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This page covers my efforts to define missile magazine rules for the second edition of High Guard. The first edition of High Guard has rules for missile magazines, but the second has a different way of defining weapons factors that doesn't allow such a clear method of adding magazines. I have included all the information I could find about missiles and missile magazines from all the editions of Traveller that I have access to.

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Rules

My work on an article on Missile Magazines

Sources

Book 2

Special Supplement 3: Missiles in Traveller

High Guard 1st ed.

High Guard 2nd ed.

Striker: Rule Book 2 -- Advanced Rules

MegaTraveller Referee's Manual

Traveller the New Era: Brilliant Lances

Traveller the New Era: Fire, Fusion, and Steel

Marc Miller's Traveller: Starships (SSDS)

GURPS:Traveller

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Sources

Book 2

p17: Individual missiles weigh about 50kg, and cost Cr5,000 each.

p32: Each launcher (sand or missile) has an inherent capacity for three missiles or canisters. This means that a triple turret with three missile launchers has a total of 9 missiles in ready position. When a launcher's missiles or canisters are exhausted, it may be reloaded by the turret's gunner in one turn. Reloading three launchers would take three turns. A gunner engaged in reloading is unable to fire other weaponry in the turret.

Special Supplement 3: Missiles in Traveller

p2: Missile Parameters: Missiles can vary widely in their capabilities as well as in their physical descriptions. It is possible for missiles to be small enough to fit in the hand, or large enough to rival small craft. A standard has been established, however, which allows interchangeability of many different types of missiles and an ease of procurement as well. Standard missiles must be able to fit into a standardized shipping/launch container. The launch container is fitted directly to the launch rack and the missile is fired from it. The container includes integral test circuitry, provides protection from extremes of temperature and weather, and is isolated from the corrosive effects of atmosphere and moisture. The standard container is a cylinder with interior dimensions of one meter long and 15 centimeters in diameter. Sealed for safety and security, the containers can be opened and the contents examined, removed or exchanged -- an important feature when components are to be custom assembled for specific missile types. Missile mass varies with the specific type of missile and is the sum of the masses of the missile's components. For convenience, missile mass is used to determine space limitations on missiles. A standard container will hold any missile of 50 kilograms or less; missiles in excess of 50 kilograms are unable to fit in standard missile containers, and thus in standard missile launch racks. Missile containers each mass 5 kilograms, and are disposed of when the missile is expended. Missiles which exceed 50 kilograms must be handled in launch bays available under the High Guard construction system; they cannot be launched from ordinary turret missile launch racks.

p7: Missile Storage: Each standard missile rack can hold one missile ready to fire and two additional missiles ready for future game turns. The role of the gunner in the turret is to aim and fire the weaponry in the turret; once the missile racks and ready missiles are exhausted, the gunner must reload them with new missiles. A gunner can load new missiles into the racks and still operate the weaponry in a game turn. The standard turret has room to store an additional 12 missiles in it. Once these missiles have been used, the turret must be restocked with missiles carried elsewhere in the ship (usually in the cargo hold). Restocking a turret with missiles is accomplished during the game turn interphase. If the gunner participates in restocking, he may not operate weaponry in the turret in the next game turn. It is possible for non-gunner crewmembers who are not otherwise engaged to perform restocking instead. One person can restock a turret in one game turn.

High Guard 1st ed.

p22: Magazine capacity (to allow use of missile racks in large scale bombing) may be specified.

Weapon Rating Chart

The Universal Ship Profile code for bay weapons is based on the average strength (per 1000 tons) of all weapons of that single type installed on the ship. Point values from the bay weapons table are totalled; if ship tonnage is over 1000 tons, then the point total is divided by the ship tonnage in kilotons. If the tonnage 1000 tons or less, then the point value is not modified. The point value is then referenced to the ratings section of the talbe to determine the exact code for the USP. Note that codes for all weapons installed in bays range from 0 (none) to 9 (the best available). A factor of zero (0) indicates that no weapon of the specific type is installed. In the combat system, such weapons do not function. Weapons reduced to zero (0) in the course of combat action function as zero factor weapons when used in the defense role. Empty weapons bays may be put to a variety of purposes, from holding additional missile ammunition for other bays to houseing vehicles such as air/rafts, shuttles, or ATVs.

The Universal Ship Profile for turret weapons is based on the average strength of all turret weapons of a single type per 1000 tons of ship. The point values from the turret weapons section are totalled. If the ship tonnage is over 1000 tons, then the point total is divided by the ship tonnage in kilotons. If the tonnage is less than 1000 tons, then the point value is not midified. The point value is then referenced to the ratings section fo teh table to determine the exact code for the USP. Codes range from 0 (none) to 9 (the best available). Only one code is allowed for each type weapon. Missile racks, fusion weapons and plasma weapons are available as both bay weapons and turret weapons. The point totals for both turret and bay wepons of a single type are totalled, divided by ship tonnage, if necessary, and then referred to the ratings table.

p32: Magazine: Any ship with missile racks installed in bays may allocate a magazine equal in tons to the points used in determining missile factor for a bay or turret. The total of such points (unaveraged) is then available as a planetary bombing factor. Planetary bombing is not available to ships without missile magazines. Such magazines cost Cr10,000 per ton.

p40: Planetary Bombardment: Missiles may be used against planetary surface installations, specifically starports or cities, provided a magazine is installed in the attacking ship. Attacks are made using the missile attack table; each successful penetration of the defenses present results in an automatic hit. The referee is responsible for the determination of the city or starport's defences, and for determination of the number of hits required for capitulation and destruction.

p41: High Intensity Missile Fire: A ship armed with missiles may attempt to overwhelm its enemy by firing all of its missiles at once. This maneuver may be performed only once, but allows a DM of +4 to penetrate any and all defenses operating, including to hit the hull of the target.

High Guard 2nd ed.

p30: An otherwise unused bay may also be used ot carry deadfall ordnance for planetary bombardment; such a bay is useless in battle, but is used to bombard worlds.

Striker: Rule Book 2 -- Advanced Rules

p41-42: Rule 75: Naval Vessels: 3. Missiles: Turret-mounted missiles have warheads equivalent to 15 cm CPR gun rounds; bay-mounted missiles have warheads equivalent to 25 cm CPR gun rounds. There are 25 launchers in a 50-ton bay, and 50 launchers in a 100-ton bay. Ship missiles have the same guidence system types as tac missiles: they may be tarted designated, homing, or drone. A launcher may fire one missile per turn, in the frienly fire phase..

MegaTraveller Referee's Manual

p72 100-Ton Bay Weaponry

p72 50-Ton Bay Weaponry

p73 Missile Turrets

A missile turret has a volume of 13.5 kiloliters. Each turret can have 1, 2, or 3 weapons (missile launchers). The price shown is for one weapon. Total the weapons purchased and determine the UCP factor for the turret(s). For example, 10 turrets with 30 missile launchers (Tech Level 7) produces a UCP missile factor of 6.

p74 Rate of Fire

p74 Magazine Requirements

Missiles have ammunition storage requirements. Volume required is indicated in the table below.

p74 Missile Storage

Each weapon in a turret holds one missile. 100-ton bays can hold 100 missiles; 50-ton bays can hold 50 missiles.

The craft should have enough missiles for at least one round of fire from all missile batteries. one round of fire from a missile battery is called a battery-round.

Magazines: Additional missile storage can be allocated by designating otherwise empty bays. Missile storage should be allocated in battery-rounds. For example, the battery-round for one 3-launcher turret is 3 missiles; the battery-round for one missile bay is 2 missiles. A 100-ton bay used as an ammunition magazine can hold up to 13500 missiles.

Traveller the New Era: Brilliant Lances

p10: Starship Missiles. Both missile turrets and missile barbettes are equipped with a gunner's workstation and a 300,000-km range communication laser, which is used to control the missile in flight. The only performance difference between turrets and barbettes is the number of missiles carried: a missile turret carries two standard missiles while a barbette carries five.

Additional missiles may be carried in cargo spaces, but it takes an hour (two complete game turns) to reload a turret or barbette once its missiles are expended.

The listing below shows the characteristics of missile turrets and barbettes. Volume is in kiloliters, weight is in tonnes (loaded), power is in megawatts, and price is in megacredits (without missiles).

All of the missiles listed below are all of the nuclear-detonation variety. The table blow gives the type of guidance, warhead yield, mass in metric tonnes, its price in MCr, the number of G-turns of fuel carried (followed by the maximum number of G-turns which can be used in a single turn), the die rolled for number of hits from the laser, the damage value of each laser hit, the short range (in hexes) and type of communicator (L-laser, M=maser, R=radio), and its sensor range (in hexes) and type (R=radar, T=high resolution thermal, L=ladar, A=active EMS, P=passive EMS). The sigs column shows the missile's signature vs. radar, active EMS, HRT, passive EMS, and fire, and is copied into the blanks on the missile log sheet. Note that each of the missiles shown can, if desired, spend all of its G-turns of fuel in a single turn, or spread it out over several turns. This will not always be true of other missiles.

Traveller the New Era: Fire, Fusion, and Steel

p151: Space Missile Launchers: Launch facilities for missiles from spacecraft are comparatively simple. Each launch facility consists of a standard crew workstation, a 300,000-kilometer-range laser communicator, and one or more launchers. Missile launchers may have their own active or passive sensors and master fire directors installed, but are not required to do so, as they are able to use target locks obtained by sensors mounted elsewhere on the ship, and hand off control of their missiles to MFDs elsewhere on the ship. A launch facility may (but need not) also contain a mechanical reloader and one or more reload cradles.

The laser communicator may not be from a higher tech level than the installed workstation, but missiles of any tech level may be fired from the launchers. Volumes, masses, and prices of communicators and workstations are found in the Electronics and Control Systems chapters (Sections 5 and 4) respectively.

Each launcher has a volume equal to twice that of the missile it is designed to launch. Its mass in tonnes is equal to its volume in cubic meters multiplied by 0.5, and its price in millions of credits is equal to its volume in cubic meters multiplied by .0007.

Normally, an hour is required to reload a missile launcher, but this time can be cut to effectively nothing (five to 10 minutes - less than one space combat turn) by the addition of a mechanical reloader. A mechanical reloader has the same volume, mass, and price as a missile launcher. Each actual launcher in a launch facility must have its own mechanical reloader if it is to be reloaded mechanically.

Mechanical reloaders use spare missiles carried in the launch facility in reload cradles. The volume of each reload cradle is equal to the volume of the missile carried multiplied by 1.5 and its price in millions of credits is equal to its volume in cubic meters multiplied by .0001.

Note that missiles carried in launchers and reload cradles do not count against the volume of the launch facility, as the launchers and reload cradle volumes include the vacant spaces for the missiles.

Missile launch facilities may be of any volume desired. Facilities designed to fit in standard turret hardpoint sockets may not displace more than 3 tons (42 cubic meters), and launch facilities designed to fit in standard barbette hardpoint sockets may not displace more than 6 tons (84 cubic meters). Bays are usually designed in increments of 50 or 100 displacement tons, but there is no specific requirement that all launch facilities conform to those dimensions.

Marc Miller's Traveller: Starships (SSDS)

p72: Turret Weapons: Turrets can be Empty, Laser, or Missile. The rate of fire of any turret can be increased up to ROF 100 by increasing the power usage by the same factor. This will increase combat performance by increasing the final rating of the weapon.

Bay Weapons: Missile Bays: The Launchers column specifies how many individual launchers are contained within the bay. The column Reloads per Launcher shows how many ready missiles are available per launcher.

p75: Weapons Batteries: If the ship is equipped with missiles, note the number of missiles in the battery in ready storage, and in parentheses, the number of missiles that can be controlled in flight at any one time.

Missile Launcher Turrets

Missile Bays

GURPS: Traveller

p157: Missile Rack. A launch tube rated to fire 250mm 300-pound (0.15 ton) missiles. The system also includes a 50,000-mile-range laser communicator used to control operator-guided missiles. Magazine space sufficient for 77 standard 0.15-ton space-interceptor missiles is included.

p157: Missle Bay. A weapons bay housing 50 launch tubes and laser coms (each the same as the missile rack's), plus space for 3,800 standard 0.15-ton missiles.

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