RRC Rocketry Discussion

[Desertfox]

New Switzerland does not play around with obsolete technology...

[Logi]

I have Tsien Hsue-shen, future father of chinese ballistic technology and I have access to the Russian Tsiolkovsky.

@DF
And thus will get their asses handed to them ;D

[The Rock Doctor]

I have...um...Shakira, who will seduce all your brilliant but social inept scientists and steal their secrets.

[TexanCowboy]

And I have Oberth  :), who already has a wife, a Romanian supermodel wife.  ;D

[Logi]

Tsien has a wife :D A famous opera signer and music educator that was the daughter of one of Chiang's leading generals.

He doesn't need foreign filth ;D

[ctwaterman]

*rotflmao*

Ok Von Braun is got to be what still in swadling clothers, Robert Gottard wont begin his experiments until the mid 20's give or take.

As for the Tech - looks around at dozens of under appreciated scientists and *holds up a handful of Golden Lira*  Invokes Summon defector One Half.

[maddox]

Best way of summoning good help.


5 candles in a pentagram form. on top of $100 bills.

garantied summoning power.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Hmm thought you buried something at a Crossroads

oh well.

Bavaria mainly has the underappreciated scientists :)

Johannes Winkler was born in Karlsruhre in 1897 and is credited with the first liquid-fueled rocket in Europe....launched in 1932. He was also a founder, along with Max Valier,  of the Spaceflight Society in 1927.  Max Valier is known for working with Opel for rocket-powered cars and such. Etc.

However, having these folks is mostly relevant from a story-crafting perspective IMHO.  If I have a "Winkler" and I am fielding a liquid fuel rocket prototype, it's a good name.  However, particularly when there are never-were countries, folks should get to make up their own if they lack historical personages.

That said, most of this stuff feels 5-15 years to early.  Black powder rockets had been known for centuries.  They fell out of use, it seems when their range became less than artillery's.   What changed between 1900 and 1940?

Well, Chemistry was making great strides in this time frame. Metallurgy for lighter bodies as well.  OTL Germany as fertile ground for actually makes some sense due to the chemical industries there and the limitations on artillery development. However, the advances in Russia in the same time would seem to indicate that it might just be the advances in general technology that was making new and improved rockets available.

It's nice color and building on traditional Chinese backgrounds, but seems unlikely.

[Logi]

Hmm, then leave it at that. Building a background of rocketry in the RRC does good though. After all why would a stable Chinese regime seek to ignore the vast knowledge built up in 7 centuries of Chinese experience with rockets?

[Walter]

After all why would a stable Chinese regime seek to ignore the vast knowledge built up in 7 centuries of Chinese experience with rockets?

Uhm... Because there are better, more reliable, more accurate weapon systems around that have a much greater range than a rocket and have a much bigger impact on troop morale when it goes of? :)

[Logi]

Not at the moment and only because China refused to advance itself in that time period.

[ctwaterman]

I think it has always been about doing the math...?????

Lets look at an example of the WWII Weapon the Russian Katyusha Rocket.

Weight 42Kg [92#] Explosive Filler 22kg with a maximum range of 5.4 Km of 5400 Meters.

A Russian 122 mm Howitzer weigh 2,250 Lbs fires a 21.76 Kg HE Shell but has a maximum range of 10,000 Meter to 11,720 Meters.

The Launcher for the Katyusha is lighter then the Howitzer but was unspecified due to the huge numbers of differnt launchers manufactured.   However it was noted they were extremely fragile.  The Howitzer isnt fragile.   In weight of fire the in the first minuet the Katyuska wins hand down, In damage per shell they are nearly identical payloads.   In sustained rate of fire the Howitzer wins barely, but in accuracy and range the Howitzers wins hands down.

Now if you given a choice I would deploy both weapon systems.   But considering the Katyusha used a micro Cellulose Excellerat I think we will have to wait to get a rocket with the range of these rockets.  ::)

On the other hand their are a time and place where a few rocket launchers might turn out to be very useful.  The one that easily fits to mind is in a fortress shooting them at attacking infantry.

[Logi]

I never said I would use only one ;D

[Desertfox]

Well New Switzerland owns the rights to:
Kevin "I'm not a mad scientist" Andresyan
Doctor Emmett von Braun
Nikolas Tesla
and every other unclaimed mad scientist out there, the madder the better...

As far as rocketry goes, NS has experimented with very simple shoulder rocket launchers, and rocket boosted dynamite gun shells.

[TexanCowboy]

So you have bazookas?  ;)