Fighting Rigs of the United States Steam Force, 1897

In my development of Steam Wars over the years no aspect has given me more pleasure than the creation of the various classes of steam rig. These are the steam-powered fighting machines, manned by crew, fashioned after armored warriors, that have become the principal weapon of the time, with nations competing to make the biggest and the best (think: arms race, only vertical). It’s in this process that my inner geek really and truly gets to geek out.

Not unlike the different classes of starships on Star Trek, or the similar specifications of fighters in Star Wars, these fighting rigs give me a chance to play in an arena I love, creating the kind of nomenclature, specs, stylistic variance and sheer minutia that can help fill out a universe. For me, the deeper the details, the greater the credibility.

Now with steam rigs there is classification and there is style. For the purposes of this article, I’m just going to focus on classification. Of course, as with most world-building, this process is always in motion, ever expanding. Here’s a taste.

1. The runabout: we may be small but...

For a reliable scouting rig you can’t do better than a barrelback runabout. Barrelback refers to the particular type, so-called because the fuel (water or condensed coal) is contained on the rig’s back, looking something like a barrel. The classification, however, is runabout and it happens to be the smallest class of steam fighting rig. Within that class, the size varies slightly, depending on whether it accommodates one or two persons. The hull design is generally similar to that of a small diving bell. A single-pilot runabout weighs in about 8 tons, topping 14-feet high, sporting a thirty-caliber Maxim machine gun which is optional. The slightly larger two-person rig accommodates a driver, or pilot, inside with eye slits for viewing, plus a machine gunner whose time is spent mostly head-and-shoulders above the hatch. Runabouts generally have three legs, whose pistoning action allows them to achieve pretty good speeds.

As with a number of rigs, the runabout was the brainchild of brilliant Canadian engineer John Chandler Tillencrest who trotted out the first model in 1895 for the CSF (Canadian Steam Force). It was quickly adopted by their ally, the US Steam Force and, before too long, variations on the runabout began appearing in steam forces around the world, including Prussia, whose two-man version looked something like a large rugby ball, sporting only two legs, either one or two smoke stacks and a porthole for the driver.

The runabout remains a staple for its speed, and especially its maneuverability in tight places.

2. Achilles: neither fish nor fowl.

No greater disappointment came to the US Steam Force than the deployment of the achilles class. The brainchild of USSF (ex-army) Major Matthew Bedford Creed, meant to fill the gap between runabout and ajax class, the achilles rig began production before an acceptable number of prototype tests had been performed. Yet, thanks to the well-connected Creed’s incessant lobbying, it practically became the poster child for steam warfare. This haste, short of dry runs in proper battle conditions, proved catastrophic. As best summarized, the 30-foot, 34-ton achilles was essentially too large to come close to the speed of the runabout, and too small to handle the recoil of any significant ordnance. The achilles were then hastily equipped with .30 caliber machine guns, giving them no more fire power than a runabout.

Of course, scandal erupted and the negative publicity did not help public confidence in the fledgling Steam Force. In fairness, improvements in steam engines would later enable rigs of comparable size. But in the late 1890s, as one rigger quipped, “Just what we need, a larger, more obtrusive runabout.” And no one could see the value in that.

For the record, the achilles’s headcab accommodated a single captain-pilot who had the option of flipping open the visor. Though never assigned a style, the visored helm seemed to suggest some variation on the bascinet.

3. Hercules: hey, if it works, it works.

No fighting rig has been more all-purpose and dependable than the hercules class. At a height of around 70 feet, weighing in at a good 300 tons, this is a machine that can best be described as “upper middle.” Rigs that are larger than this had best be carrying some heavy ordnance because they don’t manage nearly the speed this one does, for its size.

The hercules carries a crew of anywhere from 10-15, with a headcab that easily accommodates pilot and captain. Ordnance is decent for its size, easily sporting 2-inch or 3-inch guns with no recoil difficulties whatsoever. Unlike larger rigs there is a single cranesman operating both port and starboard cranes (anything from this size up would carry both port and starboard cranesmen).

With the development of the larger goliath rigs, steam force old-timers notoriously held onto their hercules class machines with a tight grasp, refusing to upgrade, skeptical of anything beyond this beloved rig. By the late 1890s, with more focus on larger rigs, the hercules class, while too reliable and maneuverable to ever be outmoded, reduced somewhat in importance as the arms race continued skyward.

4. Goliath: there’s no turning back.

Before the juggernaut class threw everything topsy-turvy in steam warfare, this giant was considered the be-all end-all. The goliath class rig topped 90-feet and a whopping 600 tons. Sporting twin 2-inch (or 50mm) guns on its balustraded epaulets and one powerhouse 6-inch (or a 150mm) gun at the chestport, when this giant strode, everybody got out of the way.

With a spacious headcab, easily accommodating several pilots, headcab engineers and captain, the average crew numbered 24. The hold was large enough to contain a healthy contingent of Marines, for purposes of seizure on the ground or boarding other rigs.

In a peculiar twist of fate, yet not so surprising really, since it was the next logical size, the United States, Great Britain and Prussia all developed this class simultaneously. While there are disagreements as to which was conceived first, and whether indeed any attributes had been “borrowed,” the production of all three happened around the same time. There were notable difference, however.

Great Britain’s version, the handsome agincourt class, in its 1896 model, had the advantage of a rapid fire Maxim-Nordenfelt 1-pounder cannon. The Prussian version, dubbed erzherzogin (archduke), was generally referred to as goliath. Interestingly, both US and Prussian models adopted the rather striking and efficient Hellenic style of headcab with its nose-guard and winding crestwalk, though the Prussian Spartan version differed slightly from the USSF Corinthian iteration. On the other hand, most of the agincourt rigs sported the style known as close-burgonet.

The goliath class ruled for a period; the dominant steam giant in a pre-juggernaut world, with an impressive track record that, for its time, made it the most formidable land weapon ever built.

5. But wait, there’s more.

This only skims the surface of the variety of fighting rigs in Steam Wars, a primer of some of the basic machines (and one dud) that come into play at the time of the current graphic novel. At a later date I’ll cover some more rigs of interest, including some of the non-combatant steam machines.