Prototype Buccaneer

[TJHairball]

So the Buccaneer was originally designed to be a replacement for the Lion and lost the bid when the Union hit the scene. The designers converted it from a 'mech-hauler to a civilian cargo ship.

Which means it was a military 'mech-hauling DropShip, stripped down to become a cargo hauler. So if we re-overhaul a Buccaneer, peeking at the original design specifications through squinted eyes, re-installing the BattleMech cubicles that were once meant to be there, et cetera et cetera, what ought it look like, stats-wise?

[Fireangel]

Well, it has 2,300 tons of cargo space; this can easily be turned into 12 'mech cubicles and two ASF cubicles, with 209 tons left over for more/better weapons, a touch more armour and a wee bit of cargo.

This is borne out by the fluff on its cargo bays: one 300-ton over the engines, where the 2 x ASF bays go; then we have two 1,000-ton bays - one on each side - where we can accommodate six 'mech cubiclles on each plus 100 tons "other stuff".

[Hellraiser]

IIRC the smaller bay over the engines was fluffed as being smaller decks, more storage for civilian stuff (I picture boxes & pallets) and not large enough for mechs/fighters.

I'd stick with transport similar to the Lion, 2-3 lances of mechs and some veebays.

That way the Union w/ Fighters and a full company of mechs has a reason to have won the bid.

[Fireangel]

That way the Union w/ Fighters and a full company of mechs has a reason to have won the bid.

It already does: it is a spheroid design; this offers capabilities different from those of an aerodyne that might have been preferred by the SLDF.

[Hellraiser]

It already does: it is a spheroid design; this offers capabilities different from those of an aerodyne that might have been preferred by the SLDF.

Ship style has benefits that got both ways,  some prefer Aero for the smaller damage to the ground they do & atmospheric travel ability.  So I was looking for something above & beyond that arguable advantage.

[Nahuris]

Ship style has benefits that got both ways,  some prefer Aero for the smaller damage to the ground they do & atmospheric travel ability.  So I was looking for something above & beyond that arguable advantage.

However, in a military operation, the spheroid dropship HAS a lot of advantage over the Aero --- it doesn't need a runway to land, so you don't have to capture an airstrip to bring the ship down to either unload, or pick up for an evacuation.
With a spheroid, you can more or less pick any level spot on the planet, tell your mechs to meet you there, and drop in and get them out.... with the Aero, you need to have them hold an airstrip long enough to land, load, and then take off again, and a single artillery round making a crater in the runway means you go nowhere.

That's more than enough reason for picking the Union, even if the Buccaneer had been a better design.

Nahuris

[Fireangel]

Yes, both styles have advantages and disadvantages.

For example; a spheroid dropper coming in for a landing is LOUD. Several times the volume of a space shuttle launch. OTOH, an aerodyne can glide in silently for most, if not all, of its approach.

That is one of the reasons the Leopard is so successful.

[Gryphon]

I must admit that the idea of a dropship of any sort having a silent approach never occurred to me. Considering the awful things BT does to physics, why shouldn't also do truly unpleasant things to aerodynamics too!

This starts to make for some really interesting deployment ideas too, enter atmosphere over the equivalent region of Iceland, "coast" down to the area of New York City, using a few shallow S curves to bleed airspeed if required, and then dump your mechs/BA/palatalized Tanks/WIGEs/Jump Infantry/Paratroopers out the back. If you took out the enemies long range radar with SF units deployed from stealth smallcraft they might not realize whats going on until the incoming troops are literally right on top of them.