SPHA-T
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Star Wars craft | |
 |
|
| SPHA-T
(other variants include -I, -V, -P, and -C) |
|
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Rothana Heavy Engineering |
| Specification | Self Propelled Heavy Artillery - Turbolaser |
| Type | Self-propelled artillery |
| Length | 30 meters |
| Weapons | Heavy turbolaser cannon, ion cannon, or concussion missile launchers (depending on variant) 12 antipersonnel blaster cannons (some variants) |
| Shield | None |
| Hull | Armor plating |
| Crew | 15 clone troopers, 25 on models with blaster cannons |
| Top Speed | Unknown |
| Troop Capacity | Crew only |
| Affiliation | Galactic Republic |
| Cargo Capacity | None |
| Passengers | Crew only |
In the fictional Star Wars universe, the SPHA-T (Self Propelled Heavy Artillery- Turbolaser) walker was a machine deployed in the Army of the Republic.
Its main weapon was a heavy turbolaser cannon mounted on its top capable of causing terrible damage to its foes. It also had 12 antipersonnel blasters. Its crew consisted of 15 command crew and 10 gunners. It moved on 12 legs and it was 30 metres long. The SPHA-T first appeared in the Battle of Geonosis where it was instrumental in shooting down several Trade Federation and Techno Union transport ships.
Other versions of the SPHA walker were deployed during the Clone Wars, including Ion Cannon (SPHA-I *), Anti-Vehicle Laser (SPHA-V *), Concussion Missile (SPHA-C *), UT-AT, and Projectile (SPHA-P *) models. The SPHA models were uniformly very slow and difficult to maneuver, and could only be effectively used from behind friendly lines. When exposed to enemy assault, they suffered horrendous casualties.
Some creative captains bolstered their ship's firepower by opening the hangar doors and having the SPHA-Ts fire out upon the Separatist's vessels, as seen during the Battle of Coruscant in ROTS. An armored juggernaut with incredible firepower, the SPHA-T is a self-propelled laser artillery piece. Rather than having a rotating turret, the entire vehicle can reposition itself by means of twelve articulated legs. Considerably larger than the AT-TE walker, the SPHA-T provides long-range surface-to-surface and surface-to-air fire, coordinated by a crack team of clone troopers. A battery of SPHA-Ts was responsible for shooting down the immense Trade Federation core ships that attempted to escape the first battle of the Clone Wars. The vehicle's central cannon is modular, allowing different artillery units to be fitted with different weapon types, such as ion cannons, anti-vehicle laser cannons or concussion missile launchers. The turbolaser assembly was designed first, and it being the most power-intensive, dictated the design specifications of the walker carriage assembly. The prolonged blast stream of this turbolaser design necessitated a gargantuan reactor core. The cannon's power and support equipment requirements are so robust that it prevented its use aboard large starships. The articulated leg design offers traction and stability over a wide variety of environment types, and cannot be defeated through anti-repulsorlift electromagnetic attacks the way speeders can. The SPHA-T requires a crew of fifteen clone troopers to operate. Some models are equipped with 12 retractable antipersonnel blasters which necessitate a gunnery crew of ten.
