There were some Legions that made heavier use of the Basilisk, such as the Iron Warriors and Imperial Fists Legions, who specialised in conducting or defending against siege warfare. The Basilisk, along with the Medusa, saw only limited usage by most of the Space Marine Legions, as the Astartes preferred the more versatile Whirlwind artillery tanks, which were based upon the Rhino chassis and thus were easier for the Legions to repair. The Basilisk artillery pieces used by the Space Marine Legions were usually crewed by the Legion's mortal personnel, but they were also crewed at times by the Space Marines themselves. The Basilisk was first used by the Imperium during the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium, where it was fielded in great numbers by the Imperial Army and Mechanicum, and in smaller numbers by the Space Marine Legions. ' When your company has a Basilisk, every problem looks like a crater.' 5 Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications.The unmistakable shriek of the Basilisks' incoming ordnance is rightly feared by the enemies of the Emperor. Targets at the epicentre of such a detonation are immolated immediately, while those in the vicinity are pulverised by the deadly shock wave. The powerful shells fired by the Earthshaker Cannon are capable of smashing apart the enemy lines with ease and are designed to cause catastrophic damage at the impact zone. Basilisks can therefore deploy out of harm's way where the enemy is powerless to retaliate. The design of the Earthshaker Cannon allows the weapon to be elevated to a steep enough angle for it to fire its shells high over the battlefield and onto concealed enemy targets. Instead, Basilisks are fielded in a support role to the front-line regiments.īasilisks can be redirected, reloaded and fired relatively swiftly. Such devastating weapons are not intended to perform the same battlefield role as main battle tanks, however, their lack of ablative armour and exposed crew carriages making them too vulnerable to lead assaults. Like many self-propelled artillery pieces, Basilisks can keep pace with infantry advances, ready to unleash its payload at a moment's notice. Of all the Astra Militarum's ordnance units, the Basilisk is the most numerous. When the situation requires it, a Basilisk can be pressed onto the frontline and used as a direct fire tank hunter or assault howitzer, but due to the vulnerability of the Chimera's chassis to heavy weapons fire and the vulnerability of its crew, the situation will have to be dire indeed for a commander to order his Basilisks into the thick of the fighting.Īn Astra Militarum Basilisk battery unleashes its fire upon the foe The most common role for the Basilisk is the indirect bombardment of enemy units and fortifications, and it is usually held near the rear of the frontline alongside the Medusa and Manticore mobile artillery pieces. Unlike other Imperial Guard artillery units such as the Griffon and the Bombard, the Basilisk is capable of leveling its weapon at the ground and can directly engage enemy units. The Basilisk is used to provide direct artillery support for other Imperial units that are fighting on the frontlines. A Basilisk with an enclosed crew compartment is incapable of firing as far as the open-topped version, due to the recoil restrictions of the enclosed crew compartment.Ī battery of Basilisk mobile artillery pieces open fire at an enemy There are several different patterns of Basilisk tanks produced on different Forge Worlds, such as the Armageddon and Vanaheim Patterns, which offer enclosed crew compartments to help protect the gunnery crew from small arms fire.

The Basilisk uses the same versatile and rugged chassis used by the Chimera armoured personnel carrier, and retains all of its features with the exception of its troop compartment, which is replaced with the Basilisk's main gun and gunnery platform. The Basilisk is produced in vast numbers on all of the known Forge Worlds in the Imperium, and almost every Astra Militarum regiment maintains several in their arsenal. The Basilisk is the standard self-propelled artillery piece of the Astra Militarum in the 41st Millennium, and is also the most common artillery piece used by the Imperial armed forces across the galaxy. Several Basilisk artillery pieces during a siege Old saying amongst Astra Militarum artillery officers

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