[gurps] Planes for a TL6 sub carrier

[Onno Meyer]

Roger replied to me before the holidays:
> My vision for this starts with a non-cylindrical pressure hull (it might
> be two cylinders side by side, or just one big box) with the flight deck
> on top. Conning tower (and flight ops) off to one side above the flight
> deck. Two parallel "runway" spaces, no catapults (hydraulic and rocket
> ones were available but experimental). Aircraft lifts at the stern.
> 
> This is basically a sneak attack weapon. It gets in close to the target,
> launches all its aircraft (which is a challenge, given that it can't get
> them all onto the deck before they start flying), submerges while the
> raid is in progress, recovers the aircraft when they return (possibly
> landing over the bows if they're light enough), and sneaks away again.
> It doesn't seem to make any sort of military sense in other roles. In
> the context of Crimson Skies, the British Empire is building it
> basically to show off...
> 
> Roger

>From my initial numbers, I could get a TL6 sub-carrier with a 300' by 40'
flight deck and 20 mph surface speed. The next step would be writing an
aircraft, but perhaps some of you are interested instead :-)

I allocated 10,000 cf and 100 tons for the planes. Considering the rather 
low volume of hangars, folding wings are advisable, and arrestor hooks
should be mandatory, too. I guess no single plane should exceed 10 tons 
and 1,000 cf, unless the wing is built around very specialized bombers
with just a few escorts and scouts.

In addition, I reserved 75 tons for reloads and 30,000 gallons avgas for
refueling. 

Without a catapult, a plane with gAccel 10 could have a stall speed up to
70 mph, but 50 mph would be better (so the carrier doesn't have to turn 
into the wind). 

I wonder if the hangar could have two lifts, one in the rear for starting 
planes and one near the center for landing planes. Arrestor wires keep
the landing run shorter than the takeoff, so a landing plane could go 
directly down into the hangar, where it is serviced and towed aft for 
the next launch. Works like a charm as long as all planes are used all
the time and nothing 'jams' in the hangar.

Onno