Centauri Coutari Strike Cruiser

[pasuuli]

Here's an attempt to build a ship that bridges the gap between Sentri and Vorchan. I call it the Coutari, assuming a coutari really is a Centauri short-sword.

Any ideas for the weapons loadout on this ship?

Coutari Strike Cruiser
Centauri Republic

  1,200 t    Hull C, streamlined, TL14
    140 t    Armor-14
     60 t    Hyperspace drive-E
     47 t    Maneuver drive-Z (6G)
     73 t    Power plant-Z
    144 t    Power plant fuel (6 weeks)
     40 t    Bridge
      -        Model/6fib
      5 t    Very advanced electronics
     36 t    Repair drones (2)
    240 t    Hangar for Sentri fighters (6)
    300 t    Bay weapons (6)
      6 t    Triple turrets (6)
     88 t    Staterooms (22)
     22 t    Common space, storage

* Assume: Sentri fighter is 20t.
* Assume: "hangar" requirements = 2x smallcraft volume.
* Removed the Screen and Damper. B5 doesn't use those.
* Beefed up the armor.
* Added another 2 weeks power plant fuel.
* Swapped out a bay for another Sentri and another turret. Rationale: a wing in B5 is 6 fighters.

 

[klingsor]

Interesting. I suspect TB5 might make changes to the ship design rules that will make this obsolete but the only thing I would quibble with are the fighters and that is a problem with carriers in general – you need more space for them than the fighters themselves actually occupy to service, rearm and generally look after them. 100% is workable for small craft because they are serviced on the ground and do not see the intensive use that fighters do. You really need something closer to 150% volume. This is of course working from the real world model but as it is the only one we have we do not have much choice in the matter. You might argue that you have plenty of space, you just need a vac suit to use it but I do not agree – it would make the work much more difficult, slower and more dangerous, who wants to be in a vac suit in a space battle or more importantly what happens when the ships needs to change course? You are not protected by her compensators so are subject to her acceleration which is going to be very, very bad.

 

[pasuuli]

I agree.

(I see you read my mind about the Sentri fighters displacing 20 tons each )

Once High Guard comes out, then we can take a crack at the Vorchan. I'll make it 20,000 tons to start out with, and see what tweaks it'll need.

 

[klingsor]

Nice. I like Babylon 5 and Traveller looks like the first game system to be a good fit for it., indeed for any military based SF even those with fantasy technology – and big saucer shaped ship hull sections. All you really need to add are the races and some technology tweaks and off we go. For designs I suspect we could get away with 'counts as' quite a lot. So design the big ass beams the Earthforce DDs had as small spinal mounts? The effects might be different but the costs, power requirements and volume would be the same.

Sometimes I would really like to see Traveller use mass as well as volume in ship designs, carriers would be a lot simpler to design then and it would be so much more realistic. The drawback would be variable accelerations dependant on the ships current mass which even if you simplified it could be a sod. Worth doing I suspect. Do you risk dumping fuel or cargo to increase your acceleration? Could we get away with using compensator technology as a limit – so you can compensate for 6G but not anything higher – and you have to build ships to withstand a certain amount of G and it you exceed it you risk structural failure which is not good.

 

[Jame Rowe]

I think I'll snatch the stats for this, but I'll need to rewrite the backstory to bring it in line with my own campaign-in-the-planning.

 

[pasuuli]

No problem Jame.

I've updated the design a bit with some advice from the Babylon 5 forum.

Here's my take on the Sentri. I'm not sure at all of the drive and power plant volumes, but I guess they'd be less efficient than the core rules... but then I don't know by what factor.

The "MP" drive is a combo maneuver drive and power plant, a single mass-produced module made for small craft and intended to not require an engineer.

(20 t)  Hull, streamlined (wing-shaped), TL14.
  3 t     Armor-14
 10 t     MP-drive-"small K" (10G)
  1 t     Fuel
  1 t     Turret
  5 t     Cockpit, airlock, extra space, etc.