M1968 Tarantula

The M1968 Tarantula is a Free State Assault Gun first produced in 1968, based on a requirement for a simple, light armored vehicle that could be produced in decentralized facilities to a standardized plan. Although outdated by the time it first entered service, subsequent refits of several different weapons packages produced a decent fire-support platform and later tank destroyer.

Background
The earliest vehicles employed by the Coalition of Free Peoples in their insurgency against Avalonia were often civilian vehicles, improvised with various fittings of armor and weapons. By 1966, this had moved to primarily captured military trucks, with a minority of off-road vehicles. Paving the way for the modern concept of the Technical, these ranged from, far less commonly, fully improvized armored cars to simple, unarmored mounting of large-calibre guns on captured off-road trucks.

The first overtures to development of armored vehicles within CFP territories was the attempt to create an "Avalonian Pattern" BT-30, using the chassis components of an Avalonian M1965 truck. Although the attempt was successful, it wasn't deemed possible to acquire these trucks at the levels required, and the project was abandoned.

For most of the war, the CFP was heavily supplied by the Schwikau Union Republic; and utilized many vehicles provided by them. However, the seizure of a freighter and it's cargo of UBT-56 tanks by Hesperia led to reconsideration on the SHSRs part, and doubt by the CFP that it was a viable strategy in the long term.

In 1967, the CFP formally re-organized into the Seaboard Free State, and began undertaking a review of all available military assets as the character of the war became conventional. A need was quickly determined for a self-propelled artillery piece; and Schwikau was unwilling to export any at the moment.

The Tarantula was designed to function in several roles as the Assault Guns of the 2nd Homeland War had. Effectively, it was envisioned that it would function in the Self-Propelled Gun, Tank Destroyer and Assault Gun roles, with several other fittings for more specialized duties; taking the pressure off the fleet of captured Avalonian and Schwikau-supplied vehicles to undertake less-essential missions. In addition, from the start it was envisioned the Tarantula would be able to be produced by less-specialized facilities; lack of a turret was considered a virtue; as it reduced the number of components needed significantly.

Development
In 1967, development of a prototype was assigned to Alvin Feldt, a former Avalonian tank commander who had worked with the CFP to develop several anti-armor strategies. Feldt was given the helm of the "Central Agricultural Equipment Design Bureau" - which was, at that time, primarily focused on developing armor for the SFS.

Feldt's strategy was to begin immediately taking influence from several reports of modern armored combat; in addition to 2nd Homeland War-era reports. He soon came to the conclusion that a turret simply wasn't viable on a vehicle that would be produced by unsophisticated tractor factories; instead, he would opt for a casemated design, much like the later PzVg71 and 1st Homeland War era BVM-17.

Particularly, Grszestin operation of assault guns was inspected closely; near the end of the war, many had been employed in roles they were not designed for; including operating with Tank formations. Feldt's research eventually decided on a design that, overall, appeared similar to the Schwikauan -8