Terran Commonwealth -- Starships

[tbeard1999]

Neo Anglian Commonwealth Starships

Here are my starship designs, extracted from the rules thread. These are Book 2 designs, augumented with systems from my own Book 2 variant system:
http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=11089

 

[tbeard1999]

IMS Indefatigable-Class Fleet Carrier

IMS Indefatigable (CV) (others in class include Ark Royal, Shokaku, Enterprise, Hiryu, Reagan, Shannon, King George V, Lexington, Yorktown, Saratoga, Hornet, Victorious, Veinticinco de Mayo, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Intrepid, Wasp, Hornet, Victorious, Queen Elizabeth, Empress Victoria)

The "Indy" class CV is the standard Commonwealth heavy carrier and is usually the flagship of a carrier battlegroup. Its strike wing of 40-60 fighters constitutes the main striking power of the battlegroup. Typically, a CBG will consist of an "Indy" class Cv, a Leonidas class Aegis light cruiser (1000 tons), 2-4 300-500 ton frigates, and 2-3 400-800 ton Fleet Logistics Carrier cargo ships (Pollux or Neptune class). For expeditionary operations, the battlegroup may include a Tarawa class Marine Assault Ship (see entry for Tarawa in this thread). Or, perhaps a Winters class Drop Assault Carrier (see entry in this thread).

Indefatigable class CV:

3000 tons; Size Z drives, giving Jump-4, Maneuver-4, Power-4. 30 triple turrets; 28 beam laser, 2 sandcaster. 1240 tons fuel. Crew 212 (includes 60 fighter pilots and 60 flight technicians). Computer Model 7, 110 staterooms, 1 double sized command stateroom. 4 ship's boats, 60 light fighters (or 20 light and 20 heavy fighters). 198 tons storage. 50 ton maintenance shop (MCr 20.0). 120 ton small craft bay. 600 ton fighter hangar. Streamlined.

Ship cost MCr 1147.5
Ship's Boats: MCr 120
Fighter Wing, MCr 1080 (60 F-52 Hellcats or 20 F-52 and 20 F-140 Panthers)
(all prices before class discount)

Some Invincible CVs carry 20 F-140 Panther heavy fighters and 20 Hellcats. This costs Mcr 1080.


Crew
Commodore 1 (Commands carrier group)
Captain 1 (Commands carrier)
XO 1
Computer 1
Navigation 2
Medical 1
Communications 1
Misc Ratings 4
Chief Engineer 1
Second Engineer 1
Engineer PO 2
Engineers 3
Chief Gunnery 1
Gunners 30
CAG 1 (Commands fighter wing)
Pilots 63
Flight Crew 64
Marine Lt. 1
Marine NCO 3
Marines 24
Service 6

Total Crew 212

Comments:

The Indy is the current frontline carrier in Commonwealth service. While other designs carry more fighters, the Indys are renowned for their staying power (a significant amount of tonnage is devoted to munitions storage and repair bays) and long legs (Jump-4).

The New Anglian Commonwealth is a far flung empire with a fairly small fleet for the space governed. Its units need to be self-contained and comparatively independent because reinforcements are gonna be limited and slow to arrive.

Also, I use High Guard to determine crew sizes for 1000 tons+ combat ships, which makes crews larger. And I allocate 1 ground crew per fighter, which I think is reasonable for a military fighter in sustained operations.

It should be noted that the Commonwealth Navy is transitioning to Jump-4 for all fleet units. Most older ships are Jump-3 and Jump-2 ships. Ideally, these ships will be replaced by new construction and transferred to colonial fleets.

But the number of Jump-4 carriers and Marine Assault ships is limited. Very occasionally, an Indy class ship will replace 3 of its fighter squadrons with collapsible low berths for Marines and dropships. This allows it to (barely) deploy a Marine light infantry company.

For long duration missions, an Indy might reduce the fighter wing to 40 light fighters (or 10 heavy and 20 light fighters). This frees up 200 tons of cargo space and about 80 tons of stateroom space.

 

[tbeard1999]

IMS Tarawa-Class Marine Assault Transport

IMS Tarawa (others in class include Guam, Normandy Beach, Bandar Bushehr, Tripoli, Iwo Jima, Inchon, Prometheus, Klendathu, Nassau, Pensacola, Port Royal, Pisagua, Gallipoli, Suez, Oran, Bandar Abbas, Latakia, Jiddah, Farhaven)

Type: Marine Assault Transport, Heavy (MAT-H)

A Tarawa class ship typically carries a complete Marine Expeditionary Group. Along with the Winters-class Drop Assault Transport, the Tarawas are the main delivery system for the rapid deployment ground forces of the Commonwealth.

MEGs are very flexible in organization, but the typical structure is a reinforced Marine company with integral infantry, artillery, gunship, artillery and fighter elements).

3000 tons, all drives-Z, Jump-4, Maneuver-4 and Power-4. Streamlined. 22 triple missile turrets, 6 triple beam laser turrets, 2 triple sandcaster turrets. 1240 tons fuel, 962 tons cargo. Computer-7. 59 staterooms, 435 low berths. Price before discounts MCr1435.75

Crew:
Captain 1
XO 1
Computer 1
Navigation 2
Medical 1
Communications 1
Ratings 4
Chief Engineer 1
Second Engineer 1
Engineer PO 2
Engineers 3
Chief Gunnery 1
Gunners 30
Pilots 2
Flight Crew 2
Service 26

Marine Expeditionary Group
CAG 1
Pilots 15
Flight Crew 10
Marine Officers 6
Marines 216
Marine Support 219

Note – this is enough marines for a Marine Rifle Company of 218 troops, plus support troops totaling 219. The NAC Marine Corps has a high teeth to tail ratio; 1 to 2 is common for most high tech armies.

Typical Vehicles (tonnage and cost is for total number of vehicles carried):

2 SB-7 Ship's Boats.

8 D-7 Warhawk dropships. The Tarawa class typically carries 4 passenger, 8 cargo and 2 medical modules. Modules take up 20 tons each when in storage. Cargo modules are pre-loaded with cargo.

6 FA-52M Hellcats.

6 LAV-40. Enough to motorize one Marine platoon of 54 men in battledress.

6 AV-22 Hellhound tiltrotor gunship. Aircraft requires about 2 hours for reassembly after normal landing, 30 minutes after combat landing.

6 TV-12C Lancaster Tiltrotor transport. Aircraft requires about 2 hours for reassembly after normal landing, 30 minutes after combat landing.

6 M-72 11cm Rocket Howitzers or M-91 12cm Mass Drivers.

6 M-526 5 ton hovertrucks.

Note – no grav vehicles in my campaign, so the Marines use tiltrotor aircraft. Also, the Marines (but not officers) are carried in low berths. In my campaign, low berths are much safer and only fail once every 10,000 trips or so.

Vehicles are carried at their rated tonnage and can have troops in them. So the 8 dropships can land the entire Marine Expeditionary Group in about 4 drops – 1 to land the combat troops, 1 to land support troops, 1 to land most vehicles, 1 to land remaining vehicles and supplies.

In a "hot" landing, the troops and vehicles go down "combat loaded", which means they take up more space in the dropships, but can start fighting immediately (or very quickly in the case of tiltrotor craft). Combat loaded dropships carry 15 tons, rather than 19.9 tons. Also, the landing order is changed to speed up operations. To save time switiching between passenger modules and vehicle modules, 4 dropships are typically configured for passengers and 4 for vehicles. A mix of troops and vehicles goes down with each wave.

So a "hot" assault might look like this:

1st Wave
Dropship 1&2 -- MEG HQ, 2nd Platoon
Dropship 3&4 -- 3rd Platoon
Dropship 5-8 -- 4 x LAV; 1st Platoon (most embarked on LAVs)

2nd Wave
Dropship 1&2 -- 4th Platoon
Dropship 3&4 -- Artillery and Engineer Troops
Dropship 5-8 -- 2 x LAV; 6 x Howitzer

3rd Wave
Dropship 1-4 -- Medical and Support Troops
Dropship 5-6 -- 2 x AV-22; Critical Supplies
Dropship 7-8 -- 2 x TV-12C

4th Wave
Dropship 1-2 -- Support Troops
Dropship 3-4 -- Conversion to Cargo Carrying
Dropship 5-6 -- 2 x AV-22; 2 x Hovertrucks
Dropship 7-8 -- 2 x TV-12C

5th Wave
Dropship 1-2 -- Support Troops
Dropship 3-4 -- 2 x AV-22; 2 x Hovertrucks
Dropship 5-6 -- 2 x Hovertrucks; Supplies
Dropship 7-8 -- 2 x TV-12C

6th Wave
Dropship 1-2 -- Support Troops
Dropship 3-8 -- Supplies

Casualties are flown back to the Tarawa in empty dropships. In rare instances, a dropship may be commandeered to provide tactical transport or even close air support. As this plays havoc with landing timetables, this is a rare occurence.

It takes a dropship about 30 minutes to land and debark combat loaded troops. It takes another 30 minutes to return to the Tarawa. It takes about 30 minutes to load troops, supplies or vehicles, re-fuel, and repair minor damage. Given the friction of normal combat, force planners plan for 3 hours between waves. This means that an entire MEG can be landed within 15 hours of the first landing. Once the MEG is landed, dropships will be used to land supplies, evacuate wounded and (rarely) to provide close air support and tactical transport. And of course, they will evacuate troops if necessary.

During a hot landing, the fighter group will secure air superiority and provide whatever close air support it can. Typically, the first wave will be accompanied by 4 fighters with CAP loadouts. They will be relieved by 2 fighters. From that point on, the MEG commander will attempt to have fighters covering the landing at all times during the first 24 hours of the operation. Ideally, 2 fighters will cover the group, but casualties may reduce this to 1. Needless to say, this exacts a heavy burden on the fighters, pilots, and ground crew.

Missile fire from the Tarawa will provide heavy artillery support (usually, the landing will be preceeded by a heavy missile bombardment of the landing zone, nearby enemy troop concentrations, enemy c3i assets and enemy air bases). Tarawas usually carry about 800 missiles in their 66 missile racks and magazines. 75% of these are ground support missiles, usually the SGM-21A-D multipurpose missile.

The SGM-21 is a 15cm missile roughly comparable to a heavy artillery shell in effect. It's a "brilliant" munition, with multiple engagement modes ("fire and forget", target designation, autonomous ground engagement, autonomous air engagement). The "A" model has a TDX multipurpose high explosive warhead. The "B" model is a "bunker buster" designed to penetrate heavy concrete or deeply buried bunkers. The "C" model has an anti-tank warhead capable of penetrating all modern main battle tanks from the top. The "D" model is a proximity fused antiaircraft warhead. The exact mix of missiles will depend on the mission.

 

[tbeard1999]

Commonwealth Military Small Craft and Vehicles, Pt. 1

Commonwealth Military Small Craft and Vehicles

F-52 Hellcat. The standard fighter of the Commonwealth Navy. 10 tons. 6-G, 1 pilot. 1 integral beam laser, 2 ordinance hardpoints. Requires 1 ground crew. (10 tons, MCr 18) Typical missile loadouts:

CAP -- 4 x AFM
Strike -- 2 x SRAM/CRAM
Ground Support -- 2 x GAM (250kg "brilliant" bombs). Integral laser sometimes replaced with VRF gauss pod.

FA-52M Hellcats (10 tons; MCr 18). This is the Marine variant of the F-52 Hellcat. It's optimized for ground attack and atmospheric combat. Most of the high maintenance systems (i.e., long range sensors) have been stripped out and replaced with simpler, robust systems. It also has atmospheric control surfaces and vectored thrust, increasing its effectiveness in atmospheric combat. In game terms, it's comparable in performance to the F-52. 6-G, 1 pilot. 1 integral beam laser, 2 ordinance hardpoints. Requires 1 ground crew. Typical missile loadouts:

CAP -- 4 x AFM
Strike -- 2 x SRAM/CRAM
Ground Support -- 2 x GAM (250kg "brilliant" bombs). Integral laser sometimes replaced with VRF gauss pod.

F-140 Panther Multirole Fighter. An expensive, but highly capable Navy heavy fighter. Slowly being deployed on Indefatigable class carriers. 20 tons, MCr36. 6-G. 1 pilot, 1 gunner. 2 integral beam lasers, 4 ordinance hardpoints. Can engage 4 targets. Requires 2 ground crew. Typical missile loadouts:

CAP -- 8 x AFM
Strike -- 4 x SRAM/CRAM or 2 x SRAM/CRAM and 4 x AFM.
Ground support -- 4 x GAM; lasers sometimes replaced with 2 x VRF Gauss pods.

SB-7 Ship's Boat -- standard Book 2 Slow Boat design, 3-G, 19.9 tons cargo, (30 tons; MCr 15).

D-7 Warhawk dropship. Modified SB-7 ship's boats armed with a VRF gauss gun instead of a laser Same cost and stats as the SB-7. A dropship can carry 19.9 tons; troops consume .5 tons each. Dropships have 3 basic modules. The passenger module has seating for 39 men. Seats can be folded down to provide up to 9 ad-hoc medical beds (4 seats per bed). The cargo module has cargo fittings for 19.9 tons of cargo or 15 tons of combat loaded cargo. In an emergency, the cargo module can carry about 30 passengers, but it will be a very uncomfortable ride and most will suffer bruises and scrapes. The medical module has medical fittings for 12 casualties. A gunship module with 2 VRF gauss guns and a huge ammunition load has been tested but is not in service.

Aero/Ground Vehicles

LAV-40 -- An 8-wheeled APC armed with tac missiles and light gauss cannon (8 tons; MCr1). Holds 2+11 men.

AV-22 Hellhound tiltrotor gunship (8 tons; MCr 18). Carries integral VRF gauss gun and 4 hardpoints, capable of mounting a wide variety of weapons (2 brilliant 13cm rocket pods; and 2 quad tac missile racks are typical).

TV-12C Lancaster Tiltrotor transport. Carries 26 men in battledress or 1 LAV at a time. 15 tons; MCr 5.

M-72 11cm Rocket Howitzers -- lightweight towed artillery piece fires 11cm munition. 5 tons; MCr 18; range 30-40km.

M-91 12cm Light Mass Drivers. Lightweight towed artillery piece slowly replacing M-72. Has nearly twice the ROF. Its ammunition is only about half the weight of the M-72 rounds. 5 tons; MCr 26.

M-526 5 ton hovertruck. General purpose hovertruck capable of carrying 3 tons of cargo or 12 men. 5 tons; Mcr 0.1.

 

[tbeard1999]

IMS Virginia Dreadnought

IMS Virginia Dreadnought (Others in class – Yamato, Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri, Tennessee, New Ironsides, Warrior, Prince of Wales, Hood, Washington, Kirov)

Type: Dreadnought

Displacement: Streamlined, 5000 tons

Cost: MCr 2896 before discounts and without small craft

Drives: All drives Z, giving it Jump-2, Maneuver-2 and Power-2.

Fuel: 1040 tons

Armament:

50 triple turrets
48 triple PAWS, 8 batteries of 6 turrets
2 triple sandcasters, 2 batteries of 1 turret

25 100 ton bays
20 PAWS bays (9 PAWS each), 5 batteries of 4 bays
5 ASM bays (3 ASM racks each), 5 batteries of 1 bay

Fittings: 67 staterooms; 1 double sized command stateroom; 120 low berths; 424 tons cargo; 200 ton small craft bay.

Electronics: Computer 7 with fiber optic backup; Aegis system w/Model-5

106 crew:

Captain 1
XO 1
Computer 1
Navigation 2
Medical 1
Communications 1
Ratings 4
Chief Engineer 1
Second Engineer 1
Engineer PO 2
Engineers 3
Chief Gunnery 1
Gunners 75
Marine Officers 1
Marines 26
Total 122

The Virginia class Dreadnought is the most powerful starship in Known Space and forms the core of the Commonwealth’s battlefleet. It is also the last Commonwealth warship to be limited to Jump-2 and 2-Gs acceleration.

Due to the Commonwealth’s decision to transition the fleet to Jump-4 and 4-G acceleration, the Virginias are now too slow for modern naval doctrine. Due to their considerable cost and firepower, as well as the fact that there is no replacement currently planned, the Virginias remain in the Commonwealth battle line.

Originally, the Virginias were to be replaced by the projected BB-4 class of 5000 ton Jump-4 dreadnoughts. Since deployment of the BB-4 was dependent on development of drives capable of producing Jump-4 and 4-G acceleration, the replacement would not be ready for another decade.

Meanwhile, the Navy rushed the smaller Jump-4 capable 3000 ton Royal Oak class light battleships into service, to provide the new carriers and assault ships with appropriate escorts. To stretch available funds, the Navy decided to retire the expensive Virginias early and rely on the Royal Oaks to fill the gap for a decade. As the new Royal Oaks came online, the Navy began transferring the Virginias to colonial and reserve fleets.

Unfortunately, ten years of development work failed to produce a deployable Jump-4 drive for the BB-4 class. The only BB-4 prototype, the Monitor, was nearly lost when its Jump drives overloaded on its initial jump and exploded, killing most of the ship’s Engineering section. And her new maneuver drives nearly “shook the ship to pieces” at more than 2-G acceleration. Futile tinkering by Navy engineers failed to resolve the problem and finally, to someone’s credit, the class was cancelled.

After the failure of the Monitor program, the Commonwealth Navy found itself with a problem – it had no replacement for the Virginias. The Royal Oaks were excellent warships, but each mounted less than half the firepower of a Virginia. Worse, precious shipyard space was being used mostly for the Indefatigable and Tarawa class ships. This slowed procurement of the Royal Oak class.

The Navy’s solution was to return the Virginias to service until a suitable replacement could be deployed. Meanwhile, naval strategic doctrine was hastily revised (or “ret-conned” as some younger officers derisively sneered).

Variants

Illustrious -- To improve the strategic mobility of the Virginia class, the Navy has doubled the fuel tankage of IMS Illustrious so that it can make 2 consecutive Jump-2s. Navy contractors gutted 8 PAWS bays and 2 ASM bays, replacing them with fuel tanks. Currently, Illustrious is undergoing strategic evaluation studies (i.e., wargames) with IMS Monitor, the ill-fated prototype of the BB-4 class. Like Illustrious, Monitor has sufficient fuel for 2 consecutive Jump-2s. The two ships comprise BatRon (BATtleship squadRON) 12. The purpose of the exercise is to determine if the extra Jump-2 capability is useful enough to offset the loss of about 25% of the ship's firepower. Critics claim that the refit combines the worst features of the Virginia and Monitor classes -- slow strategic speed and lighter armament.

New Jersey -- As noted above, the Navy began demobilizing the Virginias before the BB-4 program failed. Once ship, IMS New Jersey, was modified to test a Marine concept known as the "Arsenal ship", a heavy fire support ship that would support Marine landings with devastating firepower. The refit replaced New Jersey's PAWS and ASM batteries with missile racks. New Jersey has 25 100-ton missile bays, 48 triple missile turrets and 2 triple sandcaster turrets. A full missile strike from New Jersey consists of 369 missiles (!). Marine staff officers estimate that a single strike could effectively destroy a heavy armored brigade. New Jersey's cargo capacity has been reduced to 239 tons; 185 tons of cargo space have been allocated to missile reloads (about 1/2 ton per launcher, or 10 extra reloads). This means that New Jersey can fire nearly 4800 missiles before having to resupply. The Marines are apparently very pleased with New Jersey's capabilities, but some senior Naval officers advocate returning New Jersey to the battle line. Since there are no funds to return her to her original condition, she'd presumably retain her current missile armament.

 

[tbeard1999]

IMS Winters Drop Transport

IMS Winters Drop Transport (Others in class – Gavin, Sosabowski, Shishumi, Student, Rico, Ocean, Howard, Browning, Taylor, Henderson, Garcia, McAuliffe)

Type: MI Drop Transport

Displacement: Streamlined, 4000 tons

Cost: MCr 1488 before discounts and without small craft and cargo; MCr 1723 with small vehicles and jump capsules.

Drives: All drives Z, giving it Jump-3, Maneuver-3 and Power-3.

Fuel: 1240 tons

Armament:

40 triple missile turrets

Fittings: 68 staterooms; 1 double sized command stateroom; 1350 low berths; 181 tons cargo; 300 ton small craft bay; 100 Jump Capsule Launchers; space for 1800 Jump capsules

Jump Capsules: Typically 1450 High Survivability Capsules (cr50,000); 350 Basic Capsules (cr2000)

Vehicles: 2 SB-7 Ship's Boats; 8 D-7 Dropships

Electronics: Computer 7 with fiber optic backup

59 crew:

Captain 1
XO 1
Computer 1
Navigation 2
Medical 1
Communications 1
Ratings 4
Chief Engineer 1
Second Engineer 1
Engineer PO 2
Engineers 3
Chief Gunnery 1
Gunners 40

Mobile Infantry Battalion Landing Team
22 Officers
1307 Enlisted/NCO
(Enlisted/NCO carried in low berths)

Notes: The Winters class drop transports are the largest drop transports in Commonwealth service. Each is capable of landing and supporting an entire battalion of Mobile Infantry. The jump capsule launchers can fire 1 jump capsule every 30 seconds, so the entire force can be deployed in about 7 minutes.

Troops descend in high survivability capsules, which are well armored and contain numerous decoys and other penetration aids. Typically, only dedicated point defense systems have any chance of detecting and engaging them. The Winters class ships also provide fire support with their missile batteries. The 350 basic capsules are used to transport supplies and disposable MRL launchers.

The ship's boats and dropships are used for retrieval and deployment if the surface is already controlled. Each can retrieve 39 troops.

 

[Jame]

I may well borrow these.

 

[Golan2072]

It's great to see LBB2 in use with such spectacular results - thumbs up!

 

[tbeard1999]

IMS ANZAC Corvette

IMS ANZAC Corvette (Others in class – Warramunga, Chandler, Grimes, Perth, Adelaide, Armidale, Perry, Lawrence, Decatur, Ballarat, Canberra, Westralia, Atago, Takanami, Sendai, Fitzgerald, Broke, Preble, Hornblower)

Type: Corvette

Displacement: Streamlined, 400 tons

Cost: MCr 284.1 before discounts and without small craft and cargo.

Drives: All drives H, giving Jump-4, Maneuver-4 and Power-4.

Fuel: 200 tons

Armament: 2 triple PAWS turrets; 2 triple missile turrets or 2 ASM turrets

Fittings: 9 staterooms; 14 low berths; 14 tons cargo; 30 ton small craft bay

Vehicles: 1 SB-7 Ship's Boat or 1 D-7 Dropship

Electronics: Computer 4 with fiber optic backup

12 crew:

Captain 1
XO 1
Navigation 1
Medical 1
Chief Engineer 1
Engineer PO 1
Engineer 1
Chief Gunnery 1
Gunners 4

Marine Rifle Platoon
1 Officer
4 NCOs
8 Enlisted
(Enlisted/NCO carried in low berths)

Notes: The ANZAC class corvette is a fleet workhorse used for escort, patrol, ground support, courier and even minesweeping duties. Many carry a Marine Rifle Platoon in low berths usually with a LAV-40 infantry carrier and a D-7 dropship replacing the SB-7 ship's boat.

ANZAC class corvettes and the older Cumberland class corvettes are the most numerous ships in the Commonwealth fleet and will be the classes of shots most commonly encountered by Travellers.

 

[tbeard1999]

IMS Adder courier

IMS Adder courier (others in class: Serpent, Anaconda, Bushmaster, Harlequin, Diamondback, Habu, Keelback, Krait, Musurana, Rattlesnake, Python, Viper, Sidewinder, Sonoran, Yarara)

Use the scout/courier stats from Book 2. Since there are no grav vehicles in my campaign, the air/raft is usually replaced by a 4 man scout tiltrotor.

 

[tbeard1999]

IMS Campbell Darby (Others in class --Thomas Wilkinson, R. Lee Ermey, Alexander Burton, Lloyd Williams, Daniel Daly, John Churchill, Ian McKay, John Reynolds, John Pitcairn, Johnson Beharry, Bryan Budd, Smedley Butler, Leonard Mason)

Type: Light Marine Transport (Former Fast Marine Transport)
Displacement: 1000 tons, Streamlined
Empty Cost: MCr 671.918
Drives: All V, giving Jump and Maneuver 4
Fuel: 440 tons
Staterooms: 15
Low Berths: 70
Cargo: 71 tons
Vehicle Bay: 150 tons
Typical Vehicles: 2 D-7 Dropships; 3 LAV-40; 2 AV-22 Hellhound Gunship; 2 TV-12C; 2 M-72 11 cm rocket howitzers; 2 M526 Hovertrucks
Electronics: Model-4 with Fiber Optic Backup
Armament: 8 triple missile turrets; 1 triple sandcaster turret; 1 triple beam laser turret

Crew:
Captain-1
XO-1
Pilot-1
Navigation-1
Medical-1
Ratings-4
Chief Engineer-1
Second Engineer-1
Engineer PO-1
Engineers-4
Chief Gunnery-1
Gunners-7

Marine Contingent (Reinforced Marine Rifle Platoon)
Marine Officers-1
Marines Enlisted-54
Marine Support Enlisted-14

Comments:

The Campbell Darby class light marine transport is a fast-reaction ship designed to deploy a Marine Expeditionary Force (a reinforced company) to trouble spots. The Darby class is the oldest Jump-4 capable warship in the Commonwealth Navy.

When the Navy was built around Jump-2 capable warships, the Darbys provided a "fast reaction" capability for the fleet and were usually among the first forces to reach trouble spots. Now that the entire fleet is moving to Jump-4 standard, the Darbys are not as crucial for rapid deployment missions. They are, however, still useful for operations in which a full Marine Expeditionary Group is too large. They are also very numerous and would be the most common troop transport encountered on the Rim.

There has been some discussion of a Jump-6 replacement for the Darbys, but the last defense budget contained no appropriations for a detailed study. The proposed replacement would be much larger and more expensive and would approach the much larger Tarawa in cost. Given the current budgetary realities, it’s unlikely such a ship would be deployed in the near future.

 

[tbeard1999]

Shoho-Class Patrol Carrier

IMS Shoho-Class Patrol Carrier (ex-Escort Carrier)
(Others in Class: Melbourne, Vengeance, Sydney, Nabob, Magnificent, Taiho, Independence, Belleau Wood, Defiant, San Jacinto, Langley, Argus, Furious, Colossus, Theseus)

Type: Escort Carrier
Displacement: 600 tons, Streamlined
Drives: All Drives-F, giving Maneuver-2, Jump-2
Electronics: Model-1bis
Empty Cost: MCr 482.6
Fuel: 140 tons
Staterooms: 20
Low Berths: 0
Cargo: 99 tons
Vehicle Bay: 180 tons
Typical Vehicles: 2 SB-7 Ship's Boat; 12 F-31 Starfire fighters
Armament: 4 triple pulse lasers; 1 triple sandcaster turret; 1 triple missile turret

Crew:

Captain
XO/Pilot
Navigator
Doctor
Chief Engineer
Engineer
6 Gunners
12 Pilots
12 Flight Mechanics
1 Marine Officer
8 Marine Enlisted

The Shoho class patrol carrier was originally designated as an escort carrier. When the Commonwealth fleet began transition to Jump-4 capable ships, large numbers of Shohos became redundant. The Commonwealth government transferred many of them to client states, reserve fleets and Colonial fleets (designated Frontier Escort Carriers). The Navy uses the remainder as patrol ships. The carrier fighter wing makes them quite effective in this role, as they can patrol the same area of space as 4+ ANZAC class corvettes.

Shohos typically carry the obsolete F-31 Starfire fighter or rarely, the upgraded F-31S Starfire. Due to a design oversight, their launch bays are too narrow to accomodate the F-52 Hellcat. The oversight can be corrected, but it will take 1 week and MCr 2.5 in a repair dock. The small numbers of Shohos upgraded to carry Hellcats are considered a different class -- the Ravager class (other ships in class include Nevis, Searcher, Tracker and Bogue). The Ravagers also have 4 triple beam lasers and fiber optic backups for their computers.

Shohos often patrol interdicted worlds and restricted space. They will often form the core of a small task force comprised of a Shoho, 2 Saladin class light corvettes and a Pollux class stores ship.

F-31 Starfire Fighter
10 tons; MCr 12. The F-31 is being phased out of frontline naval service, but can still be found in reserve and colonial squadrons. It’s popular with planetary defense forces due to its low maintenance requirements and ready availability. It also has atmospheric control surfaces and vectored thrust, which make it more effective in atmospheric com-bat. 4-G, 1 pilot. 1 integral beam laser, 2 ordinance hardpoints. Requires 1 ground crew. Typical missile loadouts:
-CAP -- 4 x AFM
-Strike -- 2 x SRAM/CRAM
-Ground Support -- 2 x GAM (250kg brilliant guided bombs). Integral laser sometimes replaced with VRF gauss pod.
Special rule – the Starfire is renowned for its ruggedness in combat. To reflect this, the F-31 gets a 9+ saving throw (1d10) to ignore each hit in combat. (Save is 6+ on 1d6).

F-31S Super Starfire Fighter
10 tons; MCr 16 new; MCr 6 as an upgrade to F-31. The F-31S was a proposed upgrade of the F-31, replacing the F-31s engines with models developing 25% more thrust. A few squadrons were equipped with F-31S models, but the Navy ultimately opted to completely replaced the F-31 with the F-52 Hellcat. 5-G, 1 pilot. 1 integral beam laser, 2 ordinance hardpoints. Typical missile loadouts:
-CAP -- 4 x AFM
-Strike -- 2 x SRAM/CRAM
-Ground Support -- 2 x GAM (250kg brilliant guided bombs). Integral laser sometimes replaced with VRF gauss pod.
Special rule – the Super Starfire is renowned for its ruggedness in combat. To reflect this, the F-31S gets a 9+ saving throw (1d10) to ignore each hit in combat. (Save is 6+ on 1d6).

 

[tbeard1999]

IMS Saladin-Class Light Patrol Corvette

IMS Saladin Class Light Patrol Corvette (ex-Close Escort)
(Others in Class: Ney, Packingham, Allen, Maxwell, Truscott, Hancock, Reynolds, Buford, Armistead, Wynton, Dunbarry)

Type: Light Patrol Corvette (ex Frigate)
Displacement: 200 tons, Streamlined
Empty Cost: MCr 113.2 (assuming 2 triple pulse laser turrets)
Drives: Jump-B, Maneuver and Power-D, giving Jump-2 and Maneuver-4.
Electronics: Model-1bis
Fuel: 80 tons
Staterooms: 5
Low Berths: 0
Cargo: 23 tons
Vehicle Bay: 20 tons
Typical Vehicles: 1 SL-2 Launch
Armament: 20% have 2 triple pulse laser turrets, 20% have 1 triple beam laser turret and 1 triple missile turret, 60% have a variety of armament.

Crew:

Captain
XO/Pilot
Navigator
Doctor
Chief Engineer
2 Gunners

The Saladin class was originally designated a Close Escort and was designed as a cheap, fast fleet workhorse capable of carrying out a numerous tasks including courier, escort, minesweeping, fire support, interdiction and patrol. With the transition to Jump-4, the fleet had scores of Saladins available for transfer to colonial fleets and client states. Some were also transferred to the Survey Service. The fleet maintains a large number of Saladins for patrol duty. This makes them a common encounter for Travellers.

A notable feature of the Saladins are that their cargo bay can be easily configured into secure holding areas. Many Saladins carry 1 ton of metal grating pre-cut to assemble into 3m x 3m holding cells.

Saladins have a far less homogenous armament than most warships. The two most common armament suites are 2 x triple pulse laser turrets or 1 tripple missile and 1 triple beam laser turret. However, 60% of Saladins have a different armament suite.

One interesting ship is IMS Buford, which was hastily configured as a fire support ship during the Oran Insurrection. Fleet contractors removed 4 of Buford’s 6 pulse lasers and replaced them with 4 missile racks. In addition, her cargo bay was reconfigured to hold 60 disposable multiple rocket launchers (each firing 100 9.5 cm rockets with cluster or fuel/air warheads). The roof plating was removed so that 20 launchers could be fired at a time. The expended MRL shells are then ejected from the hold using compressed gas. The cargo hold is now unpressurized. This modification consumed 20 tons of cargo space.

With appropriate equipment, the MRLs could be reloaded in about 2 hours. A full barrage of 20 MRLs could devastate a 2 square kilometer area. The disposable MRLs cannot be fired in flight. After Oran was pacified, Buford retained her unconventional armament.

Buford can carry 60 missile reloads for its 4 missile racks.

 

[tbeard1999]

F-23 Buffalo and F-3 Pigeon Fighters

F-23 Buffalo Fighter

This obsolescent fighter has an underserved reputation as the worst fighter in Commonwealth history. Its poor reputation is due to its poor performance in the Battle of Carylon, in which two complete squadrons of Commonwealth Marine Buffaloes were destroyed by Waldegren fighters. Among the worst defeats in Commonwealth Marine Corps history, this battle became immediately known as the "Pickett Turkey Shoot" (named after Vice Admiral Winton Pickett III, who commanded the Commonwealth task force).

This name, which evokes two great military fiascoes (Pickett's Charge, Old Earth 1863CE and the Marianas Turkey Shoot, Old Earth 1944CE), was a major factor in burying Vice Admiral Pickett's career and in the retirement of the F-23 Buffalo. As a result, large numbers of Buffaloes became available for Colonial fleets, client states and private parties. It's probably the most common fighter encountered.

The Buffalo began as a private venture by Cambellarms, Ltd. to produce a cheap, rugged, "aerospace fighter" that could fight well in atmosphere or in vacuum. The fighter was intended to be exported to relatively primitive planets of TL9-10 and to be maintainable by those worlds with a minimum of off-world spare parts. So, "cheap and rugged" had precedence over "capable". Considering its design goals, the Buffalo was a solid success. Although it had to be manufactured at TL9+, most of its components could be fabricated by any world of TL7+. Cambellarms even produced templates defining a wide variety of local material substitution regimes. For example, one template described how to use small amounts of titanium in conjunction with aluminum and steel to replace the amount of TL10 ceramics required in the airframe by 80% (albeit at a cost in acceleration and at the price of more rapid airframe fatigue). Second hand buyers of locally produced Buffaloes should be careful...

Many aerospace engineers consider the Buffalo to be one of the most elegantly designed spacecraft in history. Its controls were simple, straightforward and extremely user-friendly. An elegant, though relatively unsophisticated, fly by wire system made the Buffalo easier to fly than any previous fighter. Cambellarms claimed that a Buffalo pilot would require 30% fewer flight hours to obtain proficiency; a claim confirmed by early reports from the field. The Buffalo also required a very short runway, allowing it to operate from highways and temporary airfields.

Although the Buffalo was never intended for frontline service with the Commonwealth armed forces, the Commonwealth Marine Corps became interested in the Buffalo when the Navy refused to fully fund procurement of the F-31M, the Marine variant of the F-31. Since Buffaloes were far cheaper than the F-31M, the Marines could buy enough to fully equip the Marine squadrons which were bravely trying to make due with the ancient F-3 Pigeon (called the "clay pigeon" by its disgruntled pilots).

As a result, many Marine squadrons were equipped with the Buffalo and two of these squadrons found themselves up against front line Waldegren fighters at Carylon.

F-23 Buffalo fighter
10 tons; MCr 6 (MCr 3 through the Commonwealth Mutual Assistance Program or Surplus Disposition Agency). TL9; but could be built at TL7. The F-23 has been phased out of frontline naval service, but can still be found in a few reserve and colonial squadrons and in many private and client state squadrons. It has atmospheric control surfaces and vectored thrust, which make it more effective in atmospheric combat. 2-G ("afterburners" allow 3-G for 3 turns), 1 pilot. 1 integral pulse laser, 2 ordinance hardpoints. Requires 1 ground crew. Typical missile loadouts:
-CAP -- 4 x AFM
-Strike -- 2 x SRAM/CRAM
-Ground Support -- 2 x GAM (250kg brilliant guided bomb). Integral laser sometimes replaced with VRF gauss pod.

Some operators have replaced the inaccurate pulse laser with a beam laser.

The most notable variant of the Buffalo is the F-23R stratofighter. As its name implies, it's strictly a suborbital craft designed for atmospheric and suborbital operations. The F-23's laser is replaced with a twin VRF gauss gun and carries 2 additional hardpoints.

F-3 Pigeon

10 tons; MCr 4 (MCr 2 through the Commonwealth Mutual Assistance Program or Surplus Disposition Agency). The F-3 has been phased out of frontline, reserve and colonial naval service, but some can still be found in a few private and client state squadrons. It has atmospheric control surfaces and vectored thrust, which make it more effective in atmospheric combat. 1-G ("afterburners" allow 2-G for 3 turns), 1 pilot. 2 ordinance hardpoints. Requires 1 ground crew. Typical missile loadouts:
-CAP -- 4 x AFM
-Strike -- 2 x SRAM/CRAM
-Ground Support -- 2 x GAM (250kg brilliant guided bombs) or 2 x VRF gauss pod.

Markham Armswork Mark II Super Pigeon Upgrade Kit

This is a representative aftermarket upgrade produced by private contractors. The Mark II upgrade costs MCr 1.5 and replaces the Pigeon's old style pulse engines with standard models capable of producing a sustained 3-G thrust. Minor airframe modifications and electrical subsystem upgrades complete the package. The Mark II has the same game stats as the F-3, but can make 3-G thrust. Some operators have bought these upgrade kits, although the availability of significant numbers of cheap F-23 Buffaloes has deflated the market.

Markham Armswork also produces an upgrade kit for the F-23 Buffalo that upgrades its older style pulse engines with standard TL10 engines capable of producing sustained 4-G acceleration. The upgrade costs MCr 2.5 and has been bought by some operators.

 

[tbeard1999]

Pollux Class Stores Ship

IMS Pollux

(Others in class: Antares, Aldebaron, Sol, Rigel, Canopus, Barnard’s Star)

Type: Stores Ship
Displacement: 400 tons, Streamlined
Empty Cost: MCr 156.65
Drives: Jump, Maneuver and Power-D, giving Jump-2 and Maneuver-2.
Fuel: 100 tons
Staterooms: 4
Low Berths: 0
Cargo: 175 tons (206 tons if pinnace is pre-loaded)
Vehicle Bay: 40 tons
Typical Vehicles: 1 40 ton Slow Pinnace (31 ton cargo capacity; usually pre-loaded).
Armament: Varies, but typical armament is 1 triple turret with 2 pulse lasers and a sand-caster. The ship has 4 hardpoints and could be fitted with 4 turrets total.

Crew:
Captain
XO/Pilot
Navigator
Doctor
Chief Engineer
1 Gunner

Pollux class ships are the standard light stores ship of the Commonwealth Navy. With the transition to universal Jump-4 capability in the fleet, the Jump-2 Pollux class is clearly inadequate to the task. Several Pollux class ships have been retrofitted with Jump 4 capability, but this refit dramatically reduces their cargo carrying capability by 132 tons. The result has been unsatisfactory, although the refitted ships are still in service.

Pollux class ships are classed as transports, but they can carry armament comparable to corvettes and are often impressed into service as such. In such cases, portable staterooms are mounted in the cargo deck for additional gunners and marines.

Portable staterooms consume 4 tons of space and cost Cr800,000 each. They act like normal staterooms. They are collapsible and can be stored in 1/2 ton of space.

 

[tbeard1999]

A-20 Vindicator Gunship

30 tons; MCr18.5; 6-G acceleration; 4 small craft cabins; 5.6 tons cargo. 1 beam laser, 2 missile racks (each with 6 missiles).

The Vindicator is designed for extended duration missions. It has a mission endurance of 2 weeks; 4 weeks if 3 tons of supplies are carried. This make the Vindicator able to remain on station far longer than fighters. Vindicators are often used for patrol missions, as their duration makes them much more useful in such roles. Minimum crew is 1 pilot and 1 weapons officer. Extended duration missions from bases usually carry 2 pilots and 2 weapons officers. Vindicator crews are often cross-trained in boarding tactics. The ship's locker on a Vindicator will include appropriate gear for boarding parties. A typical loadout might include: 4 self sealing armored spacesuits (treat as Cloth); 4 EVA thruster packs; 1 plasma torch capable of breaching hull metal; 4 cutlasses, 4 snub pistols with HEAP, 4 combat shotguns (with detachable grenade launchers). 12 tear gas grenades; 12 flash grenades; 6 dual purpose HE/HEAP grenades; 6 flechette grenades; 4 respirators. The pistols are used for zero-g operations; the shotguns for more typical operations.

Vindicators are technically small craft, so they are not named. Of course, crews unofficially bestow names on them all the time.

Vindicators are common encounters for Travellers who are where they shouldn't be...

 

[tbeard1999]

IMS Kirk Gunship Tender

IMS Kirk

(Others in class - Bowman, Reynolds, Sisko, Sheridan, Koenig, Solo, Nemo, Cellini, Poole, Carter, April, Pike, Decker)

Type: Gunship Tender
Displacement: 400 tons, Streamlined
Empty Cost: MCr 242.65
Drives: Jump, Maneuver and Power-D, giving Jump-2 and Maneuver-2
Computer: Model-1bis
Fuel: 100 tons
Staterooms: 5
Low Berths: 0
Cargo: 30 tons
Vehicle Bay: 180 tons
Typical Vehicles: 6 A-20 Vindicators
Armament: 4 triple turrets with 11 pulse lasers and 1 sandcaster

Crew:
Captain
XO/Pilot
Navigator
Doctor
Chief Engineer
4 Gunners
6 Small Craft Pilots
6 Small Craft Weapon Officers
6 Mechanics
12 Marines

The Kirk-class gunship tender provides facilities for operating gunships, specifically the A-20 Vindicator. Kirk class ships are intended for patrol missions and gunboat diplomacy, rather than fleet actions. However, the Commonwealth navy is stretched quite thin and Kirk class tenders have often participated in major fleet actions, often with distinction.

Kirk class tenders are often found patrolling DMZs and interdicted worlds. The long-duration A-20 Vindicator gunships are extremely effective in this role.
Kirk class tenders are most commonly found in the so-called "Rim Fleet", which is an unofficial name for certain squadrons of the Commonwealth Navy. "Rim Spacers" tend to serve on the same ship for 10+ years and usually spend most of their deployments in backwater systems on the Rim. They are popularly thought of as slovenly carousers with little regard for navy spit and polish. It's rumored that the Commonwealth Navy transfers most of its malcontents to the "Rim Fleet". Many Rim Spacers seem to relish the reputation. Curiously, Rim Spacers seem to get along better with members of the Survey Service than they do with regular Navy personnel. Rim Spacers often retire and settle on the Rim.

It should be noted that the crews of the Vindicators are berthed on the Vindicators themselves. A typical Vindicator crew will consist of a pilot, weapons officer and 2 marines (often cross-trained as pilots and weapons officers).

 

[atpollard]

Vindicators are common encounters for Travellers who are where they shouldn't be...

I like the Vindicator concept - a long range extended duration fighter to "keep an eye on things". It could be one of the most useful encounter ships in the small ship universe that most players dwell in.[1] Perhaps a routine "customs" stop on approach to a high LL world. A few of them could charge in at a critical moment to save the day of a free trader under attack by pirates.

If someone was interested in designing an exterior, I'd be happy to create a deckplan for it.


[1] Small ship universe refers to the ships typically encountered during Traveller adventures. Million ton transports might exist, but the PCs do not typically own one or attack one.

 

[jwcarroll60]

Quite an interesting assortment of vessels. You have a small ship universe, do you not?

 

[tbeard1999]

Quite an interesting assortment of vessels. You have a small ship universe, do you not?

Yes. All designs are Book 2, with a few additional components from my revised Book 2 combat system.

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=11089


Small craft are modified (or in many cases unmodified) versions of Book 2 small craft.