Bubble class Fuel Cutter

From Traveller Wiki - Science-Fiction Adventure in the Far future
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Bubble class Fuel Cutter
Bubble-Fuel-Cutter-T5-THUMB-Boyd-Stone 02-Sept-2019c.jpg
Homegrown industrial smallcraft serving as a utility craft. A thumbnail image of a Bubble class Fuel Cutter.
Type: UF Fuel Cutter
Category Smallcraft
Size 60 Tons
Hull Configuration Sphere Hull
Streamlining Streamlined Hull
Tech Level TL–14
Engineering
Computer Model/1
Jump J-0
Maneuver 2 G
Armaments
Hardpoints 1
Accommodations
Staterooms 0
Personnel
Crew 3
    Officers 2
    Enlisted 1
    Marines X
High/Mid Passengers 0
Payload
Cargo 40.0 Tons
Fuel tank 0 Tons
Construction
Origin Third Imperium
Year Operational 1042
End of Service Still in active service.
Price
Cost MCr18.4687 (base)
MCr14.77492 (qty)
Architect fee MCrJames Kundert
Statistics
Quick Ship Profile UF-6U20
Images
Blueprint No
Illustration Yes
Source
Also see Utility Craft - Fuel Cutter
Canon Published, fan design
Era 1105
Reference Fan: James Kundert
Starships are designed with the Classic Traveller format, using High Guard.

The Bubble class Fuel Cutter is a noncombatant smallcraft.

Description (Specifications)

It is a vessel with 2-G and J-0 performance with a streamlined sphere hull. The Bubble and its related designs are all tail-sitters, with their internal decking perpendicular to the direction of thrust. Unlike the later Bathysphere class Prospector's Cutter, the Bubble cannot spread its upper hemisphere to increase its cargo capacity. It serves as both fuel and cargo cutter, utilizing Collapsible Tanks in a 40-ton cargo bay.

Image Repository

  1. A Bubble class Fuel Cutter cruising through the icy debris of a gas giant's planetary ring.
    Bubble-Fuel-Cutter-T5-RESIZE-Boyd-Stone 02-Sept-2019b.jpg

General Description & Deck Plans

No information yet available.

Basic Ship Characteristics

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 craft) carried on the ship. Tonnage on the universal ship profile is shown in kilotons (thousands of tons) when necessary. [1]

Basic Ship Characteristics [2]
No. Category Remarks
1. Tonnage / Hull The Bubble class is constructed using a 60 dTon hull built in a sphere configuration. The hull is streamlined and has good atmospheric capability: its atmospheric handling characteristics are entirely reliant on its onboard gravitic systems.
2. Crew Total Crew Complement: x3

Accommodations
The vessel is not fitted with crew accommodations or other long-term facilities.

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 x3 Emergency Lockers.
3. Performance The vessel mounts a Maneuver-2 drive and a Power Plant-2, giving performance of 2G acceleration and producing 1.2 Energy Points. The ship has an agility rating of 2. The internal fuel tankage is sufficient to give the power plant 4 weeks duration.
  • The engineering section is controlled from the pilot's position.
4. Electronics There is a cockpit containing three acceleration couches. Adjacent to the cockpit is a Model/1 ship computer that functions as a Model/0 due to the lack of a bridge: No backup computer is installed.
5. Hardpoints x1 hardpoint.
6. Armament The vessel is not generally armed.
7. Defenses The hull is unarmored.

The vessel is not fitted with screens or other passive defensive systems.

8. Craft / Drones None
9. Fuel Treatment The vessel has internal fuel tankage of 1.2 Tons.
10. Cost The basic cost of the vessel is MCr18.4687
  • Architects Fee: MCr0.185
  • 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 MCr14.77492.
11. Construction Time 24 weeks (5.5 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. Comments Standard cargo capacity amounts to 40.0 dTons.

History & Background (Dossier)

The Duchy of Inar based out of Inar (world) has a vibrant TL-14 or TL-E ship building industry, known for innovative designs and clever Naval Architecture. They are best known for their unstreamlined cylinder hull tail-sitter designs specialized for star system defense. They also build some of the finest fusion guns and ECM systems in Imperial Space.

It is one of the well known 60-ton sphere designs of Inar (Deneb 1213). The Bubble class Fuel Cutter was first built in 1042.

Inar (Deneb 1213) produced 60-ton spherical subcraft in great numbers due to questionable Naval and planetary politics in the 1040s. The result was an experimental hull plate fabrication plant which traded versatility for economy. The Imperial Navy contracts tied to this "pilot project" never materialized, but the shipyards of Inar found a use for the odd equipment anyway. Within about 10 to 12 parsecs of Inar, the 60-ton (about 12 meters diameter) sphere is a common sight, serving as the basic hull for a dozen or more fairly standard designs, including the Wart class Heavy Fighter family. The Bubble fuel shuttle was the first Inari design on this hull. Serving the needs of their neighbors, the Inari have produced larger ships which complement the spheres and serve in a variety of roles. Most spheres built by Inar have been at TL–14, though a few have been specially built at lower tech levels for simpler maintenance by the purchasing world.

Class Naming Practice/s & Peculiarities

Naming Practice: The Bubble series are typically named after minerals or hydrocarbons. Crews do tend to get attached to them and give them a personal name. Some crews get superstitious and paint on nose art or perform interesting ceremonies on the craft including an old Terran custom with a bottled alcohol known as Champagne.

Vessel Peculiarity: The vessels are known for an odd nav computer that has problems booting up. Crews often compensate for this quirk by adding extra bypass circuitry and adding an extra layer of aluminum to the "start-up side panel." The "start-up side panel" is a specific spot on the side of the nav computer that when banged just right with a handy spanner tends to alleviate the known start-up issues with the nav computer. A peculiar ringing to the right bang is a relief to crewsophont ears. Design engineers have never been able to identify the cause of the start-up slow-downs, but many crew attribute the problem to "gremlins."

Selected Variant Types & Classes

Utility Craft - Smallcraft - Fuel Cutter:

  1. Type UF class Fuel Shuttle
    1. Bubble class Fuel Cutter
    2. Last Armada class Fuel Shuttle
    3. Louis & Clark class Fuel Pinnace
    4. Parthenopinnace Fuel Shuttle
    5. Sternplatz class Refueling Pinnace
    6. Tadpole class Fuel Shuttle
    7. Zheug class Fueling Shuttle

References & Contributors (Sources)

This article has metadata.
62px-Information icon.svg.png This article is missing content for one or more detailed sections. Additional details are required to complete the article. You can help the Traveller Wiki by expanding it.
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.
Retrieved from "http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/index.php?title=Bubble_class_Fuel_Cutter&oldid=565545"