Re: When is a Dreadnought a Dreadnought

> Just something to throw around, but I was wondering in relation to
> mass and ship class but what makes a ship a Dreadnought i.e. any
> Capital ship can be a Dreadnought, or must it start at a certain
> mass, and what makes a Carrier (other than just having lots of
> fighter bays) I know it sounds like a strange question but I just
> needed some outside input to clear up my mind.	

I guess you're asking this in connection with fighters and stuff?

Well, the consensus here in the past has been that if a ship has 
enough mass then it can carry fighters. Hence, a dreadnaught is what 
ever you want to call a dreadnaught and the line in FT about only 
carriers and dreadnaughts having fighters is generally interpreted as 
only being true for the standard designs.

A carrier is normally defined as a ship that devotes some proportion 
of its available mass to fighters. The precise proportion varies from 
person to person but one third and one half are popular choices.

	Cheers,
		Steve

--
"And all I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by."
"Though a cloaking device, pulsed phaser cannons
 and a full load of quantum torpedoes would be quite nice too." 

Stephen Richard Pugh	 http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/estate/ax16