Mammoth Mk. III

"Armoured superiority."

- Mammoth pilot

The '''Mammoth Mk. III (GDI designation: Mammoth 27''') is a GDI heavy assault tank that entered service prior to the Third Tiberium War. At the time it replaced the Mammoth Mk. II walker as GDI's premier land assault unit.

History
"The Mammoth tank is GDI's advanced mobile armor. Its resilience and firepower is unmatched."

- EVA detailing the tank Following the Second Tiberium War, GDI concluded that the technology present did not make widespread use or deployment of walkers an optimal solution. The Mammoth Mk. II walker was slated to be supplanted by the equally durable, but far less powerful and expensive Mammoth Mk. III. This decision was not without its detractors; Colonel Nick Parker opposed the discontinuation of the massive walker and claimed it was the result of "bureaucratic penny pinching" rather than an appreciation of military realities (it turned out that GDI research found walker legs highly vulnerable to sabotage, which may have had a lot to do with the decision). Nonetheless, production of the Mammoth Mk. II ceased in 2039, with the Mammoth Mk. III subsequently entering production in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Notable deployments
During the Third Tiberium War the Mammoth Mk III was first deployed in Alexandria, where they proved very efficient in destroying Nod's primary African port and base. The Mammoth would later serve in all remaining battles throughout the war including at Sarajevo, New Eden and the Italian Red Zone, however it did seemingly meet its match against the Scrin airforce and the Annihilator Tripods.

Legacy
Although these tanks still served in some capacity as late as 2074 (in BZ-1, Paris), they were largely replaced by next generation Mammoth Tanks and their revived walker brother by 2077.

Overview
The Mammoth tank is designed with long-range operations in harsh environments in mind. For this purpose, it is covered in thick, hexagonal armor. The vehicle is designed to incorporate an organic engineer crew to maintain it in the field. They could independently repair the vehicle to 50% effectiveness. The Mammoth Tank's fire power and armor were so impressive to the extent that it can destroy three Predator tanks in combat and still have around half its health left over. Against Avatars and Annihilator Tripods, the Mammoth Tank will generally emerge victorious.

Technical specifications
It has a distinctive H shape that comes from General Combat Hull, Inc.'s patented quad-drive tread system, originally developed for the Bull tank. Each tread has two independent high-torque HTSC (High Temperature Superconductor) electromagnetic motors. The main power source are dual Mil-Spec CVJF (Combat Vehicle Jet Fuel) ducted turbine generators. This combination gives the Mammoth speed, durability, maneuverability and IR (heat signature) reduction.

Armament
The tank is equipped with dual 150-mm cannons on the turret (which can be later upgraded to railguns) and comes, in the vein of earlier models, with dual 4.75-inch missile pods attached at the sides, specially designed to attack infantry and aircraft.

Upgrades
An upgrade replacing the cannon with railguns became available prior to the Third Tiberium War, and vehicles continued to be retrofitted right through to the end of that conflict. Additional upgrade options dating to post-TW2 years include adaptive armor and railgun accelerators; these were mostly found in Mammoths employed by the Steel Talons experimental combat technology division.

G-150
The G-150 Mammoth variant carried an infantry squad. G-150's were employed by the 22nd Infantry Division during the Third Tiberium War.

Mammoth Armored Reclamation Vehicle
While not strictly a variant, the Mammoth Armored Reclamation Vehicle was a Super-heavy tank primarily derived from the Mammoth Mk. III.

Abilities
This vehicle can also crush most tier 1 and 2 vehicles, as well as heavy infantry.

Game unit
The Mammoth Tank is one of the most expensive units in GDI's arsenal (in the vanilla game it is the 2nd most expensive unit), but it is also considered to be GDI's ace in the hole in the late game; it has very heavy armor and very high firepower, and is the ultimate expression of GDI's attitude towards armor superiority.

Compared to the Scrin Annihilator Tripod, or the Nod Avatar Warmech, the Mammoth Tank is the slowest but also the most durable. In terms of firepower and general performance, it is the most cost-efficient for armored battles—being able to match and even overpower its equivalents in a head-on engagement. While its primary weapons are dual cannons, it also classically features dual missile launchers that each can fire a salvo of two missiles at any type of target, giving the Mammoth the ability to attack aircraft and assisting it in attacking anything else.

Mammoths excel at destroying enemy ground vehicles. Almost any type of enemy vehicle aside from other factions' equivalents are guaranteed not to last long in a direct confrontation with a Mammoth unless they have numerical superiority. Several Mammoths attacking and charging forward at once can quickly overwhelm most types of targets and can cut through the defenses of all but the most heavily guarded bases, then proceed to destroy the buildings within.

The sheer size of the Mammoth Tank allows it to aggressively plow through most types of ground units; it can crush anything that isn't a walker-type vehicle, another Mammoth Tank, or a commando-type unit. However, it has weakened side armor, rear armor, and turns slowly. Charging through enemy armor and infantry is not always a good idea since it may take more damage than if it simply stands still and keeps firing. Due to its slow speed it isn't difficult for enemies to evade being crushed, or to simply flank the vehicle, exposing the vulnerable side armor, either. Careful management or exploitation of this weakness is important, depending on if a player is fighting against or fighting with Mammoth tanks.

Mammoth tanks are vulnerable to aircraft; because their missile launchers reload slowly, they are not reliable at bringing down groups of most types of aircraft other than Nod Venoms or Scrin Stormriders; so commanders need to escort them with more reliable anti-air units such as Pitbulls, Slingshots, or Guardian APCs if they expect the Mammoth to receive fire from enemy aircraft. Still, the launchers are helpful in allowing the Mammoth to defend itself, especially against clumped aircraft as they do area-effect damage.

Traditionally, like most tanks, the Mammoth is vulnerable to infantry attacks. It is especially vulnerable because it is slow moving, so it cannot hope to outrun infantry if it is in danger. Upgrading its cannons to Railguns helps it fight infantry more manageably, but still not effectively (especially against cannon-resistant Zone Troopers or Black Hand), so it may require some anti-infantry escorts. Its missile launchers are also far more effective against infantry than its unupgraded twin cannons are due to dealing area-effect damage, but the slow fire rate of the launchers plus their incapability to accurately hit moving infantry still makes them an unreliable defense.

Another key weakness of Mammoth Tanks is the combination of their slow speed, vast size and short attack range (compared to other Tier 3 units)—which renders them highly vulnerable as easy targets to be destroyed or at least damaged by enemy artillery. Small groups of Juggernauts or Specters, masses of Beam Cannons, and even harassment from Annihilator Tripods are all effective ways of countering Mammoth Tank attacks. If a Nod commander charges several EMP coil-upgraded Raider Buggies into a mass of Mammoth Tanks then shuts them down, they can be picked off before they can come back online.

To counter the slow speed of the Mammoth, which naturally leads to it often being worn down from harssing attacks as it moves across the battlefield, GDI commanders often supplement them with Battle Bases which can repair them in the field and provide some extra anti-air cover. In Kane's Wrath, the Steel Talons subfaction has access to the Adaptive Armour upgrade which confers EMP immunity and improved damage resistance—allowing their Mammoth Tanks to absorb substantially more damage and better survive concentrated attacks (such as Super Weapons or airstrikes), since it can sacrifice some of its firepower for more armor when needed.

Pros

 * Can crush most Tier 1 and Tier 2 units
 * Has strong armor and immense health, can be strengthened further with the Adaptive armour upgrade
 * Incredibly difficult to destroy at Heroic status, especially with Adaptive armour; rivals base Epic units
 * Railgun upgrade drastically increases its already impressive firepower
 * Missiles can ward off light aircraft, does splash damage to infantry and has increased effectiveness against lighter ground units
 * Very difficult to deter in large numbers
 * Does not leave husks when destroyed
 * Cheaper than Annihilator tripods and Purifiers
 * Adaptive armour upgrade for Steel Talons gives immunity to EMP strikes
 * Railgun Accelerators for Steel Talons can negate slow firing speed
 * Unlike heavy assault units of the other factions, cannot be destroyed by Commandos' charges

Cons

 * Very slow; can be out-maneuvered by any other unit except for the Scrin Mothership
 * Slow rate of fire, especially with Railgun upgrade (can be offset with Railgun Accelerator upgrade)
 * Expensive to produce at 2500 credits per unit, only available at Tier 3, and Railguns take a lot of time to research and cost 5000 (4000 in Kane's Wrath) credits; expensive to bring to their full potential
 * Cannot effectively deal with swarms of anti-armor units
 * Missiles fire too slowly to threaten aircraft
 * Outranged by Avatar and Annihilator Tripods; significantly threatened by other factions' artillery units
 * Vulnerable to Fanatics
 * Ineffective against advanced infantry
 * Does not actually self repair unless Heroic; massive health pool makes it painfully difficult to repair

Created

 * Mammoth tank awaiting orders!
 * Mammoth tank ready!
 * Mammoth tank assembled!

Select

 * Mammoth tank!
 * Unrivalled!
 * Armour superiority!
 * Right here!
 * What do you have?
 * Let's get to the front!
 * Yes, sir!

Moving

 * Moving...
 * Unstoppable!
 * Pushing forward!
 * Taking it there!
 * Rollin'.
 * Mammoth advancing!
 * Yes, sir!

Attacking

 * Fire!
 * Take 'em down!
 * Drop 'em!
 * Flatten 'em.
 * Roll over them!
 * Take 'em out!
 * Let's have some fun!

Move to Attack

 * Close in!
 * Move it up!
 * Going in!

Retreating

 * Back to base!
 * Turn it Around!

Development
The Mammoth tank was modelled by Mike Colonnese.

Appearances
The Mammoth Mk. III appears in Tiberium Wars, Kane's Wrath and Tiberian Twilight motion comic. In the latter, it appears as wreckage in the Paris invasion scene.