M312 Heavy Recovery Vehicle

Elephant

The Behemoth-class Troop Transport, more commonly known as the Elephant, is a heavy UNSC Marine Corps Mobile Assault, Support, and Recovery Platform. It is only available in multiplayer games on the map Sandtrap. The Elephant has two turrets, a detachable one on the side and a Mongoose can be found in its lower bay. The Elephant seems to serve a similar role to the Shadow of Halo 2.

Specifications
The Elephant is a mobile base and repair vehicle. Twelve soldiers can ride in it and a Mongoose respawns in its forward hold. It is armed with a forward M41 LAAG on the top right and a AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun on the mid left. It is a three storied vehicle with the bottom story, the respawn area that opens out into the rear cargo tray, the second story, a walkway around the cargo ramp and leads onto the driver's cabin then a small, elevated third story where the M41 LAAG is mounted. It features a crane, numerous firing ports and elevated positions for defending it. It shares the same track set-up as the Scorpion Tank, with a set of four tracked bogies along its chassis. Its chassis is as high as it is long, providing stability. An IGN video shows its top speed, driver's cabin and turrets. In multiplayer, it can respawn troops, and holds both the flag and the capture point for certain multi player maps on Capture The Flag mode. The elephant is one of the best weapons on huge battles. These mobile command bases can spawn troops and vehicles into battle quickly. Although it may not seem possible, this Elephant can't be destroyed. In addition to the Elephant's indestructibility, it also grants the pilot a few advantages. Due to the indestructible nature of the elephant, the pilot is immune to damage. This is because vehicles have a "health meter" of sorts. Like the player, they can only take so much damage before "death". Because the Elephant is indestructible so is the operator. He may be bombarded with rockets, riddled with bullets and even pierced by the Spartan Laser, but he will live. The only way harm may come to the pilot is through direct attack, like sticking the pilot or meleeing. The back end of the Elephant is open, so the pilot may be attacked through the large opening to the controls.

Even with these good qualities this vehicle is basically useless in Free For All custom games (as with most vehicles).

Known Elephants

 * E-2073 46833-S - UNSC Elephant stationed on Sandtrap

Trivia

 * If you go to the bottom level of the elephant, there is a screen. If you look at the screen (zoom required) it will say in the top left corner Mobile Assault Support and Recovery Platform Statistics. You can also see a map of Sandtrap.
 * If by some chance you do manage to flip over an Elephant (try it on forge it is easy there), the usual "Hold RB to flip " script dialog is replaced with "Hold RB to flip...wait, what? How did you do that?", referencing the fact that it is the biggest vehicle in the game and that it is impossible for it to be flipped even by Spartans or Elites. That means that probably only heavy cranes or bigger machines could flip it. Also if you hold the RB button while the message is displayed the Elephant will still flip to its regular position.
 * On the left hand side of the red team's Elephant there is a spray-paint graffiti with text that reads "BEHEMOTH" and a cartoony red picture of a woolly mammoth. On the blue team's elephant it says "LEVIATHAN"and has a picture of a blue, whale-like sea creature sporting a mean grimace and wearing a comically tiny golden crown.
 * The Behemoth and Leviathan are two mythological creatures that are enormous in stature and girth. It is said that when the world ends, it is because these two creatures are fighting. The Elephant's size is probably what got them these call signs, and that is another reference to mythology that Bungie uses. The Behemoth is more hippo-like, while the Leviathan is more whale-like. Leviathan is aquatic and the Behemoth is terrestrial.
 * The Elephant by default spawns a Mongoose at the front, but can hold more vehicles.
 * The easiest way to flip an Elephant is to spawn a closed drop pod in the cockpit and throw down a grav lift right near it.
 * It appears to be impossible to drive the Elephant into the minefield, either due to an invisible wall or perhaps the flashing stakes that mark its edge. If you make the Elephant fly as it goes round the map it is kept in by an invisible wall around the edge of the minefield. This invisible only works on the Elephant, there is another one further on that keeps everything else inside the map.
 * It is possible to make the Elephant fly or flip with Halo 3's Forge option. To do this, all of the Fusion Cores and Plasma Batteries need to be placed into the back of the Elephant. Next, adjust the settings of the Fusion Cores so that all of the numbers are 16, then do the same for the Plasma Batteries (only set the numbers to 8). Adjusting the numbers makes it so that there are ALWAYS 16 FCs and 8 PBs on the Elephant. Finally, detonate one of the explosives (driving the Elephant over a Trip Mine works well) and watch it fly.  Yet you don't have to have maximum Fusion Cores and Plasma Batteries, you only need enough to get it up and keep it up, but more explosives means debris and faster flying elephants.
 * The name "Elephant" is a possible reference to Fred Saberhagen's classic science fiction book Empire of the East in which the protagonist defeats an oppressive empire in a post-apocalyptic future using a giant nuclear-powered tank known as the Elephant.
 * You can lift up and, dangerous to anyone else on the Elephant at the time, carry the Elephant around. To do this, in Forge, hook a closed Drop Pod under the Elephants 'control room' and pull the pod away from the Elephant, so that it catches on the visors/windows. Pull away slowly enough and you'll be able to drag the Elephant around as you like.
 * The antigravity chamber: This is an amusing glitch found on Sandtrap. Take one of the two elephants on the map, and drive it to the rear of the other. Drive the elephant into the back of the other Elephant until yours begins to lift into the air. Once you reach a good angle, dismount your Elephant and take its mongoose. Drive it into the back of the other Elephant. It will be tossed into the air helplessly. Any vehicle will exhibit this behavior. It is a fun and amusing trick to play when you are being chased by a warthog. Also, this is an easy way to flip an elephant.
 * The Elephants are capable of fitting a single Scorpion inside when the tank is being carried in forge. This can allow you to wedge the tank inside and pick up the Elephant - unfortunately a little less gracefully than most vehicles.
 * If you move the mongoose, you can fit 2 Choppers on the bottom floor. Landing a Banshee on top will make this a deadly assault vehicle, especially if you have people manning the guns.
 * If you can get a Scorpion Tank on top of it, you can get somebody to shoot its cannon while you drive. The Scorpion Tank on top will also protect you from air attacks.
 * There is a new mod thats been made that make 7 Elephants appear on the map.
 * Elephant was also the name of a German tank used in World War II.
 * A cool thing I learned in forge, is when you flip over the Elephant, leave it flipped and it looks really cool on the inside. Its like the movie possiden trying to get around it. Be careful not to hit the RB button or you'l have to re-flip it.
 * Another cool thing is when its flipped upside down, fill the compartments with fusion coils and set them to instant respawn. Then flip it and it will be the fourth of july in march.

Related Links
Videos
 * http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DzsNrfrBvCs