Skimmer Class Cutter

The Skimmer Class Cutter is the standard patrol and support vessel of the Iron Company.

Since their inception from the age of sail to the invention of the first FTL drives, Warships have always been a major force multiplier; in times of peace, they have served as a means of safeguarding trade and ensuring that a nation's own interests remain protected. In times of war these vessels were often the deciding factor in a conflict; burning towards a planet with all due speed before establishing orbital control, blockading it, unloading troops, and then patiently dropping munitions on whatever unfortunate slobs were on the ground that decided that resisting was a good idea.

Any nation-state, would-be nation-state, and warlord with any ambitions would need to acquire and factor in these vital pieces of equipment and the Iron Company is no different. The design was originally conceived in YE 42, as a general-purpose craft to fulfill the majority of support roles. However, despite the Skimmer proving to be a very promising design, the schematics were shelved as the IC was primarily a ground army first and foremost, and they didn't really have any need for a large fleet outside of a few frigates to provide overwatch and ward off any offending hostiles-the majority of their spacecraft were primarily transports and picket vessels to act as escorts for said transports. It was, after intense debate among the Captain's Council, to not produce the design due to both cost considerations and internal issues, including a scandal involving corruption, and misallocation of resources that led to the arrest of several smiths.

Unfortunately, while all this was going on someone, not naming names, decided now was as a good a time as any to have an interdimensional kegger and they were all invited to the party. would promptly serve as a harsh kick in the teeth as to why a starfleet was a necessity. Despite the bravery of their crews losses were high and victory pyrrhic. Upon returning to Valhalla, Steiner reviewed the design personally and after realizing they wouldn't be able to produce enough of them to truly bolster their fleet number began working with the other smiths to rework the design around a common class of ship known as a Star or Sytem Runner; a heavily favored by merchants. While not the first choice for a line vessel of any sort, the hulls were easy enough to fabricate without straining rebuilding efforts elsewhere and had enough room to cram in whatever was needed. A combination of new and refitted vessels began to fill the Company's roster since their arrival in Kikyo as of YE 44 having first been encountered by Nepleslian¹⁾ star navy elements they have served as a massive nuisance to anyone who runs into one-wondering all the while why the hell anyone is running these junkers. This usually lasts as long as the impact of the first autocannon round.

Classified as a cutter by the Iron Company, though it has more in common with a corvette as it is far too large to fit into that vessel type, the Skimmer is a light, resonably cheap, and difficult-to-spot design due to its small sensor footprint and unusual armor choice-an ablative composite armor forming a thick, durable skin-able to absorb a large amount of punishment, and providing a degree of built-in protection from most energy and kinetic weapon systems. This armor is not particularly fancy, but it is very hard-the lack of any kind of shielding however is something of a drawback but does make it harder to detect-though as of YE 46 a refit program began to retrofit existing vessels with Electromagnetic Screens as well as the ability for Knight-Captains to mount them if they so choose. The weapons are effective at all ranges and have overlapping fields of fire, though point defense weapons were not added till the sheid refit due to the high presence of power armor. It was originally designed with ease of damage control, and ease of refit even in lower technology base facilities as it can be reconfigured as needed and fill the roles of transport, picket vessel, and dedicated interdiction and interception, and can operate for an extended period without the need for resupply or refueling. This combined with the low price tag makes it very attractive, and once again, cheap as all get ship when nothing else is available.

The primary function of this vessel are as following:

• Recon and long-range patrol missions.
• Long Range Skirmishing
• Fire Support
• Transport
• Interdiction/Interception

A long, mean looking vessel-all sloping angles and almost boxy at times, with three turrets; one on each side, the bottom and a nose mounted missile launch bay. Four huge thrusters are on the engine with retro boosters along the hull.

Despite its admittedly lower-tech systems, the Skimmer performs well under most circumstances-it handles well despite heavier than normal armor and seemingly ungainly shape, though it does have difficulty slowing once the superchargers have been hit.

General notes about ship stats and performance

General notes about armor stats and performance

Crew: 60 operators are recommended, 40 are required.

Maximum Capacity: There are accommodations for 100 people. About 200 people can fit aboard in an emergency, but the ship would be extremely cramped.

• Length: 76 meters (249.3 feet)
• Width: 24 meters (111.5 feet)
• Height: 24 meters (78.7 feet)
• Decks: 4 (3 meters each)
• Weight: 250,000 tons

• Slamdrive: .20 ly/m
• Sublight Engines: 0.3c to 0.25c
• Range: 6 months
• Lifespan: 35 years
• Refit Cycle: 8 years

DRv3 Tier: Ablative Composite Armor:Medium Light Anti-Starship

The ship's corridors are…cramped, to best describe it-though this can change depending on the configuration. Utilizing the Model 44 Standardzied Corridor it is what one would typically expect of company internal structures; Grey, utilitarian halls, bright, florescent lights at regular intervals with barely enough room for two men to pass between one another-this is due to the Company's standard shipbuilding protocols: often leaning towards miniaturizing all non-essential areas while devoting as much space as possible to all essential areas.

The vessel itself consists of four decks; upper deck, middle decks, and a lower deck. Upper deck consists of “Upper Crew Quarters”, “Observation, and “Gunnery” for both upper turrets and missile launcher, it also features 5 out of the 7 ammunition bins-this one is for the two upper guns and is located in the middle deck. Missiles for launcher are located within the launcher bay itself. The middle deck consists of the Bridge buried as deep in the ship as possible, additional crew quarters, Armory, shuttle bay, medical, storage, and mess hall. Lower deck consists of additional ammunition bins for and control of the lower guns. Engineering is also located on the upper decks towards the rear of the ship.

Below is listed the layout of the various compartments for each configuration of the vessel-they are all connected by Model 44 Standardzied Corridors, and moving between each deck is via ladders placed at intermittent points.

The Bridge, being a Model 44 Standardized Starship Bridge, is little more than a cramped, heavily armored box shoved as deep in the vessel as possible on Deck 3 and consists of a damage control station, communications, observation/navigation, fire control/oversight station as well as Captain's station. It also has a large table that is usually taken up by star charts and the like in the middle of the station and can be fitted with a Holoprojector if available.

Cargo storage is usually taken up by the various sundries necessary in keeping the soldiers supplied and equipment maintain; spare parts for onboard systems, raw materials that can be processed by engineering to provide additional components and ammunition, etc,. They can also be utilized as barracks for additional crewmember in the event of an emergency. It consists of a pair of Model 44 Standardized Cargo Bay located on decks 2 and 3.

The Skimmer's crew cabins a pair Model 44 Standardized Crew Barracks, located on deck 2 and 3, and 6 Model 44 Standardized Officer's Quarters, a Model 44 Standardized Laundry Room, and a Model 44 Standardized Crew Bathroom to handle any extra personnel, up to 50, located on deck 3.

The gunnery control for both autocannon and missiles are fairly similar: both have mechanical and analog control for aiming are available-each autocannon requires about 8 men to operate without impediments. The autocannons autoloaders draw munitions directly from the bins, a sextet of Model 44 Standardized Magazine,two for each gun, and if necessary, can be drawn up manually in the event of power failure. The missile launchers are manned by about 10 men and are manually loaded, with the ammunition being stored in a seventh bin. Each autocannon bin can hold around 150 shells each, with a missile launcher holding anywhere between 24 to 32 missiles. Their locations are deck 2 for the upper guns, deck 4 for the lower guns, and deck's 1 and 2 for the missile launcher given its size.

The mess hall, consists of a pair of Model 44 Dual Purpose Crew Galley; only slightly larger than barracks at 12 meters long and features three galley tables able to accommodate 10 men each, with a kitchen around 5 meters and has several stoves, sinks, fridges, serving stations, a number of cabinets storing food, cutlery, and dishes needed for cooking and feeding the soldiers aboard.

The stoves feature four burners and an oven and can use either electrical sources or can be gas-fueled if need be. When food is prepared, it is placed once finished in a severing station which is insulated by a combination of an outer steel layer, with thick foam insulation in between the steel, and keep food warm for up to six hours. This is also located on Deck 3.

The Medical Bay is a Model 44 Standardized Medical Bay and is one of the larger bays in the vessel; roughly 14 meters in length, and 12 meters wide and consists of 4 trauma stations, 40 beds, and enough medical equipment and supplies to ensure that most casualties suffered in small skirmishes can be treated successfully, however in the event of a pitched, high-intensity battle it can lead to the bay being overwhelmed. Each trauma station consists of a surgical station, X-ray machine and has four beds as well racks containing surgical tools, medicine, EKG Montors, etc, to ensure any casualties can be treated relatively swiftly and safely.

Taking up a large amount of space on Decks 2 and 3, this is the beating heart of the Skimmer; consisting of a large Model 44 Standardized Engineering Bay, with both reactors situated on separate decks and place within heavily armored compartments to prevent shrapnel or stray fire from breaching them on accident, this keeps the ship spaceborne with all the services it provides.

Four Armories, with one each located near the gunnery positions and the remaining 2 near the bridge provide armsmen the means to defend themselves should they be boarded.

The Fernis variant of the Skimmer has a similar layout to the standard variant, though it strips out the missiles, autocannons, and ammunition bins. In place of where the munition bins were additional Cargo Bays and fuel tanks. In addition three Model 44 Standardized Crew Bathroom are also placed near the crew quarters to serve when it pulls transport duty. Its weapons package consists of eight Plsama cannons, with two of them taking up where the missile launcher was in a turret and a quartet of laser batter arrays towards the rear.

The Skimmer Electronic Warfare, or EW, swaps out all of its sensors for a Himedall Sensor System-these are a rare and valuable resource, and are only used for important engagements or protecting key holdings.³⁾

The Skimmer's hull contains the standard ablative composite armor(Medium Anti-Starship) in common use with the Iron Company, albeit hardened for space travel and conflict. It provides protection equivalent to a larger warship, and its hull and superstructure contain an anti-spall lining to protect from shrapnel.

The Skimmer utilizes a basic electronics package for navigation, targeting, and scanning; allowing for ease of repair, though its sensors aren't the greatest-only effective to about 3ly and include mass, infrared, radar, and aetheric, though a dedicated electronic warfare variant carries the powerful Heimdall Sensor System for detection capabilities-though these are somewhat rare. It's communication package includes FTL, radio, laser, and morse code. Most systems aboard the vessel outside of these are analog for ease of repair, and do have some electronic componets.

As Iron Company Vessels usually run depressurized during combat situations, basic damage control systems have been put into place in the event of non-combat related damage; bulkheads that drop automatically to seal any pressurized sections; fire suppression systems to suppress fires, and if necessary the affected corridor can be depressurized. Additional Fire-fighting equipment for fighting small blazes that do not require the full-scale system are located throughout the ship at regular intervals.

The Skimmer Class Cutter uses the Preserver Lifesupport System as its primary means of ensuring its occupants remain alive; with oxygen tank recharge and storage located at regular intervals throughout the ship. It is located in engineering.

The Skimmer Class Cutter uses a quartet of Plasmatic Sublight Drives towards the rear and eight Ion Engines located at various points along the hull for propulsion and maneuvering purposes.

Intial production runs of this vessel has no shield systems to minimize sensor imprint, though in combat situations could mount the Starship Reactive Armor to increase survivability, though in YE 46 efforts were made to correct this by adding an EM screen-this is used in tandem with the reactive armor to provide additional layers of protection. A Chainmail Starship Subarmor System can also be added to further increase protection, though this requires extensive refitting and is not often used.

Note: Weapon systems used on multiple ships should be posted as separate articles.

The Stock Model comes with the following weapons package:

• A 12-tube Sturmhamarr Missile Launcher located in the nose.
• 6 5-Inch Naval Autocannons mounted in 3 turrets with one turret located on the left and right sides, and on the bottom of the vessel, with two cannons in each. (Teir 9)
• 6 batteries of Lightbringer Variable Laser Cannons with four of these being located near the engines, and the remaining two located towards the center. ⁴⁾
• 4 batteries of 4 4cm Mauler Autocannons located on the vessel's fore, distributed evenly on all sides.⁵⁾

In addition to the 4 batteries of light-bringer lasers; the Fernis Variant removes the Missile Launcher and Autocannons and has the following weapons:

• 8 Helstroms with two in a turret in the nose and the remaining 6 distributed in place of the Autocannons.

The skimmer carries the following in its Model 44 Standardized Shuttlebay.

• x3 Jilanth T2 Military Shuttle-these are homegrown knockoffs taken from studying salvaged and purchased through third parties.

The skimmer can usually serve as an Ad-hoc carrier, and can carry 1 to 3 fighters in lieu of its shuttle complement if needed depending on the size of them. The most common is a pair of Corsair General Superiority Craft⁶⁾, though it acting as a carrier is not recommended.

Commissar Farzi created this article on 2022/10/09 19:33. Art by Commissar Farzi using DOGA L3

This was approved by Andrew on 2024/11/08.⁷⁾