Rim Worlds Historical Warship: Piranha class Corvette
AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout
VALIDATED
Class/Model/Name: Piranha class Corvette
Tech: Inner Sphere / 2600
Vessel Type: WarShip
Rules: Level 2, Standard design
Rules Set: AeroTech2
Mass: 180,000 tons
K-F Drive System: (Unknown)
Length: 363 meters
Sail Diameter: 894 meters
Power Plant: Standard
Safe Thrust: 3
Maximum Thrust: 5
Armor Type: Standard
Armament:
8 NAC/10
2 NL45
6 Barracuda
14 Large Laser
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==Overview:==
First constructed in the year 2510, the Barracuda class Corvette was the
mainstay of the Rim Worlds Republic fleet until the Amaris Coup and Kerensky's
war of Liberation destroyed the class in battle after battle where its weak
armour and firepower was forced to stand up to swifter and better armed Terran
Warships such as the Whirlwind and Essex class destroyer.
Created primarily as the Republics standard patrol and picket ship, the
Barracuda was meant to serve as the Vincent, Magpie and Vigilant did for the
SLDF with a weapons array and engines capable of suppressing the pirates that
plagued the Republics periphery border as well as serving as an extended
deployment vessel, in this role it fails miserably.
Relegated to system defence and guarding the Republics shipyards and jump
stations, the Barracuda found a new lease on life when Stefan Amaris sold a
modified variant with a smaller drive to several relatively unknown pirate
bands on the Republic border in exchange for materials captured from the Great
Houses as well these ships were given in the trust that the ships would not be
used against the Republic (The 4th Fleet, assigned to the Republics Periphery
border was a visible reminder of what the punishment for stabbing the Republic
in the back was). This variant contained a much smaller drive and two docking
collars that gave the ship much needed endurance away from port, which
attracted many pirates. These ships, nicknamed Piranhas would plague realms
such as the Free Worlds League and Lyran Commonwealth till the 28th century.
==Capabilities:==
Built to engage and destroy pirates and other light raiders, the 175,000 ton
Barracuda carries the oversized Republic C7 drive system, although this allows
the Barracuda to travel at speeds up to 3Gs in short bursts while its mediocre
fuel tanks give her fair endurance if she remains in the same system. This
drive however has one titanic problem which is evident in the Barracudas
miniscule cargo bay and lack of docking collars, barely capable of sustaining
herself for two weeks away from port, the Barracudas found themselves stuck at
jump point stations where they could easily dock to pick up parts, food and
ammunition without having to transfer it all over with the Cudas pair of
shuttles.
Armament is almost identical to the Star Leagues Vigilant class corvette
(Editors Note: The Barracuda is based upon several former Terran Vigilants
purchased by the Republic around 2432 when the Vigilant was phased out in
favour of the Vincent Class Corvette) with four light Naval Autocannons spread
across the bow to provide the Barracudas main killing firepower, which was
barely capable of keeping dropships and corvettes away from the ship. A pair
of medium Naval Lasers back up the autocannons providing a defence against
dropships while twin Barracuda Missile Launchers and a spread of standard
large lasers provide anti-fighter defence.
Armour is provided by 120 tons of standard reinforced steel plating focused
mostly towards the front of the craft, however no location other than the fore
of the ship is capable of taking more than a light Naval Autocannon hit
without internal damage as Republic captains found out when SLDF Corvettes
danced into their rear and destroyed their ships in one or two shots.
The Barracuda also carries 12 aerofighters, generally Republic built Harpies
or Angels, and two shuttles which are the only ways off the ship aside from
the lifeboats.
==Variants:==
The Piranha variant carries a substantially smaller drive, as well as two
docking collars and another 2000 tons of fuel. Its resulting larger cargo
capacity made it very popular with pirates.
==Deployment==
In the years from 2510 till 2600, forty Barracuda class corvettes were
launched from the shipyards over the Republic provincial capital of Laiacona,
however over their 200 years of service twenty-six of these vessels were lost
or destroyed in border conflicts. At the beginning of the Amaris Coup only
fourteen of the Barracudas were left, with seven of the vessels forming the
4th Corvette squadron over Star's End alongside the Raven Class Frigate
Seagull and the Destroyers Republic and Ares.
Of these ships, only two Barracudas would survive when an SLDF battle group
ran across the ships at Stars End near the end of the Invasion of the
Republic, most of the ships were destroyed when the Black Lion class Harmony
closed to short range and opened up with its heavy naval autocannons. The last
two, Mackerel and Salmon surrendered to escape destruction and despite being
in good condition, were scraped to provide spare parts for the SLDF warships.
Another Barracuda was captured over Apollo by SLDF marines after a weeklong
chase across the system, which resulted in three destroyed dropships and the
loss of the Jumpship Great Oak. This ship, the Trevally was put into mothballs
over Apollo before being salvaged by the Lyran Commonwealth. It was lost
during the 1st Succession War to a minor raid by Combine forces.
The remaining six of the ships were gathered over Terra by Stefan Amaris in
the months leading up to the liberation of Terra, at picket force to guide in
the Caspar drones and were never meant to see combat except as a last line of
defence. However the destruction of the Drones also lead to the destruction of
two of the last Barracuda, the remaining four surrendered when the Aegis Class
Aurora executed a Crazy Jane manoeuvre and jumped into their aft and the rest
of her battlegroup closed in on them.
These vessels surprisingly were not scrapped by Kerensky but rather taken with
him on the Exodus as prisons or confining cells for those of the SLDF who
committed crimes during the trip to the Kerensky Cluster. Later they were
mothballed along with several Swiftling class Destroyers that were claimed by
the Goliath Scorpions for their Cache fleet.
The Barracudas are currently under consideration for renovating and
reactivation as part of Clan Blood Spirits understrength Blood Galaxy. However
many Blood Spirits see their use as dishonourable and this may yet doom the
class.
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Class/Model/Name: Piranha class Corvette
Mass: 180,000 tons
Equipment: Mass
Power Plant, Drive & Control: 32,400.00
Thrust: Safe Thrust: 3
Maximum Thrust: 5
Kearny-Fuchida Hyperdrive: Compact (Integrity = 5) 81,450.00
Jump Sail: (Integrity = 3) 39.00
Structural Integrity: 50 9,000.00
Total Heat Sinks: 600 Single 301.00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps: 5,304.00
Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters: 450.00
Fire Control Computers: .00
Food & Water: (329 days supply) 263.00
Armor Type: Standard (138 total armor pts) 179.50
Capital Scale Armor Pts
Location: L / R
Fore: 25
Fore-Left/Right: 23/23
Aft-Left/Right: 23/23
Aft: 21
Cargo:
Bay 1: Fighters (12) with 4 doors 1,800.00
Bay 2: Cargo (1) with 1 door 22,439.50
Bay 3: Small Craft (2) with 1 door 400.00
Grav Deck #1: (60-meter diameter) 50.00
Life Boats: 15 (7 tons each) 105.00
Escape Pods: 12 (7 tons each) 84.00
Crew and Passengers:
21 Officers (21 minimum) 210.00
85 Crew (60 minimum) 595.00
20 Gunners (19 minimum) 140.00
34 Bay Personnel .00
Weapons and Equipment Loc SRV MRV LRV ERV Heat Mass
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2 NAC/10(100 rounds) Nose 20 20 20 -- 60 4,020.00
2 NL45 Nose 9 9 9 9 140 1,800.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) FL/R 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
1 Barracuda(15 msls) FL/R 2 2 2 2 20 1,080.00
2 Large Laser FL/R 2(16) 2(16) -- -- 32 20.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) L/RBS 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
1 Barracuda(15 msls) L/RBS 2 2 2 2 20 1,080.00
2 Large Laser L/RBS 2(16) 2(16) -- -- 32 20.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) AL/R 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
1 Barracuda(15 msls) AL/R 2 2 2 2 20 1,080.00
2 Large Laser AL/R 2(16) 2(16) -- -- 32 20.00
2 Large Laser Aft 2(16) 2(16) -- -- 16 10.00
1 Lot Spare Parts (2.00%) 3,600.00
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TOTALS: Heat: 552 180,000.00
Tons Left: .00
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 1,528,245,600 C-Bills
Battle Value: 38,420
Cost per BV: 39,777.35
Weapon Value: 14,776 (Ratio = .38)
Damage Factors: SRV = 1,039; MRV = 1,017; LRV = 753; ERV = 314
Maintenance: Maintenance Point Value (MPV) = 189,343
(75,944 Structure, 80,945 Life Support, 32,454 Weapons)
Support Points (SP) = 144,165 (76% of MPV)
BattleForce2: Not applicable
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Topic: Rim Worlds Historical Warship: Piranha class Corvette (Read 2748 times)