Freelance Traveller - In A Store Near You - The Showroom

Riptide-class Attack Submarine

by Richard Perks

This article originally appeared in the July 2011 issue of the magazine.

The Riptide-class Attack Submarine is a standard design from Enrii’s Maritime Industries LIC of Keplo/Core. The design is licensed to Instellarms, which manufactures and sells the submarine through the rest of the Imperium.

The Riptide is a purely military vessel designed to attack and destroy other Wet Navy vessels via torpedoes, anti-submarine missiles and anti-ship missiles. It carries two remote beam laser turrets for close-in point defense against torpedoes. An anti-aircraft/grav vehicle missile battery allows the submarine to intercept attacking air-craft at extreme ranges or interdict an area. Finally, the anti-ship missiles can also be used to strike at ground targets over a considerable area.

Advanced sensors, secure communications, jammers and EM masking ensure the Riptide detects its targets whilst preventing detection in return.

The crew are given generous accommodation to support the maximum three month cruise duration and spare space is available for future expansions (currently designated as cargo space).

There are compromises in the design. The anti-submarine and anti-aircraft missile launchers only have one autoloader each, limiting reloading to one missile tube at a time. The torpedo tubes are still manually reloaded, and the anti-ship/surface missiles are not provided with any reloading equipment or crew. This shortfall was due to the sheer size of the autoloading machinery. The anti-ship missiles can be reloaded outside of combat operations by diverting crew from other tasks – this assumes that the submarine is carrying reloads within its cargo hold.

The submarine’s specialist nature results in a limited market. The vessel is overpriced for customs and rescue missions and is not capable of working in a planetary defense role as it can not engage orbiting vessels). It tends to be sold to balkanized worlds where on-planet hostilities are possible. Occasionally a rich high population world will by a handful to round out its military (the ability to hide in the oceans, undetected by orbiting sensors, and to strike against surface and airborne targets from such a hidden location is a useful military capability).

Several vessels have been sold to the Free Commerce government of the nation Morovic on Porozlo (0305 Rhylanor / Spinward Marches).

Craft ID: Riptide Attack Submarine, TL11, MCr177.87
Hull:     270/675, Disp=300, Config=Submarine,
          Armor=52E,SurfUnload=3829.7tons,
          SurfLoad=3884.8tons, SubmLoad=4084.5tons
Power:    2/4, Fusion=150Mw, Dur=90/270, Cons=0.07Kl/h
Loco:     2/4, Std A/G Thrust=930tn, SurfSpd=104kph,
          SubmSpd=140kph, MaxAccel=20kph, MaxDecel=40kph,
          MaxDirChange = 180 degrees, MaxDiveDepth=780m
Commo:    LaserComm x 2 (Plan), MaserComm x 2 (Plan),
          Radio x 2 (Plan), radio mast.
Sensors:  AEMS x 2 (Reg), ActSonar (VDist), PEMS x 2 (Cont),
          PasSonar (Cont), 1GW Neutrino Sensor, LowPen Densiometer,
          EMSJam (Reg), EM Masking, night, attack periscopes,
          sensor mast;
          ActObjScan: Diff; ActObjPin: Diff;
          PasEngScan: Form; PassEngPin: Form;
          PasObjScan: Form; PasObjPin: Imp
Off/Def:  6 forward swimout torpedo tubes for super heavyweight
          torpedoes (manual reloadable), Two 0.5MW Beam lasers
          with TL11 weapon stabilization, and point defense
          targeting, in remote turrets, Quad Submarine Launched
          anti-submarine missiles in vertical launch racks with a
          single autoloader, Quad submarine launched heavy long
          range surface to air missiles in vertical launch ranks
          with a single autoloader, Eight cell vertical launch
          system for heavy submarine launched surface attack missiles.
Control:  Computer/5Fib x 2, Panel=DynLink x 54, HUD x 8,
          Environ=basic env, basic LS, extended LS, airlocks x 3
Accomm:   Crew=130 (Bridge=8, Deck=21, Sensors=18, Gunnery=29
          (Lasers x 2, Anti Sub missiles x 1, Surface to Air
          Missiles x 1, Surface Attack x 1, Torpedoes x 24),
          Engrg=50, Med=1, Stewards=3), Stateroom=Large x 1,
          Small x 80, Bunks x 49.
Other:    SuperHvy Torpedoes x 30, AntiSubm Missiles x 28,
          Hvy Surf-to-Air Missiles x 28, Hvy Under-to-Surf
          Missiles x 8, Fuel (hydrogen) = 162Kliters,
          ExtDur Food & Water Supplies = 23.4Kl, Cargo=20Kl,
          Lead Ballast = 20Kl, Ballast Tanks=200Kl,
          3 x 100Kl/hr pumps (for ballast tanks), Spare CP = 0.67,
          Spare MW = 31.513, Obj Size = Avg, EM Level = None.
Weapons:  Beam Laser 0.5MW, Range=Dist (2.5km), Pen 5/2, Dmg 4,
          Sig=High, ROF=40; Anti-Subm Missiles, Speed=2880kph,
          Range=Reg (960km), Pen 32, Dmg 16;
          Hvy Surf-to-Air Missiles, Spd=880kph, Ceil=30,000m,
          Range=Reg (200km), Pen 26, Dmg 32;
          Hvy Under-to-Surf Missiles, Spd=2880kph, Range=Cont (600km),
          Pen 48, Dmg 60;
          SuperHvy Torpedo, Range=High Speed 50km, Low Speed 100km,
          HE Pen 48, HE Dmg 60, HEAP Pen 60, HEAP Dmg 34.