Viewing BattleMech Unit
    Overview |  Distribution |  Battle Value |  Alpha Strike |  Cost |  Availability  | Reviews   
 Units  »  Search  »  BattleMechs  »  Rattlesnake II RSN-1
Design Overview
Generate in     format       
                 BattleMech Technical Readout

Name/Model:         Rattlesnake II RSN-1
Designer:           Ghostcat
Source(s):          Custom Mordel.Net Units
Technology:         Inner Sphere (Mixed)
Technology Rating:  F
Tonnage:            45
Role:               Striker
Configuration:      Biped BattleMech
Era/Year:           Dark Age / 3149
Rules (Current):    Standard
Rules (Era):        Standard
Rules (Year):       Standard
Total Cost:         10,655,688 C-Bills
Battle Value:       1,999

Chassis:              Endo Steel
Power Plant:          Consolidated 315 XL
Walking Speed:        75.6 kph  
Maximum Speed:        118.8 kph [151.2 kph]
Jump Jets:            Rawlings 45 
    Jump Capacity:    210 meters
Armor:                Alpha 3-E Compound Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:             
    2 Series 6b ER Medium Lasers (C)
    3 ChisComp 39 Medium Lasers
    1 Series 6c Medium Laser
    1 ChisComp 39 ER Small Laser (C)
Manufacturer:         General Motors
    Primary Factory:  New Valencia
Communications:       Hammerstorm Hugin Mk XXI-E with ECM with Guardian ECM Suite
Targeting & Tracking: Hammerstorm Munin XVI

================================================================================================
Overview:
    The Rattlesnake II?s history started with a long-forgotten psyops
    operation against the Draconis Combine. In 3042, after the shock of
    facing Star League-era BattleMechs during the War of 3039, House
    Davion?s Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Operations developed.
    
    Operation Trapdoor. Using the technology recovered from the Helm
    Memory Core, Trapdoor took established ?Mechs, tore them down, and
    rebuilt them into radically different machines while mostly
    retaining the outward appearance of each original ?Mech.
    For identification purposes,these new variants were
    given a different code name while retaining a variation of the original
    ?Mech?s designation. The best-known Trapdoor ?Mech was
    the JR7-31 Rattlesnake, which was inspired by the Jenner.
    The brainchild of Dr. Robert Madson, the Rattlesnake carried more
    firepower and heavier armor than its inspiration. The exact number of
    Rattlesnakes built is unknown, but at the height of Trapdoor, between
    twenty and thirty were in use. This chassis was distributed among
    Armed Forced of the Federated Suns regiments stationed in the Draconis
    March. For ten years, the Rattlesnake and other Trapdoor models tried to
    sow confusion among the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery and the
    Internal Security Force, mixing battlefield clashes with planned leaks
    though news items. It is debatable how successful the operation was, but when the Clan
    Invasion began in 3049, Operation Trapdoor had already been
    discontinued. The remaining Trapdoor ?Mechs remained in use, but only
    a few survived to the end of the Word of Blake Jihad.
    After the Draconis Combine seized New Avalon in 3146, the AFFS
    scrambled to find new ?Mech models that could be used to counter the
    DCMS?s advance. While searching through old records, an MIIO team
    rediscovered the Trapdoor ?Mechs and resurrected them. After retooling
    the JR7-31?increasing its weight by ten tons?and negotiating with Clan
    Sea Fox for its manufacturing capabilities, the redesigned Rattlesnake II saw the light of
    day in 3149.

Capabilities:
    Like the original, the Rattlesnake II is intended to close on a target
    quickly, unload its firepower all at once, and move away at the same
    speed. It also relies on medium lasers?two Clan-made extended-range
    medium lasers, backed up by four standard medium lasers and a Clanbuilt
    small laser. With its heavy armor, an electronic-countermeasures
    suite, and a Myomer Accelerator Signal Circuitry system,
    the Rattlesnake II is designed to be in the thick of the fighting.
    In addition to the ER medium lasers, the RSN-1 also boasts other
    ClanTech components: an XL engine, double-capacity heat sinks, and
    ferro-fibrous armor. The original design specifications proposed
    incorporating stealth armor, but integration problems resulted in the use
    of Clan armor instead.

Deployment:
    Rumors claim that newly built Rattlesnake IIs are being sent to Combineoccupied
    worlds to give the Federated Suns resistance forces a needed
    weapon against the occupiers. There are reports that a Combine supply
    depot on Tsamma was raided by a guerrilla force consisting of Jenners
    carrying significantly more firepower than normal. The four ?Mechs
    overwhelmed the Combine Strider and Phoenix Hawk guarding the
    depot, then destroyed the infantry garrison and stood guard as the
    guerrillas grabbed all the supplies they could load onto trucks.
    After the supply trucks left, the Rattlesnakes laid waste to the depot and escaped,
    outrunning the DCMS response force before fading back into Tsamma?s
    jungle.

Variants:
    In line with the original plan for the RSN-1, the RSN-2 successfully
    incorporates stealth armor, but at the cost of lighter armor, a reduced
    jump distance, the Clan ER lasers, and the MASC system. This variant
    makes for a high-endurance raider capable of hitting targets deep behind enemy lines.
    The JR7-31, the original Rattlesnake with seven medium lasers,
    occasionally saw its ECM unit replaced with a C3 slave unit, becoming
    the JR7-31P. These models are now being manufactured once more and
    have found their way into the hands of local March Militia units and
    mercenaries.

Notable MechWarriors:
    Colonel Gordon Wozniak: Gordon Wozniak was one of the few
    MechWarriors known to have piloted a Rattlesnake during the height of
    Operation Trapdoor. During Clan Jade Falcon?s invasion of Toland,
    Gordon was a member of the Antietam Guards, and he and two
    lancemates stumbled across a Masakari in a blind canyon. The resulting
    firefight saw all three Rattlesnakes swarm the Falcon ?Mech. Although
    Gordon?s first-person account of the battle was published in
    a magazine a couple years after the event,
    historians claim his account doesn?t ring
    true.
    
    Gideon Wozniak: The son of Gordon Wozniak, Gideon served in
    Stone?s Lament during the Jihad, rising to command Third Battalion,
    known as Stone?s Hammers. After Terra was secured in 3078, he resigned
    from the newly formed Republic Armed Forces and went to Solaris VII
    in 3084 to fight Victor Skiles in an arena match filled with bad blood
    and outside interference. Gideon?s personal Rattlesnake featured some
    Clan ER medium lasers, a targeting computer, and an Angel ECM suite.

================================================================================================
Equipment                                                             Mass                      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure:                         Endo Steel                 2.50                     
Engine:                                     315 XL (C)                11.00                     
    Walking MP:                                 7                                               
    Running MP:                              11 [14]                                            
    Jumping MP:                                 7                                               
Heat Sinks (Double):                       14 [28] (C)                 4.00                     
Gyro:                                        Standard                  4.00                     
Cockpit:                                     Standard                  3.00                     
Armor Factor:                                  134                     7.00                     
    Type:                               Ferro-Fibrous (C)                                       

                                    Internal         Armor     
                                    Structure        Value     
    Head:                               3              9       
    Center Torso:                      14             17       
    Center Torso (rear):                               4       
    R/L Torso:                         11             17       
    R/L Torso (rear):                                  4       
    R/L Arm:                            7             14       
    R/L Leg:                           11             17       

================================================================================================
Weapons and Ammo                                       Location          Critical     Tonnage   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ER Small Laser (C)                                        H                 1          0.50             
Jump Jet                                                  CT                1          0.50             
ER Medium Laser (C)                                       RT                1          1.00             
Guardian ECM Suite                                        RT                2          1.50             
Jump Jet                                                  RT                1          0.50             
ER Medium Laser (C)                                       LT                1          1.00             
Jump Jet                                                  LT                1          0.50             
MASC                                                      LT                2          2.00             
2 Medium Lasers                                           RA                2          2.00             
2 Medium Lasers                                           LA                2          2.00             
2 Jump Jets                                               RL                2          1.00             
2 Jump Jets                                               LL                2          1.00             

================================================================================================
Alpha Strike Statistics                                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point Value (PV): 43
TP: BM,  SZ: 2,  TMM: 3,  MV: 18"/14"j
Damage: (S) 4 / (M) 4 / (L) 0,  OV: 0
Armor (A): 4,  Structure (S): 2
Specials: ECM, ENE
 
"Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed." - Michael Pritchard
Copyright © 1995-2025 Scott Bukoski. All rights reserved.
BattleTech, 'Mech, BattleMech, MechWarrior, CityTech, BattleForce, and AeroTech
are registered trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc. © 2025 The Topps Company, Inc., All rights reserved.
Code Release 2.25.4 (2025-10-27T19:08:48-04:00)