Chimera

The Chimera is a mining rig with a mounted laser cannon, acting as a Chinese battle tank in the Fallout 3 add-on Operation: Anchorage.

Background
It was included in the Anchorage Reclamation simulation created by VSS at the behest of General Constantine Chase. Its actual deployment in Alaska is dubious, as unimplemented voice clips of VSS technicians in the add-on suggest that their presence is an outright fabrication by General Chase.

Technology
The Chimera is basically a low chassis propelled by screws, with a laser cannon jury-rigged to the drill tower. Originally, it was used for oil drilling in the Alaskan tundra.

Chimera tanks are roughly on par with sentry bots and deathclaws in terms of durability and combat threat, although they are significantly larger and more imposing in appearance. They are equipped with a unique laser weapon similar to Liberty Prime's eye laser. Chimeras take slightly increased damage when shot in the screws, and noticeably increased damage when shot in the cannon or radar antenna.

Gameplay attributes
Unlike standard armored fighting vehicles, the Chimera can be damaged with infantry weapons such as fragmentation grenade.

Appearances
The Chimera tank appears only in the Fallout 3 add-on Operation: Anchorage.

Behind the scenes

 * The Russian and German military did toy with the idea of using screws for treads. The Russian vehicle, named ZIL-29061, was designed to rescue cosmonauts in extreme off-road conditions.
 * In Greek mythology, a Chimera is a monster with the body of a lion, the heads of a goat and lion, and a snake for a tail. In biology, the name has been used for any organism that appears to have a combination of traits of others. For the vehicle, the name is appropriate, as it is a combination of various pieces of civilian mining equipment and military hardware.

Bugs

 * Sometimes when a grenade is thrown beneath the Chimera, it causes the vehicle to float several yards above the ground.
 * The tanks may not be hostile towards the player when first encountered.(needs confirmed)
 * If in sneak mode when attacking with the sniper rifle, the tank may clip into the floor.