Guide:Big Cat - Revision history

Dan: /* Gallery */

2015-12-10T19:53:35Z

Gallery

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:53, 10 December 2015
Line 96:		Line 96:
	==Gallery==		==Gallery==
	<gallery>		<gallery>
	File:Big Cat bow view.png\|[[Big Cat]] bow view		File:Big Cat bow view.png\|''Big Cat'' bow view
	File:Big Cat dorsal view.png\|''Big Cat'' dorsal view		File:Big Cat dorsal view.png\|''Big Cat'' dorsal view
	File:Hornet fighter.png\|Similar fighter ''Hornet'', with 2 particle cannons		File:Hornet fighter.png\|Similar fighter ''Hornet'', with 2 particle cannons

Dan at 19:53, 10 December 2015

2015-12-10T19:53:14Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:53, 10 December 2015
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Sidebar Guide ship		{{Sidebar Guide ship
	\|image=[[File:.png\|250px\|]]		\|image=[[File:Big Cat stbd view.png\|250px\|Big Cat sublight fightercraft]]
	\|classname= ''Big Cat''		\|classname= ''Big Cat''
	\|category= sublight fightercraft		\|category= sublight fightercraft
Line 94:		Line 94:


	==~~Other concurrent fighter types~~==		==Gallery==
	<gallery>		<gallery>
			File:Big Cat bow view.png\|[[Big Cat]] bow view
			File:Big Cat dorsal view.png\|''Big Cat'' dorsal view
			File:Hornet fighter.png\|Similar fighter ''Hornet'', with 2 particle cannons
			File:Eagle fighter.png\|Similar, but smaller, fighter ''Eagle'', with 2 particle cannons
			File:Warthog space.png\|''Warthog'' bomber, on mission
			File:Warthog spec.png\|Specs of the ''Warthog'', with 2 particle cannons and 2 bomb bays
			File:Voodoo hvy fighter.png\|''Voodoo'' heavy fighter, with 2 particle cannons and 8 hardpoints
	</gallery>		</gallery>

Dan at 19:32, 10 December 2015

2015-12-10T19:32:59Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:32, 10 December 2015
Line 35:		Line 35:
	\|history= SFB, ST:ID		\|history= SFB, ST:ID
	}}		}}
	[[~~Image~~:~~No Photo Available~~.~~jpg~~\|left\|250px\|thumb\|On the left, an early ''Big Cat'' spits fire from the engine nacelles, as fusion heating mode takes over from the hypervelocity		[[File:BigCat Tomcat.png\|left\|250px\|thumb\|On the left, an early ''Big Cat'' spits fire from the engine nacelles, as fusion heating mode takes over from the hypervelocity
	exhaust mode and provides the fighter with atmosphere-compatible thrust. Note the conical impulse engine housings, short		exhaust mode and provides the fighter with atmosphere-compatible thrust. Note the conical impulse engine housings, short
	canards and the smallish windshield, identifying the ''Tomcat'' model. The craft on the right carries canard-mounted extra		canards and the smallish windshield, identifying the ''Tomcat'' model. The craft on the right carries canard-mounted extra
Line 90:		Line 90:
	disbanded.		disbanded.

	[[~~Image~~:~~No Photo Available~~.~~jpg~~\|left\|250px\|thumb\|A pair of tactical craft deploying from ''USS Napoleon'', the abortive [[2260s]] experiment at a new type of carrier. At this point of their history, the fighters were chiefly serving as trials stand-ins for more practicable craft. Note the extended canards, the somewhat wider cabin with side portholes, and the lack of a sensor system “tail” between the impulse nacelles,		[[File:Big Cat Bearcat.png\|left\|250px\|thumb\|A pair of tactical craft deploying from ''USS Napoleon'', the abortive [[2260s]] experiment at a new type of carrier. At this point of their history, the fighters were chiefly serving as trials stand-ins for more practicable craft. Note the extended canards, the somewhat wider cabin with side portholes, and the lack of a sensor system “tail” between the impulse nacelles,
	identifying the ''Bearcat''. Such mere nuances actually stand testimony to the longevity of the basic design.]]		identifying the ''Bearcat''. Such mere nuances actually stand testimony to the longevity of the basic design.]]

Dan: created

2015-12-10T18:27:14Z

created

New page

{{Sidebar Guide ship
|image=[[File:.png|250px|]]
|classname= ''Big Cat''
|category= sublight fightercraft
|years= [[2182]] - [[2266]]
|constructed= 380
|length= 7.5 m
|beam= 6.6 m
|height= 3.6 m
|mass= 50-55 tons (typical)
|cruisespeed=
|maxspeed= 0.8 c
|endurance= 2 days
|officers=
|enlisted=
|troops=
|passengers=
|patients=
|crew= 2-3
|cargo=
|beamweapons= <br>
* 1x Type D phased particle cannon (3.0 GW) (ventral bow) (original)
* 1x Type G phased particle cannon (100 GW) (ventral bow) (later models)
|missileweapons=
|otherweapons=<br>
* 2.6 tons ordnance (2x ventral weapons bays)
* 4-6 various weapons (canard hardpoints) (optional, some models)
|shields= polarizable armor
|labs=
|transporters=
|auxcraft=
|historicalships=
|design= SFB, ST:ID
|name= SFB
|history= SFB, ST:ID
}}
[[Image:No Photo Available.jpg|left|250px|thumb|On the left, an early ''Big Cat'' spits fire from the engine nacelles, as fusion heating mode takes over from the hypervelocity
exhaust mode and provides the fighter with atmosphere-compatible thrust. Note the conical impulse engine housings, short
canards and the smallish windshield, identifying the ''Tomcat'' model. The craft on the right carries canard-mounted extra
ordnance in the form of tip lasers and two mid-span rocket projectors, but nevertheless represents the same model.]]

The standard replacement for the fightercraft of the Romulan War was long in coming, for two
principal reasons. The first was the great distaste towards risking live pilots like they had been
risked aboard the sustainer-engined escort fighters. The second was the optimistic wait for an independent warp propulsion system that could offer more speed and range than the old Vulcan designs. Yet the [[2170s]] came and went without breakthroughs in small-scale warp engines, and
[[Starfleet]] again began to look at impulse-propelled light combat craft as the answer to its tactical
needs.

During the two decades of inaction, those tactical needs had changed little – or rather, no strategic
opponent had presented itself, leaving Starfleet unsure of the nature of the threat it should prepare
against. Planetary defenses hinged on a combination of resident or visiting warships, vast missile
arsenals and a menagerie of medium interceptor craft that still included some space tanks. The latter
two aspects were rapidly becoming antiquated, though, and Starfleet ultimately came to consider
this as the proper niche of modern fightercraft operations.

High impulse thrust was thus declared essential for timely interception. The ability to carry hard-hitting
anti-starship weapons was paramount. For versatility in basing options, transatmospheric
capacity was a third major requirement. On this basis, the fightercraft of the latter half of the [[22nd century]] evolved away from the wartime agile needles with warp sustainer bulges and became brute
force arrows shooting into space in straight paths to meet a superior enemy in numerical strength. Out of the half a dozen designs produced in the era, the '''''Big Cat''''' is a typical example.

The basic body of the fighter was an arrowhead some six meters long and wide, with impulse pods
attached at the trailing edge midspan to port and starboard. For atmospheric agility, there were full-width
canards at the bow, their anhedral following the angle of the main hull top surface. Atop the
arrowhead rode a boxy pressure compartment housing two to three crew. Unlike in the comparable
Vulcan interceptors, the pilot was provided with an angled windshield and lateral portholes for
direct visibility, and only the weapons officer(s) relied on a fully synthetic view of the outside.

The craft was capable of planetary takeoff and landing, with tripod landing gear folding out from
the bottom, and with gravitics to provide initial lift and maneuvering assistance. The jam-packed
hull featured just enough space at centerline to carry the main armament of the fighter, a single
GW-range phased particle cannon. Twin ordnance bays flanking the cannon were almost an
afterthought in comparison, and anything carried within would have been of little use against
starship-sized opponents. A secondary role against ground targets theoretically existed, though; for
this role, some later models were fitted with additional exterior hardpoints under the canards,
mainly for light projectile weapons and freeflight ordnance.

The ''Big Cat'' series did come to feature surprisingly many such models, persisting despite lack of
actual confrontations where the fighters could have demonstrated their worth or realistically
assessed their shortcomings. Shipboard variants such as the ''Panther'' and ''Jaguar'' emerged in the [[2190s]] and especially the ''[[Guide:Horizon/Advance|Advance]]'' battle cruisers embarked them for the dual purposes of escorting their
unarmed shuttlecraft in assault tasks, and of boosting antiship firepower in impulse battles. The
craft were a familiar sight also aboard the later ''Albions'', even though by that time their antiship
capabilities had been revealed to be largely theoretical.

The last hurrah of the ''Big Cat'' series came with Starfleet’s early experiments on carrier starships in the beginning of the Klingon conflict of the [[23rd century]]. It was believed that fightercraft could still
make a difference if deployed in sufficient numbers. ''[[Titan]]'' and ''[[Guide: Valkyr|Valkyr]]'' vessels had the necessary
deck space, and on the other hand the ''Big Cats'' had the deck-saving dual qualifications of space
superiority and planetary assault capability. While better fighter designs were emerging for both
applications and also for their combination, the veteran design persisted and received upgrade after
upgrade on phase guns, targeting systems, engines and armor, all the way till the very final [[Bearcat]]
model completed in [[2226]]. It was not until [[2266]] that the very last wings operating this model were
disbanded.

[[Image:No Photo Available.jpg|left|250px|thumb|A pair of tactical craft deploying from ''USS Napoleon'', the abortive [[2260s]] experiment at a new type of carrier. At this point of their history, the fighters were chiefly serving as trials stand-ins for more practicable craft. Note the extended canards, the somewhat wider cabin with side portholes, and the lack of a sensor system “tail” between the impulse nacelles,
identifying the ''Bearcat''. Such mere nuances actually stand testimony to the longevity of the basic design.]]

==Other concurrent fighter types==
<gallery>

</gallery>

----
*[[Guide: Timo's Guide to Starfleet|Back to the Table of Contents]]
*[[Guide: Small Craft|Small Craft]]
*[[Guide: Of Ship Statistics|Appendix A: Of Ship Statistics]]
*[[Guide: Glossary|Appendix B: Glossary]]
*[[Guide: Starfleet Organization - General Outline|Appendix C: Starfleet Organization - General Outline]]
*[[Guide: Abbreviations From Outside|Appendix D: Abbreviations From Outside]]

[[Category:Guide|{{PAGENAME}}]]