Breaching airlock doors

[CosmicGamer]

So, reformulating my original question a bit, is there anything in any of the MgT books that would provide the numbers (size, weight, cost, effect) for an explosive device capable of breaching an airlock? Preferrably a shaped charge. Hans

I haven't read every page of the material I have and I certainly don't have everything. While hinted at, so far, I don't recall explosives specifically for blowing a hole in a starship detailed.

Shaped Charge: Intended for breaching bunkers and destroying armoured vehicle

would be the closest. There is mention of cutting into a ship and using a portable airlock for rescue.

Cutting Gear, Laser (TL 9): A backpack power supply and laser or
plasma cutting unit, this cutting gear is standard for use aboard
starships. It can cut through most materials, though cutting through
hull armour requires a very long time to create a breach. Cr. 4,000.

The breaching tube in high guard uses plasma torches. Perhaps cutting is the way to go instead of explosives?

If not, without looking things up, there is a general concept is that more is better.

For example a rifle might not have any chance of getting through the armor of someone in a battle suit but a platoon all shooting at one guy in battle armor... There is some calculation somewhere such that each attack is not calculated individually and also is not all added together cumulatively.

So something like a guy with a single grenade outside the ship might not give one pause but when they stack two crates of grenades and some barrels of liquid hydro next to the ship....

EDIT: Found it. See Book 1 Mercenary page 73 for ideas.

 

[Vladika]

It would take a small shaped charge to take out the locking mechanism. Somewhere between 1/4 to 1 lb. plastic would in all likelihood do the trick. Or, look at the trivial amounts of nitroglycerin that safe crackers of old used to remove doors to safes and vaults.

A shaped charge forms it's own plasma jet. It will burn through steel. If we assume hulls are stronger 3000 years from now, I believe it fair to assume breaching charges keep pace.

 

[Fovean]

If you assume that an airlock can be breached by a Single Hull Hit in space combat (50 points of personal damage) and assume that the explosives on page 102 of MgT Core are indeed listed per kilogram, then 5-6 kg of Plastic (3D6 per kg, avg 10 points of damage per kg) or 4-5 kg TDX (4D6 per kg, avg 14 pts per kg) should do the trick.

So you can tell the army/marine/merc in the group that he recognizes the plastic/TDX charges, 4 to 6 kg of them - that's enough to blow a hole in a starship hull!

 

[pendragonman]

Well, TDX is described in JTAS 1 (page 14) as directing the explosion perpendicular to the gravity field. Using it in Zero-G as rescue ops would be...

See this thread where this was discussed.

Again, we are in port doing this. Zero G is not applicable.

 

[Supplement Four]

What if the computer was told to blow the explosive bolts off the hatch while in port? Some sort of hack into the system?

But, I think Hans is looking for an idea that will draw the players out of the ship without really damaging the ship.

 

[xevus11]

In the Central Supply Catalog their is a "Airlock Crank" or something along those lines that is in an engineers kit. If I recall correctly, It can manually open any airlock, though the process takes several minutes.

 

[rancke]

If you assume that an airlock can be breached by a Single Hull Hit in space combat (50 points of personal damage) and assume that the explosives on page 102 of MgT Core are indeed listed per kilogram, then 5-6 kg of Plastic (3D6 per kg, avg 10 points of damage per kg) or 4-5 kg TDX (4D6 per kg, avg 14 pts per kg) should do the trick.

So you can tell the army/marine/merc in the group that he recognizes the plastic/TDX charges, 4 to 6 kg of them - that's enough to blow a hole in a starship hull!

Thank you. That's just the information I was looking for.

So, Hull Breaching Charge: Weight 6 kg, volume ?, cost ?, damage 18D6 points. Can you fill in the missing data?

But, I think Hans is looking for an idea that will draw the players out of the ship without really damaging the ship.

Precisely. The main adventure is a race to get a cargo of stuff back home by a given deadline. If the airlock is ruined, the local port authoriries will deny the ship permission to depart, which equals defeat for the PCs. So they can't hole up inside the ship and ambush the attackers (which would otherwise be the superior tactics, I believe).


Hans

 

[Supplement Four]

If the airlock is ruined, the local port authoriries will deny the ship permission to depart, which equals defeat for the PCs.

The port authority is not going to detain the PCs and ship after they engage in a firefight at the dock?

 

[rancke]

The port authority is not going to detain the PCs and ship after they engage in a firefight at the dock?

That's a matter for diplomacy.

It depends on the tack the PCs take during the aftermath. The port authority people is very much in favor of facilitating trade. A free trader is not of much importance in itself, but if they can make it a matter of principle...


Hans

 

[McPerth]

Again, we are in port doing this. Zero G is not applicable.

I thought otherwise when read the indented part:

Using MgT equipment. if I wanted to assault a grounded starship¹ by blowing holes in the airlock doors, what sort of man-portable explosive devices would I be using?

¹ Actually docked at a space station, but I don't suppose that would make any difference.​

Hans

(bold is mine)

And, in any case, rescue/assault teams must have explosives usable in Zero-G to do their jobs.

 

[Fovean]

So, Hull Breaching Charge: Weight 6 kg, volume ?, cost ?, damage 18D6 points. Can you fill in the missing data?

Hans

I don't really know how to calculate volume but how about this...

Hull Breaching Charge (Plastic): TL 8, Weight 6 kg, Volume 3 liters, Cost Cr1350, damage 18D6 points, radius 1D6 meters.


I'm imaging something akin to a WWII satchel charge with a concentrated area-of-effect.