The Templin Institute has never been exactly secretive about our love for tanks. But in
this economy, it’s just not practical to drive one on your daily commute, believe us, we’ve
tried. Thankfully, the sponsor of this video has the solution. War Thunder is an online military
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The Primarchs were the greatest creations of the Emperor of Man.
Twenty engineered sons, in whom each the dream of their father was carried.
They were bred to be perfect warriors, generals, diplomats and statesmen,
and each would find in the Imperium of Man a distinct role for which they were uniquely suited.
Leman Russ, the Great Wolf, would find his calling… as an executioner.
How one primarch might have fared against another in battle has always been a captivating field of
study bordering on heresy. There can be little doubt however that Leman Russ was amongst the
finest warriors to ever serve the Emperor and his Imperium. On his ancient homeworld of Fenris,
tales are told of how as a young man, he single handedly defeated entire armies of rival kings,
while the Imperium still rejoices in victories Russ achieved during the Great Crusade.
It is incontrovertible that untold numbers of heretics, xenos and demons fell to
Russ’s great weapons; “Mjalnar, the Sword of Balenight”, the murderous “Axe of Helwinter”,
or the masterly crafted bolter “Scornspitter”. Yet even if every tale is true, and tens of
millions were vanquished by Russ alone, this grim tally is nothing, wholly insignificant,
compared to the toll taken on the enemies of mankind by the machine that now bears his name.
For though the Great Wolf vanished over ten millennia ago,
the terrible work he performed as executioner continues in the Leman Russ Main Battle Tank.
The most ubiquitous armored fighting vehicle within Imperial service,
the Leman Russ can be found on nearly every battlefield across the galaxy. It has become famed
for its versatility, fulfilling a wide variety of roles in every imaginable environment. Though
primarily deployed by the Astra Militarum, and the Planetary Defense Forces of individual worlds,
it is not unheard of for Leman Russ tanks to be operated by other Imperial institutions. Elements
of the Adeptus Astartes, Adeptus Mechanicus, Militarum Tempestus, Legio Cybernetica,
Adepta Sororitas, and Adeptus Arbites have all been known to make use of the vehicle, either in
special circumstances, or as a permanent fixture in their operating forces. The Space Wolves
Chapter in particular was once known to have once maintained a fleet of Leman Russ variants.
This was a violation of the Codex Astartes that goverenered their military structure,
but one overlooked to allow the sons of Leman Russ himself to utilize the namesake of their primarch.
In a notable stain on the vehicle's honor, Leman Russ tanks are also commonly appropriated by
forces hostile to the Imperium. Its pervasiveness across the galaxy has ensured that it is routinely
seized by heretics and traitors, or xenos backed cults that have overthrown Imperial worlds.
The Tau Empire is known to make use of the tank within its human auxiliary forces,
dutifully maintaining vehicles obtained from defecting Imperial units and planets. The
Orks likewise maintain a great love for the tank, salvaging wrecks or “liberating” Imperial vehicles
whenever possible. These latter tanks are inevitably modified with bizarre additions
or alterations heavily degrading the vehicles overall performance.
Much of the success found by the Leman Russ tank is owed to its comparatively simple design and
ease of operation. 7.08 meters long, 4.86 wide, 4.42 in height and weighing roughly 60 tonnes,
the vehicle is one of the smaller and more compact designs of its type within Imperial
service. It can be operated by a crew of four, with a commander, driver, main gunner and loader.
Its primary weapon is a 120mm smoothbore cannon, with a secondary hull-mounted lascannon or heavy
bolter mounted on the vehicles forward hull. Its plasteel armor is between 100 and 200mm thick,
with protection prioritized on the vehicle's turret and front at the expense of its flanks
and rear. With a properly tuned engine, a Leman Russ can attain speeds of roughly 70km an hour,
though in most cases 30km/h is considered a more reliable top speed.
In either case, it is capable of using almost any combustible liquid or fuel, with
a range of roughly 170 terran kilometers. Auspex multi-scanners and inertial dampening technology
allow the vehicle to fire accurately, even while moving quickly across unfavorable terrain.
While these specifications represent the standard model of Leman Russ tank,
it is impossible to know how many in service have actually been built to this standard.
As with all materiel produced in such enormous numbers within the Imperium,
there are significant variations in output from world to world or even factory to factory.
There is no aspect of a Leman Russ that might not be changed to take advantage of readily
available local resources, or circumvent ongoing shortages. In the same way, the methods by which
the vehicles are produced can drastically affect their final condition and attributes. A Leman Russ
tank constructed by a rudimentary factory on a primitive Feudal World, might be unrecognizable
when compared to those manufactured by designated Forge Worlds of the Adeptus Mechicanus.
As a consequence, every production line features its own unique quirks and eccentricities. Most of
these are merely cosmetic, while some can deeply affect the performance of the vehicle itself.
33 patterns are recognized by the Adeptus Mechanicus, but the true number is certainly
far higher and potentially in the tens of thousands. Mars-Alpha Pattern Leman Russ
tanks are known to have a slightly larger chassis, allowing for greater crew comfort and additional
communications equipment. Solar Patterns by contrast were first built for the ancient Solar
Auxilia regiments of the Imperial Army, and fitted with greater survival and exploration systems.
It is the alternation of the tank’s armament however, that has resulted in the majority
of Leman Russ Variants. These are typically designated within Imperial service by an
affix applied to the Leman Russ name. Among the most common is the Leman Russ Demolisher,
replacing its standard issue 120mm cannon with a larger-bore, but shorter ranged howitzer intended
to destroy fortified positions. The Punisher is an anti-infantry tank, with a single turret mounted
gatling cannon, while the rarer Vanquisher is equipped with a longer barreled anti-tank cannon.
Leman Russ Incinerators, Huntsman, Exterminators,
Eradicators, Annihilators and hundreds of other variants are all less common,
specializing in everything from tank-hunting to the eradication of macro-predators.
Other prominent variations include heavy bolter or flamer weapon sponsons to either
side of the vehicle, increasing its crew to 6 though severely limiting their ability to
evacuate the tank during an emergency. Less obvious alterations might be the addition
or removal of track guards, auger arrays, dozer blades, searchlights, minesweepers,
single use hunter-killer missiles, or pintle mounted small arms or light weapons. Furthermore,
Leman Russ tanks are consistently given field modifications by their respective crews,
often forms of local camouflage or supplementary improvised armor.
The enormous number of Leman Russ variants, the disparity across its production lines,
and the diverse threats it is expected to confront, makes the overall effectiveness of
the vehicle difficult to ascertain. On most battlefields it has developed a reputation
as reliable and adaptable, resilient even in the face of the most powerful enemy weaponry
while delivering fearsome firepower in return.
Here even a single Leman Russ can provide an enormous boost in morale to its accompanying
infantry. In other theaters, it is widely despised as a cumbersome, slow vehicle whose
prominent silhouette makes it an easy target and more of a danger to its own crew than the enemy.
Generally, the Imperium has found the Leman Russ to be effective in most conditions
and it continues to fulfill a key role within Imperial strategy and capabilities. When possible,
it is most successful when part of a mechanized vanguard advancing across open terrain,
or when supported by infantry or other vehicles in less favorable battlefield conditions.
A Leman Russ will ultimately only be as effective as its accompanying elements.
The Leman Russ has been in continuous production and operation for over 10,000 years and predates
the foundation of the Imperium itself. It was likely developed at some point in the Dark Age
of Technology and then lost during the Age of Strife that followed. It was rediscovered
by the Space Wolves Legion in their liberation of Nova Borilia, a xenos infested Hive World.
The vehicle’s specifications were included in the surviving fragments of an ancient Standard
Template Construct, or STC. Grateful to have this piece of lost knowledge returned to them,
the Mechanicum of Mars honored the Space Wolves by naming the tank for their Primarch; Leman Russ.
Despite unfounded rumors that the design had in fact been that of ancient agricultural equipment,
the Leman Russ Main Battle Tank found immediate success at the forefront of the Great Crusade.
It was used by both the loyalists and traitors during the Horus Heresy, and has been present
in every war fought by the Imperium across the millennia that followed. Leman Russ tanks roared
across the wastes of Armageddon and the killing fields of Vraks. They scoured the surface of a
1000 worlds during the Macharian Crusade and endured the heavy toll of the Sabbat Worlds.
They have dueled with the eldritch machines of the Drukhari and stood firm against the
endless swarms of the Tyranid hive fleets. There is no foe they have not met in battle and spoken
to the enemy in the words of the Great Wolf himself: “Here I am and here shall I die.”
Thanks again to War Thunder for sponsoring our investigation into the Leman Russ Main Battle
Tank. Use the link in the description to download War Thunder on your platform of your choice.
And one hour after this video goes live, we’ll be streaming War Thunder
on our Twitch Channel. We’d love to get a Templin Institute regiment up and running,
so hop in your tank of choice, and we’ll see you on the battlefield.