A thought about bridge size

[aramis]

The modern carrier bridge is midbridge fore helm station, nav to starboard of helm, CO to port. Tactical Ops cluster aft.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/navy/docs/swos/deck/STU23~2.html

 

[PFVA63]

Hi

...
Ship's bridges haven't changed size much in over 100 years either. They have gotten more complex but the driving factor of size is a combination of manning and need to be able to observe from it the surrounding ocean. On military ships the same is true. But, on these what has grown expotentially is the sensor, command and control, and communications systems. Modern warships have alot of volume consumed by their CIC and the related electronics.

...

To be honest, on some ocean going ships, things like hull beam etc will end up playing a role in how big the ship's bridge actually ends up, as you will typically want to be able to see over the sides of the ship, and alot of modern ships have enclosed bridge wings.

In Traveller terms I wouldn't be surprised if on some ships the breadth of the layout of a ship's bridge may be driven in part by similar issues. Specifically, on a small ship you might want to have view screens to see forward, and at least part of the way to other side, while on a larger ship it may make sense to completely fill all of a deck (or maybe all of one end of a deck with a ship's bridge) as it may not make much sense to locate anything to either side of it.

PF

 

[PFVA63]

Hi

Here are some additional links on Combat Information Centers and such for USN ships.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/cg52-cic.gif

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/docs/lhd-17-fleetdb/LPD17NAVY.htm

http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/cicmanual1.htm

PF

 

[PFVA63]

Some Typical Eqn for Modern Warships

If anyone is interested here are some equations used for approximating volume requirements (in cubic meters) for relatively modern ocean going surface combatant naval vessels like frigates, destroyers and cruisers (some of which I think come from data that I have collected over the years and others from some theses on the MIT D-Space website).

Command & Control + Interior & Exterior Communications
- 0.000018157*FLDisp^2 - 0.03155*FLDisp + 446.34

Flag Facilities
- Input or (572.36*Nflag^0.8906)/3.2808^3

Ship Control Facilities
- (0.00749*(Lbp*3.2808)^2.258)/3.2808^3

Damage Control Facilities
- (0.417*FLDisp*(2204.6/2240)+1062.74)/3.2808^3

Offices
- (0.8889*FLDisp(2204.6/2240)+541.68)/3.2808^3

Maneuvering Spaces
- (0.0183*(FLDisp*(2204.6/2240)*Vsus) + 2248.70)/3.2808^3

Ventilation Spaces
- (2.092*FLDisp*(2204.6/2240) - 1516.62)/3.2808^3

Deck Auxiliaries (Anchor Handling, Mooring, & Towing)
- (0.6413*(LBP*3.2808)^1.432)/3.2808^3

Where:

FLDisp = the vessel's Full Load Dispalcement (in mt)
NFlag = the total number of personnel in the Flag Staff
LBP = more or less the waterline length of the ship (in meters)
Vsus = Sustained Speed (in kts)

(I'm not fully sure why, but for some reason the US Navy appears to includes ventilation spaces as part of "Control Spaces).

PF

Ps. Radars and SONARS and such would require extra space

 

[BytePro]

3.2808 is feet in a meter; 2204.6 is lbs in a metric ton.

 

[PFVA63]

Hi

Yes, and 2240lb per long ton. Unfortunately, I have trouble thinking purely in metric and alot of older documents I have come across are in imperial units, so rather than work everything through to come up with a constant to multiply by for use if using metric units, I prefer to leave the conversion factors in the equations which helps make it easier to see what units are required as inputs and outputs.

PF

 

[Brandon C]

It may be worth adding that while bridge volume is the same for ships 100 to 1,000 tons, cost is not. So, while a 200 ton free trader must devote the same bridge tonnage as a 800 ton mercenary cruiser, it only pays 1/4 the cost.