+Ship Name: USS Tulsa, ZRCV 1
+Affiliated Navy: United States of America
+Allegiance: Allied
+Captain: Cdr. Roy E. Owens
+Current Location: Atlantic Ocean, 400 mi. WNW of Glasgow
+Description:


USS Tulsa is a 900 ft. long flying aircraft carrier with a gas capacity of 10,000,000 cubic feet of helium. Though ZRCV's were originally thought of scouting craft, they soon found their niche as an anti-submarine warfare platform, ideal for escorting trans-Atlantic shipping. They have a chief advantage of being able to stay on station, hunting and tracking a submarine for up to a week - far longer than the submarine has air, or battery charge.

The ship is painted with the upper third silver and the bottom two thirds a matte gray for camouflage. As if anyone couldn't see a 900 foot long dirigible floating at 3000 feet. There are three national insignia - one beneath the envelope in front of the control car, and one on either side of the envelope in front of the fins. The name "USS Tulsa" is on both sides near the horizontal fins; "US Navy" is in large letters near the midsection.

USS Tulsa has a trapeze hook system to carry up to 10 aircraft.
+Aircraft:
3x ZOF Seafin - single seat high wing reconnaissance type. One .30 cal machine gun. Combat radius 200 miles on internal fuel, 300 with auxiliary fuel tank. Standard observation/reconnaissance plane on all airships 1939-1945. No conventional landing gear. Designed by BuAer and built by Grumman.

2x FAZ Shrike - single seat, single engine defensive fighter. Mid-wing monoplane based broadly on the Brewster F2A, but armed with only two .03 cal. machine guns. 150 mile radius on internal fuel. Light construction and elimination of retractable landing gear gave the Shrike significantly greater speed and maneuverability than the standard F2A. Usually operated without normal landing gear, but could be fitted with simple stick landing gear for conventional landings and takeoffs when necessary. Designed and built by Brewster. Relatively few built and rarely carried by airships operating in the Atlantic.

3x PBFZ Harrier - small, twin engine 2 seat ASW floatplane, based loosely on the Grumman Goose. Capable of carrying up to 4 depth bombs, surface search radar and active/passive sonar buoys. 200 mile combat radius. With a wingspan of 49 feet, the largest aircraft routinely carried by the ZRCV ships. No defensive armament. Optimized for airship operation by BuAer, built by Grumman.

+Armament: Aside from aircraft, USS Tulsa has nine .50 cal machine guns - two facing forward, one in the bow and the other on the lower fin; two on either side along the lateral keels; and three mounted dorsally along the top of the envelope. Very few expect them to ever be more than a token defense.
+Crew: 80

The World, December 1941


Black is Axis, Blue is Allied

Primary element: Mt-22 (Mithralium)
Color: greyish-silver
Density: 2410-2540 kg/m^3
Mohs Scale: 3.7-6.8
Young's Modulus: 91-121 GPa
Yield Strength: 100-600 MPa
Ultimate Tensile Strength: 310-1000 MPa

A family of metal composites/alloys utilizing Mithral Ore combined with other materials through the ways of alchemy. Its toughness is almost comparable to steel yet its density is only 31% of that. Mithril is very resistant to the effects of corrosion which until the last century gave a strategic advantage for Yllendthyr. Compared to steel, mithril is less stiff and can temporarily deform to external force. Mithril is also more ductile and elastic, among others this makes them excellent choice for springs. As of late the newest high-strength steel alloys took the decisive lead from mithrils, albeit the lightness of the latter can often compensate to an extend.

According to the studies of Charles Dwarfwin from the last century, elves evolved from the prehistoric birds. They share a distant relation with the various Griffin species albeit just barely. The elves' distant ancestor was the Homo Auger aka "bird-man" but there are evidences pointing towards crossbreeding and the exact history of how the elves developed is shrouded in many mysteries. Regardless of the apparently different origins it turned out elves and humans can interbreed with each other, siring a half-elf. Albeit 9 out of 10 such pregnancies generally result in a miscarriage and may even threaten the mother's life.

In terms of physical characteristics, elves are generally tall and slenderly built, averaging at 6'4". Their bones are hollow which further reduces their average weight to around 90 lbs. They are fast and nimble compared to humans, further supported by their amazing sense of balance. Some studies attribute the latter to tiny organic gyroscopes but the research on elven physiology is somewhat inconclusive. Elves are also gifted with impressive senses, capable of matching or outperforming most animals. They can smell like a hunting dog, see with an eagle's eye and hearing almost rivaling bats. Elves have a slower metabolism and require less than half as much food compared to humans. Elves can also boast with a great immune system which might be partially responsible for their longevity. Elves can live for 300 years. In many aspects Elves could be seen as the "winners" in evolution. Yet all these advantages come at a cost. Elves are notably fragile when compared to humans. Their bones are designed to withstand strain in certain directions but they are weak and brittle from other angles. Young elves break a lot of bones and gradually learn to move with grace and precision to avoid such accidents. Their low weight also means that elves can generally carry only 40% as much as what a regular human could. Elves are also more sensitive to loud noises and find them uncomfortable. Similarly while the elven immune system is great, their frail body suffers heavily when they're exposed to something this system wasn't designed to handle. Poisons that effect elves are often also very lethal. Elves also have slightly different diet from humans which means they can't consume a few types of food a human could (on the other hand their digestive tracts can metabolize cellulose and they can pretty much eat grass for nutrition). Lastly, while long-lived, elves suffer from criminally low birth rates. They are considerably less fertile than humans and the number of miscarriages is also higher. Modern medicine is aiding the elves considerably but their birth rates are still nowhere near to humans'. Elves also require over twice as much time to grow up and only elves past the age of 30 are considered actual adults (equal to the development of a 13-14 years old human).