By Ed Ostermeyer, Master Engineer (Grade 2)
Last time, your Inventor’s Vade Mecum handbook supplied you with information on the different materials and mechanisms available right now to make your dream of an underwater wonder a reality.
Today, we will discuss how to give that underwater wonder of yours its aura of dread and destruction.
We will also touch on the various types of propulsion systems that will take your fishboat into battle and hopefully out.
Weaponry – Giving Teeth to Your Fishboat
(Author’s Note: The following image refers to the ensuing text.)
As the Inventor, the arming of your wonder with weaponry is your choice.
Fearsomely armed and with a properly-trained crew, your fishboat can mete out dread and destruction in all sorts of nasty ways.
Spar Torpedo (the long and the short of it) – Choosing and detonating a spar torpedo can result in a spectacularly successful attack mission.
However, the new-fangled explosive torpedo can be temperamental, even unreliable, endangering your highly-trained crew.
This is the reason for its position at the end of a long spar affixed to the bow of your underwater marvel.
Thoroughly familiarizing your crew in the correct and safe operation of the spar torpedo should be a requirement throughout their training.
Towed mine – Though its use has been largely superseded by introduction of the spar torpedo, the towed mine still has possibilities as an anti-ship weapon. Care should be taken in using and deployment of the towed mine from your fishboat.
Deciding to use a towed mine will also necessitate the use of one additional mechanism on your craft.
A shrouded version of your boat’s propeller must, repeat must be constructed to prevent the mine’s trailing tow rope from becoming entangled in the ship’s propeller.
This will drag the mine into contact with the fishboat’s hull, with predictable results.
Also, your attack run while towing a mine will require your fishboat to submerge from Awash to Below depth in order to pass beneath the target vessel’s keel.
This will almost certainly alert said target vessel’s crew
Ram Prow – Opting for a ram prow ($10) as the submersible’s primary weapon can be more reliable than a spar torpedo or a towed mine, though its use adds additional weight to your submersible, requiring a higher rate of speed from the boat’s propulsion source to penetrate the (usually copper-bottomed) hull of an enemy warship. Its use will require strengthening the structural integrity of the first two standard bulkheads behind the ram prow, (at a cost of $2 extra per bulkhead) allowing the boat to withstand the ram prow’s impact with the target vessel.
Making a ram prow your fishboat’s primary weapon can cause construction delays, and divert your precious time into cajoling funds from additional Investors.
Airlock – (includes demolition divers x 2 ea.) – Using an airlock ($15) to deploy divers on demolition missions is also a viable, but expensive option.
Conducting an underwater assault by two divers on an enemy warship, bridge or other facility gives your fishboat the unique ability to strike at up to two targets at the same time. An airlock as a primary weapon will require the fishboat’s crew to be as highly-trained as the divers are.
An additional option is to develop your fishboat as a submersible amphibious transport. In this case, your fishboat’s mission would be to deploy by stealth special assets (spies or assault landing parties) behind enemy lines. Once deployed, the assets can conduct raids, demolitions, collect intelligence and in general cause confusion and terror while striking a blow against the enemy.
Propulsion – Being Sleek, Speedy and Stealthy
Regarding propulsion, your fishboat must overcome two factors: its own weight, as well as the currents and tides of the rivers and oceans it swims in.
Propulsion for your fishboat comes from three sources: human muscle, steam and, most wonderful of all, electricity.
Crank Rod – The crank rod is a drive shaft with off-set handgrips at regular intervals along its length that connects to the propeller and causes it to spin.
Being the basic method of your fishboat’s propulsion, a section of crank rod is printed on every standard bulkhead boat tile.
The crank rod is powered by the muscle strength of its crew.
This power is not a steady or dependable commodity.
Muscles get fatigued, reducing a crewman’s strength.
Becoming fatigued, the crewman will not be able to add his full strength to that of his crewmates, in order to overcome the weight of the fishboat and move it through the water at speed.
Not allowing your tiring crewman to rest periodically runs the risk of having the crewman become completely fatigued, reducing his strength to zero and taking him twice as long to recover. Having too many crewmen in this condition will result in your fishboat speed being reduced to zero. It will then begin to drift with the water’s current, running the risk of capsizing, sinking and taking your exhausted crew with it.
Boiler Engine – As you know, young Inventor, steam power is the 19th century’s most modern and fastest-growing method of land and water propulsion. Using a heat source of burning wood or coal, water is brought to its boiling point and concentrated in a steam cabinet, where it is then directed through various tubes, pistons and valves resulting in a power value of 12. Your using a boiler/steam engine ($10) as your fishboat’s means of propulsion means no crewman can be assigned in that bulkhead, but rather must be in an adjacent bulkhead tile and have engineering expertise to operate and service the engine. Additionally, your undersea marvel will be restricted to operations either on the surface or awash. Choosing a boiler engine also means that smoke from the engine’s smokestack can and probably will give away your position to the enemy.
Magnetic (read “Electric”) Engine – We now venture into the realm of future technology, where the new and stealthy “Power of the Age” holds court.
The magnetic engine, invented by Michael Faraday and powered by electricity, is finding its way into many different uses and fields of endeavor in the 19th century.
Your using it as an underwater propulsion system is cutting edge technology.
In return for your spending a whopping $30 (yes, the future is more expensive than today) and providing it both a bulkhead and two crewman Mechanics as acolytes of its own, the magnetic engine gives your fishboat a strength value of twelve, whether surfaced or submerged.
Being that your magnetic engine is cutting edge technology, it can be cranky and prone to malfunction. So, it’s a good idea for you to have other crew members with engineering expertise to assist the magnetic engine’s acolytes in repairing it when it breaks down.
Next time, we discuss how to spot (and keep) the best when hiring Mechanics and Journeymen for your Project.
May your thoughts and dreams be big ones, young Inventor.
(Note: All graphic images of Infernal Machine game materials used in The Inventor’s Vade Mecum are subjective and may change and appear different in their final form. All images show sourcing unless otherwise noted.)
Previous Articles:
Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare — Setting the Stage
Infernal Machine: The Inventor’s Vade Mecum (Nautica ed.) – Part 1: Where Do I Start?
Author: Edward Ostermeyer
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.