Franken-AFVs

[Raellus]

I'm not sure if this thing was ever finished, and if so, whether it saw any action, but apparently a Libyan faction in the country's civil war started to convert a BTR-60 8x8 APC into an armored gunboat.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/mil...med-into-boat/

I did not include include this in Baltic Boats https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/...6/baltic-boats

Here's a CGI artist's rendering of what the finished product might have looked like:

[Raellus]

These monstrosities seem ridiculous, but they must be at least somewhat effective because the Russians keep making them.

IRL, the design intent is to provide protection from loitering munitions and attack drones.

Tactically, Russian "Turtle Tanks" are being employed like their first- generation WWI progenitors, acting as breaching vehicles for infantry attacks.

There's an argument to be made that "Turtle Tanks" would also appear during the later years of the Twilight War.

By 2000, operational armor is rare. So are current-gen ATGMs. However, most Soviet tanks are still pretty vulnerable to various types of LAW. "Turtle" tanks would be much less likely to be defeated by LAWs and RPGs, even massed volleys of them. A single "Turtle Tank" could lead an assault element against defended positions, much as they are doing now in Ukraine. That is, as long as the defenders didn't have their own tanks. In tank-on-tank combat, the Turtle Tank's compromised mobility, limited firing arcs, and reduced situational awareness would make it more, not less, vulnerable.