Re: FT-Fighters and launch bays

On  5-Jun-01 at 14:25, Bif Smith (bif@bifsmith.fsnet.co.uk) wrote:
> I was thinking of my post about deployed SMR pods, and I came up with
this
> idea for fighters. The fighter bays can be considered as the launch
bays
> (after all, a ship can launch all it`s fighters at once), we could
have the
> fighters carried as cargo in cargo bays, with the fighter bays use for
just
> launching/landing/rearming fighters, and the fighters transfered from
the
> cargo bays to the launch bays when launching is required. After all, I
> don`t think a present carrier can launch all it`s fighters at once, it
> requires them to be transfered from the hangers to the catapults. If
we did
> this, a CVL could replace 2 of it`s launch bays with cargo space for 3
> fighter groups, increasing it`s fighters to 5 groups, but only be able
to
> launch/land/rearm 2 fighter groups at once.
> 
> Any comments?

This one has bounced around the list before.  The end result of much
discussion was fighters took up 1-1/2 X their mass just like anything
else.  If you wanted to store them crated they would only take up
their mass but would be unavailable in a scenario.  Otherwise you were
getting fighters far to inexpensively.	A base fighter squadron
costs 45 before drive costs.  A "crated" fighter squadron in mass 6
cargo bays costs 18 before drive costs.  (My figures are from AO
so may be a bit off.)

Roger