Editing DropShips and JumpShips

{{InfoBoxProduct
| image               = DropShips and JumpShips cover.png
| name                = 
| type                = Sourcebook/[[Technical Readout]]
| author              = [[Clare W. Hess]]
| development         = [[Jordan K. Weisman]]<br />[[L. Ross Babcock III]] (Editor-In-Chief)<br />[[Donna Ippolito]] (Editor)<br />[[C. R. Green]] (Editorial Assistant)
| primarywriting      = 
| pages               = 80 + 64
| cover               = [[Steve Venters]]
| interiorart         = 
| illustrations       = [[Dana Knutson]]<br />[[Jim Nelson]]
| publisher           = [[FASA]]
| productioncode      = 1619
| year                = 1988
| ISBN10              = 0931787335
| ISBN13              = 978-0931787331
| MSRP                = $15.00
| content             = 
| era                 = early spaceflight history<br />[[Star League era]]<br />[[Succession Wars era]]
| agency              = [[ComStar]]
| universedate        = 17 May [[3025]]
| timeline            = 
| series              = 
| precededby          = 
| followedby          = 
}}
Purportedly a declassified [[ComStar]] document, the '''''DropShips and JumpShips''''' book describes the various spaceships in use during the [[Succession Wars era]] of [[BattleTech]]. It covers the most common [[JumpShip]]s in use at the time—''[[Scout (JumpShip class)|Scout]]'', ''[[Merchant]]'', ''[[Invader]]'', ''[[Star Lord (JumpShip class)|Star Lord]]'', and ''[[Monolith]]''—as well as the most common [[DropShip]] designs available, from the small ''[[Fury (DropShip class)|Fury]]'' to the monstrous ''[[Behemoth (DropShip class)|Behemoth]]'', and finally assorted [[Small Craft]].

==Description==
The book is split into two sections, effectively comprising two separate books back-to-back with 80 and 64 pages, respectively.

The 80-page ''Comstar Intelligence Summary'' is presented in a style reminiscent of a [[Technical Readout]], was almost the only early (pre–[[Fourth Succession War]]) source on BattleTech's large spacecraft (except for the three DropShips in ''[[Technical Readout: 3025]]''), and it provided information on numerous DropShips, small craft, several [[space_station|space station]]s, and several JumpShips.

''Operations Manual'' provides a great deal of information on BattleTech's history of spaceflight and extensive rules for an aerospace-intensive campaign, like crew skills, maintenance, JumpShip recharging, DropShip transit times, and more. The rules for recharging and system transit are the most extensive published in BattleTech, supporting transit times at accelerations other than 1G and detailed charts including flight distances rather than flight times. While the roleplaying rules have altered owing to the huge changes in BattleTech's roleplaying rules over time, the recharge and system transit rules are virtually identical to those of the latest rulebook publications ([[Strategic Operations]]).

''[[Technical Readout: 3057 Revised]]'' (compiled by [[WolfNet]] in [[3067]]) remarks in its preface that ComStar's declassified FB-60 document (i.e. ''DropShips and JumpShips'') was found to contain numerous errors or possibly deliberate misinformation. This is a convenient explanation for deviations from this book's contents in later publications that had to be made because of rule changes.

==From the back cover==
{{quote|''Here is the definitive work describing mankind's method of transportation between the stars. Bound into this single volume are [[ComStar]] Intelligence Summary FB-60 and excerpts from the standard [[DropShip]]s and [[JumpShip]]s Operations Manual.''

''ComStar Intelligence Summary FB-60 discusses the five major types of JumpShips and 20 major types of DropShips as well as examples of small craft and even space stations. Each entry includes an illustration of the ship as well as detailed descriptions and statistics. Also included is a short history of humanity in space, from the construction of [[Crippen Station]], through the work of [[Kearny-Fuchida Drive|Kearny and Fuchida]] and mankind's [[Exodus (2242)|exodus]] from [[Terra]], to the modern Succession War era.''

''The Operations Manual includes essays on the designs of DropShips and JumpShips, descriptions of the general components of each type of vessel, and extensive game rules covering all aspects of their operation and maintenance.''}}

==Table of Contents==
===Comstar Intelligence Summary (Book 1)===
<div style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
'''Introduction'''

'''Space Travel in the [[Successor States]]'''
: History
: Rise of the [[Western Alliance]]
: The [[Magellan Program]]
: Vindication of [[Thomas Kearny|Kearny]] and [[Takayoshi Fuchida|Fuchida]] 
: To Reach [[New Earth|Tau Ceti]]
: [[Operation EXODUS|Exodus]]
: Formation of New States
: The Modern Age
'''[[JumpShip]]s'''
: ''[[Scout (JumpShip class)|Scout]]''
: ''[[Merchant]]''
: ''[[Invader]]''
: ''[[Star Lord (JumpShip class)|Star Lord]]''
: ''[[Monolith]]''
'''[[DropShip]]s'''
: Troop Carriers
:: ''[[Fury (DropShip class)|Fury]]''
:: ''[[Gazelle]]''
:: ''[[Seeker]]''
:: ''[[Triumph]]''
:: ''[[Condor (DropShip class)|Condor]]''
:: ''[[Excalibur (DropShip class)|Excalibur]]''
: 'Mech Carriers
:: ''[[Leopard]]''
:: ''[[Union]]''
:: ''[[Overlord]]''
: Assault Ships
:: ''[[Avenger]]''
:: ''[[Achilles (DropShip class)|Achilles]]''
:: ''[[Intruder]]''
:: ''[[Fortress]]''
: Fighter Carriers
:: ''[[Leopard CV]]''
:: ''[[Vengeance (DropShip class)|Vengeance]]''
: Civilian Ships
:: ''[[Buccaneer (DropShip class)|Buccaneer]]''
:: ''[[Mule]]''
:: ''[[Monarch]]''
:: ''[[Mammoth]]''
:: ''[[Behemoth (DropShip class)|Behemoth]]''
'''Small Craft'''
: [[Escape Pod]]
: [[Life Boat]]
: ''[[ST-46]]'' Shuttle
: ''[[S-7A]]'' Class Bus
: ''[[Mark VII Landing Craft]]''
: ''[[KR-61]]'' Long-Range Shuttle
: ''[[K-1]]'' DropShuttle
'''Space Stations'''
: ''[[Olympus]]''
: ''[[Bastion]]''
: ''[[Alliance (Space Station class)|Alliance]]''
</div>

===Operations Manual (Book 2)===
<div class="desktop-3-col">
'''Space Vehicle Design'''
: '''DropShip Design'''
:: Engine Section
:: Cargo Section
:: Command Section
: '''JumpShip Design'''
:: Kearny-Fuchida Drive
:: Engine Section
:: Cargo Section
:: Command Section
: '''Shipboard Details'''
:: Containment Door
:: Air Hook-Ups
:: Power Hook-Ups
:: Comm Panel
:: Emergency Lighting
:: Environmental Monitor
:: Fire Suppression System
:: Maneuver Warning
:: Combat Alert Warning
:: Pressure Indicator
:: Manual Hatch/Door Mechanism
:: Floor Panels

'''Ship Operations'''
: '''DropShip Operations'''
:: Space Operations
:: Planetary Operations
:: Special Operations
:: Routine Operations
: '''JumpShip Operations'''
:: Hyperspace Transit
:: Recharging Operations
:: Maneuvering Operations
:: Docking Operations
:: Routine Operations
: '''Decompression'''
: '''Boarding and Repelling'''
: '''Abandoning SHip'''

'''Ship Costs and Servicing'''
: '''Purchasing the Space Vessel'''
:: Determining Leads
:: Ship Availability
:: Vessel Location
: '''Personnel and Skills'''
: '''Repairs'''
:: Conducting Repairs
:: Time Factor
:: Component Replacement
: '''Ship Maintenance'''
: '''Other Costs'''

'''Making a Living'''
: '''DropShip Revenues'''
: '''JumpShip Revenues'''

'''Game Additions'''
: '''AeroTech Additions'''
:: DropShip Combat
:: JumpShip Combat
:: Shipboard Gunners
:: Abandon Ship
: '''BattleTech Additions'''
:: Fire Arcs
:: DropShip Damage
:: Ship Sizes
:: Drive Exhaust Blast
: '''MechWarrior Additions'''
:: New Equipment
:: New Skills
</div>

==Remarks on content==
* The title comprises (in book 1) descriptions of 33 units in total, all capital spacefaring designs and all previously unpublished. It contains:
** 5 [[JumpShip]] designs,
** 20 [[DropShip]] designs, spread in 5 different subcategories,
** 7 [[Small Craft]] designs and,
** 3 [[Space Station]] designs.
* The title contains (in book 2) a general description of spaceship construction and operations, as well as rulesets for use of capital ships in [[AeroTech]], [[BattleTech (board game)|BattleTech]] and [[MechWarrior (RPG)|MechWarrior]]. 
* In-universe the title is presented by ComStar, sometimes after 17 May 3025, without naming a specific author, place or date.

==German Edition==
{{InfoBoxForLangProduct
| image               = Raumfahrt-Handbuch.jpg
| name                = Raumfahrthandbuch
| language            = German
| contribution        = [[Reinhold H. Mai]] (translation & editing), [[Werner Fuchs]], [[Robert Simon]] (editing), [[Thomas Römer]] (setting)
| pages               = 104
| publisher           = [[Fantasy Productions]]
| year                = 1992
| ISBN10              = 3890649092
| ISBN13              = 
| MSRP                = 
}}
A German edition under the title '''Raumfahrthandbuch''' (''Spacefaring Compendium'') was released by [[Fantasy Productions]] in 1992. Unlike many other German editions from FanPro, this contains only minor alterations to the original content (see below). The German version is printed as DIN A4, a standard European paper size, which is a little larger then North American [[w:Paper size|Letter]].

===From the back cover (translated from German)===
{{quote|''Spacefaring Compendium:''
''The ultimate compendium on human spacefaring. Material on the state of spacefaring technology in 31st century compelled by ComStar-members.''

''This book contains:''<br />
''History of spacefaring''<br />
''JumpShips''<br />
''DropShips''<br />
''Small Craft''<br />
''Space Stations''<br />
''Ship Operations''

''"For a space traveler The Spacefaring Compendium is, what a Technical Readout is for the MechWarrior - an indispensable reference!" Tharkad Tech Review, 28th August 3030''

''BattleTech''

''Fully compatible to:''<br />
''BattleTech''<br />
''AeroTech''<br />
''MechWarrior''}}<ref>Raumfahrthandbuch: Das definitive Nachschlagewerk über die menschliche Raumfahrt. Von ComStar-Mitgliedern zusammengetragenes Material über den STand der Raumfahrttechnik im 31. Jahrhundert. Dieser Band enthält: Geschichte der Raumfahrt, Sprungschiffe, Landungsschiffe, Raumboote, Raumstationen, Schiffsunterhalt. "Das Raumfahrthandbuch ist für den Raumreisenden das, was das Hardware-Handbuch für den MechKrieger ist - ein unentbehrliches Nachschlagewerk!" Tharkad Tech Review, 28. August 3030. Battletech. Voll kompatibel zu: BattleTech, AstroTech, MechKrieger.</ref>

=== Alterations ===
The content largely matches the original, but there are some minor variations:
* The back cover text is greatly reduced.
* It contains an explanation box ''Sprung- und Landungsschiffhersteller'' (''Manufacturers of Jump/DropShips'') on page 15, which is listed in the Table of Contents.
* The [[Space Station|space stations]] are described in alphabetical order (''[[Alliance]]'', ''[[Bastion]]'', ''[[Olymp]]'')
* The book's second part (rules) is organized as ''Annex 1'' in Table of Contents.
* The original chapter ''Game Additions'' is organized as ''Annex 2'' in Table of Contents, containing 8 blank German record sheets (2x aerodyne DropShip, 2x spheroid DropShip, 4x JumpShip).

===Spelling and Names===
As with other German products prior to 1997 spelling and names (especially places and units) as well as most abbreviations were regularly adjusted. For instance the Mech unit ''[[Archer]]'' was renamed to ''Schütze'', the planet [[Götterdämmerung (system)|Gotterdammerung]] was respelled to ''Götterdämmerung'', the ''[[DCMS]]'' (''Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery'') became ''VSDK'' (''Vereinigte Streitkräfte des Draconis Kombinats'') and so on.

==Errata==
'''Andurien Industries''' is listed as a DropShip manufacturer for the [[Capellan Confederation]]. <ref>''DropShips and JumpShips'', p. 15</ref> This was stated to be an error by the BattleTech [[Line Developer]], [[Ray Arrastia]]. Production of the ''Triumph'', ''Excalibur'', and ''Avenger'' DropShips should be assigned to [[Rashpur-Owens Incorporated]], as it was later in ''[[Objective Raids]]''.<ref>[https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=69911.0 Line Developer Ruling on Andurien Industries]</ref>

==Notes==
An unofficial 16-page PDF exists. ''DropShips and JumpShips: Space Vehicle Design'' excerpts complete pages of ''Operations Manual'' and reuses the cover art.

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Sourcebooks]]
[[Category:Technical Readouts and Recognition Guides]]
[[Category:German Editions]]
[[Category:Role-Playing_Games]]