                             Concept : Ship Types

 Some of the ships currently available in Empire are:

                             Concept : Ship Types

   torpedo-boat
   patrol boat    These ships have been misrepresented in Empire. They were
             designed to kill large ships by swarming them and launching
             torpedos. 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.

                             Concept : Ship Types

   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 ressurrected 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 re-inforce the
             light cruisers in the colonies, providing a heavier punch and
             more armor, and also to be scouting elements in major fleet
             battles.

                             Concept : Ship Types

   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 bombardmment, 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.

                             Concept : Ship Types

             The dreadnought was introduced in an article in Jane's Fighting
             Ships by an Italian designer, who receive 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

                             Concept : Ship Types

             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 intoduction 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.

                             Concept : Ship Types

   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 againt 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 only 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 th
             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

                             Concept : Ship Types

   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 dissapearance 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 catapault. 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,

                             Concept : Ship Types

             to fille 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.

                             Concept : Ship Types

   oiler          These ships represent the whole range of refuelling ships.

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

 lcm  The lcm required to build the ship.
 hcm  The hcm required to build the ship.
tech  The minimum technology required to build the ship.
   $  The cost of the ship.

      The headings for the capability listing are

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),

                             Concept : Ship Types

     again in relative units
rng  twice  the distance the guns can fire, (assuming a high technology level)
     The range formula is (rng/2) * (tech + 50) / (tech + 200)
fir  the number of guns the ship can fire at once
hel  The number of helicopters the ship can carry. (If the SHIPCHOPPER  option
     is enabled)
xpl  The number of xtra-light planes the ship can carry. (If the XLIGHT option
     is enabled)
pln  The number of light planes the ship can carry.
fuel  The ship's fuel capacity & useage. (see info fuel) (If the  FUEL  option
     is enabled)

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

                             Concept : Ship Types

 fish  The vessel will accumulate food by fishing
 torp  The vessel can fire torpedos.
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
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)

      Some examples of the output:

                             Concept : Ship Types

         [##:##] 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 cap

                             Concept : Ship Types

                                  s  v s  r  f  c  x  p fuel
                                  p  i p  n  i  h  p  l  c/u
                             def  d  s y  g  r  p  l  n      cargoes & abilities
               fishing boat   10 15 15 2  0  0  0  0  0   0/0  300c 10m 900f 15u fish
               cargo ship 1   20 15 35 3  0  0  0  1  0   0/0  600c 50m 300s 50g 900f 1400l 900
               h 250u
               ore ship 1     20 15 35 3  0  0  0  1  0   0/0  30c 5m 990i 990d 200f 45u 990r
               slave ship 1   20 15 35 3  0  0  0  1  0   0/0  20c 80m 200f 1200u
               passenger shi  20 15 35 3  0  0  0  1  0   0/0  350c 15m 700f
               trade ship 1   20 15 35 3  0  0  0  1  0   0/0  50c 50m 100f trade

      See also : coastwatch, fire, load, lookout, mine, navigate,  tend,  tor-
      pedo, fly, show, trade-ships

