The ships of DIE

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Lucy Took
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The ships of DIE

Postby Lucy Took » Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:56 pm

The Black Mako


The MMS Black Mako is a custom built two-masted airship, based on the Valkyrie class production vessel. It uses magically enchanted sails to achieve lift, a system of rudders and triangular sails to control pitch, yaw, and steering, and six steam-driven turbine propeller engines to provide thrust. It features a bow-mounted keel to provide stability, and measures 180' long by 20' wide. Excluding the keel and masts, it has a height of 50' from the top deck to the bottom of the hull. The wheelhouse and captain's cabin are built onto the top deck, and measure 9' tall. Each of its two masts measure 17' tall- the mainmast has a 3' teletype transmitter mounted at the top. It's typical cruising altitude is 6000 feet, though its mechanical components will continue to function at a maximum of 10000 feet. Standard cruising velocity is 45 knots. If the engines are pushed to absolute maximum output, the MMS Black Mako can reach a top speed of 62 knots, but this speed cannot be maintained for more than five to ten minutes without damaging the engines, sails, or both.

The top deck, like the hull, is plated in ceramic veneers, to cut down on wind resistance. Each mast has two heavy brass rings, each with nine attached safety cables, each at a length of 40' and rated to withstand 600 lbs of force. Each safety cable is spooled directly into specialized compartments inside the mast housing, to minimize slack and prevent trip/tangle hazards. The cable rings are mounted to a bearing assembly, allowing them to rotate freely so that crew attached to the safety line(s) can maneuver easily. The wheelhouse and Captain's Cabin are also located on the top deck. The wheelhouse contains the main ignition cylinder, boiler firing sequencer, engine output gauges, altimeter, pitch/yaw harness, steering yoke, and navigation office. The Captain's Cabin contains the Teletype machine, cash vault, and records vault.

The ship itself has three interior decks, which includes the ballast/steerage section. The first deck is the Hospital Wing, and features Dr. Heart's personal quarters, office, an operating theater, an intensive care theater, a post-operative ward, and a trauma/burn ward, as well as six patient rooms, each with two beds separated by a curtain. Every room on the hospital deck has been plated in a thin layer of stainless steel, and all furniture and surgical implements have a minimum of one point of neodymium magnetizing (substantially more in the furniture) to prevent them from sliding or moving during flight. All surgical implements are sterilized after use, both in an antiseptic chemical bath and in an ultra-high-temperature steam bath. Each room can be sterilized quickly and easily, due to the stainless steel plating. Each room on this deck also features access chutes to both the chem tank and the steam bath tank, so that any implements can be quickly and safely sterilized.

The second deck is the crew deck, and features all crew cabins and bunks, as well as the Galley, Kitchen, and refrigerator/cooler units. The pharmacy is located on this floor, in a repurposed crew cabin. Including the pharmacy, there are sixteen cabins on this deck, each of which can hold a maximum of three ponies in stacked bunks. Each bunk has an access chute to the laundry room, a single spooled safety line measuring 8' and rated at 400lbs and anchored directly into the hull, and a water condenser to provide clean water from the steam return lines. Additionally, there are two access tunnels to the lifeboat/outer hull launch pads on this deck, one each on the port and starboard side, at the bow end.

The bottom deck is steerage and storage, and contains the bathrooms, boilers and boiler partitions, dry goods storage partitions, coal bins, chemical/steam sterilization tanks, ship's laundry, and Diamond Dog quarters. There are six boilers aboard, three each along the port and starboard hull. Each boiler is isolated from the others by an armored partition wall. Both bathrooms are also isolated by partitions, though unarmored. The Diamond Dog quarters are nestled in the bow end of the deck, between boilers #1 and #2. The chem and steam tanks both lie along the port wall, while the laundry tank and bathrooms lie along the starboard wall. Additionally, there are two more partitioned storage areas on each the port and starboard wall- these serve as general storage, and are not typically locked. Extra rigging, safety line, tools, spare parts, dry goods, overflow pharmaceuticals/surgical tools/examination equipment, repair equipment, and miscellany are stored here.

The high capacity boilers provide ultra-high-temperature steam, which powers the ship's engines. the engines, in turn, also supply the ship with electricity, which powers the refrigeration units, oven, teletype, heating, and deck lighting. The wind shear generated by flight provides ventilation for the ship, which can be adjusted for each deck. Each crew cabin also has isolated atmospheric controls, which adjust the ventilation and temperature for the rooms.

The boiler partitions are recessed into the floor of the steerage deck, which creates an inter-deck corridor between the outer hull and steerage. This space is used as an access tunnel to the vital boiler control components and fireboxes. This access tunnel, like the engine access tunnels and the transmission control hatches, are all keyed to a single master key- one is in Steel's possession, one in Dr. Heart's, and one in Pick's. These keys open every room and access hatch/tunnel aboard, but notably do not activate the ignition sequence. Only Steel has an ignition key at this time.

Currently, there are no mounted weapons aboard, though personnel are free to carry their own personal firearms.


NPC Crew members

Pick - Pack Leader of the Diamond Dogs
Honeydew - Diamond Dog, security, deck hand
Mallet - Diamond Dog- Hammer's twin, security, deck hand
Hammer - Diamond Dog- Mallet's twin, security, deck hand
Pooflina - Dragon, ship's nurse
Deck Hooves - Pegasus Pony, midshipman

And a blind, cantankerous old zebra. He's a bit of a curmudgeon, but he has nowhere else to go, and Steel isn't the sort to turn old ponies out on the street... much to his own chagrin.
~If this should end in fire, then we should all burn together~

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Lucy Took
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Re: The ships of DIE

Postby Lucy Took » Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:57 pm

HMS Hrimfaxi


the HMS Hrimfaxi is a Revanta class combat transport vessel, currently undergoing the final production stages at Valance Motors & Locomotion in Manehattan. Production on this vessel is several weeks from completion, not including crew training. It measures 180' from bow to stern, 24' from port to starboard, and 40' hull to deck. The Crew barracks is located on the top deck, and adds 6' of height from the deck itself. The Hrimfaxi has four decks and one steerage compartment. It is powered by sixteen engines and ten boilers, and features six Bernoullian sails for lift, a rudder in each the bow and stern for steering, and four ailerons for pitch/yaw. Unlike most airships, the rudders are mounted on the top deck rather than the keel, while the keel itself is a single flat surface covered in crawler tracks, to enable the ship to land on any terrain. The entire vessel is positively buoyant, enabling it to land on water, as well. The engine configuration has six engines each on two sets of mounted wings, and four in the stern of the ship. wind tunnel tests have demonstrated its cruising speed to be 40 knots, with a top speed of 44.

Each deck is designed to be a launching platform for a single platoon, and as such lacks the amenities other airships designs feature. There is no ship's laundry, no galley, no provisional coolers, and only a very simple aid station in the bow of each deck, with a single bathroom in the stern. Each deck has eight exits, four each port and starboard. Two of each are armored air deployment hatches that open directly to the exterior of the ship, and two are ramps for ground troops to disembark upon landing. each deck's exit ramps are offset from the other decks, so that all decks can disembark simultaneously without running into each other. The top two decks have extendable ramps, so that the angle by which the ramp contacts the surface is shallow enough to minimize tripping or stumbling. all deck hatches open outward, towards the bow, so that the hatch door itself acts as armored cover for deploying pegasi. This also means that open hatches create considerable drag and wind shear can force a malfunctioning hatch closed- to prevent the latter, each hatch opens using hydraulically assisted shocks, with hydraulic pressure provided by steam lines. The only way for one of these hatches to slam shut is if the entire ship loses pressure. Each deck has two barracks, one each port and starboard. The barracks themselves have few amenities, only hooks for hammocks, magnetized weapons lockers, and a secondary set of lockers for ration packs.

The steerage section contains all of the boilers and an armored compartment to house the coal bins. A small cooler for crew rations is located here. As with the rest of the ship, little priority is given to comfort in order to maximize how many ponies can fit aboard and how quickly they can be loaded and unloaded.

The Hrimfaxi has another unique feature- an armored partition isolates a section of the bow from the rest of the ship except for steerage, with two cable-operated ammo elevators. Ten of the Hrimfaxi's Mounted Ballista are located within this "fortified tower" section. Though this leaves significant blind spots along the sides, it enables the Hrimfaxi to lay down suppressive fire over the drop zone, and since pegasi can deploy mid flight to serve as escorts, this weakness can be easily mitigated. Though the "fortified tower" section contains most of the ship's weapon capacity, there are two more ballista covering the stern.

A total of 150 ponies can be transported by the Hrimfaxi, which has a crew of 35. The absolute maximum capacity of the Hrimfaxi, in the case of evacuations where even steerage space is utilized, is 200.[/quote]
~If this should end in fire, then we should all burn together~

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Re: The ships of DIE

Postby Lucy Took » Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:58 pm

HMS Bellerephon

Her Majesties' Service, Bellerephon is a Tarax class vessel, and one of the few official airships in the Equestrian Navy. Although it is an older design, it is one of the fastest ships in Equestria. The Bellerephon uses four fan-shaped sails to provide Bernoullian lift, twin rudders at the bow and aft for steering, and ailerons mounted along the engine mounting shafts for pitch and yaw control. It features ten steam-turbine engines wired to two control banks, which allows the port and starboard engine banks to be controlled separately- this dramatically increases the Bellerephon's maneuverability at top speed. It measures 150' from bow to stern, 20' from port to starboard, and 30' from keel to deck. There are two decks and a steerage compartment, with a layer of armor plating between each and thicker plating around steerage. Its cruising altitude is 6500 feet, though electronic pressure assist valves along the steam lines enable it to continue operating even at 12000 feet, though only for short bursts. Its average cruising speed is 58 knots, combat speed is 63 knots. Its maximum output speed is 70 knots, though it cannot maintain that speed for long. Due to the age of its design, the Bellerephon lacks a teletype receiver or transmitter.

The weapons systems on the Bellerephon are fairly innovative, though still not perfected. Airship operations have demonstrated an impracticality to using cannon and powder munitions, like other armed forces in Equestria. Turbulence, evasive actions, and normal rigors of flight would cause shifting of munitions, which would pose a hazard to flight crews and potentially damage the ship itself. To that end, the Bellerephon uses heavy belt-fed ballistae weapons systems- one each bow and stern, two each port and starboard. These ballistae are mounted directly into the decking by a heavy rod, while the ballista itself has a system of bearings that allow it to rotate 60[sup]o[/sup] horizontal and 100[sup]o[/sup] vertical. This allows for an overlapping field of fire, without risking one weapon inadvertently hitting the ship itself. These weapons platforms fire a specialized ammunition in the form of belt-fed, heavy steel bolts, which contain an explosive charge within a hollow portion of the bolt head and a primer within a hollowed section of the rod. The kinetic force of impact forces the primer charge into the main charge, which initiates a chemical reaction and activates the explosive. This binary activation system means that the ammunition will not ignite if dropped, bounced or otherwise thrown about in heavy turbulence or maneuvers. This also means each round penetrates a target before the explosive detonates. The belt feed must be driven manually, using a crank to position each bolt into the firing position, and another crank to pull the launcher cable into firing position. the belts themselves hold 16 bolts and are magnetic, which prevents them form dislodging during maneuvers.

Below the main deck lies the barracks- a maximum of 60 ponies can be stationed aboard the Bellerephon, though its standard crew is 36- six two-pony gunner teams of one unicorn and one earth pony each, an airborne squadron of ten pegasi, eight boiler operators, 3 pilots on rotating shifts, a Medic, a Commander, and a Captain. The galleys, coolers, bathrooms, showers, ship's laundry, and aid station can be found on this deck. There is one barracks each on the port and starboard side- each has hooks along the walls for attaching hammocks, rather than beds as beds would shift or slide during flight and potentially cause injury. Personal armaments and belongings are not permitted on this deck for the same reason.

Below the Barracks lies the Deployment deck- featuring two hatches at the bow and stern, one on each side, which allow for the rapid deployment of Pegasi air troopers. This deck also contains the ammunition caches for the ballistae, which are operated by single cable-pulley systems to raise each cache to the top deck level. The caches themselves contain a magnetized belt of 16 bolts each- emptied belts are deposited into the caches as full belts are removed. This deck is where the unicorn component of each gunner team is stationed, as they can use telekinesis to operate the caches, restock emptied belts with ammo, etc. This deck also contains the weapons lockers, both for shipping and for the crew, which effectively makes the Bellerephon a supply transport as well. Any supplies being transported can also be air dropped through the deployment hatches on this deck.

Below the deployment deck is steerage. The Bellerephon has eight boilers, separated from the coal shed by an armored partition wall. A minimum of two boilers must be operating at all times, in order to provide steam for the turbine engines which, in turn, provide electricity for vital ship systems, including the provisions coolers in the galley. A third partition contains additional ammunition supplies, while the rest of the steerage section can be used for general storage.
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Re: The ships of DIE

Postby Lucy Took » Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:00 am

HMS Nephele


The HMS Nephele is an Ipotane class, retrofitted dirigible converted into a reconnaissance craft. The dirigible itself was converted from a non-rigid, cloth and rubber envelope into a rigid, metal envelope, which itself contains several individual and partitioned float chambers which provide a redundancy that allows the Nephele to remain airborne should the dirigible sustain damage. It can remain aloft if up to four of the nine segments are punctured, though at a diminished capacity. Its maximum altitude is 20,000 feet, and its top speed is 17 knots. It features four engines, and a gyro-stabilized gondola. Unlike other airships, the Nephele does not dock at ground level, but remains aloft consistently except for refueling, personnel rotation, and repair.

The envelope measures approx. 140' long, 60' wide, and 60' tall, while the gondola measures 30' long, 16' wide, and 9' tall. There are two small crew quarters aboard, as well as a bathroom and a refrigerated compartment for provisions. There is a single gyro-mounted ballista, located on the underside of the keel in a ball compartment. This weapon can be fired an any direction below the horizon of the ship itself, thus preventing it from ever hitting its own dirigible. The Nephele, despite being a very old design, also features a teletype transmitter and receiver atop the envelope itself, allowing it to easily communicate with Command or local leadership. Combined with the altitude at which the Nephele flies, it can transmit well over 1200 miles.

The Nephele's role in combat is strictly relegated to observation and reconnaissance- with its low speed and high altitude, combined with its extended transmit range, the Nephele is very difficult to spot, let alone shoot down. The crew consists of four ponies- a pilot, a spotter, a communications officer, and a navigation officer. All four are trained to use the ball turret. Only the pilot and navigation officer are authorized to fly or alter course, and only the spotter and comm officer are authorized to use the scopes and teletype. A total of eight ponies can be stationed aboard, so that two crews can rotate as needed.

After a surprise attack on the town of Palomino, where the Nephele was still docked on the ground, it sustained critical damage in the opening salvo on the town. The ship is officially listed as "destroyed in combat", though several components were salvaged and repurposed for the defense of the city.
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Re: The ships of DIE

Postby Lucy Took » Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:01 am

HMS Sleipnir


The HMS Sleipnir is a Valkyrie class frigate in the final stages of production at Mikado Steamworks. It measures 130' bow to stern, by 26' port to starboard, by 35' hull to deck, and features two masts onto which the lift sails and engines are mounted. It is powered by nine engines, three mounted on the stern of the ship, two engines on each mast, and two mounted to the sides of the hull. Seven boilers power the ship- six for the engines and one for peripherals. Test flights have shown it capable of cruising speeds of 46 knots, and a top speed of 62 knots. Its cruising altitude is 6500 feet, with a maximum altitude of 9000 feet. It has two interior decks, steerage, and a wheelhouse mounted onto the surface deck.

Each mast on the top deck has an integrated antenna- one serves as the broadcast array and the other as the receiver array. Each mast also has an integrated steam line encased within the mast housing itself, to carry steam to the engines. There are six weapon emplacements on the top deck, each encased in an armored housing that measures 6' long by 4' high and 4' wide. These emplacements are mounted onto a system of bearings that allow the operator to rotate the housing or elevate the barrel. Each emplacement has an ammunition locker containing ten spare belts of ammo, so that in the midst of combat the operator won't be forced to leave the armored emplacement and rush down several flights of stairs to get more. Similar to the Tarax class, the Sleipnir is equipped with ballista weaponry, using specialized, high-explosive-tipped bolts loaded into magnetic belts of 16 bolts each. Mikado Steamworks built each emplacement under the impression that the ballista weapons were a stopgap solution, and eventually a more permanent form of armament would be developed- to that end, the fixtures securing each weapon can be dismantled to enable the weapons themselves to be removed easily.

The first deck contains the weapons and equipment lockers, as well as two hatches in the stern for midair pegasi deployment. There are two additional weapon emplacements on this deck, both in the bow section. Midship there are two debarking ramps that can be extended for non-flying personnel to debark. This deck serves as the mobilization and mission briefing deck. Any equipment, supplies, weaponry, and ammo troopers may need in the field is located here.

The second deck is the barracks. There are enough mounting hooks for a full platoon, as well as two bathrooms in the stern and the galley in the bow. Sinks are centrally located midships, and a total of six emergency aid lockers are located on this deck- two amidships, two bow, and two stern. The galley includes an attached cold storage unit for perishable provisions, and a convection oven that uses steam recycled from the pressure return lines.

The steerage contains the boiler room and coal bins, separated by a partition wall as is standard on flying ship designs. There are lockers against the walls for supplemental storage, and the stern end houses the aid station. The teletype machine interface is located in the bow of steerage, separated from the boiler room by a partition.

The Sleipnir has a crew of 26- eight two-pony gunner teams, five ponies on the boiler crew, two pilots, two medics, a navigation officer, and ship's Captain, who also serves as comm officer. It carries additional military personnel, between a squad and a full platoon, as well. Its maximum capacity, including additional personnel, is 85 ponies.[/
~If this should end in fire, then we should all burn together~

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Re: The ships of DIE

Postby Lucy Took » Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:03 am

HMS Svantovit


The HMS Svantovit is an Uccai class airship, currently in the finishing stages of production at Belpaire Aeronautics. Wind tunnel tests have shown it to be capable of a cruising speed of 70 knots, with a top speed of 80 knots. It is powered by twelve engines, six in the stern and six mounted on its wings. It measures 110' bow to stern, 20' port to starboard, and 27' hull to deck, 35' including the wheelhouse. There are two rudders, one mounted on the bow and one on the stern of the keel. It has two internal decks and a steerage compartment. There are seven boilers aboard, six to power the engines and one to generate electricity for the ship.

The main deck and the deck immediately below it are both weapons platforms- each has one gun in the bow, one in the stern, and four on each the port and starboard side. Unlike the ships currently in the field, Belpaire Aeronautics has chosen to arm the Svantovit with high-explosive, six-inch cannon shells. The powder, primer, and warhead for each shell is contained in a ceramic cylinder, which are stored in a series of corrugated racks, similar to wine racks. The weapons themselves are loaded from behind the breech rather than the barrel. Once closed, a series of cranks turns and elevates the barrel, while a secondary lever triggers an electrical solenoid that impacts the ceramic, detonating a layer of silver fulminate painted on the interior surface of each shell which in turn activates the main charge. The high-explosive shell is ejected, and the ceramic sleeve is reduced to fragments or dust and is also ejected. This weapons system leaves very little material to be handled after firing, and thus can keep up a sustained rate of fire until ammunition stocks are depleted. The down side is that all ammunition can only be acquired directly through Belpaire Aeronautics, and the manufacturing method is expensive, time consuming, and labor intensive. However, if these weapon systems prove to be successful in the field, then their widespread adoption will drive costs down and drive up production rates.

The second interior deck serves as ammunition and coal storage, as the latent heat given off by the boilers in steerage makes using steerage as a storage area dangerous. All ammunition is stored on this deck, in corrugated panels along the walls. This keeps the shells snug so they do not move during flight, as well as isolated so that they do not clank directly together- the crystalline structure of ceramic makes it easy to chip if ceramic touches other ceramic. The bathrooms, barracks, and ammo cache lifts are on this level, as well. There are four barracks, two each port and starboard. Each barracks has hammock hooks and a magnetized storage locker for weapons and personal effects, as well as a bathroom and sink. At maximum capacity, the Svantovit can hold 5000 shells, though for routine patrols only about 1000-2000 would be loaded aboard. In an effort to minimize the risk of a direct impact on a deck filled with explosives, the ammunition storage deck is more heavily armored than the rest of the ship.

The steerage section, like most airships, houses the boilers. The galley, cooler, aid station, and ship's laundry are all located in steerage. Due to space constraints, only four crewponies can use the galley at the same time. The aid station contains only triage supplies, and is not equipped with pharmaceuticals due to concerns regarding the fragility of delivery systems for medications.

There is a total crew aboard of 54 ponies- twenty two-pony gunner teams, three pilots, a navigation officer, a communications officer, Commander, two medics, five boiler operators, and ship's Captain. due to limited space, the Svantovit has a maximum capacity of 60 ponies.
~If this should end in fire, then we should all burn together~


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