Editing Imperial Ordnance (section)

=={{anchor|Leman Russ}} Tank Guns ==

These guns are too large to be carried by infantry (excluding "heavy" weapons such as [[lascannon]]s and [[autocannon]]s), but are still small enough that a heavy vehicle, like the [[Leman Russ Battle Tank]], can carry and fire them while in the thick of battle. It should be noted that certain [[Autogun|Autoweapons]] are also a form of ordnance. So don't be too surprised if you see a few similiar faces around here.

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===Taurox Battle Cannon===
[[File:TBattle_Cannon.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Taurox Battle Cannon]]
The little wee kid brother of the famed Battle Cannon. If the Battle Cannon is considered as the mainline tank gun of the Imperium, then the Taurox's version would be considerd as the autocannon IFV gun of the family.

The Taurox Battle Cannon is the primary armament of the [[Taurox Prime]] and is considered by some as a light artillery piece. It is fitted with advanced recoil-dampening devices and auto-targeters to allow it to fire accurately even while moving.

On the tabletop, the crunch pretty much matches the fluff. The Taurox Battle Cannon is the mini-Battle Cannon; being a 48" ranged, S7 AP-1 Heavy D6 weapon. Good for picking off TEQs and light vehicles, although it would struggle against MBTs.

===Battle Cannon===
[[File:Battle_Cannon_Leman_Russ.PNG|200px|right|thumb|Battle Cannon]]
''For additional information, see here: [[Autogun#Battle Cannon|Battle Cannon]]''

The primary weapon of the [[Leman Russ Battle Tank]], at 120mm's it is the most commonly used tank gun for good reason: the Battle Cannon can pull double duty as both an anti-tank and anti-infantry weapon thanks to its considerable range (72"), strength (S8 AP3 = instant death to [[MEQ]]s and capable of damaging any vehicle) and explosion size (5" blast = blob-killer). The cannon proved so popular that it was made the primary armament of the [[Macharius (tank)|Macharius]] and [[Malcador (tank)|Malcador]] super-heavy tanks, and has been forked into several versions by the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]]:
{{40k-Ranged-Weapon-Profile|name=Battle Cannon (Leman Russ)|range=72|strength=8|ap=3|type=Ordnance|rof=|rules=Blast (5")}}
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Since the revamping of the AP-system and moving away from "blast template" mechanics, the stats for battle cannons were changed, becoming something of this<br>
{{40k-Ranged-Weapon-Profile-8|name=Battle Cannon (8th Edition)|range=72|strength=8|ap=-2|damage=D3|type=Heavy D6|}}
It is worth noting that while AP-2 now allows 3+ and 4+ armour to provide at least some save-roll (5+ save for 3+ armour and 6+ save for 4+ armour), 2+ armour (like that of the Terminators) now only gets 4+ save instead of 2+.

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==={{anchor|Conqueror Cannon}} Conqueror Battle Cannon===
[[File:LRConq.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Conqueror Battle Cannon]]
Fitted to the [[Leman Russ Conqueror]], this is essentially a lighter and smaller version of the Battle Cannon. Its shorter range and smaller blast radius is more than compensated by the reduced recoil and higher rate of fire, allowing for an even greater damage output than a Battle Cannon. Like the battle cannon the Conqueror cannon is capable of firing high explosive, anti-tank, smoke, illumination, and even Hunter shells, although not infernus rounds. The Forge World Gryphonne IV also designed a special shell just for this weapon, known as the '''Augur Shell'''. While similar to an HE shell when the Augur's impact detonator is triggered the thin shell wall splits open and the soft explosive charge is spread across the target; a microsecond later the secondary detonator in the base of the shell ignites the explosive. This causes cratering and cracking of the target's outer armor, while inside the target it produces spalling capable of damaging internal equipment and wounding or killing personnel (Which sounds extraordinarily similar to HESH ammunition). However the shell was not considered a success and in the end relatively few were produced. Shaped charges work better, hence why HEAT is more common than HESH. Also, metals like nickel can be put in a HEAT round to turn it into a beam of plasma, but HESH is simply a pancake of explosive that goes boom. Ultimately, a focused boom is better, though HESH is better when you need just plain boom without it being focused somewhere. Though there is an important caveat when it comes to HESH VS HEAT: HEAT penetrates, but HESH sends more force into the target, meaning that if a HESH rounds sends enough conclusive force into a tank, you can scramble the crew and internal devices as if you shook a can half filled with jello. When all is equal, HESH is likely preferable against APCs, IFVs, and other forms of transports that HEAT or AP would kill but survivors would escape from to fight another day. HEAT is good for killing vehicles in which the machine is the threat, not the people in it (like battle tanks and mobile artillery, mobile guns, etc.).

On the tabletop, it's a "Heavy" weapon, as opposed to "Ordnance", which allows the carrying vehicle to fire its sponson weapons at full ballistic skill (though, since the Conqueror is not a heavy tank, that only applies if it holds still...).

In 8th Edition it's just a Battle Cannon with 50% of the range (36").

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=== Macharius Battle Cannon ===
[[File:Malcadorbattlecannon.png|200px|right|thumb|Macharius Battle Cannon]]
The [[Macharius Heavy Tank]] has a twin-barreled variant of the Battle Cannon, because it has a bigger turret and because two barrels are better than one. It also looks like it has a larger bore which means it can fire larger calibers. For all intents and purposes, the Macharius Battle Cannon should be considered as a superheavy weapon if not for the fact that the Macharius itself is not completely in the superheavy category.

It used to actually fire two shots, but that's been changed to a single massive (7") blast in more recent publications similiar to how some video games give sawed-off shotguns a firing mechanism to blows off the two barrels at the same time. Maybe they will get around to making a single massive cannon for it, too. A Macharius Vanquisher Cannon? It exists. But a Macharius with a giant single gun? we wish.

Then 8th Edition drop and we went back to a 2-shot Battle Cannon. Lame.

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==={{anchor|Vanquisher Cannon}} Vanquisher Battle Cannon===
[[File:Vanqcannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Vanquisher Battle Cannon]]
Huge gun, huge range, huge barrel, huge damage. Basically an anti-tank gun fitted on tank destroyers. The Leman Russ Vanquisher has its weapon tooled for only one purpose: to fuck enemy tanks and monsters hard using huge shells.

It sacrifices its blast radius for an improved capacity for armor penetration (AP2, S8 + 2d6 = 10-20 with an average of 15 = roll for the [[anal circumference|circumference]] of the hole that is about to get punched through your armor). The [[Macharius (tank)|Macharius]] can carry twin-linked Vanquisher cannons, and has enough internal space that it can also fire high-explosive shells like the regular Macharius Battle Cannon, so it's like two tanks in one -- and it costs about as much as regular Russ and a Vanquisher put together.<br>


From 8th edition, the cannon is now somewhat nerfed. It has only S=8,AP-3 while retaining Heavy 1 and gaining D=D6R (the same rule as meltagun, albeit not only when in half-range or less). Considering how meltaguns in 9th edition are now D6+2 at half range and multi meltas get two shots, this puts the usefulness of the vanquisher into serious question. You're better off sticking with melta-equipped demolisher tanks to do your tank hunting.

The only problem is that the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] lost Tigrus, the only [[Forge World]] that made Vanquisher cannons, to the [[Orks]] in M35 (somehow, you'd think the Imperium would throw so much firepower in defense of such a vital world that nothing could take it), so the only way to make new Vanquisher tanks is to take the cannons off of tanks that have been immobilized -- not a simple feat, given that the cannon is so dangerous to armor and stands out as a priority target for enemies. Two other Forge Worlds, Stygies VIII and Gryphonne IV have stepped up to try and match the old cannons (read: [[Forge World]], the company, has produced two alternate turrets for [[Leman Russ Vanquisher]]s), but they're just not quite there (though it makes no difference on the tabletop, of course). And then Tyranids ate Gryphonne. (It was delicious.)

And it also seems, that as per 6-th edition Astra Militarum Codex and onwards, the fluff was changed to do away with "Vanquisher cannon being rare" altogether - now the Leman Russ Vanquisher is noted as being simply the dedicated anti-armour variant of Leman Russ, often employed as command tank in armoured formations. However, it now also seem that Vanquisher cannon now lost it's ability to fire HE rounds, being able to only fire anti-armour HEAT rounds, something ineffective against infantry formations.

It should be noted that, unlike how many on /tg/ perceive it, the Vanquisher is '''not''' just a Battle Cannon firing specialised Anti-Tank shells. The Guard does use separate specialised HEAT shells for the basic BC, but Imperial Armour shows the Vanquisher Cannon to have a smaller bore than the standard one, while the shells have a greater diameter-to-length ratio and possibly be some form of APFSDS round.

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===Pulveriser Cannon===
[[File:Pulverizer_Cannon.PNG|150px|right|thumb|Pulveriser Cannon]]
The Pulveriser Cannon is the Demolisher Cannon's little brother and the standard-issue secondary weapon of the [[Rogal Dorn Battle Tank]]. Yes, I know, you would have thought that this weapon would have been the Demolisher's ''bigger brother'' right? Since it is mounted on a bigger chassis? But it seems that GeeDubs realised that even they recognised the importance that space is a premium in a tank. The Dorn can swap out the Pulveriser for a [[Castigator Gatling Cannon]] if the operator wants to turn the tank into a more effective anti-infantry role.

The smaller size is meant to accommodate the rest of the tank's weapon systems at the expanse of reducing its firepower and armour penetration compared to the slightly bigger Demolisher Cannon. On the other hand, its smaller size allows the Dorn to fire on the move; that and the fact that the Dorn Tank is built for siege warfare, so the Pulveriser Cannon ends up being a useful secondary coupon to make sure that whatever the tank is firing remains ''dead''.

In 9th Edition, the Pulveriser Cannon is a 24" ranged, Heavy d6, S8, AP-2, D3, Blast weapon. The randomness of the shots is unfortunately, a let down, but surprisingly solid thanks to blast. Useful against TEQs that tried to deep strike nearby but failed their charge roll.
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===Demolisher Cannon===
[[File:Demolisher1Cannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Demolisher Cannon]]
The Big One. Fitted onto the [[Leman Russ Demolisher]] and packing enough heat to turn [[Terminator|Terminators]] and heavy and super-heavy vehicles inside-out with a single shell, the Demolisher Cannon's short range (24" -- shorter than some infantry weapons) is the only thing that stops it from being a truly amazing weapon.

Even then, it can cause considerable damage (S10 AP2 Large Blast = kiss your everything goodbye) and because it is smaller than the other cannons, is one of the few ordnance weapons used by the [[Space Marines]], mounted on the [[Vindicator]] and [[Land Raider Ares]], and it is used as secondary armament on certain super-heavy tanks, like [[Baneblade]]s and the [[Malcador (tank)|Malcador]].

The Demolisher fires special ammunition much larger than that used in the Battle Cannon, allowing it to punch through layers of concrete and plasteel alike. A Demolisher shell is constructed with an outer layer of standard high explosive and shrapnel, which surrounds a chemical core. Upon impact, the explosive layer detonates, punching a hole in the enemy's armor and spreading shrapnel over a wide area. It also starts a chemical reaction in the core, causing it to super-heat into a jet of plasma, which lances through the compromised armor, spreading molten death over a wide area and literally ripping the target from the inside out. The tremendous recoil produced by firing the cannon is capable of lifting the front end of a tank off the ground and, were it fired while moving, risk causing it to roll over.

Nowadays, it's a big boy gun. D6 shots at a small 24", at S10 AP-4 Dd6. Put this thing on a Tank Commander, give him "Gunners, Kill on Sight!" and watch the tears flow.

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==={{anchor|Nova Cannon}} Eradicator Nova Cannon===
[[File:Leman_Russ_Eradicator_Cannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Eradicator Nova Cannon]]
The Eradicator Nova Cannon fires shells with an unstable "sub-atomic" core (yes, this just might be a tank cannon that fires ''mini-nukes''). These shells are somewhat hazardous to the tank and crew, as they have a non-zero probability of exploding if they get jostled while loading, so most [[Imperial Guard Regiment|regiments]] that use [[Leman Russ Eradicator]]s have a margin for crew losses, and that is without the off chance of radioactive leaks from a faulty shell.

The Eradicator is most effective supporting infantry forces fighting in areas such as cities and jungles, and it is easily replicated on dozens of Forge Worlds. For urban combat however the Eradicator does not feature the additional rear armor found on similar vehicles, leaving it vulnerable to attacks from behind.

They keep using the Nova cannon, though, because the shell's massive blast completely flattens any cover, so unless the targets are power armored, there's no escape for them (S6 AP4 = Instant Death for most standard infantry; less effective for beefier troops). Why a shell that detonates if it's shaken does not go off when it's fired from a freaking cannon is not completely explained by GW.

==={{anchor|Kratos Battlecannon}} Kratos Battlecannon===
[[File:Kratos_Battlecannon.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Kratos Battlecannon]]
The Kratos Battlecannon is the main weapon used by the [[Kratos Heavy Assault Tank|<s>God of War</s> Kratos Heavy Assault Tank]]. A heavily modified and specialised tank gun that can be used to fire a few specialised ammunition. The Kratos Battlecannon sits in between the Macharius Battlecannon and the Baneblade Battlecannon in terms of both calibre, range and penetration.

The Kratos is a very flexible weapon, offering the Imperium and Traitor forces a gun that offers more damage, penetration and range than a standard Battlecannon without the incredibly expensive maintenance cost and specialization of the Baneblade Cannon. The ammunition it can fire includes high-explosive, armor-piercing, and flashburn shells, the latter of which were meant to chew through tank armour like real-world APFSDS rounds.

On the tabletop, the Battlecannon comes with HE shells for blowing up squads of infantry, AP shells for shooting tanks and Flashburn shells for blowing holes in Knights and Super Heavies. It is a very nasty and flexible weapon. This weapon is not to be fucked with.

==={{anchor|Oppressor Cannon}} Oppressor Cannon===
[[File:Oppressor_Cannon_2.PNG|200px|right|thumb|Oppressor Cannon]]
The [[Dick|Biggus Dickus]] of tank guns. The Oppressor Cannon is the last stop before we trip into the ''superheavy tank gun'' category.

The Oppressor Cannon is an enormous and devastating anti-armour weapon of the Astra Militarum's [[Rogal Dorn Battle Tank]] and it is one of its primary weapons, with the other being a twin-linked [[Battle Cannon]] in case the operator wants to deal with hordes of MEQs or light vehicles. More of a tank destroyer gun and a ''knight destroyer gun''. It is capable of knocking out almost anything up to a [[Chaos Knight]] in a single salvo and also has a co-axial [[Autocannon]] next to the Cannon to deal with any stragglers.

Due to its ridiculous size and [[/d/|''girth'']], the Oppressor Cannon works as a ''very'' effective siege gun that makes the Pulveriser Cannon nearly pointless. So most folks would opt for a [[Castigator Gatling Cannon]] instead, to cover for the Dorn's lack of proper anti-infantry support.

In 9th Edition, this weapon truly lives up to its reputation. [[Rape|90" ranged, Heavy d6+3, S10, AP-3, D4, Blast weapon.]] With S10 threatening enemy T5 Infantry (Astartes Bikers/Gravis, most Death Guard and Orks, Tau Crisis/Broadside Suits) and T8 Vehicles (almost every Army's Battle Tank ''including'' Knights so the fluff isn't [[bullshit]]), this is already the better option for what your main gun should be aiming at.
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