Scout Cruiser Reworked

[Patron Zero]

I'm one to often tweak and tinker with deck plans and designs of the Classic Traveller ships and would enjoy some input on such.

Uncertain if anyone is familiar with a non-canon design referred to as the Covenanter Class Scout Courier, an estimated 400 dTon vessel, which appears to be a Type S Scout joined to the better part of a Gazelle Close Escort hull.

At face value such 'works' as is but what I'm pondering is 'chopping' that arrangement down to 200 dTons and doing a bit of interior-exterior rework. The end result likely to represent a 'lesser known' Scout Cruiser that was mostly deployed for frontier survey and fringe exploration duties.

Mind purely a whimsical exercise in futility as things go but such a ship fits a niche IMTU all the same.


http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Gallery/index.php?n=492

 

[sabredog]

I've done the same sort of thing myself lately while trying to come up with a long range deep exploration vessel. It ended up at 10kt tons and the "bridge" is actually a 400 ton wedge with enough speed and emergency low berths to act as a way to evacuate the main craft in a hurry and get away.

It doesn't have long legs, but it'll act as both a scout for the big mission and as the super-lifeboat if needed. The smaller ship also has inflatable drop tanks stored onboard as well as the ones stored on the main ship. The inflatables take up half the space the demountable types do, but can only be used once...they are considered an emergency means of getting across distances that require 2 or more jumps, and are also half the price of rigid demountables or standard drop tanks.

The main hull is a buffered asteroid, so this means the "bridge" will also act as a fuel shuttle for scooping gas giants along the way. Smaller ship's boats are in main hull for regular missions landing on planets to be explored, but I wanted something a little "outside the box" for the main ship.

That, and I have an evil plan that will require the players to take advantage of this feature.

 

[Patron Zero]

I think my other 'obsession' is to take reworked designs-deck plans and have such find new life in a different application, more often retired naval vessels (re-)entering the workforce in commercial-private ownership ventures.

IMTU, the deep space and orbital salvage yards offer such possibilities for the renovation of 'veteran' hulls into the first starship a group of player characters crew on, either as 'contract' labor or owners.

The proposed Scout Cruiser, after leaving duty in the ISS, will return to the space lanes as bonded courier, a working passage freighter or perhaps the 'tour bus' for Disaster Area or some other galactic band.

 

[Starviking]

I'm one to often tweak and tinker with deck plans and designs of the Classic Traveller ships and would enjoy some input on such.

Uncertain if anyone is familiar with a non-canon design referred to as the Covenanter Class Scout Courier, an estimated 400 dTon vessel, which appears to be a Type S Scout joined to the better part of a Gazelle Close Escort hull

'Non-canon'? Has TNE been decanonised?

IIRC the Covenanter is 500 dT in the TNE system.

Nice plans BTW!

 

[Patron Zero]

IIRC the Covenanter is 500 dT in the TNE system.

That I didn't know, I found the deck plan on a now defunct website ages back but much appreciate the referral to the original source material !

Found the ship in TNE Brilliant Lances, page 79 for those wanting a look at the supporting text and stats.

Thanks Starviking !

 

[Patron Zero]

Work In Progress: Engager Class

Uploaded an image showing the major renovation to the Scout Cruiser, that being the 180 degree rotation of the aft section.

Such was done to allow for a less obstructed field of fire for the turrets on the outboard 'nacelles', previous alignment to the forward hull prevented a direct line of engagement.

The new configuration now allows for auxiliary-small craft to be externally berthed parallel to the main hull, said profile also offers less complicated ship to ship-ship to port docking operations.

The new alignment of hulls can be found in renovated 'full-sized' Covenanter class Scout Cruisers as well the more compact vessels of the Engager class, which share a common origin in design-construction.

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Gallery/images/8640/1_Cov_conversion_02.jpg

 

[Ran Targas]

I think the FASA(?) Valor class escort had a similar over/under drive configuration, so there is precedence although non-canon.

Now you make me want to build a Covenater of my own.

 

[GypsyComet]

The Valor is one of my long-time favorites, and actually *did* make Canon, as it appears in art in MT and is one of the ships in Brilliant Lances for TNE. The hullform is a pain to make hit 400 tons (FASA's is about half the proper size). Several other FASA ships also made it to Brilliant Lances and/or Battle Rider.

The FASA ship that didn't survive to MT and would not have made the jump to TNE was the Lucifer. Another 400 tonner with a dinky deckplan (around 150 dtons, IIRC), the Luce was also a HE turreted design, featuring plasma and fusion turrets. These were hideously difficult to fit to a small ship in MT due to power requirements, and the weapons vanished completely from TNE due to reality intruding (charged particle heat weapons don't do well in a vacuum).

 

[far-trader]

...plasma and fusion turrets. These were hideously difficult to fit to a small ship in MT due to power requirements, and the weapons vanished completely from TNE due to reality intruding (charged particle heat weapons don't do well in a vacuum).

Another score for my treatment of them as magnetic bottled explosives then (perhaps ).

Small arms versions are like grenade launchers, the big boys would be like torpedoes. Hey if TNE could see NukeDet Laser Missiles why not Fusion and Plasma Torpedoes?

 

[Patron Zero]

I think the FASA(?) Valor class escort had a similar over/under drive configuration, so there is precedence although non-canon.

Now you make me want to build a Covenater of my own.

Still tweaking the design for it's debut as an Engager class vessel, essentially relocating the side-mounted external 'drop' tanks to become part of the now orientated above-below structures. A minor lengthening of the outboard drive hulls allowing for such to be achieved and the addition of fuel processors at the forward end of that assembly.

I'm by no means a gearhead but think the swapped out displacement is reasonably close to the original 'auxiliary' fuel tankage without undue enlargement of the profile of said 'nacelles'.

My only stumbling point here is what to designate the downsized starship as, it's smaller than a Scout Cruiser but larger than the traditional Scout Courier. I see the Engager class ships filling a niche role between the two 'dedicated' classes but also versatile enough to operate as a compact X-boat tender. science-survey platform or on naval fleet service if so called upon.

 

[Starviking]

The Valor is one of my long-time favorites, and actually *did* make Canon, as it appears in art in MT and is one of the ships in Brilliant Lances for TNE. The hullform is a pain to make hit 400 tons (FASA's is about half the proper size). Several other FASA ships also made it to Brilliant Lances and/or Battle Rider.

The FASA ship that didn't survive to MT and would not have made the jump to TNE was the Lucifer. Another 400 tonner with a dinky deckplan (around 150 dtons, IIRC), the Luce was also a HE turreted design, featuring plasma and fusion turrets. These were hideously difficult to fit to a small ship in MT due to power requirements, and the weapons vanished completely from TNE due to reality intruding (charged particle heat weapons don't do well in a vacuum).

The Lucifer was a favourite of mine. In TNE I just used X-Ray lasers in place of plasma or fusion turrets, so it still fitted in quite well (in my TNE anyhoo...)

 

[Ran Targas]

The Valor is one of my long-time favorites, and actually *did* make Canon, as it appears in art in MT and is one of the ships in Brilliant Lances for TNE.

I did not know that, thanks!

The FASA ship that didn't survive to MT and would not have made the jump to TNE was the Lucifer.

The Lucifer is another one of my favorites; I re-built it as a Zhodani 400dT escort. The overall design just didn't feel "Imperial" to me.

 

[Patron Zero]

I'm rather fond of both of those designs too, actually had the ships 'crossover' into a Champions campaign as high tech submarines !

 

[Patron Zero]

Engager Side Profile

A work in progress but the initial side profile posted, the modified Covenanter aft section mated to a refitted Scout/Courier hull.

Yes, the repositioned 'nacelles' would make a 'conventional' landing difficult at best if a planetside spaceport were not equipped for receiving vessels of 'non-traditional' designs. A docking-landing bay that could be flooded with water would be a low tech solution for such, more complex mechanical cradles are a possibility too.

The side view shows the lengthened 'nacelles', which now have fuel tankage and fuel processors forward of the original structures.



http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Gallery/index.php?n=576

 

[far-trader]

A docking-landing bay that could be flooded with water would be a low tech solution for such...

That is so simply bloody simple o: Why did it never occur to me?

I've seen elaborate (and big, and no doubt expensive) cradles suggested. I've seen and used open water landings. But linking the two like this? That has just opened new vistas on how some Starports will look and function. Thanks much Patron Zero

It sounds perfect for any world with a decent atm/hyd percent. Never mind the low tech, that wouldn't matter a whit. In fact it might even be a huge advantage. It'd be used everywhere that conditions allowed for all "awkward" ships I think. Now I've got to give it some thought for the less obvious flaws but at the moment I see none. Of course it's late, I've just come down off a biiig looong migraine, and I'm tired, so even the obvious ones may be right there and I wouldn't see them.

 

[Icosahedron]

That is so simply bloody simple o: Why did it never occur to me?

I've seen elaborate (and big, and no doubt expensive) cradles suggested. I've seen and used open water landings. But linking the two like this? That has just opened new vistas on how some Starports will look and function. Thanks much Patron Zero

It sounds perfect for any world with a decent atm/hyd percent. Never mind the low tech, that wouldn't matter a whit. In fact it might even be a huge advantage. It'd be used everywhere that conditions allowed for all "awkward" ships I think. Now I've got to give it some thought for the less obvious flaws but at the moment I see none. Of course it's late, I've just come down off a biiig looong migraine, and I'm tired, so even the obvious ones may be right there and I wouldn't see them.

The obvious flaws are the ones that have been discussed before in relation to open water landings - Tail-heavy ships with drives mounted on their rear walls, and doors that end up below the water line. If your ships are going to land in water they need to be designed for it - or handwaved.

 

[Patron Zero]

The obvious flaws are the ones that have been discussed before in relation to open water landings - Tail-heavy ships with drives mounted on their rear walls, and doors that end up below the water line. If your ships are going to land in water they need to be designed for it - or handwaved.

I'm seeing tail-heavy vessels staying 'buoyant' with a small assist from their onboard contra-grav, if such is not present then employing a sort of 'airbag' support beneath the hull would be a likelihood, said flotation devices a feature of the ship or the bay itself.

Considering that most dirtside landing-docking bays would be 'plumbed' for refueling, the idea of being able to flood such came from the space-structure needing to be 'watertight' as well as manage-recover accidental 'spillage' of such volume.

Should primary access to the vessel be below the 'waterline', mating said hatch to an extended docking tube would insure a dry disembarkation for the crew.

 

[boomslang]

Should primary access to the vessel be below the 'waterline', mating said hatch to an extended docking tube would insure a dry disembarkation for the crew.

Bear in mind that for the truly adventurous, you could always berth such vessels ventral-side-up (i.e., on their backs), and just use gravitic-stabilized gangways (up to 2Gs, remember) to walk "up" out of them and, after a twist in the middle, onto dry land adjacent to the "wet bay"... pull cargo "up" out of them the same way...

 

[far-trader]

I'm seeing tail-heavy vessels staying 'buoyant' with a small assist from their onboard contra-grav, if such is not present then employing a sort of 'airbag' support beneath the hull would be a likelihood, said flotation devices a feature of the ship or the bay itself.

I was picturing lines and anchors

Big heavy hemp rope tied off on the heavy end to dockside to keep it from sinking and heavy iron anchors attached to the light end to keep it down.

:rofl:

For the low tech nautical feel.

I like the airbags idea though.

As far as connections, no problem, just regular old airlock matings just like on vacuum worlds and highports.

And the floating idea could work fine on a vacuum world too. Just have the whole landing bay enclosed. Cycle the ship in, flood with water instead of atmosphere to replace the vacuum, and there you go.

For that matter do away with the floating/waterline issue entirely, have the ship fully enveloped in water, pressurize it enough to keep the ship floating below the ceiling the whole time, adjusting as you unload/load and fuel up. Good security and safety for many worries.

 

[sabredog]

If any of you all are fans of Cowboy Bebop you'd remember that the Bebop is an old trawler starship used to land in water (the intakes sealing as the ship is coming in to land is shown in the series), then trawl for fish that is frozen in the holds for transport off-world.

Also, in the Co-Do universe the small craft from the capital ships are designed to land and take off from water as well as land.