Freelance Traveller - The Shipyard - Classic Traveller Designs

Type T Patrol Cruiser and Variants

One of the most versatile light ships for non-merchant uses is the 400-ton "Type T Patrol Cruiser". Actually a "Corvette" (the name "Cruiser" is usually reserved for much larger warships), the basic version of the Type T hull is a TL12 general-purpose paramilitary starship "used for customs inspections, piracy suppression, and normal safety patrols" (not mentioned: privateering).

The basic Type T design has good performance, decent armament, and enough extra capacity to spawn a host of variants -- scout, fast courier, luxury yacht, naval corvette, and insystem patrol/SDB, all using the same basic hull and layout for economy of construction.

One local name for this design was the "Sportswedge", due to its appearance -- a rakish wedge hull similar to the stock 400-ton SDB. Internally, the forward section consisted of a two-deck "fuselage" flanked by fuel tankage forming the wide wedge bow; the aft section contained two engine rooms flanking the user-definable "hold" space. Hardpoints and turrets were side-by-side (two on top, two on the belly) at the join point between the forward and aft sections where the hull reached its full height.

Stock Type T

T Patrol Cruiser (TL12). 400 tons. Jump-3, 4-G. 160 tons fuel.
Model/3. 12 staterooms, 4 low berths (sickbay).
4 hardpoints, 4 triple turrets (2 x BBB, 2 x MMM). Ship's boat, G-carrier. 50 tons cargo. Streamlined. 10 crew + 8-12 troops.
MCr 221.04; 16 months.

Baseline version

The ship's vehicles (G-carrier & Ship's boat) are removed to get the total space available for customization (here called "user-definable space").

Baseline Type T Corvette (TL12). 400 tons. Jump-3, 4-G. 160 tons fuel.
Model/3. 12 staterooms, 4 low berths (sickbay).
4 hardpoints, 4 triple turrets (2 x BBB, 2 x MMM). 88 tons user-definable.
Streamlined. 10 crew + 8 passengers.
MCr 204; 16 months.

Some refittings of the Baseline Type T include:

Mini-carrier: A pair of 10-20t fighters
Mini-Mercenary cruiser ("Shortsword"): Accomodations for 30-40 troops

Variant -- TL11 version

This is an earlier Type T version built at Tech Level 11, with Jump-2 engines. It is otherwise identical to the baseline version.

Baseline Type T Corvette (TL11). 400 tons. Jump-2, 4-G. 120 tons fuel.
Model/3. 12 staterooms, 4 low berths (sickbay).
4 hardpoints, 4 triple turrets (2 x BBB, 2 x MMM). 138 tons user-definable.
Streamlined. 10 crew + 8-12 troops.
MCr 185; 16 months.

Variant -- Insystem Patrol/SDB

Here the Jump Drive is removed, with other upgrades done as per the Naval Corvette. The resulting non-starship is intended as an insystem patrol craft for "customs inspection, piracy suppression, and normal safety patrols". The large user-definable capacity can be fitted for search-and-rescue missions as well.

Hull Armor

(Retrofitted to the original CT starship design system from High Guard 2.)

Size

The volume of ship's armor varies with the armor factor and the tech level, as follows:

TL 7-9: 4 x (ArmorFactor + 1)% of ship tonnage
TL 10-11: 3 x (ArmorFactor + 1)%
TL 12-13: 2 x (ArmorFactor + 1)%
TL 14-15: (ArmorFactor + 1)%

Cost

Ship's armor costs 0.3MCr per ton plus 0.1MCr per ton per armor factor.

Effects

Armor cuts down the number of hits that do damage.

Armor-1 count 2/3 of hits
Armor-2 count 1/2 of hits
Armor-3 count 1/3 of hits
Armor-n count 1/n of hits

Adding Hull Armor-6 (count only 1/6 of hits) and missile magazines (18 rounds/launcher) allows the insystem patrol craft to double-duty as an SDB without reducing its search-and-rescue capacity too much:

Type T Insystem Patrol/SDB (TL12). 400 tons. Armor-6. No Jump, 6-G.
60 tons fuel. Model/5. 12 staterooms, 4 low berths (sickbay).
4 hardpoints, 4 triple turrets (2 x BBB, 2 x MMM), 10 tons magazines (18 rds/missile rack). 165 tons user-definable.
Streamlined. 10 crew.
MCr 313.7; 16 months.

Variant -- Heavy Scout/Explorer:

The Type T is also in demand by the Scout Service, where more speed and capacity are needed than the 100-ton Type S can provide. In the Scout Service variant, the user-definable space is used for ship's vehicles and laboratory space (like a miniature Lab Ship); the "passengers" are mission specialists in lieu of troops.

A Scout-modified Type T (with appropriate mods) could replace the purpose-built Donosev-class Survey Scouts with savings in commonality with other Sportswedge hull designs.

In private/corporate hands, a Scout-modified Type T could serve as a "rooner" or "pothunter", scouting and searching for Ancient/Long Night artifacts for a noble or corporate patron.

Variant -- Large Luxury Yacht

This is a Baseline Type T with the weaponry reduced or eliminated and the user-definable space filled with a custom mix of:

Passenger Staterooms
Owner-aboard suites (treat as double-sized, double-priced staterooms)
Ship's vehicles

Variant -- Fast Courier

Here the Jump Drive is uprated from Type D to F, allowing Jump-4. This results in a TL13 fast courier ship with the jump speed of an Xboat but much more carrying capacity:

Type TC Fast Courier (TL13). 400 tons. Jump-4, 4-G. 200 tons fuel.
Model/4. 12 staterooms, 4 low berths (sickbay).
4 hardpoints, 4 triple turrets (2 x BBB, 2 x MMM). 37 tons user-definable.
Streamlined. 10 crew + 8 passengers (non-commercial).
MCr 233; 16 months.

Variant -- Naval Corvette

Here the Maneuver Drive and Powerplant are uprated from Type H to M, allowing 6-G maneuvering for fast fleet operations. The Computer is also uprated from Model/3 to Model/5 for improved ECM and fire control. The resulting corvette is intended as a fast military scout and picket ship.

Type T Corvette (TL12). 400 tons. Jump-3, 6-G. 180 tons fuel.
Model/5. 12 staterooms, 4 low berths (sickbay).
4 hardpoints, 4 triple turrets (2 x BBB, 2 x MMM). 46 tons user-definable.
Streamlined. 10 crew + 8-12 troops.
MCr 272; 16 months.