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The New French Ether-Cruiser

by James Cambias

Though Great Britain seized an early lead in the development of military ether flyers with the construction of the mighty Duke of York- class ether battleships, the Great Powers of the Continent have not been idle. France, Germany, and Russia have all come up with plans to challenge British dominance of the ether.

The French ether-cruiser Île-de-France is nearing completion at the Toulon arsenal. Its intriguing design sacrifices armor and armament in favor of speed. The American-built propellor can drive it at up to four million miles per day. So the Île-de-France can outrun anything it cannot outfight. The high interplanetary speed also means that in a crisis, a cruiser could be on the scene weeks before units of the other
Great Powers. Her bomb load and troop capacity make the Île-de-France very effective at projecting French power to other planets.

The Île-de-France is scheduled for completion in June of 1890. After trials, she will voyage to Mars in October of that year, with courtesy calls planned at Thymiamata and Hecates Lacus. The French Government has approved funds for three more ships in this class. The Bretagne is due to be completed in the summer of 1891, and the Normandie and Gascogne will follow in 1892 and 1893. Though the French have declared that the cruisers are intended only to protect French interests on Mars and to guard commerce, it is feared that a "naval race" in ether flyers could be beginning.

Batteries: Power Level 1 (20 days' endurance); 20 tons, £200.

Armament:

Two 6" guns in a ventral turret, AV 1; 220 tons, £2200.

Two 6" guns in forward sponsons, AV 1; 220 tons, £2200.

Two 6-lb. HRCs in aft sponsons, AV 1; 33 tons, £484.

Four 3-lb. HRCs in wing sponsons, AV 1; 44 tons, £792.

One 3-lb. HRC in a fixed forward mount, AV 1; 11 tons, £198.

Two bomb racks with two reloads each; 30 tons, £160.

Troops: 90 men (one battalion); 90 tons, £2700.

Cargo: 17 tons.

Crew: 345 men.

Cost: £1,452,000.

(Note: The Île-de-France was designed using the "Steam Recirculators" rules described by Steve Whitmore in Transactions number 5. Players who think those rules are unnecessary can delete the recirculator and the water tank, which gives the ship an extra 50 tons of cargo space and reduces the price.)

Île-de-France Class Ether-cruiser

Hull: Size 30 (3000 tons), liftwood hull, £600,000.

Ether Propellor: Edison Propellor, Power Level 480 (Ether Speed of 4); 480 tons, £480,000.

Solar Boiler: Power Level 480; 960 tons, £240,000.

Aerial Propulsion: Boiler Size 15 (Airspeed of 3); 75 tons, £30,000.

Water Supply: Recirculation System (value 3), and Water Tank (10 days' endurance between refills); 150 tons, £33,000.

Fuel Supply: Coal Bunker Size 15 (10 days' endurance); 150 tons.

Hull Armor: Armor Value 2; 600 tons, £60,000.

Posted Monday, 04-May-2009 19:50:21 EDT