                             Concept : Ship Types

NAME
   Ship-types - Description of different types of ships.

Level: Basic

Some of the ships currently available in Empire are:

torpedo-boat    These ships have been misrepresented in Empire. They were
                designed to kill large ships by swarming them and launching
                torpedoes. In fact, they were projected to be so effective
                that the French 'Jeune Ecole' (Young School) of naval officers
                advocated abandoning battleships entirely, saying that they
                would be helpless in the face of the torpedo-boat. In reality,
                the torpedo boat was limited by it's short range, deficient
                sea-keeping ability, and the battleship's quick acquisition of
                numerous light quick-firing guns and machine guns. They were
                effective when used in large numbers, but tended to die a lot.

destroyer       These include three kinds of ships. First is the 1880-1910
                destroyers, originally 'torpedo-boat destroyers', and meant to
                be cheap ships to screen the battleships. Second is the
                1910-1950 version, meant to kill submarines with sonar and
                depth-charges. Lastly is the 1950-1965 destroyer, an all around
                ship, with ASW and ASuW (anti-surface armament). After that,
                they type mostly died out, as it had gotten too large.

frigate         Originally, these were ships of about 200-400t, with a crew
                of 200-500, armed with from 30-50 large cannon plus numerous
                small cannon. They were intended to scout for ships of the
                line, and protect/destroy commerce. After about 1860, the type
                died out entirely, and was replaced by light cruisers. In the
                1960's, the type was resurrected for a new class of ASW (anti
                submarine warfare) ships of small-medium size.

light cruiser   The class came into existence in the 1860-1905 period to provide
                fast ships suitable for extended deployment in far-away places.
                They were intended to out-class local defense boats, and not
                much else. Much was sacrificed to give them long-term speed
                end endurance. They were not intended to have a role in a major
                battle.

heavy cruiser   This class has a dual role. It was intended to reinforce the
                light cruisers in the colonies, providing a heavier punch and
                more armor, and also to be scouting elements in major fleet
                battles.

ship-of-the-line
pre-dreadnought
dreadnought
battleship      While the names change, the purpose remained the same: a ship
                that brings heavy guns close to the enemy and destroys him. It
                also was much used for off-shore bombardment, and for ships
                of the line, minor invasions. (A complement of 300-400 marines
                and 600 sailors allowed a ship of the line to land up to 750
                fighting men at any desired point. Small squadrons of these
                ships could (and did) take over towns, attack fortresses by
                surprise, and generally make life miserable for the defense).

                The pre-dreadnought was a battleship with a limited number
                (usually 4) of heavy guns, numerous lighter guns ('secondary'
                and 'tertiary' armament), and heavy armor on vital portions
                of the ship. They were hard to kill, even for themselves, as
                they had only a few guns that could penetrate the armor of
                their peers.

                The dreadnought was introduced in an article in Jane's Fighting
                Ships by an Italian designer, who received permission to publish
                his design after the Italian government decided that it was
                too large and expensive for them. The design/concept was seized
                upon by First Sea Lord Jacky Fisher, who rushed completion of
                the first ship, the Dreadnought, through in only 1 year. (An
                amazing feat and a major record) The Dreadnought gave its
                name to the entire type of ship, having 8-12 large calibre
                guns, few secondary & tertiary weapons, and good armor. (As
                can be guessed, the threat posed by torpedo boats had diminished
                considerably, mostly with the quiet abandonment of the policy
                of close blockade, and the advent of the destroyer)

                The battleship of the 1918-1945 period was faster, and carried
                a new AA capacity, especially in the latter years of the period.

                After 1945, the class died out (except for 4 ships)

                For our purposes, a battleship 1 is a ship of the line, a
                battleship 2 is a pre-dreadnought, a battleship 3 is a
                dreadnought, and a battleship 4 is what was called a battleship
                or (sometimes) super-dreadnought.

battlecruiser   These special ships existed in the 1905-1920 period, prior to
                the widespread introduction of oil fuel. They had full battle-
                ship guns, and a large speed advantage over the battleships,
                but very little armor. They were initially the pet project of
                First Sea Lord Jacky Fisher, who intended them to both kill
                the heavy/armored cruisers of the time, and to scout for the
                battleships. With their heavy armament (and name), their
                function inevitably blurred, and they were used in combat
                against full-fledged battleships, where they died like flies.
                With this (and with the introduction of oil fuel, which made
                battleships their equal in speed), they were phased out.

ASW cruiser     These ships came into being in the 1965-present period in
                response to a need for a large ASW ship to carry ASW helicopters
                and command equipment. It typically carries full ASW armament,
                as well as a minor ASuW capability.

missile boat
missile frigate
missile cruiser These ships range in size from 100t missile boats (the modern
                replacement for the torpedo-boat) to the 6000-8000t missile
                cruiser. They all are designed to bring missiles to bear on
                the enemy. (The first successful missile boats were Egyptian,
                and used against the Israelis in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war)

                The missile frigate and cruiser also serve as SAM ships.

landing craft   These ships are relatively unique, being used mainly in the
                1942-1950 period. Before that, landings were carried out by
                frigates, ships-of-the-line, light & heavy cruisers, &
                pre-dreadnoughts, all of which could land a large number of
                men. With the introduction of the concept of beach-defense by
                the Germans, these ships were invented to get large numbers of
                men on the beaches quickly. After 1950, their functions were
                largely assumed by the helicopter.

aircraft carrier
light carrier
escort carrier  These ships are designed for various purposes. At first,
                carriers concentrated on scouting for the battleships. Later,
                it was proved that airplanes could sink battleships (Thanks to
                Billy Mitchell here), and the emphasis moved to all-around sea
                control. Still later, with the disappearance of the battleship,
                a large power-projection capacity was added.

                Light carriers were simply smaller versions of the large or
                'fleet' carriers, and were used for the same duties.

                Escort carriers were usually hastily converted merchantmen,
                and carried small numbers of fighters and ASW planes. (Some
                merchantment, in fact, were equipped with 1 fighter and a
                temporary catapult. When threatened by enemy planes, the
                fighter took off. When it was done, it ditched, and the pilot
                was (theoretically) picked up by the merchant ship's convoy.
                This was used several times, and worked!)

submarine       The submarine was originally intended, in the 1900-1910 period,
                to fill the same role as the torpedo boat, using stealth to
                get to the battleships instead of speed. It was a strictly
                defensive weapon, without much speed or endurance.

                In the 1910-1925 period, the sub was much enlarged, and use in
                a combination anti-battleship (sank at least 20)/anti-commerce
                role. Endurance was much improved, and the sub could now
                operate a long distance from its home port.

                In the 1925-1945 period, the sub steadily grew large and more
                capable, gaining mostly in speed, sonar ability, and endurance.

                After 1945, nuclear power vastly increased the subs endurance,
                making it effectively infinite. Sonar was also vastly improved,
                and removed the reliance upon the periscope. The subs armament
                was also vastly improved with the addition of the SLM & SLBM.

minesweeper     Usually converted fishing vessels, small, and expendable. They
                found and destroyed mines with a variety of tricks, including
                cables & magnetism.

oiler           These ships represent the whole range of refueling ships.

These  units  types  differ  in  their fundamental capabilities; some can fire
guns, some cannot; each has it's own specific abilities & roles.  The capabil-
ities  of  each  ship are given by the show command.  The headings are as fol-
lows. For the building data:

   [##:##] Command : show ship build

  lcm  The lcm required to build the ship.
  hcm  The hcm required to build the ship.
avail  The avail (work) required to build the ship.
 tech  The minimum technology required to build the ship.
    $  The cost of the ship.

The headings for the stats listing are

   [##:##] Command : show ship stats

     def  defensive armament of the ship
     spd  the distance/mu for moving (in relative units)
     vis  how visible the ship is, (relative units)
     spy  how far the ship can see, (i.e. how good the communication equipment
          is), again in relative units
     rng  twice the distance the guns can fire, The range formula is (rng/2) *
          ((tech + 50) / (tech + 200))
     fir  the number of guns the ship can fire at once
     lnd  The number of land units the ship can  carry.   No  ship  can  carry
          'heavy'  units.   Only surface supply ships can carry units that are
          not 'light'.  If option LANDSPIES is enabled, submarines that  can't
          normally carry land units can carry up to two spies.
     pln  The number of 'light' planes the ship can carry.
     hel  The  number  of  helicopters the ship can carry. (If the SHIPCHOPPER
          option is enabled)
     xpl  The number of extra-light planes the ship can carry. (If the  XLIGHT
          option is enabled)
fuel  c/u  The  ship's  fuel  capacity  &  usage. (see info fuel) (If the FUEL
          option is enabled)

Each ship can carry a certain amount of products and has certain capabilities.
These  are listed under the cargoes & abilities section.  The cargoes give the
number of each product that can be carried.  The abilities are as follows.

   [##:##] Command : show ship capabilities

        fish  The vessel will accumulate food by fishing
        torp  The vessel can fire torpedoes.
       dchrg  The vessel can drop depth charges
       plane  The vessel can carry planes with the light attribute set.
        miss  The vessel can carry missiles.
         oil  The vessel can drill for oil
       oiler  The vessel can fuel other ships at sea
       sonar  The vessel has sonar capabilities to detect submarines
        mine  The vessel can lay mines
       sweep  The vessel can sweep the sector for mines and recover them
         sub  The vessel is a submarine
         spy  The vessel can engage in spying activities
        land  The vessel can be used as a landing craft. (see info assault)
   semi-land  The vessel can be  used  as  a  semi-landing  craft.  (see  info
              assault)
    sub-torp  The vessel can torpedo submarines
       trade  The vessel is a trade ship. (only if TRADESHIPS are enabled)
      supply  The  vessel can supply other units.  Unless the vessel is a sub-
              marine, it can load non-light land units.
anti-missile  The vessel will  intercept  enemy  marine  missiles  (see  "info
              Hitchance").

Some examples of the output:

   [##:##] Command : show ship build

                             lcm hcm avail tech  $
   fishing boat 1             25  15    12    0 $300
   cargo ship 1               60  40    29    0 $500
   ore ship 1                 60  40    29    0 $500
   slave ship 1               60  40    29    0 $500
   passenger ship 1           60  40    29    0 $500
   trade ship 1              200 100    81    0 $2500
   frigate                    30  30    19    0 $600
   battleship 1               50  50    31    0 $800

   [##:##] Command : show ship stats

                                  s  v s  r  f  h  x  p  l fuel
                                  p  i p  n  i  e  p  l  n  c/u
                             def  d  s y  g  r  l  l  n  d
   fishing boat 1             10 10 15 2  0  0  0  0  0  0   0/0
   cargo ship 1               20 10 35 3  0  0  0  1  0  0   0/0
   ore ship 1                 20 10 35 3  0  0  0  1  0  0   0/0
   slave ship                 20 10 35 3  0  0  0  1  0  0   0/0
   trade ship 1               20 10 35 3  0  0  0  1  0  0   0/0
   frigate                    50 25 25 3  1  1  0  1  0  2   0/0

   [##:##] Command : show ship cap

                             cargos & capabilities
   fishing boat 1             300c 10m 900f 15u fish
   cargo ship 1               600c 50m 300s 50g 900f 1400l 900h 250u supply
   ore ship 1                 30c 5m 990i 990d 200f 45u 990r
   slave ship                 20c 80m 200f 1200u
   trade ship 1               50c 50m 100f trade
   frigate                    60m 10s 2g 60f semi-land
   battleship 1               120m 20s 4g 120f semi-land
   fishing boat 2             300c 10m 900f 15u fish

SEE ALSO
   coastwatch,  fire, load, lookout, mine, navigate, tend, torpedo, fly, show,
Trade-ships, Ships

