SAV-9

The SAV-9, officially designated the '''Standard Armored Vehicle, Mk. 9''', was a Urcean medium tank primarily in use during the Great War. During the last years of the war and following the war, Urcea sold many of its units to Yonderre, where it would remain in service as the CdC mle 1948 for several years and prove influential in Yonderian armor design in the following years.

History
Based on the experience of the Northern Sarpedon theater of the war, Urcean military designers scrambled to develop a new, general-purpose medium tank to counter the powerful armored vehicles employed by Caphiria's Imperial Legion. The SAV-9, as designed, was intended to replace the SAV-6, SAV-8, and any tank destroyers with a standardized, heavily-armored tank with a 75mm gun. Originally intended to be a new variant of the SAV-6, the SAV-9 took on an entirely new chassis and design by its final outline in 1940. Featuring even more sloped armor than its predecessors and a heavier gun than any medium or light tank employed by Urcea through that point, the SAV-9 was considerably more advanced than its predecessors and most contemporaries. After years of problems with prototypes, the first production models were introduced to the Sarpedon front in May of 1942, but these models saw various problems with reliability and questionable design choices including crew escape hatches and line of sight for tank commanders. These problems kept the SAV-9's predecessors in the field until 1945, when the SAV-9's problems were remedied with upgraded models, which included higher speeds. The SAV-9 became the tank of choice for the Royal and Imperial Army during the late 1940s, and the higher speeds of later models allowed the SAV-9 to replace light tanks, such as the SAV-7, in maneuver roles. Many historians have called the SAV-9 the first (or prototype) main battle tank given its universal functionality. The lessons of its universal applications lead to the design of its successor, the SAV-10, which began service in 1948.

In Yonderian service
The Army Procurement Command of Yonderre had long sought a replacement for its aging fleet of Somua cavalry tanks. Four SAV-9 tanks were bought for testing in 1947. Most impressed by the SAV-9's performance, the tank was greenlit for service as the Char de Combat modéle 1948 and the Army Procurement Command put in an order for additional vehicles. The first battalion of the Guard Cuirassier Division was the first Yonderian unit to be equipped with CdC mle 1948s, the battalion reaching full complement by late 1949. The tankers responded very favourably to their news vehicles, citing the increased armour protection, weapons capability and speed as great improvements.

The CdC mle 1948 served as the main battle tank of the Yonderian armoured divisions until its eventual replacement by the AMY-58, although it was not until 1965 that it was fully replaced. It served alongside the AMY-13t and AMY-25t light tanks, whose designs both drew on that of the SAV-9. The CdC mle 1948 was well-liked by its crews, though it was known to suffer from transmission failures and required frequent maintenance, even more so than in its Urcean career due to its advanced age. By the time it was withdrawn from Yonderian service, more than 20% of Yonderre's fleet of CdC mle 1948s had been scrapped and scavenged for spare parts.