Cutters and Cruisers
Previously I've talked about the Carriers of the Deep Patrol (in my space opera serial). What about other classes of ship? If you were curious then you're in luck as here are my notes on the two most common classes, cutters and cruisers.
Cutters
The functional definition of a Deep Patrol cutter is an FTL-enabled spacecraft that will fit inside a standard Medium Vehicle Bay. This puts a hard limit of 50m by 40m by 20m on the maximum size; usually they are long and narrow, with wings or pylons added as necessary. A 40m length and 10m height and width are typical.
A cockpit at the front is standard. The two most popular layouts are either engines and lifesystems to the rear with a reconfigurable space between, or engines to the sides and a long continuous space from cockpit to rear.
A scout or patrol cutter will be equipped for a cruise of up to a year, though longer than two months is an unusual mission plan. Crew for this type of mission is typically five to twelve with fifteen as the upper limit. Cutters for other missions will usually be equipped for shorter duration. Rescue or salvage cutters will have more equipment and larger crews, making them cramped. Combat cutters tend to have small crews while the bays are filled with weaponry. Cargo cutters often will have a minimal crew of three or four, while passenger missions will fill the main bay with bunks for transferring up to fifty personnel at a time.
Although not precisely expendable, the small number of crew allow cutters to be risked in low information situations, making them the vessel of choice for scouting and first contact. Their lack of capability is an advantage in these situations; the capture of a single cutter would not threaten the Deep Patrol or any but the smallest and most localised culture on the rim.
Cruisers
There are several types of Deep Patrol cruiser. The requirement for the class is that it should fit within a standard Large Vehicle Bay, a space that is one cubic kilometre. Although large spherical cruisers exist for specialised purposes, the more usual form in either a cylinder of 750m length and 300m diameter, or a cuboid of 700m by 400m by 200m.
Cruisers are the vessel of choice for missions of up to a year, and can be equipped for five year missions, though the chance of breakdown of vital components over such a period make such missions vanishingly rare.
Cruisers are large enough to carry a specialised crew and additional supernumerary teams. This makes them useful for diplomatic missions, cultural audits, archaeological digs, and technical/cultural aid missions. They are also used for hauling large cargoes and for mining resources, in many cases simply enclosing asteroids to bring them back to a carrier or base.
In general, sections of the cruiser are modular, allowing the vessel to be optimised for whatever mission they are assigned. Additional lifesystems and personnel bays can be added for transporting people, then swapped out for equipment and medical spaces when a rescue mission is launched.
Although many cruisers are permanently assigned to carriers that tend them, some are associated with training and support bases and are sent on missions from higher command echelons using carriers as staging posts. This sometimes causes tension and friction, with intense rivalries forming between carrier crews and those from central command.
Cutters
The functional definition of a Deep Patrol cutter is an FTL-enabled spacecraft that will fit inside a standard Medium Vehicle Bay. This puts a hard limit of 50m by 40m by 20m on the maximum size; usually they are long and narrow, with wings or pylons added as necessary. A 40m length and 10m height and width are typical.
A cockpit at the front is standard. The two most popular layouts are either engines and lifesystems to the rear with a reconfigurable space between, or engines to the sides and a long continuous space from cockpit to rear.
A scout or patrol cutter will be equipped for a cruise of up to a year, though longer than two months is an unusual mission plan. Crew for this type of mission is typically five to twelve with fifteen as the upper limit. Cutters for other missions will usually be equipped for shorter duration. Rescue or salvage cutters will have more equipment and larger crews, making them cramped. Combat cutters tend to have small crews while the bays are filled with weaponry. Cargo cutters often will have a minimal crew of three or four, while passenger missions will fill the main bay with bunks for transferring up to fifty personnel at a time.
Although not precisely expendable, the small number of crew allow cutters to be risked in low information situations, making them the vessel of choice for scouting and first contact. Their lack of capability is an advantage in these situations; the capture of a single cutter would not threaten the Deep Patrol or any but the smallest and most localised culture on the rim.
Cruisers
There are several types of Deep Patrol cruiser. The requirement for the class is that it should fit within a standard Large Vehicle Bay, a space that is one cubic kilometre. Although large spherical cruisers exist for specialised purposes, the more usual form in either a cylinder of 750m length and 300m diameter, or a cuboid of 700m by 400m by 200m.
Cruisers are the vessel of choice for missions of up to a year, and can be equipped for five year missions, though the chance of breakdown of vital components over such a period make such missions vanishingly rare.
Cruisers are large enough to carry a specialised crew and additional supernumerary teams. This makes them useful for diplomatic missions, cultural audits, archaeological digs, and technical/cultural aid missions. They are also used for hauling large cargoes and for mining resources, in many cases simply enclosing asteroids to bring them back to a carrier or base.
In general, sections of the cruiser are modular, allowing the vessel to be optimised for whatever mission they are assigned. Additional lifesystems and personnel bays can be added for transporting people, then swapped out for equipment and medical spaces when a rescue mission is launched.
Although many cruisers are permanently assigned to carriers that tend them, some are associated with training and support bases and are sent on missions from higher command echelons using carriers as staging posts. This sometimes causes tension and friction, with intense rivalries forming between carrier crews and those from central command.
Comments