M39 rocket turret

Template:Weapon The 102mm SC-HE Rocket Turret is the armament mounted on the M12A1 Warthog. It is seen only in the multiplayer modes of Halo PC and Halo Mac.

Introduction

The 102mm SC-HE Rocket Turret is basically a triple-barreled rocket launcher. It gives UNSC personnel a higher degree of anti-armor capacity. This weapon was available to Halo PC and Halo Mac users, only in multiplayer, and was not available on the Xbox version of Halo: Combat Evolved.

It fires 102mm HEAT shaped charges, the same rockets used by the M19 and M41 rocket launchers. Unlike its counterparts, however, the 102mm SC-HE Rocket Turret is permanantly fixed to the vehicle. It also lacks a scope for precise aiming of the weapon.

Description

The 102mm SC-HE Rocket Turret is painted black, with some sort of motion tracking systems facing the gunner. The turret is apparently magazine-fed, due to the presence of a magazine mounted on the left side of the launcher, as well as a pair of identical magazines stored on the turret's base. The weapon is semi-automatic, but is notoriously inaccurate. Each reload cycle of the 102mm SC-HE Rocket Turret consumes four seconds, which is vital in combat situations. Presumably, it has an automatic reload system as the gunner does not have to do anything during the reload cycle. Partial reloads, when only one or two rockets have been fired, are also available, but will still use up the entire reload cycle - there is no time difference between reloading an empty launcher or a launcher with one rocket left. The carriage of the 102mm SC-HE Rocket Turret resembles the M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun to some extent, most notably due to the shield and arm braces.

Its role as the primary anti-armor weapon mounted on UNSC LAAVs is replaced by the faster firing M68 Gauss Cannon in all subsequent Halo games. Although the M68's power is somewhat lower per shot, there is no need to reload the weapon at any time.

Tactics

While the M39 rocket turret does heavy damage, frequently killing infantry and vehicle crewmembers in a single shot, learning to hit moving targets when the Warthog itself is in motion requires practice as well as precise timing and aim. Players must take into account the flight time of the rocket, the motion of both the target and the shooter, as well as server lag in order to fire accurately. Constantly, the shots will go wide when fired in too close succession or fly too low when the Warthog is in midair, thus making this weapon less accurate than the LAAG. Mastery of the 102mm SC-HE Rocket Turret takes much longer than proficiency with the LAAG; Warthogs equipped with the LAAG can evade incoming rockets, then take advantage of the launcher's slow reload time to eliminate the helpless enemy. However, the rocket turret is quite an effective weapon if used correctly, and a skilled gunner and driver can become very dangerous in short-range vehiclular combat. The gunner can also fire at masses of troops and, as well as vehicles, such as the Scorpion Tank, or the Banshee. As the rockets travel across the map, gunners can simply create a barrage of missiles from long range, suppressing opponents and forcing them to take cover. As with the LAAG, however, manning the turret leaves gunners extremely susceptible to sniper fire when the vehicle is still.

See Also

• M12A1 Light Anti-Armor Vehicle