Science Fiction Adventure in the Far Future
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Traveller Ships -
Vassuran Class Escort Cruiser
This ship design article originally appeared in the RPG fanzine ‘Grim Reaper’ issue 2, July 1982.
| USP: | EC | - | K | 4 | 2 | 3 | C | D | 3 | - | 2 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | - | 8 | 5 | 5 | N | 7 | - | 0 | MCr 5,565.911 | 10 KTons | ||||
| Batteries Bearing | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | TL 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batteries | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Crew: 138 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cargo: 24.4 | Fuel: 4,216 | EP: 1,200 | Agility: 0 | Low: 10 | Marines: 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fuel Treatment: Fuel Scoops and On Board Fuel Purification | Backups: 1 x Bridge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Craft: 1 x 40T Pinnace, 1 x 17T Launch, 2 x 4T Air/rafts | Shipboard Security Detail: 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tonnage: | 10,000 (Standard). 140,000 cubic metres |
| Dimensions: | 200m Long x 30m Wide x 23.34m High |
| Configuration: | Close Structure |
| Crew: | 138; 17 Officers, 91 Ratings, 30 Marines |
| Acceleration: | 3G Constant |
| Jump: | 2 Parsecs (3 parsec range) |
| PowerPlant: | Type 12. 1,200 EP. Agility 0 |
| Engineering: | One VOM FP-L427-I fusion-linked power plant driving
one Canstar Type T-337 Jump drive and one Ruse-Searol Type Sa-30 Impulse Manoeuvre Drive. |
| Gravitics: | Gamgrav standard inertial compensators, 0 - 3G variable deck fields. |
| Electronics: | Julnar Cybernetics Model/4.3-d computer with integral fibre-optic backup. Manual and integral input Fire control. Backup Bridge. |
| Range: | Unlimited manoeuvre. One Jump-2 with 2000 ton fuel package, one Jump-1 with 1000 ton fuel package. 28 days standard supply consumption. Scoops allow Gas Giant refueling. Four onboard fuel processors can refine crude hydrogen for fuel. |
| Capacity: | 72 staterooms; 79 Low Berths. 10
Low berth Passengers. 24.4 tons of cargo space. |
| Armament: | Factor-N Meson Spinal Mount. Two 50-ton Particle Accelerator Bays. 21 Triple Missile Turrets, organised into two batteries, 7 Triple Beam Laser Turrets organised into one Battery, 12 Dual Plasma Gun Turrets organised into 2 Batteries. |
| Defences: | 1 100-ton Repulsor Bay, 10 Triple Sandcaster turrets organised as one battery, Meson Screen, Armoured Hull (Factor-2). |
| Ship’s Boats: | One 40 Ton pinnace. One 17 Ton Launch. |
| 16 tons of fuel for the pinnace and launch is included in the main tankage. | |
| Ship’s Vehicles: | Two air/rafts. |
| Cost: | MCr 7,026.962 (incl. Architects fees of MCr 69.574). In Quantity: MCr 5,565.911, plus MCr 36.965 of carried craft. |
| Construction Time: | 160 Weeks Singly, 128 Weeks in Quantity. |
My Kingdom for a Ship
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This issue I bring you statistics, general specifications and dispositions of the Vassuran Class Escort Cruiser, long an important mainstay of the fleets protecting the RimWorlds.
After much valued service in three wars that involved the RimWorlds fleets, the Vassurans have been outclassed by ships of newer make and, after suffering disproportionate losses in the Kalar-Wi War of 1103 – 1105, the surviving Vassurans have been relegated to Second Line duty until they can be sold off.
Vassuran Class Escourt Cruiser
General Specifications:
Designed jointly by Combine-Tolvyk Products, LIC of Julnar and the Design Division of Celephais Imperial Navy Base, Yard 47. Primarily intended to support the main battle line, the Vassuran Class proved too slow to be of much use in a major space battle. Relegated to system defence, the Vassuran’s superior firepower proved invaluable during the Zoni conflict when a CruRon of Vassurans halted the main Zoni drive on Nolgor in 1092.
Being partially streamlined, the Vassurans can undertake fuel skimming manoeuvres at gas giants, though the general unwieldiness of this ship class can be disastrous if refuelling operations are attempted under combat conditions, as seen at the Battle of Coron VII.
Twenty-five Vassurans had been commissioned by the time extensive damage to the Gamelea shipyards, inflicted during the 3rd Outrim War, brought production of this class to a halt in 1037. Following the valuable lessons learnt during the war, military design thinking turned to faster, more agile ships for Main Battleline deployment and by 1100 only ten Vassuran Escorts remained in Imperial Navy Service. This total was reduced to four serving ships following heavy losses in the Kalar-Wi War and the period of disorder following the partial collapse of the Gamelea subsector government in 1105.
Statistics:
Table showing the tail numbers and construction information for the Vassuran class Escort Cruiser. Information correct as of 167-1107.
| Number | Name | Laid Down | First Flight | Owner | Status |
| EC-24824 | Vassuran | | Lotarf Planetary Navy | Lost 1092 | |
| EC-24825 | Nianussaran | Naos VI Planetary Navy | in service | ||
| EC-24826 | Albarus | Imperial Navy | in service | ||
| ENC-2482 | Tulvuior | | AKI Interstellar | lost 1084 | |
| EC-25645 | Gonkol | | AKI Interstellar | in service | |
| EC-25887 | Kamerian | | Intersolar | in service | |
| EC-25894 | Ustrur | | Imperial Grand Survey | in service | |
| EC-27138 | Onandol | | Imperial Navy | lost 1085 | |
| ENC-2561 | Kyberan | | Gamelea subsector Navy | in service | |
| EC-27241 | Bethermeran | | Imperial Navy | in service | |
| ENC-2606 | Addan Lenux | Miazan subsector Navy | in service | ||
| ENC-2652 | Boltharon | Imperial Grand Survey | in service | ||
| ENC-2776 | Patrik Va’Ului | Imperial Navy | lost 1085 | ||
| EC-28437 | Nolassur | | Imperial Navy | lost 1095 | |
| EC-28439 | Maiden d’Ussior | | Kamperal Planetary Navy | lost 1083 | |
| EC-28452 | Nolanor | | Imperial Navy | lost 1094 | |
| ENC-2824 | Talban | Imperial Navy | in service | ||
| EC-28745 | Anacorus | | Gamelea subsector Navy | in service | |
| EC-29057 | Venaldron | Imperial Navy | lost 1104 | ||
| ENC-2912 | Venasta | Imperial Navy | lost 1104 | ||
| EC-29119 | Fianol | Imperial Navy | in service | ||
| EC-29127 | Venontalf | Imperial Navy | in service | ||
| EC-29130 | Vendrasoran | Imperial Navy | lost 1104 | ||
| EC-29152 | Venassur | | Imperial Navy | in service | |
| EC-29181 | Kolboran | | Imperial Navy | lost 1082 |
Non-standard Vassurans (usually denoted with an ENC- tail number) have had their Spinal Mounts removed and a 2000 ton cargo hold installed, instead. The Boltharon (ENC-2652) has had a large section of this hold taken up with long range sensors, planetary survey equipment and on-board research labs.
Dispositions:
Of the twenty-five Vassurans originally built, twelve remain in service in various places about the RimWorlds. Of the others:
Vassuran (EC-24824): Sold to the Lotarf/Nolgor Planetary Navy in 1073. Destroyed in the Zoni War of 1092. Was part of the CruRon that halted the Zoni assault on Nolgor.
Tolvuior (ENC-2482): Had its Spinal Mount removed prior to sale to AKI Interstellar in 1074. Recalled as an auxiliary during the 4th Outrim War. Failed to return from a commerce raiding mission into Cabria subsector in 1084.
Onandol (EC-27138): So badly damaged at the Battle of Julnar during the 4th Outrim War that it was scrapped in 1085.
Patrik Va’Ului (ENC-2776): Had its Spinal Mount removed prior to sale when the 4th Outrim War broke out in 1080. Served as an auxiliary until lost with all hands at the Battle of Anthorann in 1085.
Nolassur (EC-28437): Served with the Vassuran in the Zoni War. Lost with all hands at the siege of Lur.
Maiden d’Ussior (EC-28439): Failed to return from a mission during the 4th Outrim War.
Nolanor (EC-28452): Captured by Zoni forces at Rorena in 1094. Final fate unknown.
Venaldron (EC-29057): Flag ship of the Venturan CruRon during the Kalar-Wi War. Captured, along with the Venontalf and the Venassur after the disastrous Battle of Coron VII (also known as the Battle of Ventura). The Venontalf and the Venassur were returned after the war but the fate of the Venaldron remains a mystery.
Venasta (ENC-2912): Destroyed at the Battle of Coron VII.
Vendrasoran (EC-29130): Destroyed at the Battle of Coron VII.
Kolboron (EC-29181): Failed to return from a mission in the Miazan subsector in 1082.
In conjunction with the information presented above, several possible scenarios are presented in this article:
1. Several vessels are listed as missing with no known fate. These could be encountered as derelicts, wrecks, in another guise, etc.
2. The party could be employed to find one of the missing ships or to locate something on one of them. A Kinunir or Twilight’s Peak style scenario could easily be run.
3. Both the Nolanor and the Venaldron were captured in battle and never seen again – the Nolanor by the Zoni and the Venaldron by the Kalar-Wi. These ships could reappear as raiders (the Zoni are slavers) or generally attack player-controlled shipping. This gives well established players something to do besides grow rich.
4. An extra hazard for ship-running players to face – a Vassuran class customs boat.
Note: This version of the Vassuran Class Escort Cruiser has been put through Andrew Moffatt-Vallance's excellent High Guard Shipyard 1.13 programme to check my twenty-year-old math. The original version of the Vassuran turned out to be badly broken and has been extensively modified to make it a legal ship design.