Honorverse ramblings and musings

cthia wrote:

Johnathan_S wrote:IIRC we saw a pod based ammo ship in one of the Shadow books that was cranking along at over 600g; implying pretty up to date compensators.

Somehow I missed that. Ammo ships can pull that type accel?

Weird Harold wrote:That is a reference to a Mayan Arsenal class ship. It is the pod launch half of the Marksman/Arsenal pairing that gives the Mayans (and Erewhonese) SD(P) firepower without the time lag of building SD(P)s from scratch. It's an interim solution for the Mayans and the battle against the PNE for Torch proved why you don't want ammo ships in range of enemy missiles.

Weird Harold,
I think Roszak's force had an accel of 4.7g, iirc. Their compensators are about 30% better than prewar, while the Roland/Wolfhound accel is just over 50% better. Jonathon_S has a spreadsheet for accel; I suspect some others do also.

Regards, Rob

Armed Neo-Bob wrote:

Johnathan_S wrote:IIRC we saw a pod based ammo ship in one of the Shadow books that was cranking along at over 600g; implying pretty up to date compensators.

Weird Harold wrote:That is a reference to a Mayan Arsenal class ship. ...

Weird Harold,
I think Roszak's force had an accel of 4.7g, iirc. Their compensators are about 30% better than prewar, while the Roland/Wolfhound accel is just over 50% better. Jonathon_S has a spreadsheet for accel; I suspect some others do also.

Regards, Rob

Yeah, Jonathan_S found the correct reference and posted it about two posts back.

cthia wrote:

Johnathan_S wrote:IIRC we saw a pod based ammo ship in one of the Shadow books that was cranking along at over 600g; implying pretty up to date compensators.

Somehow I missed that. Ammo ships can pull that type accel?

Weird Harold wrote:That is a reference to a Mayan Arsenal class ship. It is the pod launch half of the Marksman/Arsenal pairing that gives the Mayans (and Erewhonese) SD(P) firepower without the time lag of building SD(P)s from scratch. It's an interim solution for the Mayans and the battle against the PNE for Torch proved why you don't want ammo ships in range of enemy missiles.

Thanks for all of the input guys. The stated accel being pulled by ammo ships shocks me.

It's good to know that I'm not completely looney regarding the idea of armed colliers. It does make sense that mission parameters should follow doctrine and different strokes for different navies.

Regarding armed ammo ships operating in close proximity to warships shouldn't be a problem for the RMN, should it? I'd always conceived a possible RMN armed collier to have it's mags loaded with Apollo missiles which can launch far outside an enemy warship's envelope.

A related aside:
First, what is the status of Pirate's Bane? Didn't it take serious damage when Bachfisch conducted his intel-op for Honor?

That post also brought up other questions. I don't remember that Pirate's Bane was an Andermani ship. I thought the Admiralty inconspicuously made it possible for Bachfisch to acquire Pirate's Bane - which made me think it was a Manty ship. I remember Bachfisch made repairs on it. But what yard affected the repairs and where would he get Andermani replacement parts? Also, if Pirates Bane is a hodgepodge of tech wouldn't it benefit from the much discarded Solly junk? Or is it that Andermani tech is fairly close to RMN tech? Unless, of course, Pirate's Bane keeps getting Andermani replacement parts.

And, does anyone know the last max accel of the Bane?

cthia wrote:Thanks for all of the input guys. The stated accel being pulled by ammo ships shocks me.

It's good to know that I'm not completely looney regarding the idea of armed colliers. It does make sense that mission parameters should follow doctrine and different strokes for different navies.

Regarding armed ammo ships operating in close proximity to warships shouldn't be a problem for the RMN, should it? I'd always conceived a possible RMN armed collier to have it's mags loaded with Apollo missiles which can launch far outside an enemy warship's envelope.

A related aside:
First, what is the status of Pirate's Bane? Didn't it take serious damage when Bachfisch conducted his intel-op for Honor?

That post also brought up other questions. I don't remember that Pirate's Bane was an Andermani ship. I thought the Admiralty inconspicuously made it possible for Bachfisch to acquire Pirate's Bane - which made me think it was a Manty ship. I remember Bachfisch made repairs on it. But what yard affected the repairs and where would he get Andermani replacement parts? Also, if Pirates Bane is a hodgepodge of tech wouldn't it benefit from the much discarded Solly junk? Or is it that Andermani tech is fairly close to RMN tech? Unless, of course, Pirate's Bane keeps getting Andermani replacement parts.

And, does anyone know the last max accel of the Bane?

Pirates' Bane was repaired free of charge by the Sidemore fleet base, at Honor's order. However, we don't know if Bachfisch was allowed to continue operating privately owned armed ships in Silesian space since it came under new management. Obviously, Manticore allows them to some extent(Hauptman's passenger liners), but IIRC, those ships were registered as Silesian Navy auxiliaries.

I'm sure some kind of low-key arrangement has been made. Two people know how much Manticore owes him and neither of them are much for fanfares nor forgetting debts; Honor and Pat Givens. But Bachfisch hasn't shown up since War of Honor, so we simply don't know what happened in the end.

cthia wrote:
<snip>
That post also brought up other questions. I don't remember that Pirate's Bane was an Andermani ship. I thought the Admiralty inconspicuously made it possible for Bachfisch to acquire Pirate's Bane - which made me think it was a Manty ship. I remember Bachfisch made repairs on it. But what yard affected the repairs and where would he get Andermani replacement parts? Also, if Pirates Bane is a hodgepodge of tech wouldn't it benefit from the much discarded Solly junk? Or is it that Andermani tech is fairly close to RMN tech? Unless, of course, Pirate's Bane keeps getting Andermani replacement parts.

Pat Givens (Yes, RMN Pat Givens) helped arrange for the ships to fall into Bachfisch's lap, assisted in getting them rearmed, and getting the Silensian Auxilliary papers.

Though he was officially beached, he was obviously well respected still in parts of the RMN establishment, and His observations were (usually) a relied upon portion of the intelligence network in Silensia.

It was never said how or where he got them refitted, but I bet someone like Hauptman was encouraged to give him a "deal" and many of the parts were RMN surplus.

munroburton wrote:<snip>

I'm sure some kind of low-key arrangement has been made. Two people know how much Manticore owes him and neither of them are much for fanfares nor forgetting debts; Honor and Pat Givens. But Bachfisch hasn't shown up since War of Honor, so we simply don't know what happened in the end.

Being that he's still an official officer in the RMN, it wouldn't surprise me if he has not been reactivated for the Silensian sector. And I doubt anyone would complain about his majority shares in Bachfisch Shipping ("... and if you have any issue with said ownership, please refer all questions to Empress Elizabeth I, com #...."). Actually, due to his actions prior to Sidemore, He probably added at least a "Sir" to his titles.

Theemile wrote:Being that he's still an official officer in the RMN, it wouldn't surprise me if he has not been reactivated for the Silensian sector. And I doubt anyone would complain about his majority shares in Bachfisch Shipping ("... and if you have any issue with said ownership, please refer all questions to Empress Elizabeth I, com #...."). Actually, due to his actions prior to Sidemore, He probably added at least a "Sir" to his titles.

Right now, Mark Sarnow is holding down both the military governor and fleet commander seats in Silesia. Bachfisch is too far out of practice for commanding Ninth Fleet even re-activated, but he'd be able to do at least as well there as station commander as Khumalo does in Talbott, being about the most senior "old Silesian hand" in the RMN. If Ninth Fleet got its own Admiral Gold Peak counterpart, it'd free up Sarnow for a roving combat command or an Admiralty position.

cthia wrote:


A related aside:
First, what is the status of Pirate's Bane? Didn't it take serious damage when Bachfisch conducted his intel-op for Honor?

That post also brought up other questions. I don't remember that Pirate's Bane was an Andermani ship. I thought the Admiralty inconspicuously made it possible for Bachfisch to acquire Pirate's Bane - which made me think it was a Manty ship. I remember Bachfisch made repairs on it. But what yard affected the repairs and where would he get Andermani replacement parts? Also, if Pirates Bane is a hodgepodge of tech wouldn't it benefit from the much discarded Solly junk? Or is it that Andermani tech is fairly close to RMN tech? Unless, of course, Pirate's Bane keeps getting Andermani replacement parts.

And, does anyone know the last max accel of the Bane?

ok, you already got the status update, so here is the origin info, from WoH. --Rob

Captain Thomas Bachfisch, owner and master of the armed merchant ship Pirates' Bane, was a lean, spare man with a thin, lined face. He was more than a little stoop-shouldered, and despite his immaculately tailored blue civilian uniform, he did not cut an impressive figure. Nor, for that matter, did Pirates' Bane. At around five million tons, the freighter was of little more than average size for most regions of space, although she did tend towards the upper end of the tonnage range here in Silesia. But although she was obviously well maintained, she was not—despite her defiantly aggressive name—much to look at. To an experienced eye, it was apparent that she was at least half a T-century old, and probably a product of the now-defunct Gopfert Yard in the New Berlin System. Gopfert had once been one of the busiest shipyards in the entire Andermani Empire, supplying not only the Empire's great merchant houses but also building warships and auxiliaries for the Imperial Navy.

JeffEngel wrote:

Theemile wrote:Being that he's still an official officer in the RMN, it wouldn't surprise me if he has not been reactivated for the Silensian sector. And I doubt anyone would complain about his majority shares in Bachfisch Shipping ("... and if you have any issue with said ownership, please refer all questions to Empress Elizabeth I, com #...."). Actually, due to his actions prior to Sidemore, He probably added at least a "Sir" to his titles.

Right now, Mark Sarnow is holding down both the military governor and fleet commander seats in Silesia. Bachfisch is too far out of practice for commanding Ninth Fleet even re-activated, but he'd be able to do at least as well there as station commander as Khumalo does in Talbott, being about the most senior "old Silesian hand" in the RMN. If Ninth Fleet got its own Admiral Gold Peak counterpart, it'd free up Sarnow for a roving combat command or an Admiralty position.

I never meant to say Admiral in charge, There are plenty of senior staff positions open and regional and liaison positions to be filled that he would be perfect for.

JeffEngel wrote:

Theemile wrote:Being that he's still an official officer in the RMN, it wouldn't surprise me if he has not been reactivated for the Silensian sector. And I doubt anyone would complain about his majority shares in Bachfisch Shipping ("... and if you have any issue with said ownership, please refer all questions to Empress Elizabeth I, com #...."). Actually, due to his actions prior to Sidemore, He probably added at least a "Sir" to his titles.

Right now, Mark Sarnow is holding down both the military governor and fleet commander seats in Silesia. Bachfisch is too far out of practice for commanding Ninth Fleet even re-activated, but he'd be able to do at least as well there as station commander as Khumalo does in Talbott, being about the most senior "old Silesian hand" in the RMN. If Ninth Fleet got its own Admiral Gold Peak counterpart, it'd free up Sarnow for a roving combat command or an Admiralty position.

Jeff, have to disagree about "station commander" status. Khumalo was a serving officer for 40 years while Bachfish was moldering in Silesia; while Bachfish is probably a much better tactician/strategist, he doesn't have any experience as a flag officer/admin type. Khumalo as a Rear Admiral was of the Green, making him very senior as a RAdm.
and also commander of resupply/repair depots close to the front.

While making an honest living in Silesia (and taking out pirates) is experience, it wasn't running any element larger than a squadron.

Bachfish is a little out of practice. Give him command of a heavy cruiser division, (or Reliant IVs) and let him clear out Mesan slaver/smuggler stations for awhile first. More interesting to read--and I just don't think he'd accept being put back in at a rank he'll feel he hasn't earned. He is not one of those political placeholders, and won't be comfortable being jumped in at his "seniority" rate instead of his "real" rate.

Or send him back to the War College first, anyway.

Rob