How To Abandon Ship?

cthia wrote:That is the passage I remember. It seems that some fashion of a personal mail chute, akin to the airchutes at banks where you drop your stuff in a little container and watch it while it rides on a cushion of air to the teller inside, can be utilized even deeply inside the ship to ride to the skin. An emergency grav plate chute perhaps? That is how I envisioned it before coming across this passage that Jonathan so nicely included that clearly points out the reality of shit-outta-luck duty stations.

Chances are if a warship needs to evacuate in a hurry it's been pounded badly enough that any kind of rapid movement system would be wrecked. Either the life support system was trashed (like at the end of Among Enemies), the fusion bottle's about to go, or the defenses are so wrecked there's no point in sticking around for incoming fire. When a ship's taken that much damage, it's not just a matter of speed but also accessibility. While it might take too long for the engineers to run to the life pods, they probably can't physically get there without heavy tools. If you have time for heavy tool, you have time to use the boat bay.

It seems that ship designers figure the difficulty of getting all the crew to the pods makes it not worth the mass and volume for 100% life pod coverage.

https://maxxqbunine.deviantart.com/art/ ... -475462450

In the image, note the flat "discs" on the dorsal surface. Those are the escape pod tube hatch covers. The tubes continue through the ship to the centerline, and on ships with armored core hulls, the tubes go into the core hull, but no farther. There are no escape pod hatches/tubes on the ventral surface.

There are no escape pods for the spaces between the core hull and the outer hull, because those are spaces that should not be manned during battle, and are evacuated of atmosphere to limit pressure wave transmission of hits. Everyone should be either inside the core hull, or their weapons crew pods, or otherwise wherever their battle stations are located. On ships without a core hull (anything smaller than a Star Knight), well... I guess you can figure out what they do and where they ought to be.

There are several pods per tube, each pod holds five people. A pod lines up with a hatch, people get in, and the pod is ejected. The next pod moves into place, lather rinse, repeat.

Not visible in any of the images is a "cutout" beneath each weapons port (on older ships), or a cutout for every few weapons ports (on newer-build, manpower-reduced ships). These "cutouts" are armored plugs, and behind them are the weapons crew pods. In an "abandon ship" scenario, the plugs blow out and the weapons crew pods are ejected.

As already mentioned, another means of escape is the pinnaces/cutters/other parasite craft in the boat bay(s). A pinnace can hold around 200 personnel in skinsuits, including flight crew. A cutter could hold maybe 20 people at a pinch, but it would be cramped.

Other ways to abandon ship are the personnel and cargo hatches located on the lower, center broadside areas, in the boat bays, and possibly other locations. As previously mentioned, all personnel should be in skinsuits, which will keep them alive for several hours, even in hard vacuum, and they are equipped with emergency beacons so the person can be located.

There's also the simple expedient of jumping out a hole that has been blasted into the ship, if all else fails.

MaxxQ wrote:There are no escape pods for the spaces between the core hull and the outer hull, because those are spaces that should not be manned during battle, and are evacuated of atmosphere to limit pressure wave transmission of hits. Everyone should be either inside the core hull, or their weapons crew pods, or otherwise wherever their battle stations are located.

And as always, damage control teams working in otherwise evacuated areas (like making repairs in that zone) have to take their chances should things go from bad to worse.

MaxxQ wrote:
https://maxxqbunine.deviantart.com/art/ ... -475462450

In the image, note the flat "discs" on the dorsal surface. Those are the escape pod tube hatch covers. The tubes continue through the ship to the centerline, and on ships with armored core hulls, the tubes go into the core hull, but no farther. There are no escape pod hatches/tubes on the ventral surface.

There are no escape pods for the spaces between the core hull and the outer hull, because those are spaces that should not be manned during battle, and are evacuated of atmosphere to limit pressure wave transmission of hits. Everyone should be either inside the core hull, or their weapons crew pods, or otherwise wherever their battle stations are located. On ships without a core hull (anything smaller than a Star Knight), well... I guess you can figure out what they do and where they ought to be.

There are several pods per tube, each pod holds five people. A pod lines up with a hatch, people get in, and the pod is ejected. The next pod moves into place, lather rinse, repeat.

Not visible in any of the images is a "cutout" beneath each weapons port (on older ships), or a cutout for every few weapons ports (on newer-build, manpower-reduced ships). These "cutouts" are armored plugs, and behind them are the weapons crew pods. In an "abandon ship" scenario, the plugs blow out and the weapons crew pods are ejected.

As already mentioned, another means of escape is the pinnaces/cutters/other parasite craft in the boat bay(s). A pinnace can hold around 200 personnel in skinsuits, including flight crew. A cutter could hold maybe 20 people at a pinch, but it would be cramped.

Other ways to abandon ship are the personnel and cargo hatches located on the lower, center broadside areas, in the boat bays, and possibly other locations. As previously mentioned, all personnel should be in skinsuits, which will keep them alive for several hours, even in hard vacuum, and they are equipped with emergency beacons so the person can be located.

There's also the simple expedient of jumping out a hole that has been blasted into the ship, if all else fails.

As usual, thanks for the rendering Maxx.

However, I'm failing to identify the flat "discs." Discs meaning round, right? Approximately how many are in the drawing?

Makes me wonder if the Bridge, and by inference Honor, is quickly "evacuable." Sad to think Honor could die because she can't reach a pod in time.

Also, I remember that Nimitz, while left alone inside Honor's quarters uses a specially made skinsuit. Is Nimitz self-evacuable from his quarters?

And, in any case that many more of the crew make it to the boat bay than there is boat space, would there be a preference, as in officers first, engineers, etc., etc.? Why lose the important people over the "expendables?"

Or would they just dive out into space? Problem with that is, there may be incoming missiles and diving isn't going to carry you as far away from the explosions, especially if the ship is stationary.

'shrug'

As quickly as possible while maintaining one's decorum.

I think I've identified the discs you were speaking of Maxx. As soon as I realized that dorsal means "rear" as well as "top." The reason I wanted to be clear, is because if someone just leaps, there momentum may not take them clear of the upcoming rear hammerhead. And smash!


I remember that Ajax couldn't get her bay doors open and was frantically trying to repair them. Why didn't suited people go for an emergency jump exit? Run and jump as if you are parachuting. ::another shrug::

cthia wrote:Also, I remember that Nimitz, while left alone inside Honor's quarters uses a specially made skinsuit. Is Nimitz self-evacuable from his quarters?

Faulty memory.

Nimitz spent much of Honor's early career in a survival module mounted to the bulkhead of Honor's quarters. Paul Tankersly designed a skinsuit for 'cats and presented Nimitz with the protoype; From that point, Nimitz went whereever Honor did and used special restraints affixed to Honor's command chair on the bridge.

Samantha used Nimitz' deluxe survival module on HMS Wayfarer affixed to the bulkhead in Honor's quarters.

cthia wrote:

Lord Skimper wrote:

I keep fielding my memories of touring the Battleship North Carolina on several occasions and I recall that the ship decks are nothing but grated metal and the decks are traversed by small metal ladders. I try to imagine long lines of scurrying people trying to utilize these small ladders when power is unavailable, in a time limited, panicked fashion. I suppose on a warship you are taught not to bully or panic. Right, Randy Steilman.

On battleships like the North Carolina and Massachusetts (Excellent tours, and well worth the trip!) the hatches between decks are extremely heavy; they are 20th century battle steel several inches thick. If the ship sinks fast, no one below the armored decks is likely to get out. At least in a spaceborne ship, hatches can be opened manually if the gravity is off--assuming that tumbling doesn't put a bad spin on things.

Ocean cruise ships (my personal experience -4) They indeed have a lifeboat drill before the ship casts off from the pier (USCG mandatory) Everyone grabs a life jacket and properly buckles up and is checked by the crewmen assigned to their boat station. In your cabin is the # of your life boat station and directions to it.

As anyone should remember from The Titanic, if the ship lists too far to one side(~10degrees IIRC) the boats on the other side can't be launched. There is supposed to be a mandatory second lifeboat drill, but international cruises never in my experience ever manage it.

I have to assume that similar drills would be equally mandatory on space faring cruise ships as well. Proper planning is always proper.

There has never been a maritime law that the captain must go down with her ship, yet the crew is supposed to make sure the passengers are off before they evacuate.

cthia wrote:

Lord Skimper wrote:

I keep fielding my memories of touring the Battleship North Carolina on several occasions and I recall that the ship decks are nothing but grated metal and the decks are traversed by small metal ladders. I try to imagine long lines of scurrying people trying to utilize these small ladders when power is unavailable, in a time limited, panicked fashion. I suppose on a warship you are taught not to bully or panic. Right, Randy Steilman.

NHBL wrote:On battleships like the North Carolina and Massachusetts (Excellent tours, and well worth the trip!) the hatches between decks are extremely heavy; they are 20th century battle steel several inches thick. If the ship sinks fast, no one below the armored decks is likely to get out. At least in a spaceborne ship, hatches can be opened manually if the gravity is off--assuming that tumbling doesn't put a bad spin on things.

The hatches can be opened only on non-Solarian ships, unless you BYOWD-40! LOL

The USS Battleship NC tour is an excellent tour if you go prepared and informed, especially if it's the middle of July!