clone turbo tank

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Size:
  49.4 meters long; 30.4 meters tall (with mast)

• Weapon:
  Heavy laser cannon turret, rapid repeating laser cannon, 2 medium laser cannons; 2 twin blaster cannons; 2 rocket/grenade launchers

• Affiliation:
  Galactic Republic, clone trooper, Galactic Empire

• Type:
  Heavy assault vehicle

• Manufacturer:
  Kuat Drive Yards

• 

From the Movies

One of the most enormous Republic military vehicles introduced during the Clone Wars, the turbo tank is a ten-wheeled titan bristling with weapons and covered in thick armor. With a blocky design and seemingly simplistic engineering, the turbo tank epitomizes unstoppable brute force tactics favored by the clone troopers. Carried and deployed by Republic attack cruisers, the turbo tanks roll through any opposition, crushing obstacles in its path. Its varied laser turrets and missile ports can fire in all directions. The tank has two cockpits -- one at the front and one at the rear -- operated by tandem crews, allowing it to roll forward or backwards without the need to turn.

From the Expanded Universe

Built by Kuat Drive Yards and not it secretive subsidiary Rothana Heavy Engineering, the turbo tank was an experiment of sorts by the Republic in the hopes of better distributing military resources to its scattered worlds. As the Clone Wars quickly spread across the galaxy, KDY spearheaded the program of developing the vehicle with little government supervision, and used its distribution network to deliver the vehicle to allied planetary governments. This allowed the Republic to better equip and defend distant worlds from the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Naturally, there were some exploitable gaps in the distribution chain that led to turbo tanks falling into the hands of the enemy and criminal elements.

Affectionately nicknamed the "rolling slab" for its cumbersome, hulking profile, the HAVw A6 heavy assault vehicle is more commonly known as a Juggernaut. On ground, it can reach speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour on even surfaces.

The 10-wheel propulsion system may seem primitive, but it does have its advantages. The direct ground contact protects the Juggernaut from electromagnetic attacks and shield discharges. Each wheel consists of three independently spinning segments that lets the Juggernaut cover most types of inhospitable terrain. Huge bump flexors provide the turbo tank with impressive suspension over uneven ground, but the lack of traction and independent drive units can leave the Juggernaut stranded if it does not have enough momentum to overcome unstable and shifting terrain types.

Though it has a tight turn radius, the Juggernaut is agonizingly slow to turn, which is why it was designed with twin cockpits. The biggest drawback to the Juggernaut is its difficult control systems. As both cockpits can control the steering systems, pilots in either station need to coordinate to keep the wheels from locking into contradictory positions.

First-generation Juggernauts require a crew of 12, excluding gunners, though automation retrofitted into later models reduced the number of crew to just two -- one for each cockpit. The cavernous interior can fit anywhere from 50 to 300 clone troopers, depending on cabin configuration and vehicle function.

From the Juggernaut's back extends a tall retractable sensor mast, in which sits a lone spotter and sensor operator. This mast provides a 360-degree field of view, feeding vital battlefield data to the tank commanders. Unfortunately, the mast is also extremely visible, and a favored target of enemy forces.

After the Clone Wars, sleeker more versatile ground assault vehicles were introduced into the armored ranks of the Imperial Army. The Juggernaut was phased out, and saw action primarily in Outer Rim campaigns. Later generation AT-AT walkers incorporated some designs elements from the older turbo tanks.

Behind the Scenes

The look of the turbo tank was first developed during the making of The Empire Strikes Back. Early story concepts for the Battle of Hoth had the Imperials attack not with walkers, but with tanks. Joe Johnston concept sketches included a ten-wheeled behemoth bristling with weapons and sporting a thin crow's nest at the very top.

This design was abandoned, but it was resurrected almost a decade later by West End Games. At the time the sole publisher of Expanded Universe lore, the roleplaying game company added a wealth of ground assault vehicles in 1989's Imperial Sourcebook. One such vehicle was described as the HAVw A5 Juggernaut, and was based on Johnston's sketch. Due to its inclusion in this book, the tank would appear elsewhere in the Expanded Universe, such as guides, novels and videogames before its eventual debut in a Star Wars movie.

George Lucas revisited unused concepts from the original trilogy when seeking to bridge the designs of the new and older films. The tank design was one of them -- renamed the turbo tank. As seen in the film, the turbo tank is much larger, better armed, and cosmetically different from the Juggernaut seen in the spin-off materials. To accommodate these differences, the Revenge of the Sith turbo tank is actually an HAVw A6 model, while the other ones previously seen are smaller HAVw A5s.