Do Confed transports carry commercial cargo?
- Thread starter CamW
- Start date
Originally posted by CamW
It's called not putting all your eggs in one basket.
The reason they had all the protection around a huge convoy during WWI and WWII was because they really couldn't detect U-Boats without sonar, and sonar wasn't developed until what, like mid-WWII, and after not all ships had sonar.
Now, it would be stupid to use a massive convoy because all ships use sonar and can detect submarines.
::cough:: plot spoilers ::cough::
In Wing Commander, space after the Kilrathi War was kind of devoid of action, save pesky pirates and Kilrathi raiders. But surely even a weak escort of Exacaliburs could defend against those...
Eh...
I wouldn't expect to see a convoy during 'peacetime'. Privateers, pirates, and such are typically interested in the bottom line, and attacking even a lightly defended group of transports is going to entail some risk. War-time commerce raiders will plow through any lightly defended transports, while pirates will figure out how much they're likely to get out of it versus how much they lose.
So I don't think you need to worry about convoys.
The reason they had convoys during World War 2 wasn't so much about the U-Boat as it was about attrition. Run twenty seperate ships (with an escort or two) through the Atlantic, and you may only lose a few of them, but you'll keep losing a few of them every time you run ships through since you're probably not killing the raiders. Run a convoy through, and a wolfpack may gather, but they're going to have to slip through a sizable escort, sink the transports, and then get out.
And they're probably going to lose a few subs.
So they may do well the first time or two. They might even do better than they would against the twenty seperate ships. But before long, the losses will start to tell, and you'll start getting more ships through.
And incidentally, sonar is a lot more prevalent these days, but it isn't perfect. A skilled sub commander can still find ways to lose a sonar lock by moving through thermal layers and the like. What sonar DOES do is two things:
1.) Lets the surface ship know that there's something down there (along with a rough 'last known position').
2.) Tells the sub EXACTLY where the surface ship is. If the surface ship isn't too careful, there might be a torpedo coming right back along with that sensor ping.
Originally posted by CamW
I don't think WC sensors work in that same manner though.As both sides use active sensors all the time.
Which is plainly obvious.
Bah!
Everything except the last section on subs/modern sonar applies just as well to WC as it does to wet-navy tactics.
But as I said, large convoys are for war time, not for peace time. For what you're putting together, you wouldn't want a large convoy.
Quarto
Unknown Enemy
Yet, we have some vague (very vague) evidence that it does happen in WC. When we go after two Dorkathi transports in WC2, Angel says something along the lines that they've split off from their destroyer escort, or the rest of the convoy, or something like that.Originally posted by CamW
It's called not putting all your eggs in one basket.
The reason they had all the protection around a huge convoy during WWI and WWII was because they really couldn't detect U-Boats without sonar, and sonar wasn't developed until what, like mid-WWII, and after not all ships had sonar.
Now, it would be stupid to use a massive convoy because all ships use sonar and can detect submarines.
Similarly, the two transports and the TCS Redeemer, we are told, are not the entire convoy that was heading for the Taliban colony. These ships split off from the rest of the convoy to come to our rescue. We can assume, therefore, that the entire convoy is much bigger.
And as for your question, the Confedmilitary would almost certainly not carry commercial cargo. Such misuse of its precious transports goes against the idea of military preparedness - these ships need to be ready at all times, not fluttering about with commercial cargo.
Take a look, however, at what happens on Earth with naval transport - most cargo ships are privately-owned, but they fly under a national flag. So, a Confed transport can carry commercial cargo - if it's a privately-owned Confed transport.
Quarto
Unknown Enemy
I'm not sure, but I rather doubt it. Civilian contractors would hire civilian subcontractors. There are companies out there which can take care of your transport needs far more efficiently than the Army.
The fact that these can be highly-sensitive cargoes doesn't change much - last year, it was a tiny air transport company that shipped freshly-printed Euro bills from Germany to France. And similarly, it's not army vehicles that transport nuclear waste (which, though not weapons-grade anyway, is still dangerous). At most, like in the case of the Euro bills, the transporting vehicle would get a military escort.
The fact that these can be highly-sensitive cargoes doesn't change much - last year, it was a tiny air transport company that shipped freshly-printed Euro bills from Germany to France. And similarly, it's not army vehicles that transport nuclear waste (which, though not weapons-grade anyway, is still dangerous). At most, like in the case of the Euro bills, the transporting vehicle would get a military escort.