A Tankers View of the Baneblade Tank | Warhammer 40k 

The concept of the Baneblade being a "Scout vehicle" is probably a reference to the Battletech/Mechwarrior Tabletop franchise. Specifically, the infamous Steiner Scout Lance; which consists of a four pack of the single heaviest battlemech in the conventional roster. The logic behind it is that while you are scouting ahead of the main force, you may as well just wipe out whatever you find while you're out there.

There's a major factor that massively ups the Baneblade's viability in warfare: The tactical genius to hide it behind a lamp-post ahead of time. regrettably, the ability to deploy Titanic units (such as baneblades) in forward positions has been lost.

I should point out, the Imperium *does* have larger tanks than the Baneblade (and its stablemates like the Shadowsword and Stormhammer, etc): the Leviathan and the Capitol Imperialis, which are large enough they can carry multiple all-up Titan-grade void shields, and a starship-grade macrocannon as a main gun (the bore on the Leviathan's "Doomsday" macrocannon is big enough that you can park a Leman Russ in there, while the "Behemoth" macrocannon of the Capitol Imperialis is apparently big enough that you could shove 4 Leman Russ inside the muzzle). The downside? Both those vehicles have a top speed of maybe 'a brisk walk', so if the Baneblade is a 'light scout tank' for anyone, it's for these guys.

I always assumed it was a line breaker. Even a well laid out bunker complex is nothing more than a speed bump to a Baneblade and its variants. “Awwww! Isn’t that adorable? They put up defensive fortifications. Bring up the Baneblades.”

The thing with this generation of GW tanks, the Russ, the Baneblade and their variants, is that IIRC they were designed in part by Norman Swales, who really knew what he was doing with regards to armour. The later generation of vehicles like the new Marine ones and the Rogal Dorn are very much more of the 'pile guns onto a church' design philosophy.

When dark age of technology says "scout tank" they probably mean a tank they would send as the first thing to check a planets surface, so I guess first contact expeditionary kind of scout and not the light forward recon in a battle, and it probably wasn't armed and armored the same way as the emperor likely modified it in the same way the terminator power armor was mining armor but they obviously didn't have the option for a heavy bolter back then

“Scout” is relative. Warhound Titans are technically “scouting” units for the Adeptus Titanicus.

I’m not even a Guard player but I still love the BB. In fact, every time I hear it, I think of that one Dawn of War II quote: “It is the Baneblade!”

Don't underestimate the Baneblade! It may be massive, but in conflicts like in 40k, massive is not just a viability. It's a necessity. When dealing with Ork Battle Fortresses or Tyranid Carnefexes, you'll want a Baneblade to literally crush anything that stands in its way. Don't underestimate its size. The bigger the tank, the bigger the guns can get, and the more armor and guns you can mount. Also that Scout Tank thing was just a myth. It's just a meme since the Baneblade has no auger systems to perform reconnaissance duties. Also, I love how you used GuP x 40k fanart for the thumbnail for this and the Leman Russ Tank videos. I'm glad I found this channel, I feel I'm going to find a home here.

I think the whole scout tank thing is meant to mean it was a 'light' tank. Or whatever equivalent that was in the dark age of technology. Because if I remember correctly the land raider was also a exploration vehicle, or something along those lines, in the dark age as well.

New sub and I definitely came here because of the Leman Russ vid. Great timing! EDIT: Regards to being a Scout tank... I was there in the early 2000s on the Warseer forums when this was going around, it was a meme back then that the Imperium was so advanced that the Leman Russ was a tractor and the Baneblade was a scout tank just to exaggerate how much more advanced the Dark Age of Technology humans were. There's no basis to it, but people ran with it. There were claims that it was in the Epic game but no one can name a source.

To quote my favorite quote about WH 40k lore: "Lore is whatever I want it to be today, blame warp for lack of sense"

You know, the co-ax gun thing also comes up in this manga called Five Star Stories (which is kind of like 40k or Battletech if it were written by David Bowie) and there's an author's note that explicitly states they *could* use laser sights, but they don't because it wouldn't be ostentatious enough.

As a long time gamer in the 40k universe, and with no real world tank experience, I see the Baneblade as a mobile fortress. In some of the big games I have been involved in (15,000+ pts) I have seen the Baneblade break trenches and support waves of following infantry. I have seen it anchor and support regiments of mechanized guard on open plains and deserts, and most importantly I have seen vast tides of Tyrinads and Greenskins wash over baneblades, yet not break them.

For context, the French Char 2C weighed 76 tons and had a crew of 12. It was 9 ft and 8 inches wide, 33 feet long, and had a height of 13 feet.

The baneblade is that tank we all drew when we where 5 years old, it's big, it's got turrets on top of other turrets. Diomedes: AHHH! IT IS THE BANEBLADE!!!!!! See, even the guy that keeps getting pinned know it its true lol

This is exactly what I wanted, right after the last video.

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the Rogal Dorn heavy tank, added with the latest Astra Militarum codex it's supposed to cover the middle ground between a Leman Russ and a Baneblade.

It is my belief that the battle cannon is actually 152mm for the fact that there is the Ragnarok tank variant used by Krieg in warhammer which is essentially just a Russian Kv2 tank from ww2 and that was its armament in real life. The 120mm info comes from a 2004 file and is long out of date. The mega battle cannon is probably even larger than that in bore size though if you look at tabletop stats and such. I'd assume the mega battle cannon is probably more like 180mm or 200mm. Like you say though, inconsistent lore only allows for guesses.

I wonder if he will do the chimera since it's design is somewhat more sane

I was 19kilo for 8 years. 2006-2014. I've read most of the armor books about the imperial guard. the GW authors do a pretty good job at conveying what it's like in a tank. I love me some baneblade bro.

I haven't seen the video, but based on what I saw in the Leman Russ, it's worth noting just how absurdly powerful these things are. "As if he had to tell me that. It seemed that even the lieutenant preferred not to have a repeat of another direct hit. A few seconds later another shell landed where we had been. It blasted a crater a hundred metres wide in the earth but we were not there to enjoy it. ... As we moved the gunner got the distance once again. Another mighty blow smashed into us. Such was its force that the front of the Indomitable rose into the air a metre or so and then fell back to earth." -Angel of Fire "‘Battle cannon. Demolisher cannon.’ The magos named them both and incanted their specifications. The barrel of the first was ten metres long, capable of hurling rocket-propelled shells over kilometres. The second was shorter, sturdier, wider-mouthed. Its munitions could shatter ferrocrete; the shockwaves alone would turn a man to paste." -Baneblade (Guy Haley) And the shadowsword, a unique anti-titan variation of the baneblade, has to fight and survive hits such as these. Note that this is considered an anti-infantry weapon. "The first weapon to fire was the Warlord's Gatling Blaster. Rounds the size of men were cycled into the weapon's chamber, and fired with explosive force before the next barrel rotated around to fire the next shot. If a man-portable assault cannon sounded like a bolt of silk being torn in two, then the Titan's equivalent sounded like the air, the sky, the very fabric of reality being torn apart. Round after round hammered from the rotary weapon in impossibly fast succession as the Titan swept its fire from right to left across the far bank. Each round was as powerful as a heavy tank round, blowing out the already damaged structures on the far side of the river as the line of fire swept across their length in seconds. Sarik had only previously seen such devastation from a low-level bombing run conducted by an entire wing of fighter-bombers, each successive explosion coming microseconds after the last as the detonations walked across the line. It was an impressive sight, even through his Rhino's vision block, and his transport shock violently with successive blast waves. As each shell pummelled into its target, a blinding white blast preceded a rapidly expanding cloud of dust and rubble. Seconds later, shrapnel and debris began to fall on the Space Marine vehicles, some pieces razor-sharp fragments that zipped through the air and pinged on armoured plates, others large chunks that clanged heavily upon upper hulls. Within seconds, the entire line of buildings on the Gel'bryn side of the river were reduced to dust." - Savage Scars, pgs. 258-259 Also, the baneblade being a scout tank is most likely fanon. There's never been a source in the hundreds of books I've seen, and its mostly based on the also incorrect fanon idea that the leman russ is a DAoT tractor. As bad as GW designs can be, these things are downright supernatural in their power, which helps explain why they are revered.

You mentioned the Land Raider, but I'd actually be more interested in hearing your opinion on the Predator tank. It doesn't transport troops, it's just a tank crewed by Space Marines.

I personally own 3 of these amazing tanks and 2 of them are the Stormlord variant I love this tank it has all the dakka

GIRLS und PANZER is definitely an incredible fit for this video.

If there could be any explanation to the lack of speed the baneblade has for it's supposed scout role is that the powerplant of the STC was corrupted and thus underpowered for it's actual role. Just like how the Tau found a leman russ tank had a shield generator in it and no one every wondered to turn it on. It cannot be turned on. The other explaination I thought of is that maybe it was considered a 'light tank' compared to other dark age tank chassis. However that would still bring in to question it's lack of speed befitting a light tank.

One of the main areas I can see the baneblade working wonderfully ,possibly where intended, is clearing out things like nids . It being armored and resilient along with those relatively close range support weapons would work great against swarms. Then the large gun to focus high value targets like synaps links or large monster like a carnifex. Also might be why speed is not an issue since you’re pushing through a wave of bodies methodically . Same for nurgle zombies for example .

Love the Baneblade and all of the augments created from it.

Three things, great video. The mechanis could be making a inferior copy of a dark age of technology tank. Witch would explain the baneblades lack of speed. The bane blade would be great as the tip of the spear in a large scale attack with other vehicles.

about the STC being for a DaoT Scout Tank my view has always been that when the imperium finds an STC Fragment its a usually just a printout or equivalent from an STC containing a fragment of a fragment of the original design and the modern Bandeblade bears little resemblance to its DaoT ancestor beyond basic chaise shape

I'd love to see what an actual tanker makes of some of the craft world Eldar hover tanks (if they still exist, been a long time since I bought one), or other hover 'tank' designs like the MLRS from command & conquer tiberian sun

My favorite variant is the Stormlord, it's a super heavy IFV which can carry an entire platoon and several bunkers worth of anti-infantry firepower.

“IT IS THE BAAAAAAAAAAAAANEBLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADE!” -Captain Diomedes of the Blood Ravens on the Baneblade

A few thoughts I had: First of all, Imperial Knights weren't a thing in the dark age of technology, and a scout titan may be fast, but it's even less subtle than the Baneblade. Secondly, a probability more importantly, an STC isn't a single design; it's a whole family of equipment with a litany of options. It is very, very likely that the Baneblade as built is the most heavily armed and armored version of the STC and thus much slower than intended. Drop the demolisher cannon, the sponsons, the side turrets and all the related equipment and crew, and not only is the tanker suddenly many tons lighter, but you may have enough interior room for shields, allowing you to cut the armor down and further lighten the tank. When used as a scout tank during the dark age, it may have weighed half as much as it does now, which would give it a perfectly acceptable, if not exactly high, speed.

This should really be a whole series covering every 40k tank 😁

if i recall correctly currently Baneblade is used as mobile command center rather than battle tank due to its heavy armor

Epic content mate. U really know ur 40k lore and combined with knowledge of real world hardware and tactics makes this so interesting. More please! 😊

Great to see you are getting so many views, keep up the good work.

Now we need one on the ROGAL DORN battle tank, but since it's new I don't know how much fluff there is on it yet.

Glad to see baneblade getting a bit of a dive from someone with tanking experience. If you're interested in checking out some tanks from other fictional settings, I would highly recommend the Patton/Rommel/Axel, Scorpion, and Manticore from Battletech.

Baneblade gives the term force recon a whole new meaning but jokes aside imagine a few of those in a city garrison ready to punch through the gates and counter the enemy or even bottleneck it ... the attackers would be in a hell of a fight.

Excited for you to cover the new Rogal Dorn tank

I was waiting for this video and it was excellent. The Baneblade does have an obscene level of firepower. Its more than found it almost barely adequate against foes such as Tyranid's with their million strong waves of expendable creatures, and Orcs cause Big Waaaaaaagh!

Baneblade is pretty big but believe it or not I seen some tank art called "Hexiron" and there are alot of ships, weapons, and even vehicles that would make the Adeptus Mechanicus drop their mouths and would make the Necrons proud. There are multiple tanks nearly the size or even bigger then the Baneblade itself. Like the M98A4 Behemoth, M92A3 Gargantua, M46A3 Ravager, and then the biggest of them all in size the M192A6 Monolith. This titanic beast is called a Terrestrial Mobile Battlestation and comes carrying troops, heavy vehicles, and tanks into battlefields acting as command centers and definitely isn't defenseless coming with it across it's frame with anti aircraft defenses and huge anti battleship guns and turrets meant to take down any enemy ship daring to come against it. It is something the Imperium of Man would like to have.

I think the idea that the Baneblade was a "scout tank" came from the same source as people saying that Terminator armor was a mining suit from the Dark Age. It's a misinterpretation of what's actually said in the lore via a game of telephone. Take the terminator example. Terminator armor originates from the Great Crusade, with the first version, Cataphractii pattern, coming into production some time in. It was based on the much older exo-suits, which were hazmat suits for operating inside of active fusion reactors, but they were as similar to Catiphractii and Indomitus pattern terminator armor as a farming tractor is to an Abrams tank. Similarly, the Leman Russ and Baneblade were both STC designs, along with knights and other such machines, and were thought to mostly be employed on fringe worlds that were undergoing colonization so, since knights were labor/defense/lumber mechs, obviously the Russ is a farming tractor and the Baneblade is a scout when you have giant metal worms that eat stars running around.

"I report to my local Commissar for *BLAM "

Going strong, gotta love how you mix the real life ideals with the lore of 40k.

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the royal dorn

Definitely the Floof’s dream tank

ok for the sheer fact that this legend of a man has heard of and mentioned my favorite sci-fi tank ever, The Bolo, I'm gonna have to do him a heckin' subscribe. Made my day to have someone know what those are for once.

The Baneblade is what you take when you know your going to face something bad, but have no explicit details what. Excessive automatic weapons for clearing numbers, and at high calibers in case they’re tough. Multiple light anti-vehicle weapons for light vehicles, support against heavier armor, or the occasional high-value infantry target that double-baffled automatic grenade launchers somehow fail to scratch. Big main gun for general purpose with a slant towards anti-armor. Giant anti-building gun for greater demolition, path clearing, and killing things that consider death an inconvenience. In terrible instance that you’ve lost a Baneblade, it’s likely you now have a better understanding of just what your facing, and can deploy a more suitable, dedicated variant for that type of battle.

I just went to a local tournament and witnessed a dude run 4 of these things. That was his list. Your opponent can't score points if they're dead.

The thought of Steel Legion using the attached Salamander’s piss as fuel during Armageddon amuses me to no end.

Always fun to hear these comments from actual experts on the topic from a practical perspective. You do a great job mixing humor, fact, lore and a few inside jokes in. Well done good sir. Subscribed, and will be eagerly awaiting the next video(s).

You fool! A baneblade moves a glorious ten inches a turn, and we haven't even painted it red yet!

I can't wait to see you break down more tanks, like the Rogal Dorn, or maybe more obscure tanks like the AT-70/83 OR THE LEGENDARY Ragnarok siege tank

If I was to guess what it’s application as a “scout tank” would be, forward observation post, basically it’s a damn mobile base, so, show up and smash around a few days ahead of the main force, it practically has a full squad in it, a good vox and augur array, and probably can’t be stopped by anything short of another super heavy

I'm digging the videos man some really cool stuff

Necons: Sponson armor? 120mm battle cannon? That’s just adorable here take a look at my completely unarmored 6 meter wide floating doomsday cannon that can punch a hole through a starship.

I think the fandom that created the concept of a bane blade being a scout tank were the same ones that embraced the philosophy of the Battletech Universe that a Steiner Scout Lance could be comprised of Atlas assault mechs. 🙄

intresting point about it being a scout vehicle, i just assumed that meant it was a baby compared to all the other tanks of the dark age but the baneblade is the only stc they were able to recover, great video : )

Yaaaaaay Baneblade! Nice vid! You got a fan now! You could mention the possibilities of refit options of it, like Hellhammer, Stormblade or Shadowsword, so it not just a super tank but super suitable to change its role to, but nice vid anyway. XD

I Love the baneblade. Great vid! Please do some more :)

You did forget a variant of the baneblade that replaces the main cannon with a warp cannon. I only remember it exists because any nearby infantry who observe it are liable to be shot on sight.

As a former sergeant and Leopard 2 commander as well as an avid Warhammer 40k fan, I agree with your comments on the Leman Russ as well as the Beneblade. - the Emperor protects

Great video BTW man. Well done legend

Great video, I'd like to see you cover each of the Baneblade variants if this does well.

Your editing has gotten a lot better! Keep up the good work!

Good breakdown of the imperium’s super heavy tank

4:14 It wasn't classified as a scout tank, it was classified as a 'medium tank' according to lore from (I believe) Epic 40k.

Can’t wait to see your views on the castigator tank.

The Warhound titan is currently used as a scout and look at that. Also the speed of bane blade is relatively fast on the tabletop

A Bolo tank review could be pretty interesting.

Possibly the way this works as a scout tank is if you fit a teleporter to it. Then it doesn't actually need to use its tracks to move much.

GW writes “range finding autocannon” and “it’s a scout tank” because it sounds cool in the moment. They don’t stop to think of the implications because it doesn’t matter to making money off of physical models

My best guess is that they replaced the actual engine (which probably required a fuel that even the techno-monkeys were confident enough to make) and replaced with what I can only describe as an oversized camping generator.

Yooo brother! 1/35AR 06-09 good luck with the channel!

Dude this video is awesome and truly educational. I kinda want to know you opinion on some more of the imperial vehicles, starting with the basilisk artillery

The bainblade and its variants are mainly designed for hunting titans. They are also used for braking down fortifications. I have one in my force and a shadowsword.

Such a cool tank. Malcador tanks are awesome too.

I've found the best explanation for the baneblade is to look at it not as a tank, but as a mobile fortress. One of the purposes a baneblade plays on the battlefield is one that's pretty often over looked. It's meant to be the thing the head officer rides in. Along with that is going to be a vox caster, and the reason for the massive antenna that the vehicle is modeled with. It's also easily large enough to carry an astropath, which would give the battlefield access to orders from pretty well anywhere in the Imperium. Beings that an astropath is a pretty massive beacon to a number of enemies the guard fight, hiding it inside something with a huge gun just makes sense. There are also a great deal of logistical purposes that a baneblade could serve, alongside communication. With engines the size it is, it could pretty easily haul loads on par with most trains. That, and anything with enough power generation capacity to fire four lascannons-at the same time-could no doubt be used as a mobile generator for a whole host of useful purposes. If nothing else, it would be a great way for the guardsmen to recharge their lasguns, as you can burn pretty well anything for fuel to power an IG tank engine.

The weight of the baneblade is a miracle. Its 8 times the volume of a maus, but only twice or maybe three times the weight

Given the size I could see the Baneblade being an "explorer" tank instead of scout, as-in capable of running for extended periods in places where the atmosphere is unfriendly and/or the wildlife hungry. With limited need to step outside and maybe the ability to configure the entry compartments as airlocks I bet it works pretty well any place there's an oxidizer in the atmosphere and nothing local has Tyrannid-grade armor penetration.

Former 19k here. Imaging throwing track in that thing. It's probably doctrine to convert it into a pillbox since GW has yet to come out with a wrecker model big enough for it. I have not purchased this model out of principle. Knowing a thing or two about tanks, I just can't in my mind validate buying this. I have the Mars Pattern Leman Russ FW model tank for my Death Korps though, that one looks neat with the trench skids in the back.

I used to play a rogue trader game. We discovered a baneblade and got it running. We didn’t get many chances to use it as deploying it was time consuming and often the fights where over before we could tell the crew to load it onto the lander. There was one campaign where we where helping defend one of the only industrialized worlds in the sub sector. The baneblade was an area denial weapon. We used it to stop an orc armored thrust. Then slowly push that front towards the Orc HQ while the planetary defense forces held the line and secure the ground we gained. Another deployment was against a rebellion on a feudal world led by a very powerful sorcerer. We ended the rebellion with on shot from the main gun. Directed at the sorceress. Always wanted to load the thing into a boarding torpedo and fire it into an enemy ship. Let’s see your boarding countermeasures deal with THE BANEBLADE!!!

It's rumored that some eldar forces are capturing and using imperial heavy armor, like Leman Russ and especially Baneblades, when your BIG tank is so good, that even the "higher than others" specie says "we want it", you know it's GOOOD.

The Mega Battle Cannon is literally an Artillery piece if you look at most records

Would you consider covering some Gundam tanks down the line. I'm especially interested in a roast of the Magela Attack, the Type 61 and the YMT-05 Hildolr... not so much the tank mobile suits since those are closer to mecha but those tanks would make a fun video I think.

excellent, was looking forward to this

looking forward to the next installment.

I love the baneblade it’s a piece of art

The Baneblades combat doctrine is its a breakthrough tank for use on battlefields where the enemy is dug in behind massive fortifications or fielding super heavies as well. They will hunt Titans working in packs to overcome the shields by concentrating fire. The real world analogue for the Baneblade would be something like the British Tortoise or the US T28.

I prefer Chimeras or lighter versions of Leman Russ(Conqueror, Demolisher and the like). But a BB, properly used, is a massive advantage.

Just wait till he discusses the forge world tanks like the Astreus and the Mastodon

Ad mech: How much gun do you want on your tank? Imperium: Yes.

A bit of a shame you didn't include the shadowsword since that one has a very specialized role with its Volcano Cannon that actually makes it make a "tiny" bit more sense than the baneblade. Otherwise love the video.

The Scout Baneblade: for when you need recon, and to make sure every obstacle is destroyed and/or dead!

My mans spelled out Ma Deuce in the subtitles like a real hero.

A 300+ t super-heavy SCOUT tank!!? House Steiner approves.

It’s worth noting, I think, that the Baneblade isn’t just a tank, it’s a platform. They’re all classed as super heavies, and by definition, aren’t exactly meant to lead the charge through the frontline, but draw fire away from the lighter vehicles, like the chimeras and the Russ. But I want to see you review the Shadowsword. Same chassis, different armament. It’s built and deployed as a Titan killer unit, mounting the same volcano lance as titans (and the same ship to ship weapons of warships)