Starship weapons questions

[Icosahedron]

IMO

A traditional boarding party would be the way to go.

A popup is designed to pass a casual observation, ie from combat range, or perhaps even a visual from a busy customs official on the ground, but that's a helluva lot of metal that has to exit the hull, and the joints are gonna be noticeable if somebody is paying any more attention than a passer-by. I don't think these things are designed to be invisible to close inspection. I reckon a suspicious pirate (and what pirate isn't?) will notice it immediately on a first pass from his boarding boat.
I reckon any starport would find it on a simple camera sweep across the hull - and certainly during a service inspection.
But that's just IMO.

 

[Hal]

IMO

A traditional boarding party would be the way to go.

A popup is designed to pass a casual observation, ie from combat range, or perhaps even a visual from a busy customs official on the ground, but that's a helluva lot of metal that has to exit the hull, and the joints are gonna be noticeable if somebody is paying any more attention than a passer-by. I don't think these things are designed to be invisible to close inspection. I reckon a suspicious pirate (and what pirate isn't?) will notice it immediately on a first pass from his boarding boat.
I reckon any starport would find it on a simple camera sweep across the hull - and certainly during a service inspection.
But that's just IMO.

Ok, now approach it from the other point of view...

How would YOU attempt to hide your pop-up turret so as to be less likely to be noticed?

For example? Imagine having trap doors covering your pop-up turret. Rather than smooth lines, it has a jagged line that is irregular in shape. Directly under that "trap door" is an iris valve like cover to the pop-up turret that acts like a guidance ring for the turret to rise up through and become seated on the hull for its ability to rotate in any given direction. Maybe the concealing doors slide apart instead of pop open like trap doors. Put a fake plate over the pop up area, paint it, and leave it in place. The only time the joints would be visible is if the turret has been used since it was first installed. Perhaps there is an explosive plate covering the joints so that the turret can't be used until it has been blown. Again - once blown, it is obvious it is there, but until blown, looks like any other welded plate attached to the hull.

Just musing aloud (on short sleep no less).

 

[dean]

Ok, now approach it from the other point of view...

How would YOU attempt to hide your pop-up turret so as to be less likely to be noticed?

For example? Imagine having trap doors covering your pop-up turret. Rather than smooth lines, it has a jagged line that is irregular in shape. Directly under that "trap door" is an iris valve like cover to the pop-up turret that acts like a guidance ring for the turret to rise up through and become seated on the hull for its ability to rotate in any given direction. Maybe the concealing doors slide apart instead of pop open like trap doors. Put a fake plate over the pop up area, paint it, and leave it in place. The only time the joints would be visible is if the turret has been used since it was first installed. Perhaps there is an explosive plate covering the joints so that the turret can't be used until it has been blown. Again - once blown, it is obvious it is there, but until blown, looks like any other welded plate attached to the hull.

Just musing aloud (on short sleep no less).

Cover it with a false sensor array; disguise it as a airlock or hatchway; make it look like a docking port for an air raft or other small craft... limitless possibilities.

Heck, turrets only "weigh" 1 ton for most varieties. Not very large at all.

 

[boomslang]

OK, I concede the point. Now short of having a fighter blast away all turrets at point blank range, how can pirates temporally disable the turrets before putting the captured ship in the cargo bay? And I know that the Q ship has a popup fusion gun turret. Would this be detectable from close range by the pirates? I am assuming that the basic idea behind a popup is to hide it. Why else spend the extra money and hull space on it?

For disabling, your best tactic is to hole the fuel tanks completely. Eliminating all fuel shuts down the powerplant, and therefore all ship systems necessary for combat including even the lowest Model computers and turret fire control. Then either board under arms or else lay siege and wait for life support reserves to run out and/or the crew to surrender and/or abandon ship.

After vessel capture, fuel tankage is quick and easy to repair. Then slap on a new coat of paint, change the registry and transponders, and dispose of the corpses.

Step 3: Profit!

 

[JAFARR]

Dean,
By my rules for popups they require an extra ton for the operating mechanism and an extra EP to operate the popup (nothing extra beyond the turn it takes to operate the popup).
Hal,
I was thinking the sliding doors vs trapdoors also.

In general if you had something covering the doors it would have to be plausible because you are using a standard design and the "normal" locations for turrets would be known. In this specific case what is called a type R2 IMTU. So if the standard version has HPs and in this case only 3 turrets, what would be reasonable to cover the other standard location in order to hide the popup? What normally covers unused HPs?

Once it is covered, what chance do the pirates have of dectecting it? 5%, 20%?

 

[JAFARR]

IMO

A traditional boarding party would be the way to go.

A popup is designed to pass a casual observation, ie from combat range, or perhaps even a visual from a busy customs official on the ground, but that's a helluva lot of metal that has to exit the hull, and the joints are gonna be noticeable if somebody is paying any more attention than a passer-by. I don't think these things are designed to be invisible to close inspection. I reckon a suspicious pirate (and what pirate isn't?) will notice it immediately on a first pass from his boarding boat.
I reckon any starport would find it on a simple camera sweep across the hull - and certainly during a service inspection.
But that's just IMO.

Of course it will be discovered in a servicing, but that will be done by the government(s) (or whoever commissions it) in a restricted location.

As far as the boarding party goes, the idea is the smaller ship is over awed by the "emergency call victim" suddenly becoming an overwhelmingly impossible to defeat foe that they comply with the demand to allow themselves to be taken into the capture bay. The idea goes something like this. " If we try to run we will be annihilated. Maybe if we comply, we will be able to stay alive and while we are alive we have some chance." The pirate MO is to be ready to jump before attacking, secure the victim and fighters and jump ASAP, then worry about dealing with the crew & passengers of the victim.