Re: Transport capacities

>Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 03:23:58 -0400
>From: "The Nameless One (aka Thomas Barclay)" <kaladorn@home.com>
>Subject: Transport Capacities

<snip comments on space required for freezersticks>

I agree that 1000 kg seems high.  See my other post.

>Andrew raised a good point about awake marines. I assume the 4* mass
>helps to account for things like extra supply, life support, etc. Since
>you don't have to deal with this stuff for crew, lets no think to hard
>about it for soldiers.

Agreed.

>I did have one problem with Jeff's post on vehicles. His mass ranges
>overlapped! Add to which the 8/5ths rule doesn't reflect a "mass"
issue,
>but a "space" issue I think.

You are correct on both points; the mass ranges do overlap and the
8/5ths
rule as written is clearly a "space" issue and not mass...that's why I
had
to go to the BVP to find something even close to mass.

>So therefore a size 5 MBT would take up the equivalent of a size 8
>vehicle, which would be 40 DS capacity points, or the equivalent of 40
>metric tons. That's about 80,000 kg. That's heavy.

Actually, it would be 40,000 kg which isn't all that massive; an M1
Abrams
is on the order of 60,000+ kg.	One of the tanks from Hammer's Slammer's
is
made of iridium and weighs 170 metric tonnes (170,000 kg) ... which is
more
in line with your comments about dense, exotic armor on futuristic
vehicles.

><snip> ...So I think you should preserve the 8/5ths rule.

I'd love to, but I'm just not sure you could do so and get a conversion
rate that was even reasonable close to being accurate.

The problem is that, as you point out, the 8/5ths rule really measures
volume more than anything, so to make a generally applicable conversion
rate to mass (which is what the FB uses) you have to either use a low
estimate or a high estimate.  A size 5 bus will take up as much volume
as a
size 5 main battle tank, but their masses will vary tremendously.

If you base you estimates for converting volume to mass on the tank,
then
you get about 20 metric tonnes per size class.	That's fine if the only
vehicles you are transporting are MBT's, but it's a bit on the high side
if
you are transporting infantry or small, light vehicles.

Size 1 vehicle are described as jeeps, motorcycles with sidecars, dune
buggies and the like.  A twenty-ton allotment apiece is a bit on the
high
side for vehicles of this size or for two elements of infantry (which
take
up the same number of capacity points).

Likewise, if you base your estimates on the low side, say about 4 tons
per
size class, then a size 5 armored vehicle should only mass 20 tons in
which
case an M1 Abrams would be size 16 or so.

I think that by considering the 8/5th rule to describe lightly armored
vehicles only, and adding extra capacity points for each level of armor
one
can have their cake and eat it too, as it were; both extremes seem to
fit
reasonably well.

Thanks for the comments.  I'll be looking at the estimates you sent on
supply requirements and will try to send some feedback on them using the
500 kg per capacity point suggestions I made earlier today.

Jeff