Saturn (DropShuttle class)
Sarna News
| |
| Saturn Patrol Ship | |
| Production information | |
| Manufacturer | Dramm-Chance Interstellar Technologies, Jupiter[1] |
| Production Year | 2243[2] |
| Use | Patrol Vessel Escort Search & Rescue Training Ship |
| Type | Military Spheroid |
| Tech Base | Inner Sphere (Primitive) |
| Technical specifications | |
| Mass | 1,200 tons |
| Structural Integrity | 15 |
| Length | 18 meters |
| Width | 18 meters |
| Height | 22 meters |
| Drive System | Fusion |
| Safe Thrust | 5 g |
| Max Thrust | 8 g |
| Fuel (tons) | 150 tons |
| Fuel (days) | 4.52 days |
| Armament | 4x Prototype AC/5s 12x Machine Guns[1] |
| Armor | 33 tons Primitive Armor |
| Crew | Crew Listings
|
| Escape Pods/Life Boats | None[1] |
| Heat Sinks | 28 Standard[1] |
| BV (1.0) | ??? |
| BV (2.0) | 1,359<ref name="MUL:Sat"> |
Description
Created in the early days of the Terran Alliance's Colonization period, the Saturn-Class Patrol Ship was one of the earliest forms of Military DropShip ever produced. First launched in 2243, the Saturn was originally intended for deep space combat ship designed to act as an escort vessel for vulnerable colonization ships to ward off space debris and provide rescue services. As the Terran Alliance's colonization efforts expanded the nation, so did its problems of keeping the peace and as the ship's weaponry soon turned warding off pirates.
The ship was built in the thousands, serving as the backbone of the Alliance's space military. The ship played a significant role Outer Reaches Rebellion. However, after the Alliance cut ties with its colonies when its political leadership announced the Alliance’s Demarcation Declaration, Saturns found outside of Alliance's smaller holdings would soon disappear due to lack of logistics from Terra. Those of these ships that remained, continued to remain in service throughout the Twenty-Third Century. As newer and more technologically advanced DropShips came on the scene, the now outdated Saturns would be sold off as military surplus or assigned as training vessels until they were removed from service by the end of the Twenty-Third Century.[1]
Armament & Capacities
As being one of the earliest DropShips made, the ship was constructed using what would be later referred to as Primitive Technology. The Saturn was considered an effective vessel in it's time service. The ship was fitted out with the latest weapons and capabilities no civilian vessel could match at the time. It's fusion powered engines could push what was considered to be a large vessel at the time, moving at 8 gravities towards it's objective. The ship's hull is protected by 33 tons of Primitive Armor, giving well armor protection with most armor focused on the nose of the craft.
The ship's weaponry is mostly evenly spread out its weapon arcs. Featuring then newest kind of anti-ship available, the Prototype of the Class-5 Autocannon which was the ship's primary weapon. Each of the ship's arc was armed with single Proto-AC/5 and quad of Machine Guns which served as the ship's point defense. The autocannon's ammo bins carried 15 reloads for the cannon, while each's Machine Gun Bay had 200 rounds.
For boarding actions, the Saturn would dock with a vessel and dispatch its complement of Marines.[1]
Saturn's had a single cargo bay with a 43.5-ton cargo capacity for spare parts and supplies. The cargo accessed through it's 2 bay doors.[1]
Design Notes
Notes
- The original image for the Saturn originally used for Vulture-Class DropShip. The image was re-used for Saturn Patrol Ship as part of a cost-saving measure used for units devised for the Experimental Technical Readout series of PDFs.
- As of this writing, the Saturn is among very few published DropShips that may use the DropShuttle Bay featured on many primitive JumpShips and WarShips.