Tachyon class Light Trader

Tachyon class Light Trader

Type: AF Free Trader
Category	ACS
Size	100 Tons
Hull Configuration	Flattened Sphere Hull
Streamlining	Airframe Hull
Tech Level	TL–9
Engineering
Computer	Model/1
Jump	J-1
Maneuver	2 G
Armaments
Hardpoints	1
Offensive	1 triple turret w/ 2 missile launcher, 1 sandcaster
Accommodations
Staterooms	4
Personnel
Crew	3
Officers	1
Enlisted	2
High/Mid Passengers	2
Payload
Cargo	40 Tons
Fuel tank	12 Tons
Carried craft	1 4t air/raft
Construction
Origin	Distant Fringe
Price
Cost	MCr38.488
Statistics
Quick Ship Profile	AF-1A21
Universal Ship Profile	AF–1611110–020000–00002-0
Images
Blueprint	No
Illustration	Yes
Source
Canon	Unpublished, fan design
Designer	Ade Stewart
Design System	High Guard
Era	1105
Reference	Fan: Ade Stewart
Starships are designed with the Classic Traveller format, using High Guard Shipyard v1.13 written by Andrea Vallance.

The Tachyon class Light Trader is a TL–9 Merchant vessel.

Please also see: Ships of the Distant Fringe

Description[edit]

The Tachyon-class Light Trader is a civilian vessel. It is a commercial transport typically encountered operating within clusters of stars within the Distant Fringe region. It is classified as a merchant vessel and is constructed as an X-Range design. Similar designs have been in use from the time the Distant Fringe was first settled.

Image Repository[edit]

The flattened spheroid Tachyon class Light Trader, a rarely encountered design.

General Description & Deck Plans[edit]

The Tachyon class is an airframe flattened sphere with a mean diameter of 21 meters and a mean height of 5.5 meters, with paired lateral drive housings slightly increasing the overall length and the width of the stern (with their position indicated by a shaded area on the diagram below). The slightly irregular shape of the hull increases the overall internal space, giving the ship a total enclosed volume of approximately 1,350 cubic meters. There are two decks. The machinery and fuel tanks are located aft and operations are run from a small engineering control room. The lower deck is given over to the cargo hold: an area towards the rear of the hold, positioned below the accommodations section, is set aside as a vehicle hangar. The central section of the upper deck is given over to Staterooms and the turret mountings, while the bridge, computer and electronics are located forward.

A common variant of the design is the Liz Zhorka class Light Trader.

A basic deck plan of the vessel indicating the general layout and positioning of major elements.

Basic Ship Characteristics[edit]

Following the Imperial Navy and IISS Universal Ship Profile and data, additional information is presented in the format shown here. The small craft factor indicates the number of squadrons (of ten subcraft) carried on the ship. Tonnage on the universal ship profile is shown in kilotons (thousands of tons) where necessary. ^[1]

Basic Ship Characteristics ^[2]
No.	Category	Remarks
1.	Tonnage / Hull	The Tachyon class is constructed using a 100 Ton hull built in a fattened sphere configuration. The hull is an airframe shape, giving good atmospheric performance that is further enhanced by airfoil surfaces and the vessels onboard gravitic systems. Individual sections of the ship are divided by bulkhead walls. The craft has an airlock located forward, adjacent to the bridge. The cargo hold is accessed by large lateral hatches and a bow door and ramp. The vessel has a sturdy retractable wheeled undercarriage, allowing surface landings.
2.	Crew	Total Crew Complement: 3 x1 Command, x1 Engineering, x1 Gunnery. Accommodations There are x4 Staterooms. x2 Staterooms are given over to crew quarters. The captain has his own cabin: the engineer and gunner travel double occupancy. x2 Staterooms are available to passengers. No steward service is available. Accessible areas of the hull are fitted with grav plates and inertial compensators and have full life support and environmental systems. There are internal monitoring and security systems throughout the vessel. Sections of the ship can be isolated in the event of an emergency. There are three Emergency Lockers.
3.	Performance / Engineering	The vessel mounts a DeVoss-type Jump-1 drive, a Maneuver-1 drive and a Power Plant-1, giving performance of Jump-1 and 1-G acceleration and producing 1 Energy Point. The ship has an agility rating of 1. The dedicated internal fuel tankage is sufficient for one jump-1 and gives the power plant 4 weeks duration. The engineering section has a control room. The jump drive utilizes a hull grid. The jump drive is fitted with a jump governor.
4.	Main Section / Electronics	Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/1 Computer: the ship does not have a backup computer. There are multiple workstations and control points throughout the vessel. The vessel is fitted with communications equipment, a basic sensor array, and has an avionics suite. It is fitted with backup commo and sensor systems. It has a transponder unit that can be deactivated on command.
5.	Hardpoints	x1 hardpoint. The battery arrangement is considered standard for the class. Alternative weaponry may be designated for specific routes.
6.	Armament / Weaponry	The normal fit-out for a Tachyon class is a single mixed triple turret: x2 Missile Racks, mounted as part of the mixed turret weapons array. Each rack mounts x3 standard Anti-Shipping Missiles.
7.	Defenses	The hull is unarmored. x1 Sandcaster rack, mounted as part of the mixed turret weapons array. The vessel is not fitted with screens or other passive defensive systems.
8.	Craft / Subcraft	Vehicles x1 4-dTon Air/Raft. The hangar is a dedicated vehicle garage and forms part of the cargo hold. It is divided off by partition walls and also serves as a machine shop. The hanger has a total volume of 54 cubic meters.
9.	Fuel Treatment	The vessel has internal fuel tankage of 11 dTons. The hull is fitted with fuel scoops. The vessel is not equipped with fuel purification equipment. The ship carries a collapsible fuel tank with a capacity of 20 dTons: while stowed it uses 1 dTon of cargo space.
10.	Cost	The basic cost of the vessel, complete with its Air/Raft, is MCr35.478. If multiple examples of the design are ordered all of the ships in the production run qualify for a 20% discount, which reduces the price per unit to MCr28.383. The vessel and its Air/Raft are standard designs. Detailed architectural plans are widely available and no design fee is chargeable.
11.	Construction Time	40 weeks (10 months) as standard. Build times can be reduced by mass production and the efficiencies such processes generate, by increased financing, and by allotting additional yard resources and facilities to the construction contract.
12.	Remarks	Standard cargo capacity amounts to 40 dTons. Sections of the hold may be isolated if desired and can be provided with specialized environmental conditions, typically refrigeration.

History & Background[edit]

The Tachyon-class is a small merchant designed to carry incidental consignments of cargo. The design is considered underpowered and suffers performance issues in high gravity environments. It is representative and a large number of variants exist, particularly with regard to the allotted weapons systems, onboard electronics, and the fit out of internal spaces. The current design dates to the Golden Age, but many elements are reused and aspects of the layout and construction indicate that the vessel has Vilani origins.

Tachyon class Traders are sometimes referred to as "puffers", a reference to small coastal watercraft serving isolated communities on pre-spaceflight Terra. The name has romantic connotations, implying personal freedom and a simpler way of life, but also reflects the rather claustrophobic conditions aboard those ancient trading vessels. The interior of the vessel is relatively cramped and the class are known for the substandard quality of their life support and environmental systems.

Class Naming Practice/s & Peculiarities[edit]

A number of companies manufacture ships equivalent to the Tachyon class. They vary in hull shape and internal layout but all share the same basic design and all have very similar capabilities and performance characteristics.

Each variant class is named by the company that produces it: these organizations generally draw on traditional naming protocols. It is not uncommon for a historical class name to be reused.
Individual vessels within a class are issued specific serial numbers and transponder codes but traditionally are named by their first crew. This is considered a serious affair and a ship with a frivolous name is considered "unlucky".

Selected Variant Types & Classes[edit]

56 Representative Free Trader (AF) Classes[edit]

§ == ( Please refer to the following AAB Library Data for more information: ) == §

Type AF Free Trader

A

B

C

E

F

Fanzhhienz class Far Trader

G

H

I

Independent Hauler class Far Trader

J

K

Khershwan class Trader

L

Lanthium Petal class Speculative Trader

M

N

P

Paya class Light Freighter

R

Regni Yards Type A class Free Trader

S

T

References[edit]

This article has metadata.

This ship was originally designed using one of the Classic Traveller ship design rules:

Marc Miller. Starships (Game Designers Workshop, 1977), 12-23.
Marc Miller, Frank Chadwick, John Harshman. High Guard (Game Designers Workshop, 1980), 20-36.

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

Author: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS

↑ Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.
↑ Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.

[1] Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.

[2] Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.

[1]

[2]