Troop Transport Designs

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

Here are the Troop Transport Designs. The Islamic Alliance will receive one ship and the other three Earth-based powers will receive two ships each. All will start in mothballs.

Asian Alliance
Xining class Troop Transport    6000 tons     395 Crew     660 BP      Signature 120-360
3000 km/s     Armour 1     Shields 0-0     Sensors 0/0/0/0     Damage Control 0-0
Troop Capacity 70   Supply 400  
Ion Engine (6)    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Commonwealth
Hector class Troop Transport    7500 tons     515 Crew     867 BP      Signature 150-567
3780 km/s     Armour 1     Shields 0-0     Sensors 0/0/0/0     Damage Control 0-0
Troop Capacity 80   Supply 600  
Ion Engine IB-5 (9)    Armour 0    Exp 8%

Islamic Alliance
Matrah class Troop Transport    5000 tons     300 Crew     425 BP      Signature 100-125
1250 km/s     Armour 1     Shields 0-0     Sensors 0/0/0/0     Damage Control 0-0
Troop Capacity 50   Supply 200  
Nuclear Thermal Engine (5)    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Terran Union
Courbet class Troop Transport    5000 tons     318 Crew     558 BP      Signature 100-240
2400 km/s     Armour 1     Shields 3-300     Sensors 0/0/0/0     Damage Control 0-0
Troop Capacity 60   Supply 400  
Ion Engine (4)    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Steve

[Michael Sandy]

I don't remember if you said that different units were different sizes.  I recall a cost difference.

Are there any problems associated with splitting up a ground forces unit between multiple ships?  I would imagine that that would have some effect if the unit is inserted in anything like combat conditions.

Personally, I think it would be a good idea to have there be an incentive for some support ships being as large as possible.

Purposes for small freighters:
Supporting survey fleet, so it doesn't have to spend several months travel to get refitted all the time.
Retrieving mined minerals from small asteroid mines.  For that matter, moving small numbers of automated mines around.
Purposes for small colony ships:
Claiming habitable planets.  Nothing says "Mine!" like people on the ground.  Well, nothing other than superiority in firepower.

Purposes for large freighters
Efficiently shipping large quantities of factories, construction or supply, and infrastructure.
Shipping large systems (ship salvage?)
Purposes for large colony ships
Large numbers of runs back and forth to the same place.

Purposes for small Troop Transports
Taking small asteroid mining sites, colony sites.  Transporting protective force for archaelogical team.  Transporting embassy staff or _any_ really equipment heavy team.
Purposes for large Troop Transports
Taking large colonies.
Enforcing surrender of planets.  Note, I strongly doubt that it will be practical to transport enough troops to take a planet that is strongly resisting.  Not without a _huge_ economic edge.

[kdstubbs]

Steve,
         What do you mean by troop Capacity.  Is that in thousands of troops per ship or is that whole numbers?  

Asians                         70
Commonwealth            80
Islamic Alliance            50
Terran Union                60

So are you saying each ship can carry
70,000
80,000
50,000
60,000

I would be more interested in what size unit can the ship carry:  Full Division, Brigade, Regiment, Battalion, etc.  How many months of combat can the unit engage in without resupply?  A standard USN LHD can transport 2,000 troops and supply them for 30 days without resupply.  An MPS ship can carry a full mechanized or armored brigade equipment set plus thirty days of consumables -- they marry up the troops and equipment at a forward staging base.  So can you tell me what you mean by these numbers?

I am repeating myself, sorry
Kevin

[Michael Sandy]

I note that the Commonwealth design appears to have a technology that was not available at the start of the campaign.

I also note that the Terran Union and the Commonwealth have the same Supply to Mass ratio, while the Asians and even more so the Islamics skimp on the endurance.

Also, shouldn't the Commonwealth Troop Transports have a higher signature because of the IB engines which generate more power?

One last note:
These are conspicuously _not_ assault designs.  Any hidden missile launchers and these ships are in serious trouble.  An assault design would have a lot of shields.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

Steve,
         What do you mean by troop Capacity.  Is that in thousands of troops per ship or is that whole numbers?  

Asians                         70
Commonwealth            80
Islamic Alliance            50
Terran Union                60

So are you saying each ship can carry
70,000
80,000
50,000
60,000

I would be more interested in what size unit can the ship carry:  Full Division, Brigade, Regiment, Battalion, etc.  How many months of combat can the unit engage in without resupply?  A standard USN LHD can transport 2,000 troops and supply them for 30 days without resupply.  An MPS ship can carry a full mechanized or armored brigade equipment set plus thirty days of consumables -- they marry up the troops and equipment at a forward staging base.  So can you tell me what you mean by these numbers?

I am repeating myself, sorry
Kevin

Each type of division requires a different capacity. Security requires 10, Infantry/Assault Infantry/HQ requires 20, Armour/Engineers requires 30. Nuclear Artillery requires 50. There will probably be additional types

For simplicity, ground units use the same supplies as ships. When troops are landed, supplies will have to be landed with them.

Steve

[kdstubbs]

steve,
You mention capacity using two digit numbers, but do they represent the size of the division or its cube?  Normal Division deployed to the field will need approximately 35,000 men to man its organic and attached units.  The cube is the total space required to move all of its equipment, supplies, munitions, and vehicles.  So different units will have different manpower and cube requirements.  

So does the troop ships have space for 35,000 troops +/_ and the necessary cube to take all of the equipment?

Kevin

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

steve,
You mention capacity using two digit numbers, but do they represent the size of the division or its cube?  Normal Division deployed to the field will need approximately 35,000 men to man its organic and attached units.  The cube is the total space required to move all of its equipment, supplies, munitions, and vehicles.  So different units will have different manpower and cube requirements.  

So does the troop ships have space for 35,000 troops +/_ and the necessary cube to take all of the equipment?

Kevin

I would prefer not to get into that level of detail

I am assuming that the divisions for Aurora are more high tech and less manpower intensive than contemporary units. An Infantry division (which in reality is mechanized infantry), Assault Infantry or Security would be about 10,000 men. Armour or Engineers about 5000 men but with much more equipment. Division is sort of an arbitrary unit so I can use unit names that people are familiar with.

Steve