Type: Whitworth
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Tonnage: 40
Battle Value: 982
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure: 4
Engine: 160 6
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6
Jumping MP: 4
Heat Sinks: 10 0
Gyro: 2
Cockpit: 3
Armor Factor: 128 8
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head 3 9
Center Torso 12 16
Center Torso (rear) 7
R/L Torso 10 12
R/L Torso (rear) 6
R/L Arm 6 12
R/L Leg 10 18
Weapons
and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage
LRM 10 RT 2 5
Ammo (LRM) 12 RT 1 1
LRM 10 LT 2 5
Ammo (LRM) 12 LT 1 1
Medium Laser H 1 1
Medium Laser RA 1 1
Medium Laser LA 1 1
Jump Jets RL 2 1
Jump Jets LL 2 1
BJ-1 BLACKJACK 128
Mass: 45 tons Chassis: GM BJ-1 Power Plant: GM 180 Cruising Speed: 43 kph Maximum Speed: 64 kph Jump Jets: Whitworth Jetlift
Jump Capacity: 120 meters Armor: StarGuard II
Armament:
2 Whirlwind-L Autocannon 4 Intek Medium Lasers Manufacturer: General Motors
Primary Factory: Kathil (destroyed 2796) Communications System: Dalban Micronics Targeting and Tracking System: Dalban AQ
Overview
General Motors’ original contract with the SLDF called for “a medium BattleMech with insurgency supression and fi re-support capabilities.” The result was the Blackjack.
Despite fulfi lling all its production requirements, the Blackjack unfairly developed a bad reputation and was re-jected by the Star League.
Capabilities
The Blackjack’s original role was to help suppress insurgent forces (mainly in the Periphery) that challenged Star League authority in the decades before its fall. In its secondary role as a fi re support platform, the Blackjack is only a moderate success. The Whirlwind autocannon lacks the fi repower to deal with well-armored targets. However,
the four Intek medium lasers pose a far greater threat at close range. Jump jets were added very late in the design process, but the Whitworth Jetlift units have proven to be an invaluable asset over the centuries.
The Blackjack’s only real drawback was its bad press, which claimed that the entire project was a boondoggle because the ’Mech’s basic design was fl awed and unstable.
It was often said that the ’Mech’s narrow footpads led to falls and reduced its mobility, or that the StarGuard II armor was brittle and tended to fall off . Though none of these claims were ever substantiated, the Blackjack nevertheless fell into disfavor, and few mourned the loss of GM’s produc-tion line.
Deployment
The Blackjack saw little service with the Star League, and production soon halted. Relegated to service with Hegemony planetary militia or sold off to League mem-ber states, the Blackjack can still be found on the battle-fi eld today. The majority now serve with the Capellan Confederation and Federated Suns.
The Confederation has nothing short of contempt for the design. On the other hand, the breakaway St. Ives Compact could not be as choosy, and the Blackjack serves in the St. Ives Lancers.
The Federated Suns deployed the Blackjack in the March Militias until the myth of the Blackjack’s inferiority re-ceived a blow in 3022 on Xhosa VII. Now the Crucis Lancers and Deneb Light Cavalry began taking a renewed interest in the ’Mech.
The infamous Kuritan Captain Mercer Ravannion at-tempted to use his “horde” tactics against the Davion gar-rison on the ice world of Xhosa VII. Cadet Captain Michael Ubodo’s “outmoded and inferior” Blackjacks took the brunt of the Kuritan attack on the icy Plain of Swords. The fi ght-ing was fi erce. Driven by fanaticism, Ravannion threw wave after wave of light ’Mechs into battle without regard for men or material.
Ubodo, a recent NAIS Training Cadre graduate brevet-ted to command of the Xhosa garrison, remained calm.
Utilizing what little terrain there was, he shifted his forces to counter each Kuritan thrust. Then he personally led the counterattack that broke the back of Ravannion’s assault.
Ravannion withdrew to “further refi ne his theories,” and was killed a year later attempting to use his tactic against McKinnon’s Raiders on Fallon II.
Hanse Davion personally decorated Ubodo. The sight of the much-maligned Blackjack standing in line for Davion honors alongside Atlases and Victors has forced some crit-ics to reconsider their opinion of the ’Mech.
Variants
Early Blackjack prototypes diff ered from the produc-tion model signifi cantly. Originally armed with twin GM Flashpoint fl amers and additional heat sinks in place of each autocannon, it lacked jump jets but was powered by a VOX 225 power plant.
Hanse Davion was so impressed by the Blackjack’s showing on Xhosha VII that he began experimenting with new versions. The fi rst thing Davion engineers discovered was that the Blackjack’s instability is a myth. The BJ-1DB replaces the autocannon with large lasers and adds six extra heat sinks. This necessitated the removal of the arm-mounted medium lasers and one ton of armor. The BJ-1DC replaces the jump jets with two torso-mounted small lasers and a heat sink.
In the 3030s, the St. Ives Compact experimented with recovered technology on some of their Blackjacks. One pro-totype that showed great promise replace the autocannon and one heat sink with a pair of Ceres Arms Smasher PPCs.
Three of the remaining heat sinks were replaced with ex-perimental “freezer” double effi ciency units.
Notable MechWarriors
Major Michael Ubodo: Best remembered for his actions in defense of Xhosa VII, Ubodo and his Blackjack, “The Arrow,” was given a permanent commission in the Eighth Deneb Light Cavalry. Rising through the ranks to com-mand, Michael has earned the respect of his troops with his easygoing but effi cient style of command. Major Ubodo is a great proponent of the maligned Blackjack, and he chal-lenges anyone who criticizes it. He is just as fi ercely loyal to his men and to House Davion.
MEDIUM ’MECHS
129
BJ-1 BLACKJACK
Type: Blackjack
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Tonnage: 45
Battle Value: 949
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure: 4.5
Engine: 180 7
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6
Jumping MP: 4
Heat Sinks: 11 1
Gyro: 2
Cockpit: 3
Armor Factor: 136 8.5
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head 3 9
Center Torso 14 18
Center Torso (rear) 9
R/L Torso 11 15
R/L Torso (rear) 6
R/L Arm 7 12
R/L Leg 11 17
Weapons
and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage
AC/2 RA 1 6
AC/2 LA 1 6
Ammo (AC) 45 CT 1 1
Medium Laser RA 1 1
Medium Laser RT 1 1
Medium Laser LA 1 1
Medium Laser LT 1 1
Jump Jets RL 2 1
Jump Jets LL 2 1