==Overview:==
Soon after the Warlock class entered service with the TCN, the Navy's Bureau
of Ships began devising schematics for the next class of Destroyer Escort.
The success of the Warlocks design showed BuShips what features needed to be
retained, and a lengthy discussion with the skippers and execs of existing
Warlocks gave the design engineers valuable knowledge of what line officers
wanted in the new design. That series of discussion with officers of the line
convinced the Bureau that the two greatest weaknesses of the Warlock were the
lack of weapons capable of engaging targets beyond the range of the Jankowski
naval autocannon and the inability to deploy fighters, both for defense of the
mothership and as a deep-strike/recon element.
The engineers rolled up their sleeves and went to work, taking care to include
the men and women who actually took Warlocks into battle at each stage of the
design process. A decade later, BuShips called a Fleet-wide conference
between all Flag officers and as many past and present Warlock command teams
as could be assembled. The Protector was present as well. The purpose of the
meeting was to unveil two new ship designs, both of which took into account
all of the comments and critiques of the assembled audience. The pair of
prosposals offered that day were for two vessels that would truely bring the
Taurian Concordat Navy to life in the years to come: TCS Wildcat and TCS
Resolution.
Wildcat was slated to replace the Warlocks in the Destroyer Escort role, while
the much heavier Resolution was intended to perform as a Fleet Destroyer;
moreover, one capable of standing against the latest Davion and Capellan
strike cruisers in individual combat. Both ships incorporated features that
all of the naval officers present had suggested, and both promised (on paper,
at least) to perform at even higher standards than the Warlocks.
The conference lasted for sixteen days during the month of May in the year
2374. Debates raged over the two designs, as the assembled officers of the
Protectors small Navy argued about what the configuration of the Fleet should
be. A small minority wanted to immediately proceed with a pair of cruisers,
heavier and more powerful than the Resolutions, that BuShips had been working
on for some time. But the majority of the men and women believed that before
the TCN could build (and man) heavier ships of war, they needed to have a
large and robust fleet of DEs and DDs available.
Finally, the time came when everyone present had spoken, except for Protector
Richard Calderon. His brow wrinkled in concern over the looming confrontation
with Lucien Davion (the Galactic Rangers incident being just two and a half
years prior to the conference), he asked the following:
How quickly can we build these Wildcats? Four per year, perhaps five, sire,
was the answer. Once we gear up that is. But any change from the Warlocks
will require retooling and reconfiguration of the slips. We should have the
first one in three years, after that four per year. And the Resolutions?
Half that, in addition to the Wildcats. And the cruisers you propose,
Admiral? How long would they take to build? The officer he confronted, an
officer whose name has long been lost in history, shook his head. Perhaps one
every eighteen months, more likely one every two years. After we build
construction slips large enough, which will take at least four years.
Richard nodded his head and then looked at his assembled officers one-by-one.
We cannot afford the time to wait, he said that day. Right now, we need
ships. Active ships on patrol to defend our borders. Defend our people. We
cannot afford to wait on these untested cruisers; not while the citizens we
are sworn to serve live under threat of war. Build the ones we can field the
soonest.
And with that, the Protector stood and walked out of the conference room. The
following morning, contracts were signed with Chandler Shipwrights for the
construction of the Wildcat and Resolution class ships.
And so it was, that with one decision by the Protector of the Taurian
Concordat, the Navy would consist in large part of smaller, lighter ships.
This decision would influence the doctrine of the TCN up to the brink of the
Reunification Wars.
As for the Wildcats? Those famed ships would become the largest single class
of WarShip the Taurians ever produced, with a total of eighty built for
domestic service, and twenty-four more constructed for export.
==Capabilities:==
At 190,000 tons, the Wildcats were 40,000 tons heavier than the Warlock class
ships, but were still on the smallish side when compared to other corvettes of
the era. Often referred to in Davion memos as 'improved Warlocks', the
Wildcats took the best of the Warlocks and built upon that to create a truely
remarkable little ship o' war.
At the heart of the ship was the Hyades KF Engineering Millenium 86 compact
core drive. Incorporating the latest advances in jump drive technology, the
Millenium 86 was the first Taurian drive able to jump a full 30 light-years in
one go (the older Warlocks were limited to jumps of 24 light-years or less).
But while the drive core gave the Wildcat strategic reach, it was the
GE-Westinghouse KVC-46 interplanetary drives that made it a tactical marvel.
Able to accelerate at a maximum thrust of 3-g's, this quad engine gave the
Wildcat superb maneuverability in combat. However, much like the KVC-36 of
the Warlock, the -46 suffered from problems with vibration when engaged at
full power.
One hundred and eighty-eight tons of Jessup Composites 183/d standard armor
sheathed the hull of the Wildcats, providing substantial armor protection for
their time. Indeed, these tiny corvettes would feature heavier armor than
many larger ships designed four centuries later.
Like the Warlock and all later Taurian Destroyer Escorts and Fleet Destroyers,
the Wildcat lacked docking collars for DropShips. While many in the Fleet
argued for the inclusion of at least two collars, others pointed out that even
mounting one would nearly double the price of these ships. But the Wildcats
did carry an extensive complement of parasite vessels: eight aerospace
fighters and four small craft. Legendary in Taurian naval circles, the twin
hanger bays of the Wildcats were often remembered with fondness, both for
their logical and safety conscious arrangement as well as their ability to
accomodate even the largest aerospace fighters and shuttles. Each bay
featured four doors, giving the Wildcats the ability to scramble their entire
parasite complement in less than 15 minutes from sounding the alert. Fighter
and small craft pilots praised the ease in which recovery operations could be
conducted as the single finest point of the bays. Later Taurian ships would
attempt to copy the hangers of the Wildcats, but none were quite as capable.
Two 95-meter diameter contra-rotating grav decks were mounted just forward of
the transit drives to provide for the health and well-being of the ship's crew
of 18 officers, 124 NCOs and spacers, 30 Marines, and up to 68 passengers. A
dozen of the passenger compartments could be converted into cells for a brig
if that was needed by the ship's captain. Forty escape pods built into the
outer hull allowed the crew of the Wildcats to fully evacuate these ships in
the event of disaster striking.
Food, water, and life support were provided for cruises lasting up to six
standard months. Fuel tankage was the same as the lighter Warlocks, with
3,600 tons of fuel divided into six armored fuel bunkers across the ship.
This bunkerage gave the Wildcats the ability to cruise at 1-g for up to 180
standard days before exhausting their onboard fuel supply. Of course, this
did not take into account the ship's parasites requiring access to the fuel
tanks for their own operations. It was a rare Wildcat that spent as much as
three months without requiring a port-call to resupply. 9,500 tons of spare
parts were stored onboard, and the ample cargo hold could carry an additional
9,582 tons of supplies for the ship or Taurian colonies.
As with the smaller Warlocks, eight Jankowski Mark I class 10 naval
autocannons formed the core of the ships on-board firepower. Arrayed in
single mounts spaced evenly around the ships perimeter, the big Jankowskis
gave these small vessels a sizable punch, especially to the broadsides. Each
of the Mark Is was fed from its own independent armored magazine, containing a
full 50 bursts of fire for the cannons.
The Wildcats were the first class of Taurian WarShips to include capital
missile launchers in their design. Originally, the vessels mounted four
Norman-Raytheon Javelin launchers for the Nike missile, but these were
converted to handle the Barracuda missiles when those improved light missiles
became available in later years. The Nikes were identical in dimensions and
weight as the later Barracudas, but lacked the sophisticated auto-tracking
systems that made the Barracudas so accurate at range. Both of these light
missiles had roughly the same performance against aerospace fighters, although
the Barracuda was far mroe accurate. In fact, the TCN retained its inventory
of Nikes well into the Reunifcation Wars, even though none were produced after
the technology for the Barracuda became available. Mounted in single tubes in
the fore- and aft-quarters of the Wildcat, the Javelins fields of fire
overlapped on the broadside arcs, but still covered the bow and stern. Each
missile launcher was provided with its own armored magazine containing 30 Nike
or Barracuda missiles.
For anti-fighter/anti-DropShip work, two more weapon systems were mounted as
well. Each section of the ship mounted a pair of quad turrets, one with
Aurora Missiliers Deathscap LRM-15 launchers, the second with Hyades Weapons
Consortium Retaliation class 10 autocannon. As with the Warlock class, this
flak belt provided a daunting deterrent to hostile aerospace fighters and
increased total ships firepower by more than 45%; at least at close range.
Each of the secondary turrets were given their own armored magazine,
containing either 50 missile salvoes or 50 bursts of cannon fire.
Like the older Warlocks, the primitive munitions transfer systems of the era
were simply too bulky to squeeze into a hull so volume-limited, so the
Wildcats simply did without the automation so commonly found on Inner Sphere
vessels.
The Wildcats were the ships TCN crews wanted from the beginning: tough as
nails, simple and reliable, with systems that were rugged and easy to maintain
in the peak of condition. Their robust and redundant thrusters made them
agile vessels that could turn on a dime and achieve acceleration rates few
other ships of the period could claim. Well protected with armor plating, the
guns and missile launchers of these escorts easily matched those of many heavy
destroyers and light frigates of the time. Even after the introduction of the
Stingray and Werewolf class Destroyer Escorts, it was the little Wildcats that
the media (and the Taurian people) seemed to care for. And the Navy loved
their Wildcats. With seventy-four remaining in commission at the start of the
Reunfication Wars, it was a rare officer of the TCN that had not cut his teeth
aboard a 'Cat.
==Battle History:==
When hostilities erupted between the Star League and the Taurian Concordat in
2577, several small skirmishes between the SLDF and TCN characterized the
initial foray into Concordat space. Following the success of Case Amber,
Escort Division Fourteen (consisting of TCS Fer-de-lance, TCS Hellcat, TCS Man
o' War, and TCS Stingray) sparred with light ships of the SLDF probing Taurian
defenses in the Pleiades Star Cluster.
On December 27, 2577, four Lola I class Destroyers and six Vincent class
Corvettes jumped into a pirate point of Electra to gauge the Taurian defenses.
The lead lance of ED-14 (TCS Hellcat and TCS Fer-de-lance) were the only
WarShips present to meet the SLDF threat, though a courier JumpShip was
dispatched to Maia to summon the second lance (TCS Stingray and TCS Man o'
War).
Confident in five-to-one odds, the SLDF recon-in-force advanced towards the
TCN vessels waiting in low orbit. But Captain David Gibbs aboard Hellcat (the
division CO) knew something that the Terries did not. Electra was the home of
Seven Sisters Aeronautical Engineering--the company that was producing the new
Harbinger class escort DropShip for the TCN.
As the SDLF ships closed, sixteen newly completed Harbingers lifted off from
the planetary surface, along with all 256 aerospace fighters assigned to the
defense of Electra. Hellcat and Fer-de-lance launched their own fighters as
well, and a swirling melee erupted as two TCN corvettes, sixteen DropShips,
and 272 aerospace fighters met ten SLDF warships with 84 aerospace fighters
alongside. Unfortunately for the TCN, the nuclear-tipped Killer Whales for
the Harbingers had yet to be delivered, forcing them to enter combat with only
chemical explosive warheads.
Gibbs ordered the bulk of the fighters and all of the Harbingers to
concentrate on the Lolas, while he and Fer-de-lance dealt with the six
Vincents. Relying upon their heavy armor for protection, the two Wildcat
class ships closed to point-blank range in the center of the SLDF corvettes
and began to hammer away at their opponents. Despite being outnumbered
three-to-one by the SLDF Vincents, Hellcat and Fer-de-lance quickly discovered
that they, in fact, outgunned their opponents.
When Stingray and Man o' War jumped in from Maia thirty-seven minutes later,
five Vincents were crippled hulks, the sixth was scattered debris, and all
four Lolas were running towards deep-space, streaming air, with Hellcat and
Fer-de-lance in hot pursuit. The fresh ships were able to--barely--intercept
the withdrawing SLDF contingent, but could only exchange one volley before the
range widened once again. That volley destroyed one of the Lolas.
None of the Taurian corvettes were lost, though both Hellcat and Fer-de-lance
suffered damage, and eleven Harbingers and more than sixty aerospace fighters
were destroyed. The SLDF learned their lesson from this encounter however,
and when they did later return to Electra a half-dozen Monsoon class
battleships led their way into the system.
==Variants:==
Other than scheduled upgrades to the electronics, sensors, and communications
systems, the Wildcats remained virtually unchanged from 2377 to the end of the
Reunification Wars. The twenty-four ships built for export carried only six
aerospace fighters instead of eight, as no other power used the same fighter
organization as the Taurians. The excess tonnage gained on these export
models went into cargo space and four additional passenger compartments (these
ships required four less crew than standard TCN Wildcats).
==Notable Vessels & Crews:==
TCS Wildcat (DE-025)
TCS Bobcat (DE-026)
TCS Hellcat (DE-027)
TCS Jaguar (DE-028)
TCS Bengal (DE-029)
TCS Cheetah (DE-030)
TCS Leopard (DE-031)
TCS Ocelot (DE-032)
TCS Serval (DE-033)
TCS Lion (DE-034)
TCS Tiger (DE-035)
TCS Lynx (DE-036)
TCS Panther (DE-037)
TCS Sabretooth (DE-038)
TCS Cougar (DE-039)
TCS Doberman (DE-040)
TCS Husky (DE-041)
TCS Whippet (DE-042)
TCS Terrier (DE-043)
TCS Mastiff (DE-044)
TCS Boxer (DE-045)
TCS Greyhound (DE-046)
TCS Ridgeback (DE-047)
TCS Dalmatian (DE-048)
TCS Spaniel (DE-049)
TCS Collie (DE-050)
TCS Great Dane (DE-051)
TCS St. Bernard (DE-052)
TCS Shepherd (DE-053)
TCS Fox (DE-054)
TCS Coyote (DE-055)
TCS Hyena (DE-056)
TCS Dingo (DE-057)
TCS Jackal (DE-058)
TCS Grizzly (DE-059)
TCS Wolverine (DE-060)
TCS Bear (DE-061)
TCs Kodiak (DE-062)
TCS Wolf (DE-063)
TCS Crocodile (DE-064)
TCS Badger (DE-065)
TCS Stag (DE-066)
TCS Sable (DE-067)
TCS Auroch (DE-068)
TCS Eland (DE-069)
TCS Gazelle (DE-070)
TCS Buffalo (DE-071)
TCS Zebra (DE-072)
TCS Rhinoceros (DE-073)
TCS Elephant (DE-074)
TCS Boar (DE-075)
TCS Elk (DE-076)
TCS Impala (DE-077)
TCS Giraffe (DE-078)
TCS Wildebeest (DE-079)
TCS Falcon (DE-080)
TCS Kingfisher (DE-081)
TCS Eagle (DE-082)
TCS Hawk (DE-083)
TCS Shrike (DE-084)
TCS osprey (DE-085)
TCS Hornet (DE-086)
TCS Yellowjacket (DE-087)
TCS Wasp (DE-088)
TCS Black Widow (DE-089)
TCS Mantis (DE-090)
TCS Boomslang (DE-091)
TCS Diamondback (DE-092)
TCS Rattlesnake (DE-093)
TCS Viper (DE-094)
TCS Anaconda (DE-095)
TCS Fer-de-lance (DE-096)
TCS Adder (DE-097)
TCS Cobra (DE-098)
TCS Sidewinder (DE-099)
TCS Python (DE-100)
TCS Asp (DE-101)
TCS Mamba (DE-102)
TCS Copperhead (DE-103)
TCS Cottonmouth (DE-104)
==Deployment==
Whenever possible, the TCN would deploy its Destroyers (both Fleet and Escort)
in divisions of two ships. This buddy system ensured that support was always
close at hand, even in the most distant reaches of the Concordat. Wildcat
divisions were assigned all manner of missions, from anti-piracy patrols to
convoy escort, to border patrols and cruise to show the flag, to escorting the
Taurus and Winchester class cruisers. As heavier and more modern corvettes
became available, the Wildcats were gradually removed from the front-lines and
assigned to routine patrols and escort runs between Concordat worlds. During
the Reunification Wars, however, the Wildcats were called back to front-line
duty. Although outclassed by the majority of the Davion and Star League
vessels, the crews of these fiesty ships never hesitated to close with the
enemy and bring him under fire.
Six Wildcats were lost during the Age of War, but seventy-four remained in
service until the Reunification Wars. None would survive that maelstrom of
combat.
AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout
VALIDATED
Class/Model/Name: Wildcat Destroyer Escort
Tech: Inner Sphere / 2377
Vessel Type: WarShip
Rules: Level 2, Custom design
Rules Set: AeroTech2
Mass: 190,000 tons
Hull: Chandler Light 190
K-F Drive System: Hyades KF Engineering Millenium 86
Length: 372 meters
Sail Diameter: 899 meters
Power Plant: GE-Westinghouse KVC-46 Standard
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Armor Type: Jessup Composites 143/d Standard
Armament:
8 Jankowski Mk I NAC/10
32 Aurora Missiliers Deathscap LRM 15
32 Hyades Weapons Consortium Retaliation Autocannon/10
4 Norman Raytheon Javelin Barracuda
Manufacturer: Chandler Shipwrights
Location: New Columbia
Communications System: Wintershaven Comm Mark 10
Targeting & Tracking System: Berringer Systems SPZ-14b Phased Array
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class/Model/Name: Wildcat Destroyer Escort
Mass: 190,000 tons
Equipment: Mass
Power Plant, Drive & Control: 45,600.00
Thrust: Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Kearny-Fuchida Hyperdrive: Compact (Integrity = 5) 85,975.00
Jump Sail: (Integrity = 3) 40.00
Structural Integrity: 50 9,500.00
Total Heat Sinks: 536 Single 190.00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps: 3,672.00
Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters: 475.00
Fire Control Computers: .00
Food & Water: (180 days supply) 216.00
Armor Type: Standard (143 total armor pts) 188.00
Capital Scale Armor Pts
Location: L / R
Fore: 24
Fore-Left/Right: 24/24
Aft-Left/Right: 24/24
Aft: 23
Cargo:
Bay 1: Fighters (4) with 4 doors 600.00
Small Craft (2) 400.00
Bay 2: Fighters (4) with 4 doors 600.00
Small Craft (2) 400.00
Bay 3: Cargo (1) with 2 doors 9,582.00
Grav Decks #1 - 2: (95-meter diameter) 100.00
Escape Pods: 40 (7 tons each) 280.00
Crew and Passengers:
18 Officers (18 minimum) 180.00
65 Crew (65 minimum) 455.00
23 Gunners (23 minimum) 161.00
68 2nd Class Passengers 476.00
30 Marines 150.00
36 Bay Personnel .00
Weapons and Equipment Loc SRV MRV LRV ERV Heat Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) Nose 10 10 10 -- 30 2,010.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) Nose 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 20 53.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds)Nose 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 12 68.00
1 Barracuda(30 msls) FL/R 2 2 2 2 20 1,980.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) FL/R 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) FL/R 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 40 106.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds)FL/R 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 24 136.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) L/RBS 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) L/RBS 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 40 106.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds)L/RBS 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 24 136.00
1 Barracuda(30 msls) AL/R 2 2 2 2 20 1,980.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) AL/R 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) AL/R 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 40 106.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds)AL/R 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 24 136.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) Aft 10 10 10 -- 30 2,010.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) Aft 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 20 53.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds)Aft 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 12 68.00
1 Lot Spare Parts (5.00%) 9,500.00
36 Bay Personnel Quarters 252.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: Heat: 536 190,000.00
Tons Left: .00
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 1,599,504,800 C-Bills
Battle Value: 47,688
Cost per BV: 33,541.03
Weapon Value: 18,195 (Ratio = .38)
Damage Factors: SRV = 1,371; MRV = 1,252; LRV = 731; ERV = 266
Maintenance: Maintenance Point Value (MPV) = 224,829
(80,159 Structure, 111,798 Life Support, 32,872 Weapons)
Support Points (SP) = 234,900 (104% of MPV)
BattleForce2: Not applicable
