[0.19] The Renatus Class Destroyer - Modular warship

[HippieGold]

The Renatus Class Destroyer

Info

The Renatus Class Destroyer is a heavy armor plated warship with eight small docking ports and four large ones, as well as one large docking port on its nose. It can be armed with Destroyer/Frigate sized weaponry and has room for many spare torpedoes.

Overview

Class: Destroyer

DeltaV: Average

Armor: Medium

Maneuverability: Good

Weaponry: Light

Features

LiquidFuel: 4320

MonoPropellant: 375

ElectricCharge: 2165

4 SP-B Photovoltaic Panels

1 Rockomax "Poodle" Engine

4 LV-N Atomic Rocket Motors

8 Jr. Docking Ports

4 Docking Ports

Crew: 3

Part Count: 205

Mass (full fuel): 57.13 tons

Modifications: RemoteTech, RemoteTech Probe Compatibility, MechJeb, KW Rocketry, KSPX

Blueprints: http://www./download/f763d7h8qvbhooh/Renatus_Class_Destroyer.craft

[Tankbuster32]

about the armour, one hit in the front and the ship is busted

[Lazurkri]

indeed.... a LOT of the "Warships" I see fail to take into consideration that on any realistically designed ship, the actual "Control Center/CIC/Bridge" would most likely be buried in the deepest part of the ship, safely away from enemy weapons fire.....

That aside, I see a flaw with this design in addition to the protruding bridge; none of the docking ports for weaponry are facing forwards, meaning that this ship isn't going to be able to reliably use dumb fire SRB missiles and will likely have to use unmanned kamikaze "Drones"... then again, the SRB missiles are kinda hit and miss, while the drones almost always do a large amount of damage, so it might not actually suffer a loss in firepower...

[HippieGold]

indeed.... a LOT of the "Warships" I see fail to take into consideration that on any realistically designed ship, the actual "Control Center/CIC/Bridge" would most likely be buried in the deepest part of the ship, safely away from enemy weapons fire.....

That aside, I see a flaw with this design in addition to the protruding bridge; none of the docking ports for weaponry are facing forwards, meaning that this ship isn't going to be able to reliably use dumb fire SRB missiles and will likely have to use unmanned kamikaze "Drones"... then again, the SRB missiles are kinda hit and miss, while the drones almost always do a large amount of damage, so it might not actually suffer a loss in firepower...

The Renatus isn't really built for long term survival. Yes a well placed shot in the cockpit would destroy it very easily but its main purpose is to draw fire away from the larger, more expensive ships as it lays down substantial fire on an enemy fleet. Cruisers and capital ships are built to last much longer.

As for the docking ports, I can see how you may think that it is a mistake and that the use of the docking ports were not properly thought through. However that is not correct. This design and many more are made with a specific weapons system in mind.

As you can see, this torpedo cannon is attached onto a side docking port and is then loaded with "hermes" torpedoes. Instead of skipping the cannon step and placing the torpedoes on the docking ports themselves, this allows for a more accurate and ordered form of attack. I can understand how the concept may be difficult to grasp given the lack of demonstration, but as most of this new way of ship armament is experimental, it will be sometime before the whole system can be shown working in action.

[sgt_flyer]

one main problem you will have with this design, is that you will still lose accuracy - first, simply during docking, you will have the hardest of times to properly align your framework to the rest of the ship (you will be turned, even for 1 or 2 degrees off)

second, when 1 missile activate, and is decoupled from the framework, it will make it wobble, limiting again accuracy you would need to dock 2 to 3 docking ports at the same time for each framework to be sure that it's aimed correctly, and to limit wobbliness during the fire sequence.

[HippieGold]

one main problem you will have with this design, is that you will still lose accuracy - first, simply during docking, you will have the hardest of times to properly align your framework to the rest of the ship (you will be turned, even for 1 or 2 degrees off)

second, when 1 missile activate, and is decoupled from the framework, it will make it wobble, limiting again accuracy you would need to dock 2 to 3 docking ports at the same time for each framework to be sure that it's aimed correctly, and to limit wobbliness during the fire sequence.

"Wobbliness" has been taken into consideration. More work will be done after the first few tests. To be perfectly honest though, if there's anything the spacecraft division is afraid of, it certainly isn't wobbliness. As for docking parts, mechjeb will be used to align the objects. If there's one thing we know how to do, it's docking.

[Rune]

Modular... hehehe. When I saw the thread, I thought someone had beaten me to the punch:

Each engine is mounted as an independent engine pod that can undock and redock through RCS. Each of the two command pods has two docking ports of each size and an RCS subsystem (built-in escape pods!). Probes scattered all over to provide redundant control, even. Some of the fuel tanks also have docking ports to stick the pods on, so after a hit that would be fatal to other ships and leaves scattered debris all over, you just pick up the pieces and build a new configuration with the surviving engines (and whatever you might find in the wreckage), rearm it, and head to a rightful revenge on the attacking ship. The stuff to take revenge with are 6 smart missiles (RCS-powered probes, hardened with a nosecone) and 4 lance torpedoes (SRB-powered I-beams, to take on the really sturdy ships). Floating armor (so it has some flexibility and absorbs shocks) and all the usual tricks, of course, but I didn't really bother much with the armor: it is eventually going to fail, and the whole ship is designed for when your day goes bad.

There's also a frigate (this is a destroyer, and I follow classic naval designations, so this is lighter and more specialized) designed with the same principle, I will post them both soon in my military thread (currently undergoing testing). Designed after careful study of the Nav-Comm thread and the battles therein, maybe I should thank the guys there properly.

Rune. Long time no kaboom!

Edited August 14, 2013 by Rune

[HippieGold]

Modular... hehehe. When I saw the thread, I thought someone had beaten me to the punch:

Each engine is mounted as an independent engine pod that can undock and redock through RCS. Each of the two command pods has two docking ports of each size and an RCS subsystem (built-in escape pods!). Probes scattered all over to provide redundant control, even. Some of the fuel tanks also have docking ports to stick the pods on, so after a hit that would be fatal to other ships and leaves scattered debris all over, you just pick up the pieces and build a new configuration with the surviving engines (and whatever you might find in the wreckage), rearm it, and head to a rightful revenge on the attacking ship. The stuff to take revenge with are 6 smart missiles (RCS-powered probes, hardened with a nosecone) and 4 lance torpedoes (SRB-powered I-beams, to take on the really sturdy ships). Floating armor (so it has some flexibility and absorbs shocks) and all the usual tricks, of course, but I didn't really bother much with the armor: it is eventually going to fail, and the whole ship is designed for when your day goes bad.

There's also a frigate (this is a destroyer, and I follow classic naval designations, so this is lighter and more specialized) designed with the same principle, I will post them both soon in my military thread (currently undergoing testing). Designed after careful study of the Nav-Comm thread and the battles therein, maybe I should thank the guys there properly.

Rune. Long time no kaboom!

It seems like you've beaten me to the punch. I also had an idea to create a ship that was put together in pieces, so that if part of it got damaged, you could replace the damaged piece and move on. However, my plan was to implement it into a much larger ship, like a battleship or cruiser, seeing as they are more expensive it would be a lot easier to replace one damaged section instead of scrapping the whole thing. The Renatus however isn't really built to last. As it's relatively cheap (in rocket science standards anyway) it's built to take two or three hits before unleashing as much damage as it can onto the enemy. It's main purpose is to draw fire away from bigger, more expensive ships after all. Great to see that innovation is in no short supply around here.

[Stinger771]

Sure, the cockpit is open to a shot. But that seems like the ONLY place (at least from the picture, I have yet to download it) that isn't armored (perhaps the engines too, I'm not sure). You could just modify the ship slightly, and save yourself some grief. But in reality, unless its a smart missile, that single area of weakness is going to be hard to hit from any range > 500m. And with your stated intention of using it to draw fire from more expensive capital ships, I'd say this isn't a bad design, assuming its fast.

[Rune]

It seems like you've beaten me to the punch. I also had an idea to create a ship that was put together in pieces, so that if part of it got damaged, you could replace the damaged piece and move on. However, my plan was to implement it into a much larger ship, like a battleship or cruiser, seeing as they are more expensive it would be a lot easier to replace one damaged section instead of scrapping the whole thing. The Renatus however isn't really built to last. As it's relatively cheap (in rocket science standards anyway) it's built to take two or three hits before unleashing as much damage as it can onto the enemy. It's main purpose is to draw fire away from bigger, more expensive ships after all. Great to see that innovation is in no short supply around here.

It's finally tested enough for release. Both craft are in my skunkworks thread, in case you want to break them apart to see the insides. Much obliged!

[Fox62]

I think the Renatus class would be an effective ship if it was equipped with a remote control flight system. Especially if it has engineered to look like it still had the same weak spot.