Bombshell Genius
The cutaway of the 420mm Sardun HVC
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To provide a consolidation HVC
- Image Source: 16in/50 Mk7 on Wikipedia (removed reference to powder)
- Canon Link: N/A
- Restricted Missions: N/A
- Primary Source: Summer heavy long-range mass driver
- Manufacturer: Ringovinda Systems
- Model: 420mm/50 triple-barrel Sardun heavy long-range hypervelocity cannon
- Affiliation: Open-Market
- Modularity: Can fire a wide variety of ammunition
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Superconductor coils (in the barrel), standard hypervelocity gun components, quadanium plating (turret), durasteel
- Classification: Heavy long-range hypervelocity cannon
- Size: Ship-Mounted
- Length: 40m (turret included)
- Weight: 1600 tons dry
- Ammunition Type: Shells
- Ammunition Capacity: 1000 rounds
- Effective Range: Standard heavy long-range hypervelocity cannon
- Rate of Fire: Standard heavy long-range turbolaser rate of fire
- Acceleration coils
- Integrated targeting computer
The acceleration coils allow it to fire shells at muzzle velocities nearing 10 km/s. Also, the integrated targeting computer allows it to establish its own targeting solutions using sensor data fed from the mount's main sensor array.
DESCRIPTION
While the Summer 380mm HVC proved to be of use for fighting enemy capital ships at long ranges, it was found that the sheer size of its magazine limited deployment to cruisers and larger ships, and that, by reducing the size of the magazine, one could mount even larger ammunition on smaller ships, and even more turrets on a ship, so the caliber was brought up to 420mm, so any ships over 150m long can mount one. As with its predecessor, the massive ammunition makes it so that the three barrels are fired in a sequence with an overall firing rate equivalent to a heavy long-range turbolaser.
It also shares many of the weaknesses commonly associated with such massive emplacements: slow traverse (which makes the Sardun much less effective against ships faster than an average frigate), the turret must be integrated into the vessel due to the projectile-loading assembly taking up three decks underneath the rotational assembly, which itself takes up another deck. Accuracy is comparable to standard HVC accuracy, but the nature of acceleration coils makes it so that it requires a lot of maintenance outside combat to ensure the hypervelocity cannon will work when in combat.
Important note: For shipbuilding purposes, counts for 100 capital guns towards an armament rating
Strengths:
- Can penetrate and bypass ray shields (damage is then absorbed by particle shields)
- Can fire a wide variety of ammunition
- Long range
- Particle shields must be lowered to fire
- Slow-tracking (the utility of the Sardun decreases sharply when used against ships faster than an average frigate)
- Extremely large emplacement
- Maintenance-intensive
- Internally fragile
- Requires shells or sabots made of magnetic materials
- Cannot be mounted on ships under 150m
