Verdant Archipelago
04-04-2005, 22:11
SZ-3 Saper Neba Engineering Zeppelin
Dimensions
Length: 243m
Diameter: 67m
Lifting Gas: Helium
What do you do when your 70 ton BV-17 Reiter tank rolls into a swamp, and can't get out? You call for an armored vehicle recovery vehicle, which goes in and gets stuck too, or can't pull the tank out of the marsh. Which is infested with leaches. And the tank is sinking. How much easier if you could simply jerk the tank up out of the mud, and fly it somewhere dry.
Well now you can. The SZ-3 Saper Neba dirigible builds on the domestic success of the SZ-2 Osel Neba, with some distinct differences. For one, the Ar-3 is slightly smaller and much faster, but has a significantly shorter range and a much smaller payload. This is because of the differences in their missions: the SZ-2 is supposed to be able to act as a long range transport, while the SZ-2 is a combination recovery vehicle and construction platform, designed to support combat engineers in the field. Because it will be in situations where it may be exposed to fire, the Saper Neba is quite a bit more robust than the Osel Neba. It too has ten ballonets full of helium to provide lift, but the ballonets are contained in a rigid aluminum frame of alternating triangles and are covered in a light ballistic cloth that gives the envelope significant resistance to shell fragments and small arms fire, and protects against accidental contact with buildings or trees. The actual gondola is protected against rounds up to 25mm in diameter, and the engine nacelles are ostensibly resistant to 20mm fire, though experts are skeptical. Additional armour packages can be fitted to the gondola and the engines, including NeRA, but this dramatically reduces payload capacity.
Systems
Payload: 80 tons
Maximum Vertical Lift: 120 tons.
Veragrad Aviation Solutions Military Navigational Suite
Cohen Optics Laser Detection System Mk 2
Four Integrated Electronics Mk 3 Combat Analysis Systems
Integrated Electronics Combat Engineering Analysis Suite Pro IV
Integrated Electronics Datalinque Hub I
Cohen Optics Communications Hub Array 3
The SZ-3 has a much larger crew than the SZ-2, and not only because the operation of the systems is more complicated. In addition to the captain, pilot, co-pilot, four communications officers, chief engineer, two engineer’s mates, and six loadmasters, the SZ-3 contains sleeping accommodations for an entire 60 man engineering platoon and their equipment. The six loadmasters operate the light cranes mounted on the bow and stern , the centerline elevator, and the cargo slings, and generally make sure that the cargo is unloaded properly and the supercargo (the engineering platoon) behave themselves. The cranes on the bow and stern are fairly lightweight things, and are used most often for shifting light but awkward loads, like girders. More substantial lifting can be done by the centerline elevator, which ferries passengers and cargo up and down from the hold to the ground, or with the various cargo slings that festoon the underside of each dirigible. There is no point in cataloguing these slings as every crew inevitably modifies the arrangement to their satisfaction. As well as these heavy lifting facilities, there are four observation platforms: two on each side. Cargo can be lowered from these by cable, or simply dropped over the side. The railings on these platforms are very sturdy, and can be fitted with mountings for heavy machineguns, sniper rifles, and even ATGM launchers. This provides an admittedly exposed firing position, but one with an excellent field of view.
Normal cargo for an Saper Neba might include pontoons and girders and sheet metal for a lightweight bridge, a thermobaric breaching system and/or an earthmover, and the collection of mines and blasting charges and odd bits of metal that tend to accumulate around engineers. The rated payload of an SZ-3 is 80 metric tons (the cranes, engineers, and their personal gear are not included in payload weight), but only rarely will you see one only carrying that little equipment… captains generally ‘cheat’ by angling the propellers to deliver a little more lift to increase the cargo capacity at the expense of range. The Saper Neba can actually lift a maximum of 120 metric tons, but to effect this, large amounts of fuel must be dumped, and the engines must be at full throttle angled vertically up. Naturally, this is rarely done, though it has been useful in removing Reiter tanks that got mired and entangled in the Verdant Archipelago’s notoriously dangerous jungles.
Despite its mission as an engineering platform, the SZ-3 also has a secondary role as a communications hub. Along the sides of the gondola are arrays of lasers and laser receivers. The SZ-3 is designed to act as a relay, allowing any vehicle that can get line-of-sight on it to communicate via untappable laser with any other vehicle that has line-of-sight. Further, it contains a Datalinque Hub, which allows it to effectively act as a broadband network hub and satellite uplink for any units in the area.
Propulsion
Eight 3500 kW Veragrad Aviation Solutions turboprops
Cruising speed: 50 knots
Max Speed: 115 knots
Unrefueled Range @ 50 knots with full payload: 1000nm
Unrefueled Range @ 115 knots with full payload: 350nm
Ceiling: 2000m
Never Exceed Airspeed: 300 knots
The Saper Neba is powered by eight 3500kw ducted turboprop engines manufactured by Veragrad Aviation solutions. The turboprops can rotate through 360 degrees in the vertical axis, allowing precise altitude changes even while not underway. Steering is provided by the inverted Y tail and lateral jets mounted in the nose. The massive size of the vehicle and need for ballast also provides for lots of fuel storage space, giving the zeppelin a standard operational radius of 500nm. When extremely heavy lifts are in process, the range can be reduced to 100nm, allowing for 10 more tons of cargo to be carried.
Price: $238 million
Dimensions
Length: 243m
Diameter: 67m
Lifting Gas: Helium
What do you do when your 70 ton BV-17 Reiter tank rolls into a swamp, and can't get out? You call for an armored vehicle recovery vehicle, which goes in and gets stuck too, or can't pull the tank out of the marsh. Which is infested with leaches. And the tank is sinking. How much easier if you could simply jerk the tank up out of the mud, and fly it somewhere dry.
Well now you can. The SZ-3 Saper Neba dirigible builds on the domestic success of the SZ-2 Osel Neba, with some distinct differences. For one, the Ar-3 is slightly smaller and much faster, but has a significantly shorter range and a much smaller payload. This is because of the differences in their missions: the SZ-2 is supposed to be able to act as a long range transport, while the SZ-2 is a combination recovery vehicle and construction platform, designed to support combat engineers in the field. Because it will be in situations where it may be exposed to fire, the Saper Neba is quite a bit more robust than the Osel Neba. It too has ten ballonets full of helium to provide lift, but the ballonets are contained in a rigid aluminum frame of alternating triangles and are covered in a light ballistic cloth that gives the envelope significant resistance to shell fragments and small arms fire, and protects against accidental contact with buildings or trees. The actual gondola is protected against rounds up to 25mm in diameter, and the engine nacelles are ostensibly resistant to 20mm fire, though experts are skeptical. Additional armour packages can be fitted to the gondola and the engines, including NeRA, but this dramatically reduces payload capacity.
Systems
Payload: 80 tons
Maximum Vertical Lift: 120 tons.
Veragrad Aviation Solutions Military Navigational Suite
Cohen Optics Laser Detection System Mk 2
Four Integrated Electronics Mk 3 Combat Analysis Systems
Integrated Electronics Combat Engineering Analysis Suite Pro IV
Integrated Electronics Datalinque Hub I
Cohen Optics Communications Hub Array 3
The SZ-3 has a much larger crew than the SZ-2, and not only because the operation of the systems is more complicated. In addition to the captain, pilot, co-pilot, four communications officers, chief engineer, two engineer’s mates, and six loadmasters, the SZ-3 contains sleeping accommodations for an entire 60 man engineering platoon and their equipment. The six loadmasters operate the light cranes mounted on the bow and stern , the centerline elevator, and the cargo slings, and generally make sure that the cargo is unloaded properly and the supercargo (the engineering platoon) behave themselves. The cranes on the bow and stern are fairly lightweight things, and are used most often for shifting light but awkward loads, like girders. More substantial lifting can be done by the centerline elevator, which ferries passengers and cargo up and down from the hold to the ground, or with the various cargo slings that festoon the underside of each dirigible. There is no point in cataloguing these slings as every crew inevitably modifies the arrangement to their satisfaction. As well as these heavy lifting facilities, there are four observation platforms: two on each side. Cargo can be lowered from these by cable, or simply dropped over the side. The railings on these platforms are very sturdy, and can be fitted with mountings for heavy machineguns, sniper rifles, and even ATGM launchers. This provides an admittedly exposed firing position, but one with an excellent field of view.
Normal cargo for an Saper Neba might include pontoons and girders and sheet metal for a lightweight bridge, a thermobaric breaching system and/or an earthmover, and the collection of mines and blasting charges and odd bits of metal that tend to accumulate around engineers. The rated payload of an SZ-3 is 80 metric tons (the cranes, engineers, and their personal gear are not included in payload weight), but only rarely will you see one only carrying that little equipment… captains generally ‘cheat’ by angling the propellers to deliver a little more lift to increase the cargo capacity at the expense of range. The Saper Neba can actually lift a maximum of 120 metric tons, but to effect this, large amounts of fuel must be dumped, and the engines must be at full throttle angled vertically up. Naturally, this is rarely done, though it has been useful in removing Reiter tanks that got mired and entangled in the Verdant Archipelago’s notoriously dangerous jungles.
Despite its mission as an engineering platform, the SZ-3 also has a secondary role as a communications hub. Along the sides of the gondola are arrays of lasers and laser receivers. The SZ-3 is designed to act as a relay, allowing any vehicle that can get line-of-sight on it to communicate via untappable laser with any other vehicle that has line-of-sight. Further, it contains a Datalinque Hub, which allows it to effectively act as a broadband network hub and satellite uplink for any units in the area.
Propulsion
Eight 3500 kW Veragrad Aviation Solutions turboprops
Cruising speed: 50 knots
Max Speed: 115 knots
Unrefueled Range @ 50 knots with full payload: 1000nm
Unrefueled Range @ 115 knots with full payload: 350nm
Ceiling: 2000m
Never Exceed Airspeed: 300 knots
The Saper Neba is powered by eight 3500kw ducted turboprop engines manufactured by Veragrad Aviation solutions. The turboprops can rotate through 360 degrees in the vertical axis, allowing precise altitude changes even while not underway. Steering is provided by the inverted Y tail and lateral jets mounted in the nose. The massive size of the vehicle and need for ballast also provides for lots of fuel storage space, giving the zeppelin a standard operational radius of 500nm. When extremely heavy lifts are in process, the range can be reduced to 100nm, allowing for 10 more tons of cargo to be carried.
Price: $238 million