[Yamatai] - Henry Chen-Class Training ship.

I'm very concerned at the armament of that training ship. If this is roughly cruiser-size, it's far more armed than the Irim heavy gunship - which is a dedicated warship.

Though my beef is personally much more with the torpedo launchers. Twenty-four AS-7 torpedoes that can be fired off at once, with a reload of 2 torpedoes per minute from the ship's central ammo storage. That kind of payload delivery capacity trumps that of ships much larger than the Henry Chen.

My suggestion would be to just make them missile launchers and not torpedo launchers. Torpedo launchers ought to be a lot larger - honestly, I view most of those pylons, sized like they are, as only capable of holding one AS-7 torpedo launcher at most (considering the Chen's size comparison with a ship like the Himiko).

Anyway, as I see it, the Henry Chen should not be as well armed as a frontliner warship. As is, the Henry Chen could probably fight an Eikan heavy cruiser and win.

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I'm also not convinced the ship can carry quite as much ammenities as it currently does. I see plenty of 20 this, 20 that and 20 that... but would that stuff really all fit in?

*shrugs* It's less keen of a concern for me, but unless I can somehow get complete deck plans to motivate all the room taken, I'd suggest slashing those numbers by half.

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Despite the above, I do think this is a great submissions aside from a few kinks. Wes has been talking of making a training vessel for a long time but never really had time to do it, so, good job! I'm sure he'll like. ^_^

Hi Fred,

Actually for the record, the Torpedo array is more than 60 feel long which makes it more than capable of handing the AS-7. And the Chen is limited to only two volleys.

But Torpedo or Missile is open to discussion, its a relatively minor change.

As for the number of small craft and such, that is also negotiable. I dropped the number of fighter craft down to 20, but to be honest these numbers were just swaps, especially since most of these small craft don't have dimensions.

:lol:

With the number of on board weapons arrays this is more akin to a warship then training vessel. :shock:

I think it's perfectly okay for the Henry Chen to pack decent weaponry. After all, it has 'precious' cargo on board. To be more precise, where I balk is at its weapon package being on the same level as warships of a similar size-class, or larger.

The number of turrets is close to equal to that the Eikan has. The point-defense turrets appear to be a replacement for weapon pods (for which I'm totally fine with) and it lacks a superheavy-type weapon. The most jarring was the torpedo launchers, though. The Eikan has 2, the Himiko has 2, the Irim has 2, the Takumi has 6, the Chiharu has 10 - even if the Henry Chen can supposedly only fire two volleys, it still overwhelms all past ship classes in regard of how much of the stuff can be delivered... and that for only two spindly pylons out of all the ship.

If the torpedo launchers would have much more dedicated ship space (inside the main hull) and that the Chen would in itself be a torpedo boat, I'd think it'd be hardcore and I could see the sheer amount of torpedoes making up for the lack of a superheavy weapon. But in this case, the Chen is mostly training facilities, classrooms and VR simulators. That's where I fly smack in the wall of suspension of disbelief. I don't think it makes sense by comparison to other KFY produced items.

So, more indept suggestions, instead of just ranting:

• Make the pods on those pylons able to swivel around, if they can't already. Otherwise, they might as well be mated with the hull instead of sticking out begging to be shot at. If those pod swivel, though, it partly ruins that autoloader mechanic.

• The torpedo launchers can probably be recycled into missile launchers such as those the Irims have. It'll greatly enhance the Chen's anti-armor defensive capabilities. you can probably afford having more ammo in (which compensates for the lack of autoloader).

• I'd recommend the Henry Chen's size class be increased from the Light Cruiser/Heavy gunship to the Heavy Cruiser/Carrier category. It is, after all, larger than the Eikan-class heavy cruiser.

I think the above would allow you to adapt things a bit, without requiring changes to your 3d-model. Easier to implement and your ship pretty much still does its job right without putting the Eikan too much to shame. =P

In all honesty, I have to disagree. This is a ship for training not all out warfare. That is what it is coming off as, to me. This ship, could obliterate a space station or really harm even a star fortress before being destroyed. While I can understand some ship mounted weapon systems being required in order to teach one to properly fire, and maintain said weapons...this is a tad out of hand bordering on excessive. I cannot see how, or why one would wish to take a training ship into war, or any sort of battle considering the nature of the ship, and cargo it'd be carrying.

Fred's suggestions are quite valid, but let us please remember what the ship is ment for, and not ment for first and foremost.

It think the weaponry is fine.

However, I'm looking at the vehicle complement and trying to fathom where all those shuttles, fighters, and trucks are stored in a 360m long ship.

Also agree with Fred that it would have the armor/shield class of a carrier, since it's basically a carrier.

I more or less ran the numbers upon the 'two volleys' of torpedoes issue. 96 points of Damage for the first, an Iori's shields would come close to collapse.The other barrage, an additional 96, would really hurt the Iori, or completely obliterate any other ship in the setting, and likely very nearly completely devastate, if not crack and or destroy a planet. And this is a training ship's armament... :| I like the idea of a training vessel, I honestly do considering it is a untapped market, and think it worthwhile. But I am more or less very iffy on the allotment of weaponry mounted in regards to the role in which the ship is supposed to fulfill.

Then there are the 'tri' mounted positron cannons. That is 18 barrels worth of singular turrets. Or roughly, 72 points of consecutive, simultaneously fired damaged. This could seriously cripple a battleship with one volley. This outstrips or is just as or more so then other ship in terms of raw firepower with some of the most powerful ships in this setting of greater tonnage.

Okay,
The Torpedo Arrays have been changed to Torpedo pods with single tubes.

Also decreased the capacity of the magazine to 18.

Increased the DR based on suggestion to that of a carrier to 40.

And as previously said, the vehicle compliment is SWAG and can be amended as needed.

As for the fire power of the turrets. Every one of the turrets has a limited field of fire. So the Chen is limited on what it can bring to bear on a single target.

That's great. This resolves a great deal of my own apprehensions with the said training ship. I feel a bit guilty abut you going all the way to edit your 3d-model... but the effort is appreciated!

Though optional, something more about the torpedo launchers: AS-7 torpedoes are the creamtop of the torpedoes used by the SAoY. I'm unsure that a training ship would be high-priority for getting them (not to mention they are potentially politically touchy to use). I would suggest:

• Replacing them with AS-5 torpedoes. They have less punch, but you can carry more around (two times more, to be more accurate) - so, more endurance in a way.
• Use the newer Z-1 series torpedoes, whom were supposed to phase out the AS-7s and AS-5s anyhow.

The bright side of the Z-1s is that is allows your trainees to deal with state-of-the-art equipment while on the said ship. Besides, Z-1's really are supposed to become the standard in YE 31.

Replaced the AS-7 with the Z-1 Series. Also because of the smaller size, modified to torpedo pod to have two tubes, one firing forward and one aft.

Dual-port (front-rear firing) launchers came in YE 27 and were perfected in YE 29. Sounds to me like a reasonable addition to the capabilities of your torpedo launchers.

Looks good to me!

Thanks,
I also moved her to the stararmy:starships namespace appropriate cross links have been made.

Brian

I removed the mention of the Type 34 Armored General Purpose Carrier from this section of the Henry Chen-class Training Ship, as the former is no longer being utilized by the Star Army of Yamatai.