Hull

The Hull is the main body of a ship, boat, or other vessel type.

• It contains the frame, skeleton, and structure.
• It is often called a fuselage or chassis on smallcraft or vehicles.
• Hulls have two primary characteristics (specifications) of hull shape and streamling and several other minor ones.
• It is a kind of Ship Equipment.

Description (Specifications)

Hulls or fuselages are the skeletons, internal structures, and other core structural features of a craft capable of atmospheric flight, spaceflight, or starflight.

Hulls are identified by their mass displacement, expressed in tons. When hulls are constructed, they are divided into an engineering section for the drives and the main compartment for everything else. Standard hulls are available at reduced prices and construction times. Any other hull must be produced on a custom basis. Hulls vary in their requirements for drives and power plants based on tonnage.

Physical Structure (Surface)

Secondary Hull Characteristic:

• Airlocks
• Bay
• Bulkhead Walls
• Hardpoints (Equipment bracing)
• Internal compartments
• Landing Gear
  • Fixed Landing Gear
  • Recessible Landing Gear
• Tonnage (Tons of displacement, equivalent to 1 Ton of liquid hydrogen).
  • Dimensions and Volume.
  • Pods (less than 100 Tons displacement)
  • Subhulls (100 Tons displacement or more)

Configuration (Shape)

Primary Hull Characteristic:

• Box Hull
  • Cube Hull
  • Slab Hull
• Braced Hull
• Close Structure Hull
  • Braced Cluster Hull (consisting of linked subhulls and pods, able to withstand acceleration and gravity wells)
    • Oreo Pattern Hull
  • Cluster Hull (consisting of linked subhulls and pods)
• Cone Hull
• Cylinder Hull
  • Ring Hull
• Dispersed Structure Hull / Irregular Structure Hull
• Flattened Sphere Hull
  • Disk Hull / Saucer Hull
• Needle Hull
• Open Frame Hull
• Planetoid Hull
  • Buffered Planetoid Hull
• Sphere Hull
• Wedge Hull

Streamlining (Aerodynamics)

Primary Hull Characteristic: Streamlining may be inherent to the configuration, or it may be an applied design feature:

• Airframe Hull
  • Wings and Fins
• Lifting Body Hull
• Partially Streamlined Hull
• Streamlined Hull
• Unstreamlined Hull

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A hull may be additionally equipped for wilderness refuelling with:

• Fuel Scoops
  • These are sometimes referred to as Onboard Fuel Scoops

Aircraft hulls may be equipped with intakes for various engine types for atmospheric flight.

Hull Materials / Hull Armor (Defensive Frame)

Secondary Hull Characteristic:

Primary structural material: Hull Materials & Armor

Type	TL	Remarks
Iron	TL-3	None
Steel	TL-4	None
Hard Steel	TL-5	None
Light Alloys	TL-6	None
Titanium Alloy	TL-6	None
Composite Laminate	TL-7	None
Lightweight Composite Laminate	TL-9	None
Crystaliron	TL-10	None
Superdense	TL-12	None
Bonded Superdense	TL-14	None
Coherent Superdense	TL-17	None
Organic	TBD	None

Armor:

• Compartmentalization
• Electrostatic armor
• Hull plating
• Inherent armor (Planetoid Hulls)
• Reactive armor
• Reflec coating
• Structural bracing

Additional Features (Accoutrements)

Secondary Hull Characteristic:

• Exterior Windows
• Heat Shielding
• Radiation Shielding
• Surface finish (color scheme), markings and logos

History & Background (Dossier)

No data yet available.

Technological Overview of Hull Development

Unpowered aircraft using floaters or harnessed flying creatures typically become available to sophonts in the TL:1-3 epoch.

• By the TL:4-6 epoch, powered aircraft become first possible to the average sophont civilization.
• By the TL:7-9 epoch, spaceflight becomes possible.
• By the TL:10-12 epoch, routine starflight using FTL jump drives becomes routine.

At higher technological epochs, more advanced forms of starflight become theoretically possible including trans-universal or trans-brane transportation to multiverses. Some believe that chronotaxis or time travel may become routinely available in the far future.

CBPUSAL Designation

1. C. Cluster. An accumulation of compartments.
2. B. Braced Cluster. Structured for higher acceleration.
3. P. Planetoid. A hollowed nickel-iron asteroid.
4. U. Unstreamlined. Protrusions increase drag.
5. S. Streamlined. Cowlings and fairings decrease drag.
6. A. Airframe. Winged for performance in atmosphere.
7. L. Lifting Body. Radically streamlined lifting-surfaces.

References & Contributors (Sources)

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.

• Classic Traveller, Book 2 Starships (Game Designers Workshop 1977, 1981)
• Classic Traveller, Book 5 High Guard (Game Designers Workshop 1980)
• MegaTraveller Referee's Manual, (Game Designers Workshop 1987)
• Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel, (Game Designers Workshop 1994)
• T5 Core Rules, Far Future Enterprises 2013
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science