The Heavy Assault Vehicle/wheeled (HAVw) A6 Juggernaut, also known as the Turbo Tank, was an upgraded version of the A5 Juggernaut heavy assault vehicle.
The A6 Juggernaut model was larger than its predecessor. It measured 30.4 meters in height and 49.4 meters in length. Its interior space was greatly increased to allow for up to three hundred troopers and equipment, a complement of close support craft such as speeder bikes and light airspeeders, or a mix of both. A combination of twelve crew members were required to pilot and control the massive vehicle, although with an automation package, that requirement could be reduced to just two pilots.
An A6 Juggernaut cross-section.
With thick, thermally superconducting armor (capable of absorbing enemy fire and dispersing heat over a wide area) and a heavier load, the A6 Juggernaut could only achieve 160 kilometers per hour, and the turning issues of the A5 model were magnified with the A6. The slowness required for negotiating turns encouraged the A6's use on open terrain rather than urban battlefields.
Weapons systems were also upgraded to include a heavy laser cannon turret, a rapid repeating laser cannon, two medium antipersonnel laser cannons, two twin antipersonnel blaster cannons, and two turreted projectile launchers, loadable with variable-yield concussion grenades for close support or missiles added for anti-armor firepower. Missile range was 30km. Against an unshielded target, a Juggernaut could deliver the heat of a nuclear bomb into a small area.[4]
From a small pod above the vehicle's back, a spotter kept lookout for enemy forces. Though there was a large view of the area, he was an easy target for hostile troops. This observation mast could be retracted when not in use.
The A6 model saw its heaviest use in service of the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars. Due to a flawed direct-delivery system maintained by Kuat Drive Yards during the conflict, some A6 Juggernauts also fell into the hands of the CIS.
After the Clone Wars, the Imperial Army developed sleeker and more versatile combat vehicles. The various Juggernaut models were gradually phased out, and during the Galactic Civil War, they primarily served on battlefronts in the Outer Rim. Some fell into the hands of the Rebel Alliance. It appears that the Heavy Assault Vehicle Transport B5 Juggernaut served as its successor, even though its purpose was different. A6s were deployed in the Battle of Hoth. By 13 ABY, they were one of a number of Clone Wars-era Galactic Republic vehicles being used by the Restored Empire faction of the Imperial Remnant.[3]
Later-generation AT-ATs would borrow certain design-elements from the Juggernauts.
The Juggernaut's designs entered the Expanded Universe via Joe Johnston's sketches of an unused heavy assault vehicle intended for The Empire Strikes Back. It and its role in the film was replaced by the AT-AT.
When chosen to appear in Revenge of the Sith, the realization of its scale and weapon systems greatly outstripped those imagined by the Expanded Universe, being roughly larger by a scale factor of two, or eight times larger in volume.
To accommodate this, the version that appears on-screen was denoted as the A6 model, with the smaller, EU model already denoted as the A5.
The "Clone Turbo Tank" name possibly arose because at the time of the release of the prequels, Toy Biz owned the rights to produce toys named "Juggernaut" (as they had the Marvel license). Though Hasbro now has the rights to this name, The 2009 toy was still named Clone Turbo Tank. LEGO has also made 2 models of a Juggernaut both called "Clone Turbo Tank". The first Clone Turbo Tank Lego set 7261, released in 2005, is an A6 Juggernaut model, as seen in Revenge of the Sith during the Battle of Kashyyyk. The second set 8098, released in August 2010, is a Juggernaut model with specifications similar to that of an A5 Juggernaut, as seen in the Clone Wars series during the Battle of Felucia.