A quickie, now that we're wrapping up on this particular era of space combat:
Were the NX-01 photonic torpedoes ever used at warp?
(A bonus question for TOS fans: were the NCC-1701 or NCC-1701-A torpedoes ever used at warp? Apart from the TMP wormhole thingie, that is.)
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
If we did, I'm thinking it would have had to have been one of those overhead shots from the back. But then... they never did real great at showing the warp effect, so some of those lower side shots were torps were fired could also have been while they were supposed to be at warp.
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
When did we see torps fired by the E in TOS? It wasn't all that often. "The Changeling", supposedly while the E was more or less standing still. "Errand of Mercy", ditto. "Obsession", ditto. "Journey to Babel"... Was the E at warp there during the Orion attacks or not? What else?
And what's the tally for ENT? The battle in "The Expanse" was at sublight, right? Some cases of torps being used for planetside demolition work, again from sublight. Pitched battles across the Xindi arch, all at sublight. Anybody have a complete list?
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by MrNeutron (Member # 524) on :
Elann of Troyius. "We'll pivot at warp two..." They do, fire a full spread of photon torpedoes, and POW.
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
Right. Thanks! So TOS torpedoes could be fired at warp speeds, even if they often weren't.
So, what about the ENT projectiles? Any onscreen warp launches?
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by WizArtist II (Member # 1425) on :
quote:Originally posted by MrNeutron: Elann of Troyius. "We'll pivot at warp two..." They do, fire a full spread of photon torpedoes, and POW.
But did they pivot and THEN drop out of warp? Something similar to "The Picard Maneuver"
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I'm pretty sure there are no at-warp torpedoes (or missiles) in the first three seasons. I can't speak to season four.
Posted by MrNeutron (Member # 524) on :
Since Kirk doesn't order a drop to impulse after the "pivot at warp two", it's safe to assume they're still at warp when they fire.
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
...Unless torpedoes are strictly sublight weapons, in which case the slowing down would be implicit in Kirk's command.
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by MrNeutron (Member # 524) on :
For which there's zip evidence.
Actually, they make several references to the Klingon ship making passes at warp, and no mention of it coming out of warp. So, either the Klingons slam on the brakes, fire, then jump to warp again, or they're firing at warp. Would be a big disadvantage if they could fire at superluminal velocities while our heroes have to fire at impulse. (One could argue they must be sublight in the final attack run since Chekov clocks off their falling range at a rate that is clearly lower than 300,000 km per sec, but that's the only hint of the Klingons firing sublight...and that could just have been for the coup de grace.)
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
...And essentially, the Klingons wanted to offer Kirk a chance to fire back, while Kirk had no reason to return the courtesy.
Timo Saloniemi
What the page cites about Elaan of Troyius pretty much agrees with what I wrote, except for one point, where they state as fact that the Klingon's final pass was "sublight". As I indictaed (and I watched the episode the other night to check) that isn't actually stated in dialogue...it's only implied by the ranges Chekov clocks off as it closes in the last time (whereas he does state that the Orion ship in Journey to Babel is approaching "sublight" as it closes in for the kill in that episode).
And the Klingons never offered Kirk a chance to shoot back. On their first run they zipped by without firing, trying to make the Enterprise go into warp and blow itself up. That's it. After that it was just strafe and strafe.
Posted by blssdwlf (Member # 1024) on :
One more...
The 1701 destroys a sublight freighter while at warp speed (Warp 4, IIRC) with her photon torpedoes in "The Ultimate Computer".
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
Here's something I stumbled upon at good old STvSW.net...
Note warp streaks. Also, apparently the use of the launch aperture in the rear pod has been damningly in our full view just a few frames earlier - the bloody thing still glows yellow. Any idea on the originating episode? Any chance of grabs from the moment of launch?
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
I can't be sure, but I'm thinking that's from shortly after the refit. Probably when they were being chased to the Expanse by the Klingons. I don't seem to remember seeing anything fired from that spot since then.
Checking Bernd's writeup of "The Expanse" (last season 2 ep.) at EAS, it implies that that's exactly where that cap is from.
B.J.
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
Yeah, that seems to be it. A warp chase that turns into a Battle of Mutara remake. So this settles whether ENT photonic torps were warp-capable... The issue remains open on spatial torps, though.
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