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Title Posted
The origin of the Manticoran technical edge Nov 2004
Is the destroyer obsolete as a ship type? Nov 2004
Arsenal ships based upon ammunition colliers Nov 2004
Off-bore missile targeting Nov 2004
Single-drive fusion-powered missiles Nov 2004
Order of Battle: The Siege of Earth Nov 2004
Order of Battle: First Clash - The Vanguard Nov 2004
Order of Battle: The Battle of Zeta Trianguli Australis Nov 2004
Order of Battle: Second Clash - The Main Body Nov 2004
Effective intercept range for counter-missiles Dec 2004

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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.

The Mesan Spider Drive

  • Series: Honorverse
  • Date: March 17, 2009

…To the nameless Fly who sent me the e-mail pointing out (a) that the Mesan spider-drive ships mounting the attack on Manticore couldn't possibly tank enough reaction mass for the mission and (b) that the flare of their fusion drives would completely negate any stealth advantages of the spider drive itself, I will simply say that the spider drive ships do not use reaction drives. The scout ships do use reaction thrusters to propel themselves out of the freighter bays in which they were transported to Manticore, but we've seen Honorverse impeller drive ships using reaction thrusters to maneuver lots of times before. In short, this is not going to be a case of Honor's tactics at Cerberus, although some of the same "blind spots" which afflicted General Chernock's units at Cerberus do have parallels in Manticore's preparedness. (And, no, one of those blind spots is not a failure to look for visual cues from little things like massed fusion thrusters.)