posted
"Those three "torp tubes" above the deflector are the launch bays for the Akira's embarked fighter-craft, as near as we can determine."
Nope, the launch bays are higher up, on the rim of the saucer (and hence in line with the landing bays at the rear). The torp tubes are the three smaller openings in the ventral forward surface, below the launch bays but above the deflector.
posted
And there is no way we could wiggle out of acknowledging their existence, since we see these tubes fire in "First Contact".
But do more than three torpedoes actually emerge from this location? For all we know, the Akira tubes could be single-shot weapons, scabbed all over the otherwise underarmed ship for a modicum of self-defence.
Did the Akira in "Message in a Bottle" fire torpedoes? If so, then from which locations?
posted
The fact is that a ship with 15 rapid-firing launchers is too powerful to exist, it would break the power balance. Then they'd have to install some really bad trait in the Akira, like it being the slowest ship in SF, or not having shields for shit. The Akira in "Message In A Bottle" was unimpressive. Understandably, since it was the Prometheus' turn to show off. In FC, 2-3 Akiras could've flown in formation, straight towards the cube, reasonably far away, and opened fire with all their forward-facing launchers. They would've surpassed the amount of torpedoes that actually was fired in the end of the scene, but that would've been too good. I mean, since they're too big and slow to avoid borg weapons, they might as well fly straight at it, deplete their photon magazines and fall back on phasers.
posted
A 15-torpedo launcher variant of the Akira class is possible, sort of like the AC-130 Gunship compared to it's counterpart, the transport plane C-130 Hercules.
------------------ "No, 3 & 6 are mandatory, so you only have to do them if you want"
Alex, fellow classmate, trying to explain an assignment (2/2/01)
posted
perhaps the akira was originally armed in line with other federation ships, with a few burst fire tubes, but when the federation entered war, new akiras had the original multi fire tubes and some sensors, perhaps specific exploratory types with little use in war, replaced with single fire tubes, as the multi tubes could be very costly to make and take an inordinate amount of time in comparison to the single fire tube. the akira would have a fair amount of torpedo coverage, while having a lesser cost (this would also explain why the akira is not that powerful, even though it has 15 tubes: even 15 single fire tubes won't match two 10 fire tubes). perhaps after the war, these hurriedly made akiras were rearmed with regular multi fire tubes, and the sensor pallettes would be placed back into the ship. this could explain why the akiras would possibly have 15 tubes, but was not that powerful.
--jacob
------------------ "Hi, my name's Locutus, and I'll be your assimilator tonight. Can I interest you in our specials? Super. Well, currently we're offering an arm-replacement tool with extra wiggly-waggly bits on, or, for the more daring among you, not one but two ocular replacements! Terrific. You want fries with that? Ohh, I'm sorry, I've just heard from the chef that fries are off - they're irrelevant, apparently."
-Vogon Poet, March 13, 2001
[This message has been edited by EdipisReks (edited April 02, 2001).]
posted
Gaah! Phasers cannot be fired while at warp. Pin it to a simple continuity error. Phasers are made up of EM radiation. EM radiation, travelling in a complete vacuum, which space is very close to, travels no faster than 300,000 kps. Thus phasers cannot be fired when a ship is travelling faster than light speed.
Torpedoes on the other hand can, because they have small warp-field sustainer engines. Also, we can assume that if the computer systems on board starships use FTL technology, then the computers mounted in the torpedoes also operate FTL. Detonation-timing problem solved.
I agree with the fact that torpedoes cannot accelerate fast enough by themselves, and thus the large launchers. But once they've been accelerated, who says they can't do any meneuvering?
Also, I maintain that the reason we don't see photorps moving all that fast on screen is because they are fired in close quarters, (absurdly close if you ask me), and at speeds below c.
I am still confused as to why torpedoes are so relatively powerless. Even if it contained 10 grams antimatter and 10 grams deuterium, the explosion would be phenomenal. Add to that the fact that the TNG:TM states the yield was INCREASED due to advances in weapons technology, the photorp explosions we see on screen makes me think Starfleet armed all it's ships with duds.
I'm sorry, but I don't count he Prometheus sections shooting the crap out of a Nebula class a continuity error...
------------------ Terry: "Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, ...." Max: "And?" Terry: "I forgot." Max: "Come on, Clinton was the fun one, then came the boring one." Terry: "They're all boring."
posted
And the constant voyager-bashing by the kazon, at warp.
Continuity error would also include ships not flying away like a flash when going a fraction of warp faster than their pursuers. Torpedoes need to fit into traditional western gunfighting scenes, and warp travel is forced to look like high speed car chases.
Ugh...that whole Nebula battle was so poorly planned out. Who ever was the CO of that ship should never have let the Prommie SURROUND his/her ship! My guess is either Starfleet simply told any ship in the area to capture (not destroy, I'd assume) the Prommie without informing them that the ship could do that, or the CO was just a very bad tactician.
"Hey's it's splitting up...Whoa...wait a minute...AHH!"
------------------ Ace
"Objects in mirror are closer than they appear."
[This message has been edited by Ace (edited April 02, 2001).]
posted
tact.officer:"sir...the prometheus is breaking up into 3 parts!"
CO:"good shooting men, but starfleet told us to bring her back in one piece."
tact.officer:"no sir...you don't understand...its not my shooting--she seem to have seperated and now her individual sections is surrounding us...what shall we do???"
CO:"hmmmmmm.....starfleet command didn't mention this...patch me a channel to my ready room-i need to confer with the admiral again...."
Tactical: "Maybe it would be a good idea to fire back, sir?"
CO: "Hmm...I bet this never happened with Picard"
Tactical: "Sir, now isn't the best time to talk about how other captain's would deal with this situation. Shouldn't we fire some torpedoes at the Prometheus?"
CO: "Don't be so trigger happy. For all we know, they could be trying to say they surrender....AHHH!"
------------------ Ace
"Objects in mirror are closer than they appear."
[This message has been edited by Ace (edited April 02, 2001).]
posted
There have been too many instances of phasers being used at warp speeds to write them all off. They've been used that way since the beginning, in fact.
Were it up to me, I'd go with the DS9 tech manual's explanation, although without making the technology new, seeing as how Kirk's Enterprise regularly employed it. I'd also limit the usefulness to very close ranges. The Prometheus and that Nebula were only hundreds of meters apart, for instance.
posted
My most sincere apologies. According to the DS9:TM, "recent advances" in phaser technology allow phasers to operate at velocities higher than c. I retract my previous statement and move that it be stricken from the record. ::bows humbly::
By the way, according to TNG:TM, approximately 1.5 kg of antimatter are used in a standard torpedo warhead. 1.5 kg! And that's only the antimatter! So you have three kilograms of reactants there and increased yield due to advances in torpedo technology, tell me how they only make such teensy weensy explosions, huh?
posted
They also had to install explosion-supressants?
No seriously, they could make torpedoes as big and strong as they like, we all know that. But there are probably countless treaties (like warship-restricitons in WWII) that ensure a balance of power, or mutual destruction or something. For instance, all the major powers stay away from subspace-ripping weapons, except for the stupid face-stretchers.
I mean, if I wanted to be able to blow a ship up with one torpedo, I'd build one with enough yield (teraCochranes?) to do what Tuvok did to the poor caretaker array.
posted
Pleh. Treaties my foot. According to the TM's, the reason they developed quantum torps was because they had reached the maximum yield values on a regular photorp. They wanted something bigger.
These yield values, by the way, are measured in "isotons." A very technical sounding term for yet another technical vagary.
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