Dorsal/Ventral pod launching?

JeffEngel wrote:Another point though - What's the problem with broadside pod launch, like LAC's use? The "launchers" would of course be vastly larger than missile tubes (but smaller than LAC hatches), and presumably the sidewalls could incorporate larger "gunports" for them.

Dafmeister wrote:

JeffEngel wrote:Another point though - What's the problem with broadside pod launch, like LAC's use? The "launchers" would of course be vastly larger than missile tubes (but smaller than LAC hatches), and presumably the sidewalls could incorporate larger "gunports" for them.

I assume you're talking about old-school, pre-Shrike LACs, which had box launchers that were basically missile pods as part of their hull. I don't think the box launchers were actually detached from the ship before the missiles fired, though.

The problem with any pod launching system is that it requires a big hole in the hull for the pod to come out of. Having the pods come out of the stern puts that hole in a position that captains normally wanted to keep away from the enemy anyway in the days before sternwalls, whereas you'd have a broadside facing toward your enemy to engage with your shipboard tubes and the maximum number of control links. Even today, with bow- and sternwalls, off-bore targetting and Keyhole, putting a pod launcher in the broadside means putting that big hole through the armour of your largest target aspect. The stern is at least a smaller target, while dorsal/ventral launching would be well protected by the wedge.

SWM wrote:No, he's talking about launching pods from bays similar to the broadside LAC bays on a CLAC. But you're point about the smaller aspect of the stern is a valid observation. With the stern buckler, stern launchers are nearly as well protected as broadside launchers, but the smaller aspect still applies.

Vince wrote:

Erls wrote:So, here is my vision of how this might work.. The pods are not launched straight up or down, but instead on angles in an area much less likely to be hit than even the aft hammerhead on an up the kilt shot. The red line is the current pod-rails, and the green lines are the 'new' pod-rails. The blue path is the path taken by the pods with the use of a minor tractoring of them, setting them up on a path to clear the wedge easily.

***Image snipped***

*Beware my mad MSPaint skillz!!

When viewed in an inertial reference frame, an object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force, or more colloquially, an object in motion will stay in motion with the same speed and direction, unless an external force is applied to it. Issac Newton's First Law.

Change the blue lines so that they are either parallel to each other or slightly diverging, otherwise the pods will collide as they continue in the direction they are traveling. The planes of the impeller wedge, even at its narrowest (aft end) are much further apart than the ship is tall. (The wedge is about 40 kilometers wide at the aft end, and even an Invictus SD(P) is nowhere near that, with its dimensions given as 1394 × 202 × 188 meters*.) See the image in Wedge geometry and compare size of the superdreadnaught with the distance between the planes of the wedge at the aft end.

* Dimensions of the Invictus SD(P) from House of Steel.

JeffEngel wrote:

Vince wrote:When viewed in an inertial reference frame, an object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force, or more colloquially, an object in motion will stay in motion with the same speed and direction, unless an external force is applied to it. Issac Newton's First Law.

Change the blue lines so that they are either parallel to each other or slightly diverging, otherwise the pods will collide as they continue in the direction they are traveling. The planes of the impeller wedge, even at its narrowest (aft end) are much further apart than the ship is tall. (The wedge is about 40 kilometers wide at the aft end, and even an Invictus SD(P) is nowhere near that, with its dimensions given as 1394 × 202 × 188 meters*.) See the image in Wedge geometry and compare size of the superdreadnaught with the distance between the planes of the wedge at the aft end.

* Dimensions of the Invictus SD(P) from House of Steel.

If the pods have tractors, and the tractors have a presser function, pods could push one another out of the way to get divergent trajectories, once they're clear enough of the wedge. That said, they'll spread enough if the paths are just divergent enough to clear the wedge reliably.

Another point though - What's the problem with broadside pod launch, like LAC's use? The "launchers" would of course be vastly larger than missile tubes (but smaller than LAC hatches), and presumably the sidewalls could incorporate larger "gunports" for them.

MAD-4A wrote:I was thinking, with Keyhole to provide FCS, instead of a pair of square "wedges" a single "Cone" with no sidewalls. This would mean only a "Down-the-throat/Up-the-kilt" shot would be available, while the ship could still dump pods (from SDPs)/launch LACs (from CLACs). the LAC could provide additional FCS links. In this case I would want th Dorsal/Ventral bays to allow full/max hammerheads covering the only 2 vulnerable aspects of the ship. They would also contain a small # of internal tubes for use in situations not requiring a "full roll" (like pirate destroyer or warning shots etc...)

MaxxQ wrote:

JeffEngel wrote:
Ummmm, guys...

Look at the image here:

http://maxxqbunine.deviantart.com/art/P ... -465723504

See those notches/openings at the corners? Those are RCS thrusters. Not too difficult to use them to move the pods exactly where you want them to go after they've been launched.

Pods *do* have tractors, but they are mainly meant for attaching themselves to a ship, and AFAIK, are not equipped with pressors.