M12G1 Gauss Warthog

The M12G1 Light Anti-Armor Vehicle (M12G1 LAAV), commonly known as the Gauss Warthog, is a United Nations Space Command ground vehicle. The M12G1 is a variant of the M12 Warthog FAV armed with a mounted Gauss cannon, with the M68 serving as standard during the Human-Covenant War and the M555 coming into use in the following years.

Design details
The M12G1 LAAV is one of UNSC's anti-armor vehicles, designed to quickly and efficiently defeat lightly armored vehicles such as Type-25 Chopper and Type-32 Ghost, while also being a threat to Type-26 Wraiths. The Gauss Warthog is almost exactly the same in every detail to the M12 Warthog LRV except that it is equipped with a mounted M68 Gauss Cannon, which fires a 25mm hypersonic projectile by means of magnetic acceleration. It takes about a half a second to recharge between cannon shots. Although it appears more rarely than the standard Warthog, its capabilities make it a fearsome, agile and powerful vehicle to use.

Operational history
Numerous Gauss Warthogs were used by the UNSC during the Harvest Campaign. Sergeant John Forge used a Gauss Warthog during the Battle of Arcadia and Shield World 0459.

In the opening actions of the Fall of Reach in July 2552, Noble Team members Noble Two and Noble Six drove a Gauss Warthog when returning to Sword Base after clearing out Covenant hostiles in Sword Base's outposts Airview Base and Farragut Station.

During the Battle of Mombasa in October, Gunnery Sergeant Stacker drove a Gauss Warthog and offered it to MCPO John-117 in Kilindini Park Cultural Center, New Mombasa. John-117 used Stacker's Warthog to fight his way through Covenant heavy armor and reach a UNSC Marine command post in Sector B. As the Battle of Mombasa drew to a close, three ODSTs from a surviving squad commandeered a Gauss Hog during their escape on the city's Waterfront Highway and escort of an important assest.

Later in the same year, UNSC Marine forces assaulting the Installation 05 Library used a Gauss Warthog to battle the Flood forms in the Quarantine Zone. The Flood combat forms then killed the humans and took the Warthog, which was later destroyed by the Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee and his SpecOps forces.

During the end of the Human-Covenant War, the Marines from the utilized a Gauss Warthog during their battle near Installation 00's Cartographer. Once again, the Gauss Warthog was offered to John-117, this time by PFC Chips Dubbo. This Gauss Warthog assisted the Spartan in bringing down the Covenant Scarab defending the Cartographer. Another Gauss Warthog was dropped by a Pelican to support the UNSC forces attacking the Citadel.

In July, 2557, during the first combat operations on Requiem, several M12G1's were deployed to engage Covenant ground forces. Several were attached to Gypsy Company, and John-117 used one during his defense of the Mammoth assigned to destroy the Forerunner particle cannons guarding the gravity well holding the within the planet. Upon the Infinity's return to Requiem later in 2558, more Gauss Hogs were deployed to the interior of Requiem to aid in the removal of Covenant forces. Several were used by Fireteam Crimson during their missions, including the clearing of the location known as Quarry and the defense of Cauldron Base.

On October 25, 2558, during the Battle of Meridian, Fireteam Osiris used a Corp Gauss Warthog to combat Promethean forces while attempting to return to their D79-TC Pelican.

M12 variants

 * Spirit of Fire variant - The Spirit of Fire Warthog, also known as the Fireball Warthog, is a variant used by the crew of the . This variant has a flame decal on it.

M12B variants

 * Corp Gauss Warthog - Officially, these are purchased to keep out large, aggressive animals. In reality they are typically deployed to keep out large, unruly crowds. Features extra armor used by the Liang Dortmund Corporation.
 * Tundra Gauss Warthog - A tundra camouflaged variant used by the UNSC. Features better armor than the Corp Hog.
 * Urban Gauss Warthog - Product-improved anti-tank Warthog with upgraded armor plating and redundant damage-bypass systems. An urban camouflaged variant that features better armor than the Corp Hog.
 * Woodland Gauss Warthog - In rugged terrain the Gauss Warthog is a deadly tank hunter, easily picking off Covenant boosted-gravity vehicles slowed to a crawl in dense foliage. A woodland camouflaged variant that features better armor than the Corp Hog.
 * ONI Gauss Warthog - The ONI Gauss Warthog features a highly classified gauss cannon that produces lingering area of effect damage. The ONI Warthog features better armor than the camouflaged models.

Trivia

 * In the E3 2000 Halo: Combat Evolved trailer, a Warthog was shown featuring a turret similar in appearance to the Halo 2 Gauss turret.
 * In the Halo Wars campaign, Sergeant Forge's Warthog will always be an M12G1, regardless of whether the player has researched the Gauss cannon.
 * During the Halo 2 E3 Demo, the Gauss cannon of the Gauss Warthog was shooting at a fairly rapid speed. In an early beta multiplayer phase, however, the Gauss cannon had been slowed down considerably. It was later revamped to its original rate of fire during the game's final stages.
 * In Halo: Reach, the Gauss cannon is capable of shooting through all Forged objects in the multiplayer map Forge World.

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Uprising
 * Halo 3
 * Halo Wars
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * Palace Hotel
 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Halo 5: Guardians
 * Halo: Ground Command
 * Halo Wars 2