War Machine
- You may be looking for the early model of Dalek casing.
War Machines were robots built by the human slaves of the supercomputer WOTAN in a plot to take over the Earth in July 1966. Functioning as mobile weapons platforms, they were taken into UNIT custody and designated as Drone Tanks.
Design and abilities[[edit] | [edit source]]
The War Machines were box-like and incapable of advanced movement or any great speed, travelling slower than an average walking speed. They had two mechanical hammer-headed arms for short-range attacking, two guns for striking further distances, and a tank-like central track seemingly for movement. They had flashing lights on the front of the box. (TV: The War Machines)
History[[edit] | [edit source]]
The War Machines were robots designed by the super-computer WOTAN and built by its human slaves in its plot to conquer Earth. WOTAN processed the thoughts that machines should become the dominant force on Earth and removal of humans was necessary. Out of the twelve War Machines that WOTAN ordered built, only two of them were activated.
The first War Machine attacked and killed many of the soldiers in the army detachment Orange Patrol during the raid on the warehouse and was undamaged as it jammed the soldiers' weapons using some form of neutalizing power (the men's guns failed to fire and grenades lobbed at the machine did not explode). Before it could kill the remaining soldiers and the First Doctor, it shut down because it was unfinished. The second War Machine, (TV: The War Machines) Valk, (PROSE: The War Machines) was captured by the Doctor in a magnetic field. He then reprogrammed it to destroy WOTAN, which it did. (TV: The War Machines)
Legacy[[edit] | [edit source]]
Shortly after establishing UNIT-UK, General Farquhar lamented that UNIT could have helped with the War Machines if they had set up earlier. (TV: Survivors of the Flux)
On 20 July some time after their destruction, their defeat was covered in the newspaper Daily Reflection. (TV: The Faceless Ones)
In 1967, UNIT was embarrassed to have missed the Post Office Tower invasion by the War Machines and brought in Corporal Lethbridge-Stewart to prevent it in the future. (TV: Survivors of the Flux)
Following their defeat by the First Doctor, the War Machines were taken into government custody. Given their seemingly futuristic circuitry and the fact the incident was closely-followed by an invasion by the Cybermen, government officials gave the War Machines to UNIT, fearing that the machines may have been alien in origin.
UNIT archivists discovered that the War Machines were networked together and could be reprogrammed to follow their commands. Becoming part of the Black Archive's armour and designated as Drone Tanks, UNIT often deployed them when dealing with aliens that had superior armour or advanced weaponry, lasting to the end of the second millennium. Though they were sometimes called "square Daleks" by cheeky UNIT personnel, the Drone Tanks were very effective and limited casualties, especially given their ability to jam conventional firearms. They were controlled via a computer console, although one operator could effectively give orders to multiple Drone Tanks.
With the turn of the millennium and and leaps in robotics technologies, the Drone Tanks were largely replaced by aerial drones that could slip into places unseen and still pack a lot of firepower. However, the Drone Tanks could still make an impressive appearance whenever UNIT was called upon to make a frontal assault against a hardened enemy. (GAME: The Black Archive [+]Loading...["The Black Archive (game)"])
The Third Doctor hallucinated about War Machines when the Keller Machine turned his worst fears against him. (TV: The Mind of Evil)
The Law Machines were based on the War Machines, allowing WOTAN to take control of them. (AUDIO: The Law Machines)
In 2010, UNIT Underbase contained a War Machine salvaged from their invasion of Earth. (COMIC: The Age of Ice)
After Sutekh's Death Wave in 2024, (TV: Empire of Death [+]Loading...["Empire of Death (TV story)"]) the Fifteenth Doctor noted the War Machine as one of the threats which could return to Earth in his contributions to UNIT's Gold Archive. Giving their chances of return as 6/10, the Doctor warned that, the way "you lot" were chasing after AI, an upgrade and redesign could see what he called "War Machines v.2" back on the streets worldwide; ironically, he suggested that an AI could probably give odds on the matter. (PROSE: Watch Out... Who's About? [+]Loading...["Watch Out... Who's About? (feature)"])
Centuries in the future, historians of New Jupiter mistakenly believed that the War Machines were designed by the General Post Office to deliver mail. Consequently, replicas of War Machines were part of the Twentieth Century section of EarthWorld. (PROSE: EarthWorld)
In the video game Happy Deathday, played by Izzy Sinclair on the Time-Space Visualiser, a War Machine was among a host of "every single enemy" that the Doctor had ever defeated, who were assembled by the Beige Guardian and pitted against the Doctor's first eight incarnations. (COMIC: Happy Deathday)
