Indomitable-class Battleship

[Ronnke]

As my holiday project, I want to do some Traveller ship modelling and I've decided to tackle a reasonably detailed version of the Terran Confederation Indomitable class battleship. I've done the measurements and at 30,000 dton displacement, the Indomitable comes in at 347m in length. That's a little larger than a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

It's still very early and there's a lot to do, but I've linked an image that shows off the scale of this ship. Note the guy standing at the end of the spinal mount.

Link to draft renders

I'll post updates from time to time.

[ldj00]

Hello,

Interesting, but is that a bridge on the top, or is that some kind of launch bay?

Either way, looks kind of exposed.

[Ronnke]

That is the bridge as it appears in the books. I have since made a few minor design changes to it, so it looks slightly different now. Personally, I've never really understood why non atmospheric ships even have a traditional bridge. I would imagine spaceships and especially warships to be more like submarines, with the command and control deep within the hull.

[ldj00]

Hello,

I agree, the important parts should be dead center, surrounded by lots of redundant hardware, which is then surrounded in fuel/water tanks, both to act as armor (ie, mass) and for radiation shielding.

[sjard]

Originally Posted by ldj00

Hello,

I agree, the important parts should be dead center, surrounded by lots of redundant hardware, which is then surrounded in fuel/water tanks, both to act as armor (ie, mass) and for radiation shielding.

Or, more likely, as close to the center line as possible, but spaced throughout the hull so that no single location can be targeted to cripple the vessel.

[doulos05]

Originally Posted by sjard

Or, more likely, as close to the center line as possible, but spaced throughout the hull so that no single location can be targeted to cripple the vessel.

Well, there are communication advantages to be had by having your command staff all in one place. Even if you can wire your ship to allow real-time communication, you still have the problem of battle damage severing that communication at the moment it matters most. More likely is a Bridge and an Auxiliary which are both fully staffed. If one is destroyed, the other takes control of the vessel. The CO mans the bridge and the XO mans the auxiliary.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by ldj00

I agree, the important parts should be dead center, surrounded by lots of redundant hardware, which is then surrounded in fuel/water tanks, both to act as armor (ie, mass) and for radiation shielding.

I'm far from a Traveller Universe expert, but my impression was that according to canon, Hivers are the only significant species that does it that way.

[Rupert]

I would just assume that that is the bridge used in non-combat situations, because people like to be able to see out. Or, assume it's part of the admiral's suite and used for entertaining.

It's certainly not going to be the combat bridge or command centre. They'll be buried deep in the guts of the ship.

[doulos05]

Originally Posted by Rupert

I would just assume that that is the bridge used in non-combat situations, because people like to be able to see out. Or, assume it's part of the admiral's suite and used for entertaining.

It's certainly not going to be the combat bridge or command centre. They'll be buried deep in the guts of the ship.

Maybe it's the Indomitable's equivalent to Ten-Forward.