M41 Armoured Personnel Carrier "Smoothhound"
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Production information
Manufacturer:	Chloryne Group
Line:	M
Model:	M41
Class:	Armoured Personnel Carrier
Variant:	M41B Smoothhound M41C Buffalo
Technical information
Length:	19.9m
Width:	7.5m
Height/depth:	10.2m
Max acceleration:	101 kilometers per hour
Engine unit(s):	1 Element Zero engine
Power plant:	1 Element Zero engine
Shielding:	Kinetic Barrier (2158 CE onwards)
Sensor systems:	Radar LADAR
Crew:	1 driver 1 tech support 30-50 marines/soldiers
Usage
Commissioned:	14 June 2153 CE
Decommissioned:	10 September 2201 CE (by Coalition) 31 December 2266 CE (rest of the galaxy)
Role(s):	Armoured personnel transport
Era:	Asari Cycle Pax Galactica Era Human Cycle Reformation Era Dominion Era
Affiliation:	Systems Alliance Systems Coalition United North American States South American Union United Republics of Asian Nations Empire of Oceania Middle Eastern Confederacy Russian Federation European Union North African Protectorate United States of South Africa United Galactic Confederacy Cerberus Dominion Dissident Front Numerous PMCs and security corporations

"We used to call them "war wagons", because that's what it felt like riding in those things. Armed to the teeth, hungry for blood and battle, adrenaline pumping in our ears, waiting as our great armoured sarcophagi carried us into hell."

— Alliance marine describing the M41 Smoothhound.

The M41 Armoured Personnel Carrier (M41 APC), colloquially named the Smoothhound and nicknamed by Alliance servicemen as the War Wagon, was a class of armoured personnel carrier that was employed by the Systems Alliance and briefly by the Systems Coalition. Designed and built by the Chloryne Group for use by the Alliance military, the M41 Smoothhound was the Alliance's dedicated surface troop transport, built to carry companies of marines/soldiers into combat zones whilst keeping them protected from enemy fire. The Smoothhound, while slow moving, was capable of navigating its way over most terrain, using its six-wheeler torque and suspension system, also drawing power from its powerful eezo core, to power its way through any possible battlefield. From the onset the goal was to protect its occupants from every possible threat as was feasibly doable without compromising efficiency, and as such, the Smoothhound was equipped with composite armor and, following the First Contact War, with kinetic barriers. It was also rated as a mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle by Alliance ordnance experts, with its underbelly designed to take multiple detonations from mines whilst protecting its occupants and ensuring continued operation: its armor was also modular, capable of absorbing ballistic impacts from numerous directions: the difficulty in knocking out a Smoothhound earned it the endearing moniker of "war wagon" by those who rode in them. The M41 Smoothhound saw service during the First Contact War, where it was further upgraded following the conflict to be even more effective, going on to further serve in the Skyllian Blitz.

The success of the M41 Smoothhound would ultimately inspire an additional variant, the M41B Smoothhound, which drastically improved the vehicle. Improvements included adding armaments to the vehicle, with anti-air, artillery and combat-capable versions of the vehicle all built and fielded: the mine-resistant elements of the M41 were further improved, allowing it to suffer even more punishment in combat, and a wider troop bay allowed not only for more troops to be carried, but also a small buggy to be carried. Before wholesale replacement of the M41 could commence however, the Reaper War broke out, and the few hundred M41Bs that had been built and deployed were used more sparingly, with the original M41s used across virtually every battlefield where Alliance forces were present: hundreds of M41s were deployed en masse alongside M41Bs to transport the forces of UGC Hammer during the Battle of London. The popularity of the M41 design meant it was also heavily used by Cerberus, who added their own improvements to the vehicle prior to the Reaper War, creating the M41C variant that they called the "Buffalo". Following the war, many captured Buffalos were shipped off to Alliance RnD, and their improvements were integrated into the M41B design. Finally, by 2201 CE, the last M41 Smoothhound was decommissioned, entirely replaced by the M41B. Despite this, prior to the Reaper War, the M41 had been sold to numerous PMCs and corporations for use in their respective armed forces, and virtually every Earth-based nation possessed them as well. The M41 would continue to enjoy a service life beyond 2201 CE, until it was finally replaced by the M41B altogether, with the last M41 Smoothhound being scrapped by 2266 CE.

The M41 Smoothhound was named for the Smooth-hound shark on Earth, as per the Alliance's naming convention for tanks and other armoured land vehicles.