Major B
SOC-14 1K
Please check my work and provide feedback on my results:
I am completing a fighter design. One of the variant models is an attack model mounting a slug thrower.
I mounted the slug thrower following the design rules for a firmpoint mount. The result is a weapon taking up a half ton of volume with range R=6. The fighter is produced at TL14 and the weapon is an ultimate (TLSE=Ult) TL-11 model so the final Mod is +2 (TLSE mod +4 and T1 mod -2).
I need ammunition for this thing so devoted a half ton as an ammunition hopper.
First question: How many rounds can a half ton hopper hold?
Slug throwers fire size=2 slugs (page 366) that are explosive and have pen=2 (page 369).
To find the volume of one size=2 slug I went to Thingmaker. On poage 613, the length of a size-2 "thing" is equal to size.
Though not specified, this means a value extrapolated from the size code. From the chart on page 622, size=2 means 7.5 cm so L = .075 m.
From page 623, using a cylinder profile, width and height both equal L / 2 or .0375 m.
Volume = L x W x H = .075 x .0375 x .0375 = .00105 m3.
My half ton hopper has a volume of 6.75 m3. Divide that by .000105 and you get 64,000 rounds in the hopper (assuming no waste space or room required by the feed mechanism).
Second question: How many rounds does the slug thrower fire per "shot" in combat?
Since the width of the round is 37.5 mm, I looked up some 37mm gatling guns for comparison. The T249 and T250 models were six-barrel gatlings designed in the 50s and fielded into the 57-62 time frame so they are TL 6-7.
The rate of fire listed on wikipedia and confirmed on another site is 3,000 rpm in anti-aircraft mode or 120 rpm versus ground targets. However, the weapon was fed using a 192-round drum so the effective rate of fire would be limited by how fast the crew could relaod drums of ammunition (and 192 rounds of 37mm ammunition would be a bit heavy to be easily tossed around).
Considering the TL11 model would have an automated feed mechanism and assuming that the system was not limited in firing by the requirement to keep the barrels cool (because this is not a CPR like the T250 but more likely a Gauss system), and to avoid a fraction in the result all led me to a SWAG of 400 rounds per "shot" meaning the hopper holds 160 "shots."
I don't think there is any official answer so does this seem reasonable to those of you with more knowledge of weapon systems or more background in the T5 starship weapons?
I am completing a fighter design. One of the variant models is an attack model mounting a slug thrower.
I mounted the slug thrower following the design rules for a firmpoint mount. The result is a weapon taking up a half ton of volume with range R=6. The fighter is produced at TL14 and the weapon is an ultimate (TLSE=Ult) TL-11 model so the final Mod is +2 (TLSE mod +4 and T1 mod -2).
I need ammunition for this thing so devoted a half ton as an ammunition hopper.
First question: How many rounds can a half ton hopper hold?
Slug throwers fire size=2 slugs (page 366) that are explosive and have pen=2 (page 369).
To find the volume of one size=2 slug I went to Thingmaker. On poage 613, the length of a size-2 "thing" is equal to size.
Though not specified, this means a value extrapolated from the size code. From the chart on page 622, size=2 means 7.5 cm so L = .075 m.
From page 623, using a cylinder profile, width and height both equal L / 2 or .0375 m.
Volume = L x W x H = .075 x .0375 x .0375 = .00105 m3.
My half ton hopper has a volume of 6.75 m3. Divide that by .000105 and you get 64,000 rounds in the hopper (assuming no waste space or room required by the feed mechanism).
Second question: How many rounds does the slug thrower fire per "shot" in combat?
Since the width of the round is 37.5 mm, I looked up some 37mm gatling guns for comparison. The T249 and T250 models were six-barrel gatlings designed in the 50s and fielded into the 57-62 time frame so they are TL 6-7.
The rate of fire listed on wikipedia and confirmed on another site is 3,000 rpm in anti-aircraft mode or 120 rpm versus ground targets. However, the weapon was fed using a 192-round drum so the effective rate of fire would be limited by how fast the crew could relaod drums of ammunition (and 192 rounds of 37mm ammunition would be a bit heavy to be easily tossed around).
Considering the TL11 model would have an automated feed mechanism and assuming that the system was not limited in firing by the requirement to keep the barrels cool (because this is not a CPR like the T250 but more likely a Gauss system), and to avoid a fraction in the result all led me to a SWAG of 400 rounds per "shot" meaning the hopper holds 160 "shots."
I don't think there is any official answer so does this seem reasonable to those of you with more knowledge of weapon systems or more background in the T5 starship weapons?