Sea Skimmer

The Sea Skimmer has a very specific combat role: counter-insurgency operations and civilian shipping protection on planets whose surfaces contains large bodies of water. In an age with very few wet navy ships, normally local forces would use land-based hovercraft or armed civilian ships, as these are quite inexpensive in comparison to designing and building a dedicated military water craft. It was surprising then, on the eve of the Third Succession War, to see a new design for a military hydrofoil emerge on the planet Skye, especially since there was no insurgent activity on Skye which would justify such costs. Instead the creation of the Sea Skimmer was the result of bored young rich men wishing to wear fancy uniforms and avoid being drafted into the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces as mere cannon fodder after Archon Elizabeth Steiner invoked the Military Disaster Act. With the help of their Social General fathers, members of the New Glasgow Yachting Club convinced the LCAF to create the 348th Reserve Detachment of the Skye Militia, with the caveat that they fund and equip themselves as they saw fit. The LCAF relented, thinking they'd get a light infantry unit out of the deal, only to be surprised when the yacht club contracted Skye Pleasure Craft Ltd. to build twelve Sea Skimmers for themselves. For the next several years the 348th would keep Skye "safe" from the Draconis Combine by patrolling the waters around New Glasgow, accompanied by "civilian observers" of course.

When the Draconis Combine did invade Skye in 2895, despite expectations the 348th and their Sea Skimmer vessels acquitted themselves well. In truth the hydrofoil was faster and better armored than the LCAF's standard Silverfin-class cutter, and the yacht club members put those advantages to good use. Mobilized to protect the city of Inverness in the Mantty River Delta, the 348th used their vessels to conduct raids behind Kuritan lines and provide fire support for desperate infantry units. In the end, the last two operational Sea Skimmers were lost in a suicide mission to halt a Combine breakthrough by using one-kiloton nuclear demolition charges to destroy the Mantty River Dam and flood the river delta. This heroic sacrifice helped drive the Kuritans off Skye and convince the LCAF to contract Skye Pleasure Craft to build more Sea Skimmers for other Lyran border worlds where it would continue to see use, including many unofficial variants.

Armament
The Sea Skimmer is a typical hydrofoil craft, using a standard displacement hull with three mounted wings, or foils, on the bow, port and starboard sides of the vessel. Retracted when operating at low speeds, the foils are lowered to lift the hull up out of the water and allow the ship to travel in excess of 190 km/h. Its primary weapon is a turret-mounted Coventry 4 Tube Missile System with one ton of reloads, capable of a 360-degree field of fire. To provide close-in protection the Sea Skimmer mounts Sperry Browning Machine Guns on the port and starboard sides as well as the stern and carries a half-ton of ammunition. It is protected by two tons of armoring.

Variants

 * Sea Skimmer (SRM) - This unofficial modification removes the Sperry Browning machine guns and replaces them with an SRM-2. Also, the turret-mounted Coventry 4 Tube Missile System is downgraded to an SRM-2 to save room and share ammunition. BV (2.0)= 363 (SRM-2), BV (2.0)= 321 (SRM-6)


 * "Sniper" Sea Skimmer - This prototype carries a single Extended LRM-5 in the turret. To make room for the launcher, the "Sniper" removes all of the close-in weaponry, trades the ICE engine for a Fusion Engine, and replaces the standard armor protection with two tons of Heavy Ferro-Fibrous armor. Though it retains the high speed of the original Sea Skimmer, the Sniper's paper thin armor and lack of close range weaponry relegates it to shore bombardment duties. BV (2.0) = 322


 * Sea Skimmer (ELRM) - This version of the Sea Skimmer uses a fusion engine, but reduces the top speed to 150km/h. Three tons of Heavy Ferro-Fibrous armor provides protection. The hydrofoil's only weapon is a single Extended LRM-10, fed from a two ton ammunition bay. This may limit its role to fire support, but it's still a valuable unit. BV (2.0) = 556

Design Quirks
The Sea Skimmer (ELRM) variant is subject of the following Design Quirks:
 * Accurate Weapon (ELRM)
 * Poor Performance
 * Searchlight