Air force or Navy

[Charon]

None of these weapons of war would go obsolete, because each of them has an application. Decide that you only want airships and see how another force that integrates airships with conventional arms steamrolls right over you.

[Keon]

  o      o
o   o
   o         o <- airship fleet - holding at 5 km altitude


        .
      .    .
     .       .
    .         .
   .           .
  .            .
  .             .
  .             .
 .                \---  tanks armed with heavy-merc like weapons
-------------O==O-----------------------------------

[Wazulu]

Haha, I was going to describe that very problem, and a solution of sorts, but it seems you beat me to it, Keon.

[Pickle]

You've got to land sooner or later.

[Keon]

You've got to land sooner or later.

Yeah, in a few weeks if you're really unlucky. Really begs the question of what an airship's max altitude is.

[Swizy]

Uhm what about Flak canons? There were more then one model able to shoot up at to that hight (even before WWII)

[Wazulu]

We go back to the point about lost technology. We have Flak Cannons (Although they aren't actual Flak guns, no) but the problem still remains that the propulsion method simply isn't up to scratch. If I had to guess I'd say they were operated via pressure system, a version considerably less efficient than the method used by today's standards. That, and the rounds fired are unlikely to be of high quality or possess much aerodynamic potential, resulting in extreme limits on the range of weaponry.

[Swizy]

If they're able to build ships that rule the air I don't think nobody bothers to invent ground based anti aircraft weaponry. it's not that hard either. Also if technology was lost, before there were airships there must've been Ships, Roads or even Trains. You don't simply switch from 2 dimensional transport to 3 dimensional. There must've been remains of the world before that apocalyptic end.
We come more down to the question what fits more into the univers of airships. But since this is our world it plays in we can judge by previous events in our history.

[Gryphos]

Here's an idea, maybe, before the age of air, all the different nations were extremely independent from each other to the point of rarely ever meeting, and not bothering to put in the effort to build things like railway lines. It was only after airships were created, and long distance travel became easy, that the factions started to have international deals and diplomacy. This would also explain how all the different factions have such wildly different governments and cultures, because they never really had any contact with anyone else.

[Sgt. Spoon]

Here's an idea, maybe, before the age of air, all the different nations were extremely independent from each other to the point of rarely ever meeting, and not bothering to put in the effort to build things like railway lines. It was only after airships were created, and long distance travel became easy, that the factions started to have international deals and diplomacy. This would also explain how all the different factions have such wildly different governments and cultures, because they never really had any contact with anyone else.

That is... actually the lore you know    No but yeah, in the age of dust everyone clinged on to their own small settlements, and traveling between them were troublesome to say the least. But after Gabriels escapades, and the re-invention of airships, the people could reclaim the land once more.

[Swizy]

aight if that's the story we could stick with that then 

I just have the problem with this when it comes to expansion of your land. Every race/faction would normally want to expand their territory of influence. Resource gathering and exploration would be almost inevitable. Whoever got the technology first would be declared the most advanced civilisation. As we know each faction has their own style/type of ariships. So some kind of knowledge must've been passed on. There are civilzations living on the water who I don't think never crossed the seas.

Also trains would not only be faster but could also be more efficent in carrying heavy loads of stuff around. I live in the alps and we have a train network since 1898. Even if the world got departed i find very unlikely that they had no knowledge of each others existence.

But yeah just my opinion. I'm happy with whatever the storywriter comes up 

[Gryphos]

I think it's rather, they knew other people existed, but they didn't care. They didn't bother trying to build railroads because it would be too much effort. Only when airships made long-distance travel easy did they say, "Hey, those guys up in the rusted range, maybe we should pay a visit? It would only take like a day or two." And then would begin the relationship between the two nations.

And, of course Chaladon, being an island nation and having to deal only with sea as an obstacle, probably would visit across the sea because travel by boat is easy, but they'd likely only visit coastal areas. So, a few nations probably did know each other before the age of air, because it's a hell of a lot easier to travel long sea distances by boat than long, rocky, desert filled land distances by foot.

[Balisarda]

I hate to burst your balloon, Keon, but there are plenty of WW2 aircrew that never made it home because of FLugzeugAbwehrKanone (flak), and they were flying a lot higher than 5,000 meters.  Heck, they were pushing 6,500+ and that was without pressurization or heaters.  Anything over 3,000 meters for extended periods and you'll want to be sucking air from a canister.

Also, the pressure that steam operates at would dramatically decrease at altitude, even super-heated or super-pressurized steam, so you'd be seeing almost no gain from steam-powered anything at height.  For those of you who live in high-altitude areas (looking at you, Colorado), think how much longer it takes you to boil water and how much quicker the water cools down.  I think the anime Steamboy legitimately put all the real issues with steampunk together into one movie and solved them with a wavy-handy-ignore-the-man-behind-the-curtain type manner.

Pickle is right, you gotta land sometime and somewhere, and airships don't capture and control ground.  Just like a navy can't retain control of land that it rains lead onto, it can set up some awesome blockades.  (Hence, my support for the airships as navy viewpoint.)

But, wavy-handy aside, communities and nations are isolated, airships are the major mode of transportation, and land routes are limited and treacherous.  That's the awesome thing about fiction, and Muse seems to have theirs fleshed out fairly well.

Edit: Fixed Pickle's name.  No 's' involved.

[Thug Willis]

the pressure, even super-pressurized steam, so you'd be seeing almost no gain

System internals are closed off to pressure, however systems will expand/contract etc. Couldn't find it on wikipedia, but high altitude planes, such as the U-2, will leak fuel at ground level due to being made to be a perfect fit at higher altitudes. Made in 1950s. Regardless, all I've found on google is people mentioning steam engines lose no power at high altitudes, and read once or twice that efficiency is higher. Your statement contradicts itself, which is why I quoted it. Super-pressurized + lower pressure = same pressure or still higher pressure.

For those of you who live in high-altitude areas (looking at you, Colorado), think how much longer it takes you to boil water and how much quicker the water cools down.

Cools down the same, unless you mean it going from steam to liquid.

You gotta land sometime and somewhere, and airships don't capture and control ground.  Just like a navy can't retain control of land that it rains lead onto, it can set up some awesome blockades.  (Hence, my support for the airships as navy viewpoint.)

marines

Navy, under the same concepts that decide space warfare would be conducted by Navy. See the Navy's page for seal astronauts.

[Charon]

Have to agree to some degree with Thug Willis up there. While our ships are made for 4 man crews, we have to admit that it would likely take a few more for extended operations. Every last one of these ships would otherwise be considered a short range vehicle due to lack of cargo space, the absence of berthing areas and a galley.

Four man crew plus a couple of fireteams? Depending on the training of those men, you could employ them in the same vein as ground troops, even going so far as to get them within a couple miles of a ground objective (quickly, if we're using a squid) and dropping them for movement to contact.

If we're going to start considering the applications of these ships, consider two things only: Logistics, and the limits of your imaginations.