Small Craft

Description[edit]

All spacecraft in the BattleTech universe are categorized as either a Small Craft, Aerospace fighter, DropShip, JumpShip/WarShip or Space Station. In this context, "Small Craft" refers to any spaceworthy vessel massing 100 to 200 tons (the size range between Aerospace fighters and DropShips) that can be docked inside a small craft hangar bay. Very small space vehicles such as Life Boats and Escape Pods are also sometimes considered small craft for lack of a better category, although they do not technically fall into the small craft mass range. There are literally hundreds of different types of small craft in operation throughout the Inner Sphere and Periphery, ranging from shuttles and long-range craft to utility vehicles and armed escort craft resembling superlarge fighters. Many, but not all, are capable of atmospheric operations. [1]

The K-1 DropShuttle, although built using Small Craft rules, actually meets the criteria for both a Small Craft and a DropShip, as it sports a docking collar and its mass of 200 tons is both the maximum size for the former and the minimum size for the latter type.[2]

Manufacturing[edit]

(see also: Category:Small Craft classes)

Small Craft are manufactured on the following planets:

Brand Planet Company
K-1 DropShuttle Luthien BBP Industries
K-1 DropShuttle Layover Sacrado Industries
K-1 DropShuttle Mackenzie Brigadier Corporation
K-1 DropShuttle Skye Shipil Company
Mark VII (Landing craft) Sian Saroyan Special Projects
Mark VII (Landing craft) Dover Hinsdale Elec
Mark VII (Landing craft) Skye Shipil Company
NL-42 "Battle Taxi" Outreach Blackwell Heavy Industries
S-7A (Bus) Ares Earthwerks Limited
S-7A (Bus) Chatham Taurus Territorial Industries
S-7A (Bus) Layover Sacrado Industries
S-7A (Bus) Mackenzie Brigadier Corporation
S-7A (Bus) Skye Shipil Company
S-7A (Bus) Sterope Taurus Territorial Industries
ST-46 (Shuttle) Dover Hinsdale Elec
ST-46 (Shuttle) Delavan Dynamico Limited
ST-46 (Shuttle) Atreus Deller-Bingham-Fouts
ST-46 (Shuttle) Gibbs Lockheed-CBM Corporation
ST-46 (Shuttle) St. Ives Tengo Aerospace
ST-46 (Shuttle) Illiushin Vandenberg Mechanized Industries
TIG-15 Tigress Close Patrol Craft (Gunship) Illiushin Vandenberg Mechanized Industries
Triste Sub-Orbital transport[3] Genoa Aggerri Aerospace

References[edit]

  1. Total Warfare, p. 24 "Small Craft"
  2. Technical Readout: 3057 Revised, p. 173 "K-1 DropShuttle"
  3. BattleCorps: INN Newscast (Solaris Broadcasting Co. section), news item published [09/09/3068]: "Blakist Shock Troops Kill Millions on Genoa"

Bibliography[edit]