation and hundreds of colonists were able to escape Draetheus V in stolen Covenant dropships.[13]