Mine Sweeping

[Mjr. Whoopass]

How was mine sweeping done in Wing Commander? I read in a thread that a Dorkathi was used, also a Clydesdale: "We saw the Confederation's version of a minesweeper in Wing Commander II. The TCS Gunga Din is a Clydesdale-class minesweeper.", and a Vampire is used in Prophecy. How did these sweep the mines? Any other info on mine sweeping? This is again for a story I plan to write probably taking place in 2639. I would like to find out how mines were swept rapidly when fleets planned to jump in and engage in combat immediately after exiting the jump point... I would also like to know how they are swept when there's more time.

 

[Houkiboshi]

Good question, I don't know more than you on this, but I think the easiest way would be to just blow them up...

 

[ChrisReid]

Good question, I don't know more than you on this, but I think the easiest way would be to just blow them up...

I think the question is how you blow them up.. do you shoot laser beams at mines? Tractor rock or debris at them? Project shields against them?

 

[QuailPilot]

I say they use a corvette sized ship with a tractor beam which collects the mine. Disarms it then can be stored away for later use.

 

[McGruff]

I say you can fly that mission, I'll sit it out.

 

[HammerHead]

I would like to find out how mines were swept rapidly when fleets planned to jump in and engage in combat immediately after exiting the jump point... I would also like to know how they are swept when there's more time.

I'm guessing your question is specifically refering to the Enyo engagement - per Claw Marks - the mines deployed at the "principle jump point" in Enyo were modified to be detonated upon receiving a predetermined radio signal - meaning they were prepared in advance to the task of keeping the jump point clear until needed and then detonated on command.

on a more general approach - mines would probably be encoded with some kind of safeguard - as mine fields tend to be tricky - you need it today to block a jump point, but tomorrow you might need to use the jump point -
So you either go one mine after another, disarming them with the code needed, or you simply shootem' up. (especially if they're not your)

P.S. you'll notice I've wrote you need to pass one mine after the other giving each it's own disarm code. This is for a very certain tactical reason: using a single unanimous code to disarm an entire field is a good thing if you need to dispose of the field in a harry (like clearing the jumppoint you just mined so you can use it), but assume the Cats know this and manage to break the code before you are ready... now THEY can SURPRISE you... which can be a problem...

 

[Bandit LOAF]

How was mine sweeping done in Wing Commander? I read in a thread that a Dorkathi was used, also a Clydesdale: "We saw the Confederation's version of a minesweeper in Wing Commander II. The TCS Gunga Din is a Clydesdale-class minesweeper.", and a Vampire is used in Prophecy. How did these sweep the mines? Any other info on mine sweeping? This is again for a story I plan to write probably taking place in 2639. I would like to find out how mines were swept rapidly when fleets planned to jump in and engage in combat immediately after exiting the jump point... I would also like to know how they are swept when there's more time.

We don't ever see how the dedicated minesweepers work - though they seem to take the form of transport conversions, so it could be anything from detonating them with advanced electronics to literally picking up the mines in their holds.

The 'mine sweep' mission in Prophecy involves manually shooting down the mines in your Vampire.

 

[Ijuin]

Since we are talking about mass-produced explosive mines here, I doubt that they have any serious kinds of stealth beyond the basic optical and radar absorbing paint and such, so they should be easy to detect at short range and slow speed. Given this, the "shoot them down with laser turrets" approach sounds the easiest.

 

[Quarto]

I don't know... even if we see Vampires used for that kind of thing in WCP, I don't think clearing mines with guns can be that efficient - after all, if it was, then what would be the point of converting transports into dedicated minesweepers?

 

[Houkiboshi]

I don't know... even if we see Vampires used for that kind of thing in WCP, I don't think clearing mines with guns can be that efficient - after all, if it was, then what would be the point of converting transports into dedicated minesweepers?

I would think it's the easy way out in order to allow front line units to move forward and then mine sweepers could move ahead and finish the job

 

[QuailPilot]

Another theory is that the minesweepers send out a detonation code to destroy all the mines in the area.

The reason why they use fighters to take out mines is because they don't always have the correct code.

 

[Dundradal]

Perhaps they could have tractor beams mounted all around the hull and use them to force the mines into each other?

I'd never really thought about mine sweeping in WC till now, but I would argue for either my random tractor beam idea, or some sort of field that sweeps the mines either into the hold or causes them to detonate.

 

[ChrisReid]

Since we are talking about mass-produced explosive mines here, I doubt that they have any serious kinds of stealth beyond the basic optical and radar absorbing paint and such, so they should be easy to detect at short range and slow speed.

Note that Arena will feature cloaking mines, and some ships can carry lots of them (to deploy in clusters).

 

[Houkiboshi]

Another theory is that the minesweepers send out a detonation code to destroy all the mines in the area.

The reason why they use fighters to take out mines is because they don't always have the correct code.

Besides, the TCS Midway just couldn't call for a mine sweeper at the time, so they sent the Vampires ahead

 

[Ijuin]

Note that Arena will feature cloaking mines, and some ships can carry lots of them (to deploy in clusters).

True, but when one is talking about large sit-in-place fields of thousands of mines (as in when you want to stop a carrier group from coming through a jump point), you probably are using the cheap Porcupine sort--cloaked mines are more for when you don't want the enemy to know that there are mines present, rather than when you are using mines as a deterrent.

 

[Mekt-Hakkikt]

Note that Arena will feature cloaking mines, and some ships can carry lots of them (to deploy in clusters).

Ooh, I imagine that to be rather nasty given the fact you're not moving as much in three dimensions as in the other WC games.

I don't know... even if we see Vampires used for that kind of thing in WCP, I don't think clearing mines with guns can be that efficient - after all, if it was, then what would be the point of converting transports into dedicated minesweepers?

I think a weapon with an area of effect, like the Flak cannons from WC2, would be rather effective to shoot down mines. Maybe the Clydesdale just had some more flak weapons installed and some better protection. It wouldn't even have to be strong Flak cannons.

 

[Houkiboshi]

True, but when one is talking about large sit-in-place fields of thousands of mines (as in when you want to stop a carrier group from coming through a jump point), you probably are using the cheap Porcupine sort--cloaked mines are more for when you don't want the enemy to know that there are mines present, rather than when you are using mines as a deterrent.

Well, you could use both types, cloaked and un-cloaked... That would be more effective

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Ooh, I imagine that to be rather nasty given the fact you're not moving as much in three dimensions as in the other WC games.

Well, you are... it's just different. The big thing is that there's a lot of cloak/anti-cloak stuff in there...

 

[Mekt-Hakkikt]

Well, it's just the impression I got from the videos I watched (I didn't watch all I think) that you are moving "up" and "down" less than in the previous games thus making that cloaked mine more efficient than the mines we had in the other games (which of course, didn't cloak).