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More from ACBradley
Here comes the snow! (rough reupload, now with more writins)
So yeah, this is another one that's been interfering with my efforts to finish things that I needed to get roughed out at least, Aludran aerial battleship Scorn moving below the ridgeline of a valley as aircraft of the Aludran Air Force and Fleet Air Arm deploy in support of Operation Anvil. Still needs a lot of work and I probably won't pick this one up for a while, so enjoy it in all its sketchiness. :D
Here's more writins, still working on descriptions for the other aircraft.
SCORN
Air Destroyer AANV Scorn, BBN-A 17, capital-scale aerial battleship
The S-Class are three extremely large battle Leviships specialised for low-altitude operations and fleet support. They were designed by the 700-year-old firm of naval architects owned by the Karim family in response to Requirement 5409 to replace the increasingly obsolete N-Class aerial battleships with vessels using the latest technology; indeed, it rapidly became apparent that cost was no object and the three were intended as showcases of Aludran technological excellence. The three ships' boiler cores were laid down at roughly the same time in the high-security Leviship construction pens at Blackridge Works in northern Aludra, with priority given to finishing Scorn as a testbed for the other two.
Development costs for the S-Class along with the construction and outfitting of the three Grimalkins and their 1,800 Griffon drones were the chief reason for the re-suspension of the Army's endlessly delayed Future Soldier program to free up funding, though as ever infantry anti-tank missile programs continued to receive it.
Scorn uses a variation of the common "fours and eights" Aludran gun layout for large Leviships, using eight dual-gun turrets so that at least four guns can be pointed in any direction and eight in most. The S-Class have a broader stern which allows all sixteen guns to fire within an arc of about 45 degrees of the direction the nose is currently facing.
Like most modern surface ships of destroyer scale or larger, the exterior "bridge" is actually just a pilot house used when there is no immediate threat to the vessel, with the actual bridge located in an armoured, self-contained cocoon amidships. Scorn is unique in using an experimental spherical bridge structure with the crew seated on a pedestal in the centre and a 360-degree simulated exterior view constructed from the ship's sensor data projected on the walls. While this proved extremely effective at providing full situational awareness, it was also extremely expensive and difficult to service, and the other two S-Class use a more conventional flat bridge with a simulated 360 horizontal / 90 degree vertical field of view. The bridge crew and most other seated stations use an eyepiece-mounted augmented reality system based on that used by Chiran infantry, the specific system a derivative of that used by Aludran attack helicopters.
The Mk 68 Advanced Gun System's ten-inch calibre is regarded as being the practical limit for paired Leviship turrets; larger guns using through-ship barbettes have historically been prone to catastrophic explosions, while offset guns impose unacceptable restrictions on the Leviship's internal layout.
The Mk68 is part of a family of weapons from the 155mm Mk 55 AGS used by the SN-5 Monarch self-propelled gun to the 550mm Mk 70 AGS mounted on Grimalkin-Class hybrid carriers, all of which share common design elements. All feature a full 90 degrees of elevation (though this is a somewhat questionable feature on the Monarch), fully automated loading, fuze setting and ammunition management, with a six-part modular propelling charge allowing selectable velocity similar to the original liquid-propellant AGS concept demonstrators. The rate of fire of any AGS system is the same, approximately 10 rounds per minute.
The capabilities of the Mk68 were proven almost immediately when the Etrusean Air Destroyer Trenchant investigated Scorn while the latter was conducting final testing. Believing that Trenchant may try to engage them while their fire control system was still uncalibrated and their missiles incapable of launching, Scorn opened fire, bringing the Etrusean Leviship down over the Layahat islands within three minutes of commencing engagement.
While it had been planned for the S-Class to use a fast-firing variant of the Mk 55 AGS as their secondary weapon, all AGS barrel production had been reserved for Monarch guns and so the design defaulted to Aludra's endlessly updated 127mm Mk6 Dual-Purpose Gun, a reliable and battle-proven system the fundamentals of which are almost sixty years old. The Mod 35 variant was a new update specifically for the S-Class, including a faster autoloader and improved cooling and recoil systems allowing for sustained fire rates of fire exceeding 45 rounds per minute.
The Mk11 Mod 6 Vessel Defence Gun is a uniquely Aludran design, an approximately A½-gauge 350rpm actively liquid-cooled fully automatic shotgun designed for close-range defence from missiles and aircraft, to supplement a vessel's lighter point defence systems with a far higher volume of fire than the dual-purpose guns. Typically the VDG has twin linkless ammunition feeds, one of either airbursting HE or "smart" self-forging interceptor rounds and the other "shot" shells each containing 65 tungsten flechettes; originally these were steel, but these proved ineffective against the current generation of Chiran armoured anti-ship missiles.
The fire control system is the Block 39 upgrade to the Iron Shell integrated air defence and gunnery control system used by Aludran air defence cruisers and battleships. This is further integrated with the Corona battle management system, a system originally designed under the name Aurora for the cancelled CS-70 AWACS and further developed using Navy funding.
The S-Class, like many Air Destroyers, also perform submarine-hunting duties, and carry drop cells for active and passive sonobuoys and two large retractable dipping sonars. Heavyweight depth charges, pattern charge mortars and torpedoes are all carried to engage a submarine if one is detected. The S-Class are also fully equipped for both laying and clearing mines, with a specific focus on neutralising the sophisticated canister missile-mines used by the Chiran Navy.
As with a number of smaller Leviships of the same timeframe, in addition to their rear-mounted engines the S-Class feature eight outriggers (or pylons) which mount three-dimensional vectored-thrust engine units, eliminating the need for control surfaces. Unlike the smaller M-Class, the S-Class have additional inboard engine units at the base of each pylon, allowing the outrigger to still retain function even if the turbine units in it are disabled.
The S-Class use a standardised container loading system with eight sets of loading gear on each side and four on the centreline linked to six-position rotary "ferris wheel" racks. The system uses the PA-8 military container system rather than civilian shipping containers as in previous Leviship series, featuring flexible dividers that allow the mounted containers to function as auxiliary storage bays while they are on board. Munitions loading is handled by dedicated systems that shift containers to the relevant magazine or handling area automatically.
The precise particulars of the Zorn Industrial Alchemy Silverthorn radar absorbent material / spaced armour scheme used on the S-Class are classified, as are details of the engines; it has been confirmed the outrigger-mounted engines are in some way electrically driven. While it is still classified, it has essentially been confirmed that the S-Class generate power using two liquid fluoride thorium reactors, with enough additional output for an anticipated future refit with Chiran-style electromagnetic cannons replacing the primary armament.
Ditching has always been a problem for low-level Leviships, since they often operate below the effective altitude for parachute egress without extensive crew training. While the S-Class do carry emergency parachute racks with line loops at their evacuation assembly points, the primary method of ensuring crew survival in the case of a catastrophic loss of lift is to safely bring the ship to ground. The emergency ditching system is a massive Sias Kinetics DORMA liquid-fuelled rocket engine mounted underneath the rear section, which is jettisoned in two halves if the engine is to be deployed. Spite and Scourge have enough fuel to fire this engine for 20 seconds to arrest their descent with the nose at 45 degrees, while Scorn, oddly, is rated for two minutes of thrust. Since the three are externally identical, it is generally accepted that Scorn's ditching engine, which has never been seen since she was the only one of the three not shot down at least once during Operation Metronome, is of a totally different design to her sisters. S-Class vessels have floatation screens that allow them to function as surface vessels after ditching as long as their lower hull is relatively intact, and feature an unclear type of waterjet propulsion system allowing a speed of around ten knots. Compartmentalisation is sufficient that Spite remained afloat after becoming the only Leviship in history to be torpedoed.
Being designed for a crew of obligate carnivores, the S-Class feature a pair of 75-foot walk-in freezer units for fish and meat, with additional food stores generally kept in mounted containers. Food is prepared by a staff of qualified chefs and served in two main dining halls. Since an Aludran warship's crew interactions are modelled on a noble Household, these facilities are shared by officers and enlisted, with mealtimes serving as an opportunity for semi-formal communication between senior and junior staff. Aludran tradition dictates a reversal of what other nations consider privileges of rank; it would be considered exceptionally Improper for an officer to take position in line ahead of an enlisted crew member, for example.
The crew of 529 is large considering the degree of automation, being built around survivability, comfort in normal operations and covering the Aludran preference for a midday nap. Crew comforts include lounges, bathrooms and shower units for each set of 35 bunks; each member of the crew has an assigned non-shared sleeping position since Alun find sleeping in a bed that smells of someone they are not intimate with bizarre. Crew quarters are also equipped with standard Aludran 225-volt 4-pin plug sockets for personal electronics. As is normal for most armed forces, the crew quarters have unisex fixtures and the occupants are not segregated.
Each ship also has two gymnasiums and a library. Scorn was the first ship in the aerial or surface fleet to store her media collection digitally, just barely beating the re-launch of the refitted Line of Battle Ship* Lady Janice. Passageways are broad and designed to be accessible by a variety of species, including padded tops to doorways to protect horns and antlers and slam stops on doors to protect tails. For Chiran-species crew rotating duties can be assigned to keep them moving around.
The S-Class have ten air conditioning plants and use electrical distribution rather than steam piping to keep crews from having to work in Minimum Acceptable Uniform in some spaces as on some older Leviships. As dedicated low-level ships, they feature NBC filtration systems but are incapable of pressurising their interiors to operate at high altitudes.
The S-Class' medical facilities are state of the art and on par with those of a carrier or surface battleship, and Scorn in particular was used as a mobile field hospital throughout Operation Anvil. In theory, up to 1,000 ground troops and their equipment or in excess of 2,500 other personnel could be embarked on an S-Class Leviship if all nonessential internal spaces were cleared and the hangars emptied. In accordance with the Treaty of Lyle's stipulations on armed vessels acting as temporary noncombatants, the S-Class carry two large Designated Noncombatant banners which can be mounted on their flanks if they are being used for dedicated hospital operations or transferring civilians.
Perhaps the most bizarre feature of the three S-Class ships is the "retrieval net" which can be affixed to the vessel's earth anchors on one side and then drawn across to the other. A report from the Chiran Cruiser Submarine Zheilin-7 included a recording from the ship's optronics mast of Scorn dropping several depth charges on an empty area of ocean, then running down her earth anchors and lifting them with the net spread between them. It was only later that the crew realised they had just witnessed an Air Destroyer fishing.
Scorn is the ninth boss of the Chiran videogame Bold Fleet 5, fought over the Karwen Islands. The infamously difficult battle is the result of the game's Aludran-born secondary lead designer being the ex-girlfriend of Scorn's Captain. Scorn was the only boss in the series with voice acting provided by her real commanding officer until Bold Fleet 8, an arrangement made via radiophone while Scorn was docked at Lyle.
864ft 7in
114,000 tons
529 crew
70 knots (official: recorded cruising at 80 and actual top speed classified, rumoured to exceed 90)
16 x 254mm Mk 68 Advanced Gun System (8 twin turrets)
28 x 127mm Mk6 Mod35 Dual-Purpose Gun
14 x 75mm Mk11 Mod 6 Vessel Defence Gun
40 x Sabran Protector 35mm CIWS revolver cannon
Lindstrom Optics Cuirass-H laser CIWS with 12 emitters
4 x G7 Mod 8 Vertical Launch System (440 cells)
4 x G6 Mod 5 Downward Launch System (80 cells)
10 x A8 Trainable Variable Missile System
4 x FCA Type 2 Pattern Charge launcher
2 x 25-cell A7M heavyweight depth charge tubes
Aircraft: 7 STOVL aircraft, 10 attack helicopters, or 14 utility helicopters
8 spotting drones
4 ASW drones
*Modern Aludran battleships are of two types; "fast battleships" are focused on speed and stealthy design, while a "Line of Battle Ship" or "Main Battle Ship" completely discards stealth in favour of protection. The Line of Battle Ships are also used to assist carrier aircraft in actually finding the fleet, effectively being passive radar beacons, since Chiran designers are very fond of building missiles that lock on to carrier transponder signals.
Here's more writins, still working on descriptions for the other aircraft.
SCORN
Air Destroyer AANV Scorn, BBN-A 17, capital-scale aerial battleship
The S-Class are three extremely large battle Leviships specialised for low-altitude operations and fleet support. They were designed by the 700-year-old firm of naval architects owned by the Karim family in response to Requirement 5409 to replace the increasingly obsolete N-Class aerial battleships with vessels using the latest technology; indeed, it rapidly became apparent that cost was no object and the three were intended as showcases of Aludran technological excellence. The three ships' boiler cores were laid down at roughly the same time in the high-security Leviship construction pens at Blackridge Works in northern Aludra, with priority given to finishing Scorn as a testbed for the other two.
Development costs for the S-Class along with the construction and outfitting of the three Grimalkins and their 1,800 Griffon drones were the chief reason for the re-suspension of the Army's endlessly delayed Future Soldier program to free up funding, though as ever infantry anti-tank missile programs continued to receive it.
Scorn uses a variation of the common "fours and eights" Aludran gun layout for large Leviships, using eight dual-gun turrets so that at least four guns can be pointed in any direction and eight in most. The S-Class have a broader stern which allows all sixteen guns to fire within an arc of about 45 degrees of the direction the nose is currently facing.
Like most modern surface ships of destroyer scale or larger, the exterior "bridge" is actually just a pilot house used when there is no immediate threat to the vessel, with the actual bridge located in an armoured, self-contained cocoon amidships. Scorn is unique in using an experimental spherical bridge structure with the crew seated on a pedestal in the centre and a 360-degree simulated exterior view constructed from the ship's sensor data projected on the walls. While this proved extremely effective at providing full situational awareness, it was also extremely expensive and difficult to service, and the other two S-Class use a more conventional flat bridge with a simulated 360 horizontal / 90 degree vertical field of view. The bridge crew and most other seated stations use an eyepiece-mounted augmented reality system based on that used by Chiran infantry, the specific system a derivative of that used by Aludran attack helicopters.
The Mk 68 Advanced Gun System's ten-inch calibre is regarded as being the practical limit for paired Leviship turrets; larger guns using through-ship barbettes have historically been prone to catastrophic explosions, while offset guns impose unacceptable restrictions on the Leviship's internal layout.
The Mk68 is part of a family of weapons from the 155mm Mk 55 AGS used by the SN-5 Monarch self-propelled gun to the 550mm Mk 70 AGS mounted on Grimalkin-Class hybrid carriers, all of which share common design elements. All feature a full 90 degrees of elevation (though this is a somewhat questionable feature on the Monarch), fully automated loading, fuze setting and ammunition management, with a six-part modular propelling charge allowing selectable velocity similar to the original liquid-propellant AGS concept demonstrators. The rate of fire of any AGS system is the same, approximately 10 rounds per minute.
The capabilities of the Mk68 were proven almost immediately when the Etrusean Air Destroyer Trenchant investigated Scorn while the latter was conducting final testing. Believing that Trenchant may try to engage them while their fire control system was still uncalibrated and their missiles incapable of launching, Scorn opened fire, bringing the Etrusean Leviship down over the Layahat islands within three minutes of commencing engagement.
While it had been planned for the S-Class to use a fast-firing variant of the Mk 55 AGS as their secondary weapon, all AGS barrel production had been reserved for Monarch guns and so the design defaulted to Aludra's endlessly updated 127mm Mk6 Dual-Purpose Gun, a reliable and battle-proven system the fundamentals of which are almost sixty years old. The Mod 35 variant was a new update specifically for the S-Class, including a faster autoloader and improved cooling and recoil systems allowing for sustained fire rates of fire exceeding 45 rounds per minute.
The Mk11 Mod 6 Vessel Defence Gun is a uniquely Aludran design, an approximately A½-gauge 350rpm actively liquid-cooled fully automatic shotgun designed for close-range defence from missiles and aircraft, to supplement a vessel's lighter point defence systems with a far higher volume of fire than the dual-purpose guns. Typically the VDG has twin linkless ammunition feeds, one of either airbursting HE or "smart" self-forging interceptor rounds and the other "shot" shells each containing 65 tungsten flechettes; originally these were steel, but these proved ineffective against the current generation of Chiran armoured anti-ship missiles.
The fire control system is the Block 39 upgrade to the Iron Shell integrated air defence and gunnery control system used by Aludran air defence cruisers and battleships. This is further integrated with the Corona battle management system, a system originally designed under the name Aurora for the cancelled CS-70 AWACS and further developed using Navy funding.
The S-Class, like many Air Destroyers, also perform submarine-hunting duties, and carry drop cells for active and passive sonobuoys and two large retractable dipping sonars. Heavyweight depth charges, pattern charge mortars and torpedoes are all carried to engage a submarine if one is detected. The S-Class are also fully equipped for both laying and clearing mines, with a specific focus on neutralising the sophisticated canister missile-mines used by the Chiran Navy.
As with a number of smaller Leviships of the same timeframe, in addition to their rear-mounted engines the S-Class feature eight outriggers (or pylons) which mount three-dimensional vectored-thrust engine units, eliminating the need for control surfaces. Unlike the smaller M-Class, the S-Class have additional inboard engine units at the base of each pylon, allowing the outrigger to still retain function even if the turbine units in it are disabled.
The S-Class use a standardised container loading system with eight sets of loading gear on each side and four on the centreline linked to six-position rotary "ferris wheel" racks. The system uses the PA-8 military container system rather than civilian shipping containers as in previous Leviship series, featuring flexible dividers that allow the mounted containers to function as auxiliary storage bays while they are on board. Munitions loading is handled by dedicated systems that shift containers to the relevant magazine or handling area automatically.
The precise particulars of the Zorn Industrial Alchemy Silverthorn radar absorbent material / spaced armour scheme used on the S-Class are classified, as are details of the engines; it has been confirmed the outrigger-mounted engines are in some way electrically driven. While it is still classified, it has essentially been confirmed that the S-Class generate power using two liquid fluoride thorium reactors, with enough additional output for an anticipated future refit with Chiran-style electromagnetic cannons replacing the primary armament.
Ditching has always been a problem for low-level Leviships, since they often operate below the effective altitude for parachute egress without extensive crew training. While the S-Class do carry emergency parachute racks with line loops at their evacuation assembly points, the primary method of ensuring crew survival in the case of a catastrophic loss of lift is to safely bring the ship to ground. The emergency ditching system is a massive Sias Kinetics DORMA liquid-fuelled rocket engine mounted underneath the rear section, which is jettisoned in two halves if the engine is to be deployed. Spite and Scourge have enough fuel to fire this engine for 20 seconds to arrest their descent with the nose at 45 degrees, while Scorn, oddly, is rated for two minutes of thrust. Since the three are externally identical, it is generally accepted that Scorn's ditching engine, which has never been seen since she was the only one of the three not shot down at least once during Operation Metronome, is of a totally different design to her sisters. S-Class vessels have floatation screens that allow them to function as surface vessels after ditching as long as their lower hull is relatively intact, and feature an unclear type of waterjet propulsion system allowing a speed of around ten knots. Compartmentalisation is sufficient that Spite remained afloat after becoming the only Leviship in history to be torpedoed.
Being designed for a crew of obligate carnivores, the S-Class feature a pair of 75-foot walk-in freezer units for fish and meat, with additional food stores generally kept in mounted containers. Food is prepared by a staff of qualified chefs and served in two main dining halls. Since an Aludran warship's crew interactions are modelled on a noble Household, these facilities are shared by officers and enlisted, with mealtimes serving as an opportunity for semi-formal communication between senior and junior staff. Aludran tradition dictates a reversal of what other nations consider privileges of rank; it would be considered exceptionally Improper for an officer to take position in line ahead of an enlisted crew member, for example.
The crew of 529 is large considering the degree of automation, being built around survivability, comfort in normal operations and covering the Aludran preference for a midday nap. Crew comforts include lounges, bathrooms and shower units for each set of 35 bunks; each member of the crew has an assigned non-shared sleeping position since Alun find sleeping in a bed that smells of someone they are not intimate with bizarre. Crew quarters are also equipped with standard Aludran 225-volt 4-pin plug sockets for personal electronics. As is normal for most armed forces, the crew quarters have unisex fixtures and the occupants are not segregated.
Each ship also has two gymnasiums and a library. Scorn was the first ship in the aerial or surface fleet to store her media collection digitally, just barely beating the re-launch of the refitted Line of Battle Ship* Lady Janice. Passageways are broad and designed to be accessible by a variety of species, including padded tops to doorways to protect horns and antlers and slam stops on doors to protect tails. For Chiran-species crew rotating duties can be assigned to keep them moving around.
The S-Class have ten air conditioning plants and use electrical distribution rather than steam piping to keep crews from having to work in Minimum Acceptable Uniform in some spaces as on some older Leviships. As dedicated low-level ships, they feature NBC filtration systems but are incapable of pressurising their interiors to operate at high altitudes.
The S-Class' medical facilities are state of the art and on par with those of a carrier or surface battleship, and Scorn in particular was used as a mobile field hospital throughout Operation Anvil. In theory, up to 1,000 ground troops and their equipment or in excess of 2,500 other personnel could be embarked on an S-Class Leviship if all nonessential internal spaces were cleared and the hangars emptied. In accordance with the Treaty of Lyle's stipulations on armed vessels acting as temporary noncombatants, the S-Class carry two large Designated Noncombatant banners which can be mounted on their flanks if they are being used for dedicated hospital operations or transferring civilians.
Perhaps the most bizarre feature of the three S-Class ships is the "retrieval net" which can be affixed to the vessel's earth anchors on one side and then drawn across to the other. A report from the Chiran Cruiser Submarine Zheilin-7 included a recording from the ship's optronics mast of Scorn dropping several depth charges on an empty area of ocean, then running down her earth anchors and lifting them with the net spread between them. It was only later that the crew realised they had just witnessed an Air Destroyer fishing.
Scorn is the ninth boss of the Chiran videogame Bold Fleet 5, fought over the Karwen Islands. The infamously difficult battle is the result of the game's Aludran-born secondary lead designer being the ex-girlfriend of Scorn's Captain. Scorn was the only boss in the series with voice acting provided by her real commanding officer until Bold Fleet 8, an arrangement made via radiophone while Scorn was docked at Lyle.
864ft 7in
114,000 tons
529 crew
70 knots (official: recorded cruising at 80 and actual top speed classified, rumoured to exceed 90)
16 x 254mm Mk 68 Advanced Gun System (8 twin turrets)
28 x 127mm Mk6 Mod35 Dual-Purpose Gun
14 x 75mm Mk11 Mod 6 Vessel Defence Gun
40 x Sabran Protector 35mm CIWS revolver cannon
Lindstrom Optics Cuirass-H laser CIWS with 12 emitters
4 x G7 Mod 8 Vertical Launch System (440 cells)
4 x G6 Mod 5 Downward Launch System (80 cells)
10 x A8 Trainable Variable Missile System
4 x FCA Type 2 Pattern Charge launcher
2 x 25-cell A7M heavyweight depth charge tubes
Aircraft: 7 STOVL aircraft, 10 attack helicopters, or 14 utility helicopters
8 spotting drones
4 ASW drones
*Modern Aludran battleships are of two types; "fast battleships" are focused on speed and stealthy design, while a "Line of Battle Ship" or "Main Battle Ship" completely discards stealth in favour of protection. The Line of Battle Ships are also used to assist carrier aircraft in actually finding the fleet, effectively being passive radar beacons, since Chiran designers are very fond of building missiles that lock on to carrier transponder signals.
Category Artwork (Digital) / General Furry Art
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1280 x 872px
File Size 430.4 kB
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