Canadian Otter (Type 226) class Submarine:


In the early Twenty First Century, the Canadian Navy acquired four former British Upholder class submarines, which were put into service as the Victoria class. The class had a number of issues that plagued them for much of their service. As a result, the Canadian Navy vowed to avoid British submarine designs in the future. By this time, the British Navy had effectively gone to all nuclear powered submarines anyway.


When the Canadian Navy began to look towards possible replacements, they looked at various nations. The United States was no longer in the industry to build conventional submarines. French designs were promising but the Canadian military used little French hardware. As a result, the Canadian Navy began to look towards German submarine designs. German shipbuilding industry has a healthy export industry with respect to submarine designs.


Finally a design based on the Type 212 was chosen with four boats were ordered to replace the Victoria class. These boats were slightly larger than the original Type 212 design with a number of other improvements. One major advantage over the original Type 212 was that the submarine could carry a greater number of torpedoes. As with the Type 212, it was a conventional design although with fuel cell system providing far greater underwater range than a pure diesel electric design. Top speed was considered to be around twenty-two knots and had a range underwater of just under three thousand nautical miles.


Not having their own submarine building industry, the Canadian Navy contracted out the construction to German yards. While the submarine design was of a German design and much of the electronics would be of German design as well, some indigenous Canadian equipment would be used. In addition, American torpedoes and missiles would be carried instead of German designs.


Just as the first submarine was to be laid down, there was a revolution in advanced materials. These new materials vastly improved tensile strength as well as being virtually immune to corrosion. Submarines constructed from these advanced composites and alloys could dive far deeper as well as being able to withstand far more damage. The Canadian government put an immediate hold on the order while the design was modified using the new materials.


At the same time, the submarine was further modified until it was a quite different and larger design compared to the original modified Type 212 design. One of the most important changes was that six vertical launch tubes for BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles were added behind the bow. Even so, the top speed remained around the same and range was effectively unchanged as well.


Redesigning the boat of course caused further delay and the first submarine was not laid down until the mid Twenty-Thirties. By this time, the Victoria class submarines were effectively out of service even though nominally still considered commissioned. As a result, even when the fusion power revolution occurred, the Canadian government decided to complete construction on the remaining boats. At the time, two boats had been completed and two were still under construction.


While considered excellent boats generally, there were concerns with these boats not having the range and endurance of fusion powered designs. At the same time, the Canadian government was not eager to replace these newly commissioned boats. Finally it was decided to replace the original diesel electric and fuel cell system. Each boat would return to the yard, be cut in half, and have the original power plant replaced by a fusion reactor system. While still expensive, it was still only a fraction of what new construction submarines might cost.


These four converted submarines formed the entirety of the Canadian submarine service for much of the mid to late Twenty-First Century. With the use of advanced composites and alloys, there was seen as little need to replace the boats. However, tensions continued to rise as the century continued and four additional submarines were authorized. These submarines became the Rainbow class. Unlike the Otter class, these submarines were modern fast attack designs capable of around thirty knots and far heavier armed. With the introduction of these new submarines, the Otter class were mostly relegated to coastal defense roles and training.


At the time of the Great Cataclysm, two of Otter class boats were on the Atlantic side while two were on the Pacific side. While none of the boats on the Pacific side appear to have survived, one of the boats on the Atlantic side survived and later joined the fledgling Free Quebec navy. Of course it is possible that one or more of the other Otter class submarines survived with much of the Pacific coast of what was Canada unexplored since the cataclysm.


Author Note: With respect to time line, these designs may or may not reflect our modern time line. The time line of these writeups diverged from our time line starting around 1999. Consider the universe that these designs are created for to be an alternate universe not bound by ours.


Model Type: Otter / Type 226 class Submarine.

Class: Ocean, Attack Submarine.

Crew: 32; 6 Officers, 6 chief petty officers, and 20 enlisted (Has a high degree of automation.)

Troop Capacity: 12 (Special Forces personnel.)


Robots, Power Armors, and Vehicles:

None.


M.D.C. by Location:

 

533 mm (21 inch) Torpedo Tubes (6, sides of submarine):

80 each.

 

Vertical Cruise Missile Launchers (6, bow of submarine):

100 each.

 

Main Sail:

300.

 

[1] Sail Planes (2, sail):

100 each.

 

[2] Pump Jet Propulsor (1):

240.

 

[3] Main Body:

1,020.

Notes:

[1] Destroying the submarine’s sail planes will reduce the submarine’s ability to change depths but will not eliminate it. It also makes it difficult for the submarine’s crew to control the submarine giving a penalty of -25% to all underwater piloting rolls.

[2] Destroying the submarine’s pump jet propulsor causes serious problems. The submarine will no longer be able to use forward momentum and the sail planes to keep the submarine level. It is recommended that ballast tanks are immediately blown so submarine comes to the surface.

[3] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body destroys the submarine’s structural integrity, causing it to sink. If the submarine is underwater, the entire crew will die unless protected by environmental armors that can withstand the pressure that the submarine is under. If on the surface, there are enough flotation devices and inflatable life rafts to accommodate everyone aboard.


Speed:

Surface: 13.8 mph (12 knots/ 22.2 kph) maximum and 11.5 mph (10 knots 18.5 kph) normal cruise speed

Underwater: 25.3 mph (22 knots / 40.7 kph) maximum and 5.8 mph (5 knots / 9.3 kph) normal.

Maximum Depth: 3,940 feet (1,200 meters).

Range: Effectively Unlimited due to fusion engines (needs to refuel every 20 years and requires maintenance as well). Boat carries sixty days of supplies for crew on board.


Statistical Data:

Draft:    24.28 feet (7.4 meters).

Length:  309.71 feet (94.4 meters).

Beam:    28.71 feet (8.75 meters).

Displacement: 3,280 tons surfaced and 3,940 tons submerged.

Cargo: Submarine is very cramped, 8 tons (7.26 metric tons) of nonessential equipment and supplies. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms. Boat’s officers have a bit more space for personal items although still extremely cramped. Most of the boat’s spaces are taken up by extra torpedoes, weapons, and engines.

Power System: Nuclear fusion; average energy life of 20 years. Normally refuels every 15 years.

Black Market Cost: Not for sale; many nations and organizations would pay hundreds of millions of credits for a new and undamaged Otter / Type 226 class submarine.


Weapon Systems:

  1. Six (6) 533 mm Heavy Torpedo Tubes: On the sides of the submarine are six torpedo tubes with three on each side. Tubes are 21 inches (533 mm) wide and torpedoes can be used against both surface ships and submarines. For warheads, heavy torpedoes should be treated as having long range missile warheads. Along with standard torpedoes, the launcher can also fire missiles (long range or cruise missiles) in special canisters and rocket boosted ASW torpedoes. Submarine normally carries twenty-four reloads for torpedoes (in addition to six torpedoes in the tubes) and can carry up to thirty-six mines in place of torpedoes.

    Maximum Effective Range: 40 miles (34.8 nautical miles / 64 km) for torpedoes.

    Mega-Damage: By heavy torpedo warhead type (See revised Rifts torpedoes for details), can fire missiles (long range or cruise missiles) in special canisters as well (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)

    Rate of Fire: Can fire heavy torpedoes one at a time or in volleys of two (2), three (3), four (4), or six (6) torpedoes. Reloading takes one full melee round.

    Payload: Six (6) heavy torpedoes total [Has twenty-four (24) additional heavy torpedoes for reloads.]

  2. Six (6) Vertical Launch Cruise Missile Launchers (Mk 45 VLS): In the front of the submarine but behind the sonar dome, the submarine has six vertical launch system for launching cruise missiles. Launchers are outside of the pressure hull. Missiles are launched in special canisters that enable the missiles to be used in depths down to around 150 feet (45.7 meters.) Most missiles warheads normally carried are fusion as well as being smart missiles. The launchers were originally designed to carry BGM-109 Tomahawk anti-ship missiles but were modified to fire all standard cruise missiles.

    Maximum Effective Range: As per cruise missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)

    Mega-Damage: As per cruise missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)

    Rate of Fire: Can fire cruise missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2) cruise missiles and can be fired at multiple target at the same time.

    Payload: Six (6) cruise missiles total. Submarine carries no reloads.

  3. Four (4) Advanced Decoy Drones: The submarine carries four advance decoys drones. They are a small automated vehicles that creates a false sonar image designed to mimic the submarine’s sonar signature. It has a small propulsion system that can simulate movement [has a maximum speed of 23.0 mph (20 knots / 37.0 kph)] and maneuvers. In addition to be able to be used to decoy torpedoes, they can sometimes be used to trick another vessel while the submarine moves into position. If decoys are not destroyed, they can usually be recovered and repaired if they can be retrieved. Rifts Earth decoys systems are assumed to not be effective against Phase World / Three Galaxies guidance and targeting systems due to technological differences.

    M.D.C.: 20.

    Range: Not applicable. Decoys do however have a duration of 30 minutes (120 melee rounds) once launched.

    Effects: The decoy has an 80% chance of fooling ordinary non military sonars and non smart guided torpedoes, the decoy has a 50% chance of fooling military level sonars (like those of the Coalition) and non “smart” torpedoes, and the decoy has a 25% chance of fooling advanced military sonars (Like those of the New Navy and Triax) and “smart” torpedoes.

    Rate of Fire: Boat can launch one decoy drone per melee round.

    Payload: Four (4) decoy drones.

  4. Noisemakers: The submarine carries noisemakers in order to decoy torpedoes. They are most effective against normal torpedoes and less effective against “smart” torpedoes. Considered in many ways to be the last line of defense against incoming torpedoes and similar systems are carried on most submarines. The noisemakers are launched from the middle of the submarine.

    Effects: 50% of decoying normal torpedoes and 20% of decoying “smart” torpedoes.

    Rate of Fire: Two (2) noisemakers at a time (Can be reloaded in one melee round).

    Payload: Twenty (20) noisemakers.

Special Systems:

The submarine has all systems standard on a robot vehicle plus the following special features:


[ Altarain TM, Bandito Arms TM, Brodkil TM, Chipwell Armaments TM, Coalition States TM, Cyber-Knight TM, Federation of Magic TM, Free Quebec TM, Golden Age Weaponsmiths TM, Horune TM, Iron Heart Armaments TM, Kankoran TM, Kittani TM, Kydian TM, Larsen’s Brigade TM, M.D.C. TM, Mechanoids TM, Mega-Damage TM, Megaversal Legion TM, Millennium Tree TM, Mutants in Orbit TM, Naruni Enterprises TM, Naut’Yll, New Navy TM, New Sovietskiy TM, NGR TM, Nog Heng TM, Northern Gun TM, Phase World TM, Psyscape TM, Rifter TM, SAMAS TM, S.D.C. TM, Shemarrian TM, Splugorth TM, Stormspire TM, Sunaj TM, Tolkeen TM, Triax TM, Wellington Industries TM, Wilk’s Laser Technologies TM, Xiticix TM, and Zaayr TM are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]

[ Beyond the Supernatural®, Heroes Unlimited®, Nightbane®, Ninjas & Superspies®, Palladium Fantasy®, and Rifts® are registered trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]


Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).


Copyright © 2018, Kitsune. All rights reserved.


Return