Solomani Confederation (Military)

[Condottiere]

Solomani Navy: Armaments and Pop-Up Torpedo Barbettes

Barbettes are five tonnes, and two torpedoes are presumably exactly five tonnes, which common sense would indicate they shouldn't be able to fit in there.

That would mean there's no space for handling equipment, and probably even less for reloading equipment.

Pop Ups should also increase stealth.

 

[AndrewW]

Solomani Navy: Armaments and Pop-Up Torpedo Barbettes

Barbettes are five tonnes, and two torpedoes are presumably exactly five tonnes, which common sense would indicate they shouldn't be able to fit in there.

That would mean there's no space for handling equipment, and probably even less for reloading equipment.

That part I've never agreed with (a barbette holding 2 torpedoes).

Would still be possible to load from below though.

 

[Condottiere]

Solomani Navy: Armaments and Pop-Up Torpedo Barbettes

You can reload them, but you should consider how that could be accomplished. Let's ignore costs, which would be even more speculative than tonnages.

1. First, you lock the barbette into position.

2. A hatch pops up at an angle behind the barbette; your ship just gained three tonnes in volume.

3. The torpedo reloads slide out of the hatch and into the barbette.

4. The hatch pops shut and the barbette is released.

For that operation you should allocate six tonnes for the reloading hatch; you could allocate more tonnage for a torpedo magazine.

You could have reloading done directly underneath the barbette, but unless you allocate a lot more space, the torpedoes have to lifted vertically into the brbette, and I'm fairly sure that the turntable would force the launchers to be spread wider apart, and the reloading mechanisms would have to be split.


I'm not sure how much the designers were inspired by real life, but you could have upto five torpedo tubes connected, though I'm sure that there's nothing preventing the creation of a barbette small enough to hold only one torpedo, though suspect you want to have a reloading mechanism beneath that.

One variant, if you don't mind a rather prominent kinetic sculpture sitting on top of your ship:

That would make it possible for a vertical reloading.

Personally, I rather go with submarine variant torpedo launches, but let's assume that target acquisition is more faster and more accurate this way.

 

[Condottiere]

Solomani Navy: Scoutships


1. Gazelle Class

Standard scoutship since the beginning of the Solomani Confederation, it's a two hundred tonne disc shaped tech level twelve design with a performance of jump three and manoeuvre three.

The Gazelle served until the end of the Rim War, when the class was retired and large numbers ended up in private hands. Common sight throughout the Solomani sphere.


2. Stingray Class

Successor to the Gazelle class, it's a two hundred tonne flying wing tech level thirteen design with factor four jump and manoeuvre performance.

Popular in the reconnaissance role, as well as a medium range shuttle, it's performance allows it to keep up with the main fleet elements, and it's arrival in a system may be as the harbinger of a Solomani task force.


3. Blackbird Class

Less robust than a Stingray, the Blackbird is used primarily as a fast courier in the Navy's Pentacle communications network due to it's capability to jump five parsecs on a single tank, and ability to maintain a factor five acceleration.

The Blackbird is also used as a long range scout, and it's suspected that some have or will be retrofitted as deep strike commerce raiders, despite a two hundred tonne hull that would limit crew endurance and armament.

 

[Infojunky]

That part I've never agreed with (a barbette holding 2 torpedoes).

What's the problem with that?

 

[AndrewW]

What's the problem with that?

Torpedoes are 2.5 tons each, a barbette is 5 tons, there would be no room for anything else such as launch mechanism, feeder and so forth.

 

[Captain Jonah]

What's the problem with that?

Torpedoes are 2.5 tons each, a barbette is 5 tons, there would be no room for anything else such as launch mechanism, feeder and so forth.

A Torpedo has a volume of 2.5Dtons for purposes of storage and whatever, doesn't mean that's how big it is and that can and in all likelihood does include the pod it comes in along with relevant systems.

Something I find interesting is the idea that, in a battle where you are facing an enemy tens of thousands of Kilometers away you need to actually point the torpedoes at the enemy through a moving mount. Given that the ship can rotate on its long axis and has an entire turn to swing back and forth a Barbette could simply be the frame that holds two torpedoes in their packing cases and data links to control said torpedoes. Swing the ship or rotate it so the Barbette is vaguely towards the enemy and fire then eject the now empty packing into space.

Loading from a magazine simply means sliding in another packing container with a torpedo inside which can require little in the way of mechanisms, in fact the Barbette could simply be the launch doors and two launch tubes while the adjacent magazine is a cargo area with vertical torpedo in containers and a simple system to push the containers around.

Data links and some of the required cargo handling can be built into the packing given the price of the things.

 

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Armaments

Missiles and torpedoes are incredibly cheap, especially if you factor in that contemporary weapon systems seem to invariably cost more each tech level.

In the case of torpedoes, bays seem to function as magazine/launcher combinations. There might be some platform stage between barbettes and fifty tonne bays, but you'll have to invent them.

I've mentioned my preference for the archetypical submarine torpedo tube, though that trope works best for four hundred tonne and below warships.

Fixed directional tubes probably have trouble targetting at close range, which may explain the barbettes.

 

[Anonymous]

The trouble with turning your ship to face the enemy to launch your missile is the launching ship's velocity, if your target is in your direction of travel when launching all well and good but if you're shooting off axis your missile has the momentum of the launching ship that it has to counter before it starts in on it's journey to the target.

On a sea based ship that so many of these arguments are based on, the ship's speed is trivial compared to the speed of the missile and can be ignored, I know Traveller's ship speed is abstracted to avoid the wonders of vector movement and ignore the real life issues of how difficult it is to change direction at huge speeds so maybe this can all be hand waved away...

But still... it's silly.

I'm increasingly of the opinion that ship combat should be abstracted as much as possible, no counters should ever be placed on a map and that those wishing to do the counter thing should play a different game!

BAH HUMBUG!!!

OK, I know there has always been a starship combat game alongside the role playing game and that Traveller has a significant number of people (are they just the ones that post to forums?) that are into the military side of things so I have now made my post moot... bollox...



Yeah, I know, the font is white, the background is white...

I started writing/ranting and realised it was a game and nothing I said mattered but I still wanted to say it...

 

[Infojunky]

What's the problem with that?

Torpedoes are 2.5 tons each, a barbette is 5 tons, there would be no room for anything else such as launch mechanism, feeder and so forth.

Are they? Think about it (Drawing it out helps as well) Torpedoes are presented as 5 ton per pair as cargo.. Drawn out as a pair of 5 square long devices in most of the published deckplans. From that we can safely make the assumption that each torpedo is both a square (1.5 m) wide and tall, thus ergo the actual volume of the device is 2.5 tons, with a equivalent amount of volume being required for handling equipment. Thus the Barbette is cool with plenty of room for two torpedoes and soft launch system and a local control station.

 

[Condottiere]

Think about it.

I usually allocate half a tonne for local fire control and the gamer chair.

Even if the barbette turns out to be a skeletal frame for holding one or two canisters, the canisters would still take up volume, plus how ever much fractionally the frame adds to total volume. And let's not forget the turn table and it's mechanism.

 

[Infojunky]

And let's not forget the turn table and it's mechanism.

Turn table!?! What do you need a turntable for?

 

[Condottiere]

That being one of the essential differences between placing a weapon system in a turret or barbette, or just mounting it internally.

 

[Condottiere]

Armaments: Nuclear Warheads

Solsec guards access to and the arming codes for all nuclear warheads that the Solomani Army and Home Guard units could be issued with.

 

[Condottiere]

Solomani Navy: Standardized Weapon Systems

I pretty much said that the the Solomani Navy doesn't care about the construction of intermediate and medium ships.

After some thought, they probably do want standardized weapon systems, so that they don't need to train their crews to man a dozen different weapon systems, and simplify logistics, so that they don't have to carry inventory for stuff they don't want.

Particle Accelerators
. 10RF SK/C 5555
.. Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
.. TL 14
.. 1'056-tonnes
.. MCr 739.2
.. 132
.. rapid fire
.. armour 4
. 60RF SK/C 5625
.. Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
.. TL 14
.. 5'280-tonnes
.. MCr 3'696
.. 660
.. rapid fire
.. armour 22
. 1LRA SK/C 5551
.. Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
.. TL 11/14
.. 1-tonne
.. MCr 8.0/6.8
.. long range
.. accurate
.. 3d6+radiation
. 2LRA SK/C 5569
.. Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
.. TL 11/14
.. 5-tonnes
.. MCr 16.0/13.6
.. long range
.. accurate
.. 4d6+radiation
. 3 SK/C 5530
.. Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
.. TL 11/14
.. 30-tonnes
.. MCr 40/34
.. 6d6+radiation
. 4LRA SK/C 5544
.. Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
.. TL 11/14
.. 100-tonnes
.. MCr 80/68
.. long range
.. accurate
.. 9d6+radiation

The Solomani Naval Staff see the Particle Accelerator as a long range weapon, becoming the principal weapon of their ships that can maintain initiative and dictate range.

 

[Condottiere]

Solomani Navy: Armaments and Railgun Spinal Mounts

The Solomani Naval Staff recognize the intimidative nature of a twenty tonne iron ball descending at sublight speed on an urban centre, and equip their assault carriers, as well as a few cruisers, with their customized variant:

Railguns
. Angela
.. Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
.. TL 10
.. 9'032.0-tonnes
.. MCr 5'269
.. 286
.. armour 6
. Brunhilde
.. Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
.. TL 11
.. 8128.8-tonnes
.. MCr 4'741.8
.. 300
.. armour 9
. Constanze
.. Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
.. TL 12
.. 7'225.6-tonnes
.. MCr 4'215.2
.. 314
.. armour 9
. Dagmar
.. Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
.. TL 13
.. 5'419.2-tonnes
.. MCr 3'161.4
.. 343
.. armour 9
. Elsa
.. Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
.. TL 14
.. 3'612.8-tonnes
.. MCr 2'107.6
.. 400
.. armour 12

Notes
1. Angela was the progenitor of this weapon system series, reputedly named after the Iron Lady of the defunct European Union.
2. The Brunhilde model was a worthy successor, as the Vilani discovered that even their heaviest armoured warship proved no match against the sheer power of this railgun spinal mount.
3. The Constanze moel was built during the dying days of the Interstellar Wars, and saw little employment.
4. Dagmar was developed as a demonstration model from the notes discovered in the Thyssen Krupp archives; the go ahead was given, to research and develop a more advanced gun.
5. Elsa is the current production model.
6. Rumour has it that a thousand tonne variant is under development.

 

[Condottiere]

Solomani Navy: Armaments and Meson Spinal Mounts

Solomani Naval Staff see the Particle Accelerator as a space superiority weapon, and the Mesons as general purpose.

Meson
. ARF/14
.. Rheinmetall AG
.. TL 14
.. 2'200-tonnes
.. MCr 2'200
.. 260
.. rapid fire
.. penetration II
. BRF/14
.. Rheinmetall AG
.. TL 14
.. 3'520-tonnes
.. MCr 3'520
.. 325
.. rapid fire
.. penetration III
. DRF/14
.. Rheinmetall AG
.. TL 14
.. 12'320-tonnes
.. MCr 12'320
.. 495
.. rapid fire
.. penetration V

Notes
1. Still can't figure out a logical formula for Mesons.
2. Battleships are built around DRFs.
3. Anything defined as a heavy cruiser is built around a BRF.
4. Anything defined as a (light) cruiser is built around an ARF, with few exceptions.

 

[Condottiere]

Solomani Navy: Armaments and Missiles

The Solomani Naval Staff enforces missile specifications Confederation wide, to ensure that any missile manufactured, can be utilized by almost any launcher, as long as both launcher and missile match up in size.

The Solomani view missiles as allowing them to create uncertainty in their opponents, as only the specs and capabilities of the missile change, the launching mechanism doesn't need to be customized, beyond size.

The Solomani prefer to the large versions, as they can add in features to increase performance.

The smaller versions are to cater to particular missions, specifically for the smaller torpedoes to minor combatants, and the smaller missiles for close assault, and specifically to sabot them for use in sandcasters.

Missile
. Ultralight missile
.. 0.03-tonnes
. Light missile
.. 0.05-tonnes
. Light Torpedo
.. 1.5-tonnes
. Torpedo
.. 2.5-tonnes

Launcher
. Missile Pack
.. one-tonne allocation
.. Dense
... twenty
... 0.03-tonnes
.. Standard
... twelve
... 0.05-tonnes
. Turret slot
.. one-tonne allocation
.. 0.05-tonnes
.. one launcher
... one (pre-loaded)
... four ready
.. two launchers
... two (pre-loaded)
... two ready
.. three launchers
... three (pre-loaded)
... none ready
. (Sand)caster
.. one-tonne allocation
.. Sabotted
.. 0.03-tonnes
.. basic
... tech level nine
.. smart
... tech level eleven
.. one caster
... one (pre-loaded)
... seven ready
.. two casters
... two (pre-loaded)
... five ready
.. three launchers
... three (pre-loaded)
... three ready
. Torpedo barbette
.. five-tonne allocation
.. 2.5-tonnes
.. two torpedoes
. Torpedo bay
.. small
... thirty-tonnes
... three launchers
... 1.5-tonnes
... fifteen reloads
... tech level twelve
.. large
... hundred-tonne allocation
... six launchers
... 2.5-tonnes
... thirty reloads
... tech level nine

Notes
1. No missile bays.
2. Large torpedo bays only take large torpedoes.
3. Small torpedo bays only take small torpedoes.

 

[Condottiere]

Solomani Navy: Armaments and Sandcasting

Sandcasters can be manufactured at tech level seven, making it available to all spacefaring members of the Solomani Confederation, and their merchant ships. Unless there is some upgrade path that I'm not aware of, like replacing whatever propels the canister out of the tube with a mass driver, by tech level thirteen, the caster is going to cost MCr 0.175 each.

Having sabotted missile variants for the caster onboard, or the possibility thereof, would make any less bold and audacious space pirates become rather more discrete, and lower insurance costs, if this game were concerned with that.

It also allows the immediate rearming of any merchant ship requisitioned by the Navy to suddenly carry a more deadly and versatile arsenal, that will be dangerous to light fighters and small ship raiders, the sort of opportunistic and likely encounters that will occur in the rear areas. This means no time has to be spent in the dockyards replacing the standard merchant defensive weapons suite with something more potent.

The basic tech level of the canister itself is five, though my guess here is that the actual tech level will be that of the payload, and if it's a mini-missile, plus three to get that forty percent size reduction.

After that, calculate the tech level differences for a tech level discount.

One thing that the Solomani Navy would prohibit would be nuclear warheads for mini-missiles.

Another aspect is that sandcaster probably use next to no power, so you could arm satellite stations, or just satellites, with them. Do missile launchers use more power, probably; significantly more, hard to tell. But ship sensors might not detect the energy spike as sandcasters start bearing on target, especially as they don't ping their targets until after casting, and then transmit the information securely along a fibre optic wire.

 

[Condottiere]

Solomani Navy: Pop-Up Railgun Barbette

All large Solomani Navy warships or auxiliaries have a pop-up railgun barbette hidden within their hull.

This is a last resort short range weapon, meant to shoot up boarding vessels as they approach.

The beauty of the weapon system is that it's battery powered, and activation doesn't normally register on most sensors. Boarding parties usually have no way of knowing if the barbette is destroyed or has been neutralized, until it does pop up from the hull.

Intermediate sized vessels will have one, cruisers will have one or more, and capital ships have a few, covering all approaches.