(Author's Note: The Author suggests that this writeup is used in place of the writeup done by Palladium Books in the Coalition Overkill book due to it being more complete and being based on better research and a better general knowledge of Aircraft by the author.
Though now a dedicated bomber, it actually has, in some areas, increased capabilities, while in others, decreased, to reflect what I feel is more realistic stats. I hope this design makes the Adventure "Asher's Revenge", which was built against this true flying fortress, more challenging and enjoyable. Also, because of the lack of carrying capacity compared with the original, I've renamed it from "Stratocarrier" to "Stratobomber." The original writeup is attributed to bad intelligence by Free Quebec.)
A short story: "First flight of the Stratobomber"
It was dawn at Air Station Alpha, on the shores of Lake Michigan. Lieutenant Colonel Jeanne Deveraux had grown up on the shores of Lake Huron. She was young for her rank; Most of the people in the Coalition Air Force were, especially after the disastrous losses fighting Free Quebec and Tolkeen. But she was good. She allowed herself that even modestly. Good enough to fly this monster.. She didn't know. The massive, reinforced doors to the hangar built over the water in which the CAF-1 sat were fully opened. She sat in cockpit of the Stratobomber, helmet to her light Dead Boy suit off, long black hair pulled up in a bun, watching the sunrise. She would have more important things to do on a normal preflight, but with this preflight, one had to wait for two of the four tugboats assigned to the installation to hook up towing lines and haul the CAF-1 out into the lake proper.
The tugs had the lines secured soon enough, though, and began to ease the CAF-1 out into the light of day. There had been numerous engine and float tests, even a few powered runs, before. This would be the first flight.
Unsurprisingly, both General Drogue, the new commander of the Tolkeen invasion force, and Lieutenant General Zachary Kael, commander of the CAF-1's unit, were NOT on the aircraft. It didn't really make Jeanne feel any better about the entire thing. They were both observing from the deck of the James Bay class Destroyer anchored nearby.
As the Tugs maneuvered the CAF-1 into position, Jeanne's Copilot, Major Jeffrey Taylor, re-entered the flight deck of the big flying boat, helmet to his armor suit in hand. "Every checks out, Colonel. Super SAMAS pilots are in place and so is the entire collection of Sam's Asses." Jeanne chuckled a bit despite herself. Real airplane pilots were always, though all in good fun, jesting and teasing and generally giving a hard time to the pilots of rocket cycles and flying power armors. They, of course, returned the favor. Considering the plane she was sitting in, she had to wonder if it wasn't their right to, after all.
"Well, Jeff, let's get to work and show them a thing or two about high altitude maneuvering."
"Colonel, I'm more worried about getting this big, ugly thing out of the water first... Has anyone in the Coalition actually flown an honest-to-god flying boat before?"
She frowned slightly. "Except in the sims... Hell no. But somebody has to take the first step, and the sims are there for a reason. At least the water is calm. Well, let's get down to business."
As she pulled on her helmet and plugged in the jack to link the internal com up with the radios and intercom, she heard the radio crackle.. Just in time. "This is the Tug Marie to the Flying Leviathan. You're in position, Colonel."
The name briefly made her think of her homeland; Not Free Quebec and the rebellion there, but rather the state of Iron Heart. There were enough Québécois there, too, and most of them had kin in Free Quebec.. That war hurt like hell. But with Drogue responsible for taking this big beast out of mothballs, she knew it's real target.. And that didn't phase her one bit. "Roger that, Tug Marie. We are lowering our anchors... Pick up your lines and stand clear."
She looked around the rest of the helmeted flight crew, and spoke through the intercom. "Alright, folks.. It's Go Time. Jeff, anchors aweigh.. Or whatever they say in the navy." A few laughs. "Roger that, Colonel, deploying anchors now..." Jeanne craned her head to glance out one of the side windows, to the pontoon where a small boat was retrieving the line, and an anchor was going down, then out further, to the next pontoon on that wing, another anchor, and finally the wingtips themselves, which rested on the water, their edges hydrodynamic in addition to aerodynamic. It was an awe-inspiring sight, if nothing else.
The radio crackled again. "This is General Kael. Lieutenant Colonel, are you ready for takeoff?" She switched the appropriate frequency for a response.
"Roger that, General, we're prepping for takeoff now.. And, to quote my father, 'As ready as we'll ever be,' over." A new voice cut in. It was not a kind one, but for the moment, it was a pleased one. General Drogue. "You have clearance for takeoff, Colonel. As soon as she's ready, go for it." That damned voice sent shivers down her spine. Oh well. She was up for a transfer to Lone Star to fly pre-rifts but still quite powerful B1-E Lancers against the Pecos Empire to keep them from getting restless with the Coalition fighting a two-front war, as soon as the test flights were finished. "Roger that, General Drogue, sir. We copy and we comply... Signing off while we prepare for takeoff. Over and out."
"Crew stations, report systems for takeoff." Calm. She wasn't calm. But she acted like it. Calm was good, but impossible when you were a test pilot, taking off under untried circumstances with an untried craft. The chorus of voices came through from each station confirming status. "Co-pilot," she said, all business, now. "Are the flaps in the proper setting for takeoff?"
A pause, double-checking. Good. "Roger that, pilot, I confirm flaps in takeoff position."
"Alright.... Crew, strap in. Co-pilot, observe engine gauges. I am commencing engine start." She strapped into her own acceleration couch, not really needed on the sub-sonic bomber, and flipped a cover off the switch for engine start. That one was flipped into the on position. It was followed by the cover for the button for engine one. She pressed down on it as she eased the throttle for engine one forward slightly into the idle position, waiting to hear the nuclear reactors catch in activation, bled power from the central reactor, the big turbojet to engage. With a crackling sound, audible, then a whoosh and a roar, engine one kicked into power.
"Engine One checks, Pilot." She repeated the procedure with engine three. The same sounds, the same effect. "Engine Three checks, Pilot," came Jeff's voice again. Reassuring. Then, engine two. The same. The great bomber was coming to life; But it had done this much before. Finally, engine four. All four engines were running and idle. A final preflight check of all systems was done. Everything checked out. Still, nothing was perfect. They'd be taking off straight into the rising sun. Jeanne adjusted her suit's vision filters to account for that.
It was time to make the call. "This is the CAF-1 to Control. We are about to commence takeoff run, over."
"Best of luck to you, Flying Leviathan. We acknowledge.. Over and out."
"Copilot.. Raise the anchors." She waited as Jeff complied, the anchors of the big Flying Boat come Bomber being hauled up, retracted into their compartments. As soon as they were, the lights went green on a bank overhead.
They were prepped for takeoff. The slight wind, though, had a lot of surface to catch on, and the Flying Leviathan drifted slightly... Jeanne corrected with the submerged rudders, attached to her foot pedal controls. They were on line, down the 5 km long course; They would only need about four of it, though, with just the Super SAMAS and not a bomb load. Perhaps less.. But she was going to be careful.
Jeanne had one hand on the wheel, one on the throttles... She slowly eased the throttles forward. She heard the whining roar of the massive turbojets increase, and the bomber began to move forward, steadying out; As speed slowly increased as she brought the throttles forward, she needed less of the water rudders to keep the bomber steady.
She watched the speed indicator tick past fifty miles per hour. The throttles were steadily being pushed forward. Faster, faster. Eighty, now, as she watched the scenery, the guard ships, the water pass by. Ahead, the rising sun, the fast expanse of the lake.
"One hundred per," Jeff said calmly over the intercom. Jeanne saw the throttles were at maximum conventional thrust, the plane was still accelerating. "We are going to military thrust," she announced calmly. Gloved hand on the throttles, she brought them steadily forward, the last bit of the way. The heat from the engines was visible, the superheated air trailing out in streams behind them, wavering under the sun. They ate up water like it was going out of style. The throttles clicked into place. Jeanne brought both hands onto the control wheel, as she spoke. "We are at military thrust." She could feel herself being pressed back into the acceleration couch, the water kicking up rooster tails behind them, now.
"One fifty...." Jeff turned his helmeted head towards her. He obviously expected her to take off soon. "One Seventy... We have takeoff speed, Pilot."
She kept her vision focused straight ahead, and said nothing.. And focused for the feel. "One ninety.. Two hundred." His voice was a bit sharper... "We have all the power we need for takeoff, Pilot."
She waited. Two ten.. Two twenty..... Two twenty five. She steadily began to pull back. They'd eaten up four point five kilometers of water. She pulled up, harder, faster now, feeling resistance.. The bomber didn't quite want to unstick from the surface of the water that had held it for so long.
A little further.... And then it's wings caught the air, and there was no stopping that Leviathan from living up to the first half of it's name. Slowly, steadily, the CAF-1 lifted out of the water, rising up into the sky.
Slowly, at first, it held position, just dozens of feet over the water of Lake Michigan, as she waited for enough speed to be sure she was clear of the danger of trying to lift out of the ground effect. Then she pulled up again, standard ascent rate, standard ascent angle. The Flying Leviathan clawed it's way skyward, a great black blot against the burning brilliance of the rising sun.
On the James Bay class destroyer, the Generals and their entourage enjoyed a polite bit of applause.. Actually, more like war whoops; General Drogue's pet project had paid off. The Flying Leviathan actually flew.
Onboard that craft, as they flew onward, into the rising sun, Jeanne smiled tightly at the thought of landing the monster; even with the drogue chutes.. She had to hold in the laughter at that.. It would be a hell of a plane to land, too. Oh well. It flew, and it flew well.. Better than some wingless, thruster-powered Death's Head, at least. The water was already far behind them; Adjusting to a slower ascent rate, she began to slow back to 80% thrust, down from military thrust.
"Wahoo... Colonel, looks like we made it," Jeff said abruptly. Jeanne grinned. He was probably grinning, too. "Yeah, we're airborne.. What bloody next, though. Waterhog, airhog, at that. Makes me think of something I saw once.." A pause from the man. "Yeah.. What?"
She laughed softly. "Very old, Pre-Rifts stuff. A novel, actually, 'bout the old American Empire B-52H Stratofortress.. They called it the BUFF." It was an open intercom, but only for the flight deck crew. The Bombardier cut in then. "What the hell's a Buff?" Jeanne snickered. "Acronym for Big Ugly Fat Fucker. It fits, eh?" The entire flight crew shared a brief laugh, then, and got down to the business of putting CAF-1 Stratobomber through it's paces.
CAF-1 Flying Leviathan:
Free Quebec Military Intelligence: Revised report on the CAF: "Flying
Leviathan".
This is an in-depth study of military intelligence data provided by Québécois spies within the CAF-1 and "High Altitude Super SAMAS" Project. Though initial reports were wildly varying and gave indications of the CAF-1 being smaller and having transport capabilities, successful penetration of the facilities at which the CAF-1 is conducting operational missions against Tolkeen has brought to light the true facts of the CAF-1 "Flying Leviathan", or, more commonly outside of General Drogue's staff, "Stratobomber", along with some details on the "High Altitude" Super SAMAS program, both of which are contained in the following document. This intelligence is regarded on the order of being 95%+ reliable and should immediately replace the earlier intelligence data.
This monstrosity is one of General Drogue's "Special Projects." He actually spearheaded the operation before getting promoted to help head and coordinate the Tolkeen war front. Under his instruction, engineers at Iron heart took existing and prototypical technologies and found new military applications for them. The end result is the CAF-1 "Flying Leviathan" Stratobomber amphibious strategic bomber. Inspired the famous HK-1 "Spruce Goose", Russian "AN-225 Mriya," and "B-36 Aluminum Overcast" of Pre-Rift, the CAF-1 is an attempt to create the biggest airplane in aviation history; For that, at least, the designers succeeded stunningly. The original design included the possibility of use as a transport, suggesting the possible source of the earlier faulty data, but when completed for General Drogue, it was purely a bomber, unsurprising considering our dossiers on him.
The project was shelved years ago mostly because the Coalition Military High Command felt that such an enormous aircraft were too easily intercepted by enemy air forces, and if crashed, placed an excessive amount of manpower and material at risk. At that point, the airplane was 90% complete, but the program freeze condemned it to become a Coalition "hangar queen," an interesting prototype that would probably never see the skies... Until now, unfortunately. With the plane incomplete, the original design was potentially rather different from what it is now, including a transport option; However, substantial modifications were included when the aircraft was completed.
Only a year ago, General Drogue resurrected the project with dreams of turning the mammoth multipurpose flying boat into the largest long-range bomber ever to fly. After a brief and intense redesign and refitting blitz, the CAF-1 was finished, completed its test flights and was ready for combat. The bombardment of Sorville was its maiden voyage into the history books. It currently sits in its amphibious dock on the shores of Lake Michigan, ready and able to deliver death from above to anywhere in Tolkeen, with all-weather altitude strike capability.
As a bomber, the CAF-1 "Flying Leviathan" Stratobomber, nicknamed the "BUFF" by it's initial test pilot, Jeanne Deveraux, (Something that General Drogue was actually, apparently amused by.) a pilot in the Coalition States Airforce of some renown, is able to shower a target with an incredible amount of ordnance from beyond the reach of most ground-based defenses. Multiple gun turrets and no less than 32 specially modified "High Altitude" Super SAMAS provide the craft with adequate defenses against most airborne interceptors or even enemy boarding parties. Further data on the High-Altitude Super SAMAS is included below. Plus, the CAF-1 is itself as sturdy as it is large, covered in multi-layered M.D.C. armor plating that enables it to take extreme punishment and remain aloft.
The biggest drawback is its lack of maneuverability, especially at low altitudes. Unlike the An-225, at least according to available information sources on that craft, the Flying Leviathan handles poorly, at least at altitudes lower than 60,000 feet, and is hardly capable of any kind of airborne evasive action; or any action at all, for that matter, when it comes to low altitude penetration; One could call it a flying fortress, and it could be taken literally.
Where this hurts the aircraft is not so much in avoiding getting hit by enemy fire, a questionable exercise at best for any aircraft of such size, but in maintaining flight and maneuverability if there is an engine malfunction. Should the engines cut out for any reason, the CAF-1 will descend rapidly, and at lower altitudes even a successful restart wouldn't let the pilot recover in time. So far, the plan has shown no engine problems whatsoever. Each engine has its own power plant as well as fully redundant electronics and velocity control, which will help the CAF-1 stay in the air in the event of a problem. Still, this is a weakness; One General Drogue has not been informed of, though our agent has learned of it from the designers. They fear the complete cancellation of the project should these weaknesses be discovered.
Final Notes: It is advised that our Yellow Jacket squadron commanders be informed that, should the CAF-1 be detected operating against Québécois or allied forces, that the attack should be concentrated against the engines of the CAF-1, which will at least force it back should one or more be damaged, or increase the possibility of destruction. A secondary target should be the wings themselves. Targeting the main body should be avoided, as it is a near-futile effort the bring the craft down in that manner.
Class: Prototype Bomber Aircraft.
Crew: The CAF-1 really has three crews, the Flight Crew, the
Combat Crew, and the Technical Crew.
The Flight Crew consists of one pilot, one co-pilot, one navigator,
one communications officer and one bombardier.
The Combat Crew consists of 32 Super SAMAS pilots (each of whom
pilots his own Super SAMAS as part of the aircraft's on-board defense network)
and 10 defense gunners, each of whom mans one of the plane's rail gun/short
range-missile hybrid turrets.
The technical crew consists of four ordnance technicians (who
load and maintain the plane's internal bombing modules), two gunner technicians
(To handle any problems with the defense guns during flight), and two SAMAS
technicians (to handle any problems with the SAMAS during flight times).
Total crew: 55.
Passenger Capacity: Four ejection seats for specialists and/or important persons onboard the aircraft called "Jump seats" are fitted; There is no other passenger capacity.
Power Armor Capacity: 32 special "High-Altitude" Super SAMAS
are kept onboard to defend the plane during operations. These Super SAMAS
are stored in separate compartments on the airplane (A total of eight),
and deploy through a series of opening hatches on the sides of the aircraft.
High-Altitude Super SAMAS are identical to standard Super SAMAS except
for a maximum altitude identical to that of the CAF-1 Stratobomber (120,000
feet!), and a maximum speed of 650 mph instead of 500 mph while flying.
However, they have larger wings and intakes/jets and are bulkier on the
ground, suffering a -2 penalty to all maneuver related ground operations;
This penalty does not apply in flight. In addition, the cost of a High-Altitude
Super SAMAS is 12 million credits to build instead of 5.8 million credits
for a standard Super SAMAS.
M.D.C. by location:
| [1] Main Body: | 2,000 | |
| Reinforced Pilot's compartment: | 500 | |
| Gunner's compartment: | 300 | |
| Super SAMAS launching hatches (8): | 200 each | |
| [2] Wings (2): | 800 each | |
| [3] Stratolifter Engines (4): | 300 each | |
| [4] V-Tail sections (2): | 300 each | |
| [5] Wing-mounted Pontoons (4): | 300 each |
Notes:
[1] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body shuts the vehicle down completely,
causing it to lose control and crash. The crew will perish if they fail
to eject before hitting the ground. (All crew members have ejection seats.)
When floating on the water, assume that all weapons do double their normal
damage to the CAF-1 Stratobomber. This is because, in the water, the CAF-1
is very vulnerably to flooding should it be holed, and doubling the damage
done by weapons against the main body when it's in the water reflects this.
The CAF-1 carries sufficient life rafts and life jackets for 60 persons
in case of a sinking while alight on the water.
[2] Destroying one of the wings will cause the vehicle to spin out
of control and crash. The wings themselves are simply massive and do not
require a called shot to strike. Note: The tip of each wing touches
the water during landing, takeoff, and taxi operations due to the sloping
design of the wings; Hence, the tip of each wing has a built-in pontoon
on the end to keep it stable and avoid wing damage during landing; These
are hard to stop and impossible to directly target without also targeting
the wing, so they are not included in the list of targets.
[3] The standard "Stratolifter Megaturbine" is a massive Jet engine
developing 200,000 pounds of thrust; Between the four Stratolifters, the
CAF-1 produces an awesome 800,000 pounds of thrust; However, the thrust
levels compared with those required to propel the aircraft at it's maximum
speed leave very little room for maintaining capabilities when an engine
or several are lost. The craft can lose up to a single engine and remain
aloft, but at 75% top speed. Losing two engines reduces the craft to 50%
top speed, and all piloting rolls are made at -20% if the two engines lost
are on the same side of the CAF-1; If on opposite sides, there is no penalty.
Losing a third engine will reduce the craft to only 25% of its top speed,
and all piloting rolls will be made at -40% as the plane begins to lose
altitude and handle like a flying brick. The plane will descend by 200
feet (61 meters) every melee round (15 seconds) until it lands or crashes
(Make a piloting roll at -50% to successfully land the plane under these
conditions; otherwise a crash will result, demolishing the plane and probably
killing everyone onboard). Ultimately, the conditions of a Flying Leviathan
crash are left to the G.M., but the crash is likely to be devastating and
explosive and create a hair-raising crash scene. The engines of a Flying
Leviathan are fairly large and easy to hit. Striking them does not require
a called shot.
The engines are mounted in two pods, one on each wing, however, since
they make up most of the pod, the pod cannot be targeted, just the engines.
They are also relatively close to the wing, making targeting the Pylon
essentially impossible. There is a lower pylon on the bottom of the pod
that connects to the inner pontoon on each wing; this is counted as part
of the pontoon.
[4] The V-Tail is a massive assembly on the extreme aft end of the
airplane with two sections; Destroying one makes the aircraft -30% on all
piloting rolls; Destroying two makes the aircraft -60% on all piloting
rolls. A called shot is NOT required to hit these.
[5] The Pontoons help maintain stability in the water and during landing
and takeoff. For each one destroyed, increase piloting difficulty on the
water, and for takeoff and landing operations, by +10%
Speed:
Cruising: 550 mph (880 km).
Maximum: 650 mph/Mach 0.86.
Special Conditions: This plane requires a full five kilometers
(5 km) of relatively calm water to reach takeoff speed when fully loaded.
It can reach takeoff speed in 2 km when empty of weaponry load out and
Super SAMAS. Landing requires 3 km when fully loaded, and 2 km when empty.
It would be utterly impossible for an aircraft of this size to land on
dry land.
Range: Effectively unlimited, since the engines run off internal
nuclear reactors. The endurance of the craft is limited only by the endurance
of its pilots and depleting it's weapons payload.
Maximum ceiling: 120,000 feet/22.8 miles (36,600 m/36.6 km.)
Piloting Skill: Pilot: Jet.
Statistical Data:
Height: 80 feet (24.4 m) for Fuselage and 160 feet (48.8
m) Overall.
Width: 60 feet (18.2 m) for Fuselage and 480 feet (145.5
m) for Wingspan
Length (Not counting forward and rear gun turrets): 450 feet
(137 m)
Weight: Empty Weight: 736,000 lbs ( ), Maximum Takeoff
weight: 2,336,000 lbs,
Maximum Payload (Weapons/Cargo Weight): 1,600,000 lbs.
Maximum load in Bomb Bays: 1,200,000 lbs
[Comparison with B-52H Strategic Bomber: Empty Weight - about 185,000
pounds. Maximum Takeoff Weight - about 488,000 pounds.. The two craft have
a roughly comparable empty weight to maximum takeoff weight ratio.)
Standard Cargo: Other than weapons load, as follows:
In the cockpit, there is a small weapons locker for the pilot, co-pilot,
navigator, and communications officer.
The locker holds a rifle, a pistol, and a basic survival kit for each
officer. The cockpit crew is required to wear their personal armor during
flight operations. Each gunner's station also has a locker with the same
equipment as is available for one for the flight crew officers. Also, in
the passenger compartment is a locker capable of storing up to 10 suits
of personal body armor, 10 rifles, 10 pistols, and 10 survival kits.
Power System: Each engine pod has it's own miniature nuclear
reactor and power cell, and the plane's power systems run off another miniature
reactor and cell. A fully charged system has an expected life span of roughly
25 years.
Estimated Development Cost: Including the High-Altitude Super
SAMAS to operate with it, and the Lake Michigan Amphibious Air Base from
which it and it's escort forces (Four squadrons of Shrike Interceptors
and eight squadrons of Warbird Rocket Cycles to travel ahead of the CAF-1
and clear a path through enemy air-defenses for the bomber.) operate, as
well the Shrikes and Warbirds themselves, the total cost of this project
as been no less than a staggering 75 billion credits. Though the decision
achieves power through brute force, the most advanced technology of the
Coalition is represented in it. Even then, the massive bomber is regarding
as a white elephant and a money and resource drain; Especially since the
design, testing, construction of the prototype, and flight testing consumed
a large amount of that money, not the base or the Squadrons of escort craft.
However, to be fair, the cost includes the company of advanced Power Armors
and the company of Skelebots that are assigned to guard the construction/support
base, and the six submersible patrol boats, two improved Sea Kings, and
one James Bay class destroyer that are assigned to a special naval squadron
which has the mission of providing additional support for the CAF-1 and
defending the base from the water side. Still, even though the High Altitude
Super SAMAS may come out as useful, the expenditure of 75 billion credits
to construct the base/manufacturing facility, it's defenses, and some 33
new vehicles is considered by many a horrific waste.
However, if the Stratobomber proves a success, production can begin
at the Amphibious Airbase Alpha facilities of mass-produced CAF-1s. Still,
they would have the very stiff price of 800 million apiece to build, not
counting HA-Super SAMAS for them. The final decision has yet to be made.
Facilities for CAF-1 and High Altitude Super SAMAS mass production are
included at the facility and in the development cost.
Weapon Systems:
Sensory Systems:
Bonuses:
[Golden Age Weaponsmiths, Wellington Industries, and TRIAX are trademarks
owned by Kevin Siembiedact and Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and
Palladium Books Inc.]
Writeup by Marina O'Leary (LusankyaN@aol.com ).
Reformatting and minor revisions by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune ).
Copyright © 2000, Marina O'Leary. All rights reserved.