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Title Posted
The basis for Manticoran inventiveness Jul 2005
Education reform in the Republic of Haven Jul 2005
Technical improvements in the Talbott Cluster Jul 2005
Locating new Manticoran shipyards Jul 2005
Mesan assassin nanotech Jul 2005
The rationale behind when to reveal Apollo's existence Jul 2005
Refitting to the Keyhole-II standard Jul 2005
Expanding upon the Eridani Edict Dec 2005
Manticore's relationship with Beowulf Dec 2005
Power of the Manticoran Monarchy Dec 2005

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Pearls of Weber

A collection of posts by David Weber containing background information for his stories, collected and generously made available Joe Buckley.

Asymmetrical broadsides

  • Series: Honorverse
  • Date: October 22, 2002

Why Are Starships Symmetrical? The question of why ships aren't designed with separate broadsides optimized for different types of combat -- that is, missile-range combat as opposed to energy-range combat -- has emerged once again. Do you want to comment on this one at all?

 

Symmetrical Broadsides. No, I don't want to comment on this. I've done it before, and the statements I made then still apply. Indeed, they've become even more relevant in an era in which broadside missile tubes are becoming less and less significant for major combatants and the need for missile defenses has never been greater. Asymmetrical broadsides would be a bad idea.