Sea Skimmer

Sea Skimmer Hydrofoil
Production information
Manufacturer	Skye Pleasure Craft Limited
Production Year	2867
Mission	Littoral Combat Ship / Patrol Ship
Type	Hydrofoil Naval
Cost	626,667 C-Bills
Technical specifications
Mass	25 tons
Armor	Glasgow Limited Standard
Engine	150 Skye Engines Naval I.C.E.
Speed	194.4 km/h
Crew	4
Communications System	TharHes Seaweed PG-2
Targeting Tracking System	TharHes Nav Shark
Heat Sinks	0
Armament	1x SRM-4 3x machine gun
BV (1.0)	195
BV (2.0)	281 288

Description

The Sea Skimmer has a very specific combat role: counterinsurgency operations and civilian shipping protection on planets whose surfaces contains large bodies of water. In an age with very few wet-navy ships, normally local forces would use land-based hovercraft or armed civilian ships, as these are quite inexpensive in comparison to designing and building a dedicated military watercraft. It was surprising then, on the eve of the Third Succession War, to see a new design for a military hydrofoil emerge on the planet Skye, especially since there was no insurgent activity on Skye which would justify such costs. Instead the creation of the Sea Skimmer was the result of bored young rich men wishing to wear fancy uniforms and avoid being drafted into the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces as mere cannon fodder after Archon Elizabeth Steiner invoked the Military Disaster Act. With the help of their Social General fathers, members of the New Glasgow Yachting Club convinced the LCAF to create the 348th Reserve Detachment of the Skye Militia, with the caveat that they fund and equip themselves as they saw fit. The LCAF relented, thinking they'd get a light infantry unit out of the deal, only to be surprised when the yacht club contracted Skye Pleasure Craft Ltd. to build twelve Sea Skimmers for themselves. For the next several years the 348th would keep Skye "safe" from the Draconis Combine by patrolling the waters around New Glasgow, accompanied by "civilian observers" of course.

When the Draconis Combine did invade Skye in 2895, despite expectations the 348th and their Sea Skimmer vessels acquitted themselves well. In truth the hydrofoil was faster and better armored than the LCAF's standard Silverfin-class cutter, and the yacht club members put those advantages to good use. Mobilized to protect the city of Inverness in the Mantty River Delta, the 348th used their vessels to conduct raids behind Kuritan lines and provide fire support for desperate infantry units. In the end, the last two operational Sea Skimmers were lost in a suicide mission to halt a Combine breakthrough by using one-kiloton nuclear demolition charges to destroy the Mantty River Dam and flood the river delta. This heroic sacrifice helped drive the Kuritans off Skye and convince the LCAF to contract Skye Pleasure Craft to build more Sea Skimmers for other Lyran border worlds where it would continue to see use, including many unofficial variants.

Armament

The Sea Skimmer is a typical hydrofoil, using a standard displacement hull with three mounted wings, or foils, on the bow, port and starboard sides of the vessel. Retracted when operating at low speeds, the foils are lowered to lift the hull up out of the water and allow the ship to travel in excess of 190 km/h. Its primary weapon is a turret-mounted Coventry 4-tube missile system with one ton of reloads, capable of a 360º field of fire. To provide close-in protection, the Sea Skimmer mounts Sperry Browning machine guns on the port and starboard sides, as well as the stern and carries a half-ton of ammunition. It is protected by two tons of armoring.

Variants

• Sea Skimmer (SRM)

  This unofficial modification removes the Sperry Browning machine guns and replaces them with an SRM-2. Also, the turret-mounted Coventry 4-tube missile system is downgraded to an SRM-2 to save room and share ammunition. BV (2.0) = 363 (SRM-2), BV (2.0) = 321 (SRM-6)

• "Sniper" Sea Skimmer

  This prototype carries a single extended LRM-5 in the turret. To make room for the launcher, the "Sniper" removes all of the close-in weaponry, trades the ICE engine for a fusion engine, and replaces the standard armor protection with two tons of heavy ferro-fibrous armor. Though it retains the high speed of the original Sea Skimmer, the Sniper's paper-thin armor and lack of close range weaponry relegates it to shore bombardment duties. BV (2.0) = 322

• Sea Skimmer (ELRM)

  This version of the Sea Skimmer uses a fusion engine, but reduces the top speed to 150 km/h. Three tons of heavy ferro-fibrous armor provides protection. The hydrofoil's only weapon is a single extended LRM-10, fed from a two ton ammunition bay. This may limit its role to fire support, but it's still a valuable unit. BV (2.0) = 556

Design Quirks

The Sea Skimmer (ELRM) variant is subject of the following Design Quirks:

• Accurate Weapon (ELRM)
• Poor Performance
• Searchlight

Gallery

• 

  Original Sea Skimmer from TRO:3026

• 

  Decolorized reprint of Sea Skimmer from German HWH:3031

• 

  Sea Skimmer from TRO:3026 Revised

• 

  Sea Skimmer from TRO:3039

• 

  ELRM variant of Sea Skimmer from TRO:Prototypes

Bibliography

• Experimental Technical Readout: Corporations
• Record Sheets: 3039
• Technical Readout: 3026
• Technical Readout: 3026 Revised
• Technical Readout: 3039
• Technical Readout: Prototypes