OBT Forum

Takiro Fourth BTSD Design Contest - The Styx « Reply #17 on: February 08, 2008, 09:24:35 PM »

Styx Heavy Assault Tank

Mass: 100 tons
Movement Type: Tracked
Power Plant: 300 XL
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph
Maximum Speed: 54.0 kph
Armor: Krupp 200 Ferro-Fibrous with CASE
Armament:
8 Martell Medium Lasers
1 Grizzard Model 200 Gauss Rifle
2 Mydron Minigun Machine Guns
2 McArthur Anti-Missile Systems
Manufacturer: Cardiff Arms International
Communications System: Dornman Echo II with Guardian ECM
Targeting and Tracking System: Garret D2J

OVERVIEW:
The TRAS were surprised by Cardiff Arms International that they were able to design and submit another vehicle so soon after they failed in the bid for the Terran Heavy Tank tender. Approaching the new design with the same thoroughness as previously, the designers spent months studying reports on the new TRAS tanks, and for some time could not think of any way to create a design without copying one of the existing models capabilities just bigger. This all changed when one of the team stumbled on some ancient footage of a military maneuver where the tanks carried their own infantry support. Taking this idea further they designed a tank that could not only add considerable firepower to any assault it would prove to have a nasty surprise when it reached its target or if attacked at close range; a platoon of regular infantry or squad of battle armor carried aboard. To complement and support both other vehicles and its troops it mounts a mix of long and short range weapons allowing it to engage targets in all terrain and distances.

CAPABILITIES:
A Grizzard Model 200 is the most obvious weapon mounted on the Styx and the most damaging from the perspective of a single gun. Able to engage targets at extreme ranges this rifle gives crews a one shot kill ability against many light mechs and vehicles and will cause severe damage to heavier opponents. Although many see this as the main weapon system, the majority of crews treat this as a secondary weapon until targets come into range of the eight Martell Medium Lasers. Trials have shown these lasers have the same damage potential as two 20 rated autocannons, at a better weight, range and no ammunition worries. These lasers can destroy light vehicles and mechs and even some in the medium weight bracket with ease, and are almost guaranteed to kill most opponents short of assault class Battlemechs in a couple of salvoes. With both of these systems being turret mounted this gives the Styx the ability to engage targets in any arc and at all ranges. Almost as an after thought the designers added two Mydron Miniguns and McArthur Anti-Missile Systems for additional defense against infantry and missile attacks respectively. One of each is mounted co-axially in the turret whilst the others are fixed to engage targets in the vehicles forward arc. The final 'weapon' of the Styx is the infantry bay, allowing it to transport up to a platoon of regular soldiers right into the thick of battle. This gives commanders a decisive edge in any combat they find themselves in, and has turned the tide in many engagements though many privates see being assigned to a Styx as a path to great honor and at the same time a quick death. The whole tank is finally encased in 18.5 tons of ferro-fibrous armor and the ammunition protected in CASE'd storage bays.

VARIANTS:
There are two minor variants being tested, both of which remove the infantry bay. The first replaces the bay with two streak SRM-2 launchers and a ton of ammunition, the second with a LRM-5 launcher tied to an Artemis FCS again with one ton of ammunition.

Technology Base: - I.S. Tracked Vehicle - Level 2 - 100 tons

Equipment                           Mass
Internal Structure:                        10
Engine:            300 XL            14.5
    Cruising MP:         3
    Flank MP:            5
Power Amplifier:                        0
Heat Sinks:            24 – Single            14
Control Equipment:                        5
Suspension:                           0
Turret:                              2.5
Armor Factor:            332 - Ferro-Fibrous         18.5

Internal Structure       Armor Value
Front         10         70
Left         10         66
Right         10         66
Back         10         60
Turret:         10         70

Weapons, Ammo, and Equipment   Location      Space      Tonnage
Gauss Rifle            Turret         1      15
8 Medium Lasers         Turret         8      8
Machine Gun            Turret         1      0.5
Anti-Missile System         Turret         1      0.5
Machine Gun            Front         1      0.5
Anti-Missile System         Front         1      0.5
Guardian ECM Suite         Body         1      1.5
Infantry Bay            Body         1      4
Ammo (Gauss Rifle) 16      Body         1      2
Ammo (MG) 100         Body         1      0.5
Ammo (AMS) 24         Body         1      2
CASE               Body         1      0.5

BV: 1,257
Cost: 19,370,000

* Styx Heavy Assault Tank.hmv (3.51 KB - downloaded 1 times.)

Takiro Seventh BTSD Design Contest - House Vehicles « Reply #19 on: February 08, 2008, 09:31:58 PM »

Shrike Hovertank

Mass: 45 tons
Movement Type: Hover
Power Plant: 215 MaxLift Model B Hover Engine Fusion
Cruising Speed: 108 kph
Maximum Speed: 162 kph
Armor: Sian Standard
Armament:
4 Sian/Ceres Jaguar LRM 5s
2 Hellion-V Medium Lasers
Manufacturer: Hellespont Industries
Location: Sian
Communications System: Hellespont TiteBeam
Targeting and Tracking System: FireScan with IndirecTrack

OVERVIEW:
The Shrike was born during the arms race following the revocation of the Edict of 2650. Rushed into service to offer the CCAF commanders an effective screening and harassing unit, the initial production runs were notable for their faulty turret ring assemblies. This often caused the turrets to become jammed if they were rotated as the vehicle made high speed turns. Subsequent runs corrected this problem and the Shrike went on to serve throughout the CCAF.

CAPABILITIES:
Designed to match or exceed the combat speeds of recon units is service at the time. The Shrike can outrun many light BattleMechs as well. This speed serves it well; allowing it to engage targets at range, where hopefully they will not be able to accurately return fire.

VARIANTS:
While no official variants exist there are some vehicles from the initial production run still in service. These differ from the current version in that they lack the medium lasers of the latter. In their place is another Ceres Jaguar LRM launcher.

DEPLOYMENT:
Widely deployed throughout the CCAF where it often performs the dual role of scout and scout hunter. Apparently a number of Shrikes were used by Star League forces during the campaign to liberate Terra. It is unknown if any survive in the Terran military.

Technology Base: - I.S. Hover Vehicle - Level 1 - 45 tons

Equipment                           Mass
Internal Structure:                        4.5
Engine:            215 Fusion            14.5
Cruising MP:         10
Flank MP:         15
Power Amplifier:                        0
Heat Sinks:            10 – Single            0
Control Equipment:                        2.5
Crew:               3 Members            0
Lift Equipment:                        4.5
Turret:                              1
Armor Factor:            96 – Standard            6

Internal Structure       Armor Value
Front         5         29
Left         5         19
Right         5         19
Rear         5         13
Turret         5         16

Weapons, Ammo, and Equipment   Location      Space      Tonnage
4 LRM 5s            Turret         4      8
Ammo (LRM) 48         Body         1      2
2 Medium Lasers         Turret         2      2

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 2,147,000 C-Bills
Battle Value: 744
Cost per BV: 2,885.75
Weapon Value: 467 / 467 (Ratio = .63 / .63)
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 15;  MRDmg = 10;  LRDmg = 5
BattleForce2: MP: 10H,  Armor/Structure: 0 / 4
                   Damage PB/M/L: 2/2/1,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: GM;  Point Value: 7
                   Specials: if

Drachen DRH-2A Battle Tank

Mass: 55 tons
Movement Type: Tracked
Power Plant: 220 Nissan Fusion
Cruising Speed: 43.2 kph
Flank Speed: 64.8 kph
Armor: ArcShield Heavy Standard
Armament:
1 RAMTech 1200X ER Large Laser
1 Coventry 90mm Six-Rack SRM 6
1 Exostar LRM 15
Manufacturer: Quickscell Company
Primary Factory: Pandora
Communication System: O/P 300 COMSET
Targeting & Tracking System: Digital Scanlok 347

OVERVIEW:
The DRH-2A Drachen has a short and colorful history in the annals of the Lyran Commonwealth's development of military vehicles, finding itself as one of the Commonwealth's last development endeavors before the decline of the Star League and the first design to fall to the predations of the Succession Wars.
Built and designed by the Quickscell Vehicle Company of Pandora shortly before the Amaris Coup, the new combat vehicle was initially created as a modern compliment to one of Quickscell's other military products; the famed Manticore heavy tank. Using schematics from the Manticore factory located on the Capellan Confederation world of Ares, the Quickscell team settled on a fifty-five ton frame for the new DRH-2A along with a target audience for the new medium tank; the Lyran Commonwealth. The Lyran High Command, long aware that while their private 'Mech armies were limited in size by Star League law there was little preventing them from strengthening their weakened conventional forces. However, throughout most of the Star League, the Lyran's focus remained settled on building both a larger war fleet and on more pressing merchant matters, like the fiscal crisis of the early 2600s, which ultimately sidelined the proposed upgrade until the late 2750s, after the death of First Lord Simon Cameron. Reading the writing on the wall following Simon's unexplained demise, the LCAF quickly took a page from the Rim Worlds Republic's military during the Reunification War, and began looking for suitable armor candidates to add to the vehicle starved LCAF.
Though the Drachen was built during the Star League era, an era of peace and prosperity, the majority of the Inner Sphere began to suffer from a bout of anxiety following the death of First Lord Cameron. Perhaps it was the apprehension of having a young child sitting on the throne, or the sheer anxiety of the unknown, but every citizen knew the League was heading towards a crucible of reckoning. The numerous military contractors of the Inner Sphere were no different, and many began to mimic their civilian counterparts’ paranoia. The Quickscell Company, though it was primarily through the prompting of the Lyran Commonwealth, authorized their design teams to build the new Drachen utilizing Lyran-built parts almost exclusively. Although the present trend of using only locally built parts for the majority of a given design seems like it would be counted as good logical common sense, during the Good Years of the Star League the integrated economies of the Great Houses allowed companies a greater latitude to freely develop new designs using a wide assortment of materials from a variety of different realms. One of the greatest tolls laden by the horrors of the Succession Wars was that designs that were once herald as technological achievements, were often regulated to the scrap pile once the various and disparate industries that supported them were wiped out or dried up once the sphere-wide conflagration began in earnest.

CAPABILITIES:
Because of the intense political pressure brought to bear on the development of the Drachen, the Quickscell Company was forced to import two very important pieces of technology that would have unfortunate consequences for the battle tank in the near future. The first was the Drachen's power plant, the Terran-built Nissan 220 fusion engine. A well designed and efficient fusion torus, the Nissan engine gave the DRH-2A a respectable sixty-four kilometer an hour ground speed over most terrain, while also providing power for all of the tank's systems and weapons. Ironically, one of the original Drachen design schematics called for an I.C.E. and a significantly reduced speed, but was rejected by the Lyran High Command as being too dependent on fuel. Only centuries later in the fusion engine-starved Inner Sphere does the idea of an I.C.E. equipped Drachen seem like a virtual godsend. The second piece of equipment imported for the DRH-2A was the Exostar LRM 15, built by the Dynamics Corporation of Gallery. The Exostar was chosen for its reliability and cost, which was an important factor when determining subcontractors for the design’s production.
The remaining pieces of technology reads like a "Who's who" of Lyran military contractors, including a targeting and tracking system; the Digital Scanlock 347, by Tharkad based THI, along with an excellent Archshield Heavy armor belt built on Skye. However, the shining pieces of the Drachen's technological fusion were produced by RamTech and Dynamics of Corporation of New Kyoto. The first of these sophisticated systems was the powerful O/P 3000 ComSet Communications system built by Dynamics. The O/P 3000 utilized specially built core processors that provided redundant operating power in the event of battle damage or poor maintenance. Although the O/P 3000 was not as sophisticated or as powerful as some comparable communication systems, such as the ones found on the Crab or Black Knight class BattleMechs, the additional reserve capacity of the O/P type did lend the Drachen a more robust nature and a better performance rating in field operations.
However, it was the installation of the RamTech Extended Range Large Laser that set the new battle tank apart from its non-SLDF contemporaries. First installed in the Lyran Commonwealth’s Mako Class Corvette in the early 2700s, the large laser was given to the Commonwealth as part of a joint Terran-Lyran technology for resources exchange. Although the exchange was initially opposed by members of the Hegemony High Command who wanted the Terran state to retains its existing edge in military hardware, both the Director-General and the First Lord knew that the continued prosperity and survival of the Hegemony rested on growing economy; an economy that was becoming more and more dependent on foreign natural resources. For the Drachen, Quickcell mated the performance of the Exostar LRM 15 with the range and hitting power of the ER Large Laser, allowing the tank to retain a measure of firepower long after it has spent its last LRM reload.

BATTLE HISTORY:
Given the surprising swiftness of the Star League’s demise, it is little wonder that towards the end of the 28th century the Lyran Commonwealth’s High Command was breathing a small sigh of relief when it regarded programs like the Drachen and its acquisition of former planets in the Rim Worlds Republic. Believing that the strength of the Commonwealth was greater than that of its closest rival and neighbor, the Free Worlds League, the LCAF High Command authorized an assault on the fortified League world of Bolan in 2785. Descending on the planet garrisoned by House Marik regulars, the LCAF hit the world with three regiments of troops, including two whole battalions of Drachen battle tanks. Though the battle for Bolan lasted only a few weeks the Drachen performed exceedingly well. Few League units were prepared for an ER Large Laser mounted on a House design and lacked a proper response; as a result the fight for Bolan was unrivalled in its fury since the end of the Reunification War.
With Kenyon Marik’s revocation of the Ares Conventions in 2787, the conflict known as the First Succession War began in earnest. Initially the war went well for the Lyrans. Their use of orbital bombardment and atomic weapons allowed for considerable gain along the Free Worlds League border. During these assaults the Drachen, which was issued predominantly to units along the League border, achieved many notable successes but suffered tremendous losses. Production was barely able to keep pace with the number of tanks destroyed in combat. However, it was the League’s devastating attack on New Kyoto in 2794 that sent the ill fated Drachen into a spiraling decline with the destruction of the RamTech ER Large Laser manufacturing plant, damage to the Dynamics Plant, and the entirety of the Bolson Shipyard complex. The loss of the Bolson yards was especially hard on the Lyran state, which quickly lost the ability to build new Mako Corvettes, or provide maintenance to its existing warship fleet along the League border. Shortly thereafter with portions of its industry ruined by the FWL attack, a Draconis Combine assault destroyed the ‘Mech factory on Yed Posterior. The plant’s destruction forced the Commonwealth to relocate many of its remaining resources, especially those in the embattled Isle of Skye, to safer plants like Coventry Metal Works.
Throughout the remainder of the First Succession War the Drachen would continue to perform admirably, fighting forces from the Free Worlds League, the Capellan Confederation, and the Draconis Combine. As the First Succession War began to wind down along the Free Worlds – Commonwealth front with the signing of the Bella Accords in 2821, so did the Drachen’s role. As the Commonwealth’s ability to manufacture advanced components slowly dwindled, so did production of the Drachen decline as remaining resources were earmarked in favor of shoring up BattleMech production. By the end of the Second Succession War, damage to the Commonwealth’s industrial infrastructure was so poor that production of the Drachen almost completely ceased, and companies like Quickscell, once herald as first rate manufacturers were left producing products of dubious quality.

VARIANTS:
Quickscell’s production of the Drachen class battle tank resulted in only one variant of the armored vehicle. The DRH-3A variant of the Drachen tank, first introduced in 2798, with subsequent refinements in 2802, 2817, and 2832 was not an actual production vehicle, but rather a response to the industrial predations of the First and Second Succession Wars. Each revision in the unofficial DRH-3A saw the Drachen lose an irreplaceable piece of LosTech and move further away from its original capabilities. The first revision, in 2798 saw the Drachen lose one of its most important components, the Nissan 220 fusion engine after the Terran Republic invoked a strict policy of neutrality and closed the world to outside influences. With the loss of the Nissan 220, Quickcell was forced to make due with a less powerful CoreTek 215 fusion engine produced on Skye. Despite a similar profile, the use of the CoreTek could not produce the same level of power as the Nissan 220 and the tank’s speed was reduced.
Additionally, the interior of the tank was redesigned to accommodate the new engine, forcing the designers to relocate the LRM ammunition to a different section of the tank. The new ammunition container, though no less protected than before, was moved closer to the crew hold. During combat, due to its new location, penetration of the vehicle’s interior would almost guarantee complete destruction of the tank, and the death of the crew. This redesign was the most direct source of the vehicle’s decline during the early Succession Wars, as salvaged vehicles were a scare rarity.
The 2802 redesign was another blow to the Drachen when the Commonwealth’s supply of RamTech ER Large Lasers dried up following the attacks on New Kyoto by House Marik. Afterwards Quickscell utilized a locally produced and less sophisticated type. From 2802 onward, the tank would suffer from a variety of component swaps, some made by necessity, others for safety purposes, such as the Exostar LRM 15 swap for a Coventry Starfire, or the O/P 3000 swap for a TharsHes KR-AP Comm built on Tharkad, or the Arcshield Heavy armor belt built on Skye, then moved to a Coventry produced Lexington Limited. By the Third Succession War, the remaining Succession War-scarred Drachen battle tanks would stand as a stark contrast to the pristine technological wonders first built during the Star League.

DEPLOYMENT:
Before the fall of the Star League, the Drachen first saw modest deployment only with the Lyran Guards, which saw the Drachen enjoy a few small actions during the Amaris Coup as Guard regiments descended upon the ravaged Rim Worlds Republic ostensibly as “peacekeepers,” but in actuality as conquerors. With the exodus of the SLDF as the last remaining peacekeepers of the League, the LCAF High Command distributed the bulk of the relatively unproven battle tank to units stationed along the Free Worlds League border in preparation for commencement of the hostilities. After the attack on Bolan and throughout the First Succession War these embattled worlds along the LC/FWL would either host or serve as a final resting place for the Drachen. However, given the devastation of the fighting and the shear number of Drachens lost during the fighting, following the signing of the Bella Accords the LCAF began to distribute the DRH-2A more evenly throughout the military, with a few vehicles serving as far away as the Vega theatre by the end of the Second Succession War.

Technology Base: - I.S. Tracked Vehicle - Level 2 - 55 tons

Equipment                           Mass
Internal Structure:                        5.5
Engine:            220 Fusion            20
Cruising MP:         4
Flank MP:         6
Power Amplifier:                        0
Heat Sinks:            12 – Single            2
Control Equipment:                        3
Crew:               4 Members            0
Suspension:                           0
Turret:                              1.5
Armor Factor:            128 – Standard         8

Internal Structure       Armor Value
Front         6         30
Left         6         24
Right         6         24
Rear         6         20
Turret         6         30

Weapons, Ammo, and Equipment   Location      Space      Tonnage
ER Large Laser         Turret         1      5
SRM 6               Turret         1      3
Ammo (SRM) 30         Body         1      2
LRM 15             Turret         1      7
Ammo (LRM) 24         Body         1      3

Vehicle Cost: 2,452,358 Kroner
Battle Value: 611

Phalanx AW-25A Infantry Support Vehicle

Mass: 25 tons
Movement Type: Wheeled
Power Plant: 80 G&H PowerMaxx Multifuel I.C.E.
Cruising Speed: 43.2 kph
Flank Speed: 64.8 kph
Armor: 1/Star Slab Standard
Armament:
2 LRM 5s
3 Sperry Browning Machine Guns
Manufacturer: Memphis Motive Systems
Primary Factory: Memphis
Communication System: TriStar Multilink
Targeting & Tracking System: Tristar Trackmaster II w/ ArtiSpot

OVERVIEW:
The Phalanx Infantry Support Vehicle (ISV) was first produced in 2754 by Greene & Harvester Agricultural Systems. G&H had wanted to expand their production facilities, and at the time, the only way to secure government backed loans was to be in an critical industry. As the Federated Suns government did not consider their line of combines and AG equipment critical enough, a few choice gifts to the right local politicians and a rushed design job led to a solution. The Phalanx system was adopted by a number of planetary militias before it was even produced, and G&H was now a military industry and thus received the loans needed to expand their facilities. Unfortunately, after the loans were approved, G&H discontinued production of the Phalanx after only a token manufacturing run.
In 3032, after the acquisition of G&H by their parent company TriStar Interstellar, Memphis Motive Systems noted the Phalanx system and found a number of elements to their liking. Most favored was the simplified drive train and motive system, used in literally millions of G&H farm machines across the Federated Suns and in copied versions throughout the inner sphere and periphery. With a few modifications, including a quick-swap turret assembly and upgraded power and communications bus, the new Phalanx was in production.

CAPABILITIES:
The A model Phalanx carries a pair of Holly LRM-5 systems, which are used to
soften up opponents and to provide covering fire for retreats. Although the A lacks effective close-range fire support, it's thick armor provides adequate protection for retrival operations. Twin turret-mounted Sperry Miniguns provide anti-infantry fire, with a rear-mounted Sperry clearing a path for the disembarking troops.
The interior of the Phalanx is crowded, but high-output air conditioning and heating systems keep the crew and infantry relatively comfortable. The foldable benches for the troops retract into the sides and floor, leaving a bay for transport that is easily loaded via the rear ramp. The front-mounted winch can be removed and mounted on the rear, or to a special point inside the bay, to assist with loading.
Although designed in a hurry, the original Phalanx was a solid vehicle - after
all, IFV's have been in production for over a thousand years, so there is a large pool of ideas to draw from. The Phalanx is completely NBC sealed, and all of it's onboard electronics are EMP-proofed. The updated communications bus utilizes optical links, which prevents electronic detection units from picking up stray chatter. In addition, the engine features a "generator mode", a fuel-saving cylinder-swapping power cycle that allows the vehicle to serve as power source without emptying it's fuel reserves too quickly.

VARIANTS:
A number of Phalanx users use an A model with additional ammo in lieu of infantry as a minelayer, with an option to replace the turret assembly and platoon bay with an enlarged turret featuring an LRM-15 and 2 tons of ammo. The B model Phalanx is often seen in urban combat and peackeeping roles, carrying only two reinforced infantry squads.
Although there was a design study on adapting the vehicle for battlearmor, the
interior is simply too crowded and the speed too low for there to be any compelling reason to manufacture a new version.

Notable Vehicles & Crew:
"Betty Sue"
Betty Sue is the name of the 4th production Phalanx, in service to the Sherwood Reserve Militia, 4th Company. Her crew and attached infantry platoon have become the mascots of MMS's ad campaign, touting the reliability and easy maintenance of the Phalanx design.

--------------------------------------------------------
Type/Model:    Phalanx AW-25A
Mass:          25 tons
Construction Options:  Fractional Accounting

Equipment:                                 Items    Mass
Int. Struct.:  15 pts Standard               0      2.50
Engine:        80 I.C.E.                     0      5.00
    Cruise MP:   4
     Flank MP:   6
Heat Sinks:      0 Single                    0       .00
Cockpit & Controls:                          0      1.25
Crew: 2 Members                              0       .00
Turret Equipment:                            0       .50
Armor Factor:   80 pts Standard              0      5.00

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Front:                     3         20
   Left / Right Sides:        3      15/15
   Rear:                      3         15
   Turret:                    3         15

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Items    Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
1 Machine Gun            Rear     0  100     2      1.00
2 LRM 5s                 Turret   0   24     3      5.00
2 Machine Guns           Turret   0          2      1.00
1 C.A.S.E. Equipment     Body                1       .50
Infantry Bay             Body                1      3.25
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                           0          9     25.00
Items & Tons Left:                           1       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        313,688 C-Bills
Battle Value:      196
Cost per BV:       1,600.45
Weapon Value:      96 / 96 (Ratio = .49 / .49)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 5;  MRDmg = 5;  LRDmg = 3
BattleForce2:      MP: 4W,  Armor/Structure: 0 / 3
                   Damage PB/M/L: 1/1/1,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: GL;  Point Value: 2
                   Specials: tran3, if

--------------------------------------------------------
Type/Model:    Phalanx AW-25B
Mass:          25 tons
Construction Options:  Fractional Accounting

Equipment:                                 Items    Mass
Int. Struct.:  15 pts Standard               0      2.50
Engine:        80 I.C.E.                     0      5.00
Power Amplifiers:                            0       .10
    Cruise MP:   4
     Flank MP:   6
Heat Sinks:      3 Single                    0      3.00
Cockpit & Controls:                          0      1.25
Crew: 2 Members                              0       .00
Turret Equipment:                            0       .35
Armor Factor:   80 pts Standard              0      5.00

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Front:                     3         20
   Left / Right Sides:        3      15/15
   Rear:                      3         15
   Turret:                    3         15

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Items    Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
1 Medium Laser           Turret   3          1      1.00
1 SRM 4                  Turret   0   25     2      3.00
1 Machine Gun            Turret   0  100     2      1.00
1 C.A.S.E. Equipment     Body                1       .50
Infantry Bay             Body                1      2.25
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                           3          7     24.95
Items & Tons Left:                           3       .05

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        352,219 C-Bills
Battle Value:      180
Cost per BV:       1,956.77
Weapon Value:      107 / 107 (Ratio = .59 / .59)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 8;  MRDmg = 1;  LRDmg = 0
BattleForce2:      MP: 4W,  Armor/Structure: 0 / 3
                   Damage PB/M/L: 1/1/-,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: GL;  Point Value: 2
                   Specials: tran2

* Shrike Hovertank.hmv (1.66 KB - downloaded 1 times.)
* Drachen Battle Tank DRH-2A.hmv (12.83 KB - downloaded 1 times.)
* Phalanx Infantry Support Vehicle AW-25A.hmv (3.93 KB - downloaded 1 times.)
* Phalanx Infantry Support Vehicle AW-25B.hmv (3.92 KB - downloaded 1 times.)

Takiro Draconis Corvettes « Reply #21 on: February 13, 2008, 10:06:51 PM »

Himeko class Corvette/Raider

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2673
In Class: 40
Manufacturer: Wakazashi Enterprises (Dover /Draconis Combine)

Mass: 150,000 tons
Length: 300 meters
Sail Diameter: 500 meters
Fuel: 3,000 tons (15,000)
Tons/Burn Day: 19.75
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Sail Integrity: 3
KF Drive Integrity: 5
Heat Sinks: 458
Structural Integrity: 80

Armor: (240 tons, Improved Ferro-Aluminum)
   Fore: 40
   Fore-Sides: 40
   Aft-Sides: 40
   Aft: 40

Cargo:
   Bay 1: Cargo (14,490 tons) 2 doors
Bay 2: Small Craft (14) 8 doors
   
Dropship Capacity: 3
Grav Decks: 0
Escape Pods: 20
Lifeboats: 0
Crew: 87 minimum (14 Officers, 73 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 458)
Nose (Heat: 164)
2 Naval Laser 45s
2 LRM 5s
2 PPCs
Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 60)
2 White Shark Missile Launchers
Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 90)
1 White Shark Missile Launcher
3 PPCs
   Aft (Heat: 144)
      2 Naval Laser 45s
      2 LRM 5s

Ammunition:
120 White Sharks
48 volleys of LRM ammo (2 tons)

Overview:
A near failure when it was first designed; the Himeko was the brainchild of Yuriko Ono, a talented naval engineer who had emigrated to the Draconis Combine from her home in Nagasaki, Japan in 2660. In the 2670s, the Combine military had come to the decision to modernize its antiquated corvette fleet, soliciting designs from a number of its most prominent shipyards. Several prototypes were evaluated extensively, and despite their good performance the Combine choose to go in another direction. Not interested in wasting anything, the DCA acquired all three of the Himeko prototypes. The Himeko, Murasaki Shikibu, and Takahashi Rumiko all entered service in 2673.
(Editor's Note: Because she was the primary designer behind the corvette, Yuriko Ono was given the honor of christening these ships. Somewhat irritated with the male oriented society she had grown up with and was still surrounded by, she chose the names of women she considered her personal heroes. Himeko was a Japanese ruler from the end of the 3rd century CE, while Murasaki Shikibu wrote the early 11th century novel Tales of Genji. The name of the third ship, Takahashi Rumiko, is commonly believed to be in reference to a graphic novelist whose work enjoyed considerable popularity in both Japan and North America during the late 20th and early 21st century, however, this is not the case. In fact it is named for an administrator of the world of Shimonseki, who governed in the early 25th Century. Though a fair, judicious leader and even a hero for her role in averting a massive uprising in 2430, she is a largely unknown figure in history.)

Capabilities:
The Himeko is not a particularly impressive anti-ship platform, and neither was it intended to be. Yuriko Ono's design was intended to deal with general patrol and security duty, where its primary opponents would be pirates and smugglers. In this respect the light main armament of four naval lasers and six naval missile tubes is more than adequate. A collection of PPCs and small missile racks provide secondary anti-fighter defense.
Three docking collars and fourteen small craft bays allow the Himeko to transport a wide variety of supporting craft, which was originally intended to allow the ship to cover a wider patrol area. Unfortunately the docking collars made the ship too costly compared to others, which was the primary reason behind its rejection. Later, when adapted to serve as a raider, this allowed for a considerable raiding force to be transported to the battlefield.
A tough hulled, well armored ship, the Himeko could take a lot of punishment for a ship of its size. Heavily modified, her hull would become the basis for the later Inoshishi class corvette. Both designs have gone onto operate together frequently during the Succession War.

Deployment:
   As early as 2690, Combine naval officers had begun to realize the Himeko's suitability for covert operations and raiding, and reportedly all three ships of the class were constantly engaged in espionage and harassment against the Combine's neighbors. They were so successful in this role that when the Edict of 2650 was repealed in 2755, the Combine commenced construction of thirty seven additional ships.
During the Succession War, these new ships have seen extensive action transporting raiding forces deep into enemy territory. Though often able to either slip past or outmaneuver local defense forces, these raids have often been costly for the attacking forces. As with all of the Combine's warships, the number of Himeko class ships in service has steadily declined since the start of hostilities.

Inoshishi class Corvette

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2758
In Class: 120
Manufacturer: Various (Draconis Combine)

Mass: 150,000 tons
Length: 350 meters
Sail Diameter: 500 meters
Fuel: 2,000 tons (10,000)
Tons/Burn Day: 19.75
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Sail Integrity: 3
KF Drive Integrity: 5
Heat Sinks: 1,000
Structural Integrity: 80

Armor: (240 tons, Improved Ferro-Aluminum)
   Fore: 52
   Fore-Sides: 52
   Aft-Sides: 28
   Aft: 28

Cargo:
   Bay 1: Cargo (2,655 tons) 1 door
Bay 2: Small Craft (4) 2 doors
   
Dropship Capacity: 0
Grav Decks: 2 (50-meter diameter)
Escape Pods: 10
Lifeboats: 0
Crew: 89 minimum (15 Officers, 74 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 962)
Nose (Heat: 240)
4 Naval Autocannon 20s
Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 146)
1 Naval Autocannon 20
1 Barracuda Missile Launcher
3 Autocannon 5s
Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 576)
1 Naval Autocannon 20
1 Heavy Naval PPC
3 Autocannon 5s
 
Ammunition:
400 rounds of Naval Autocannon/20 ammunition
20 Barracuda Missiles
280 rounds of Autocannon/5 ammunition

Overview:
After the Edict of 2650 was repealed, every Great House rapidly expanded their military forces, however the expense associated with naval construction left most of the states concentrating on their ground arms. Every nation built new warships, of course, but in most respects, nobody was going to the same lengths to expand their fleets the way they were expanding the ground arm. The Draconis Combine was perhaps the one exception, and in their zeal to expand the fleet as quickly as possible they turned to the corvette, first producing the sophisticated and powerful Same, and following soon after with the Inoshishi. The Inoshishi (Wild Boar) was designed as a cheaper more easily mass produced alternative to the Same.

Capabilities:
The Inoshishi was the lightest front line corvette deployed in the Human Sphere at the start of the Succession War. Lighter than even the Rim Worlds Republic’s Pinto class Corvette it is an extremely tough and spartan design. The ship’s thick internal structure along with its impressive Improved Ferro-Aluminum armor endows it with unmatched durability for its size. Packing all of this protection into such a small vessel comes at a steep price however. Conditions aboard an Inoshishi are tight to say the least with narrow corridors pervading the entire ship. One of the few luxuries afforded to the crew are the twin 50 meters Grav Decks which give some relief from the otherwise snug insides of this highly durable warship.
Not intended to operate independently the Inoshishi has a relatively small cargo space and only average mobility. Its standard thrust of 2Gs, and maximum thrust of 3Gs, allows it to keep up with most ships so it can use its excellent firepower to swarm opponents as it was intended. Its armament includes eight Naval Autocannon 20s, two Heavy Naval Particle Projection Cannons, two Barracuda Missile Launchers, and twelve Autocannon 5s. This arsenal allows a single Inoshishi, or more typically a squadron, to challenge much larger craft and effectively overwhelm them.

Deployment:
   At the start of this new Age of War the Draconis Combine fielded ninety of these valuable warships. Unlike larger warships, which require their own dedicated shipyards, the Inoshishi were small enough to be built at most civilian jumpship yards. Though this practice was limited early on, when the Star League began to crumble, the Combine government quickly moved to shift numerous civilian yards over to military construction, and Inoshishi class ships began pouring into service. In only twenty eight years numerous yards, some of which still have yet to be identified, cranked out more than three vessels a year on average.
   After the start of the war production of these ships was stunted by widespread damage to Kurita industry but not completely halted. Approximately thirty more vessels have entered service with the Draconis Combine Admiralty. In fact the Inoshishi is one of the few warships still manufactured in the InnerSphere today thanks to its relatively simple design process. However, construction has been slowed due to a lack of available components and foreign sabotage conducted on all known facilities. It seems only a matter of time before the Inoshishi becomes as endangered as other warship designs no longer produced because of this horrific conflict.
Inoshishis are frequently grouped into squadrons and attached to every major Draconis naval force. Viewed as cannon fodder by their own commanders these corvettes are generally manned by green conscripts. Thanks to their hard charging nature very few Inoshishi crews have time to become battle hardened veterans. Large numbers of these ships have participated in practically every major battle of the Succession War and will likely continue to do so. While some of their losses were replenished from the numerous yards attrition has taken its toll on these ships and their crews.

Same class Corvette

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2757
In Class: 20
Manufacturer: Wakazashi Enterprises (Dover /Draconis Combine)

Mass: 350,000 tons
Length: 385 meters
Sail Diameter: 800 meters
Fuel: 2,000 tons (5,000)
Tons/Burn Day: 39.52
Safe Thrust: 5
Maximum Thrust: 8
Sail Integrity: 3
KF Drive Integrity: 8
Heat Sinks: 1144 (2288)
Structural Integrity: 60

Armor: (420 tons, Ferro-Carbide)
   Fore: 102
   Fore-Sides: 56
   Aft-Sides: 56
   Aft: 46

Cargo:
   Bay 1: Cargo (8,146 tons) 2 doors
Bay 2: Small Craft (2) 1 door
Bay 3: Fighters (12) 3 doors
   
Dropship Capacity: 0
Grav Decks: 0
Escape Pods: 10
Lifeboats: 10
Crew: 165 minimum (29 Officers, 136 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 2,287)
Nose (Heat: 675)
5 Naval Autocannon 40s
Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 1312)
8 Naval Laser 35s
12 Killer Whale Missile Launchers
Left Broadside/Right Broadside (Heat: 120)
6 PPCs
Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 120)
6 PPCs
   Aft (Heat: 60)
      6 PPCs

Ammunition:
300 rounds of Naval Autocannon/40 ammunition
240 Killer Whale Missiles

Overview:
The Same (or Shark) class Corvette was originally engineered by Black Dog Shipbuilding of Fukuroi. A rather eccentric Draconis enterprise run like a pack of competing nerd fraternities rather than a proper business, one could never really be certain what was going to happen next.
And nowhere else was this truer than their Genken division, the division of the company dedicated to warship design. Though the division had turned out some successful designs in its time nobody could really be sure how they were doing it. The Genken division, though packed to the brim with brilliant minds, had no organization, no sense of order at all. Their ideas just seemed to flow spontaneously from out of nowhere or, as some scandalous rumors would have you believe from hallucinations induced by mushrooms.
Still, they did quality work, and their final product, the Same is certainly an excellent example of that, even if the Combine would prefer to forget that she and the Genken division ever existed.

Capabilities:
The Same was conceived as a high speed attack ship meant to engage ships several times her size. Intended to rely on pack tactics the Same did not depend on her considerable maneuverability to keep out of harms way. Quite the contrary in fact. The Same was designed to close with her opponent as quickly as possible and quite simply break it in half.
To do this, the Same depended on a main arsenal of five of the largest naval autocannons available. The Shitsuren (Broken Heart) model 40 naval cannons were built specifically for the Same, and they give her the firepower needed to rip through even the thickest armor.
Long range firepower on the ship was provided by two dozen Killer Whale missile tubes. Though unusual, this did provide the ship with considerable bite at any range for as long as the missiles lasted. A dozen aerospace fighters further added to the ship's offensive firepower.
Designers added sixteen small naval lasers and several PPC turrets to the design almost as an afterthought. Though wishing to pack even more naval missile tubes into the design, they conceded the possibility that the Same might just run out of ammunition and therefore might need something to fall back on.
Close to five hundred tons of Ferro-carbide armor provided protection for the Same. This gave her armor protection that many of the destroyers of her era would be quite happy with.
Small fuel tanks and limited cargo space made the Same ill suited for independent operations. This was not considered a problem, however, as she was designed to operate as part of the main battlefleet, offering a rapid strike force to support the main line of battleships and cruisers.

Deployment:
   The Draconis Combine approved construction of the Same in 2757 as part of the public buildup of their House Military in the later days of the Star League (as opposed to the secret buildup that had been going on for decades). Black Dog facilities proved too small to handle production of this complex heavy corvette which was entrusted to Wakazashi Enterprises. Despite her considerable capabilities the ship was neither cheap nor easy to build which resulted in only twenty vessels being built by the start of the Succession War. New construction was halted soon after hostilities broke out because of these same complexities.
The Same's first role was rather unusual to say the least. In early June of 2758, the second ship of the class, the Kasasagi, was "loaned" to the noble Takeda clan, and took part in the festivities surrounding the marriage of the clan's eldest daughter Midori, transporting her on a symbolic journey from Vega to Altair to meet her future husband.
The very nature of the journey (requiring that Lady Midori arrive by July 7th) actually proved just a little dangerous, as the Kasasagi twice had to endure a quick charge of its KF-drive, and jump to a pirate point in the Altair system in order to deliver its passenger on time. Nevertheless, the untested ship made it through in fine style.
[Editor's note: Ridiculously extravagant really, especially when you consider that neither Vega nor Altair were Combine territory at the time. The amount of influence that had to be peddled to allow a heavily armed corvette, especially one that had yet to complete its shakedown cruise, to take this little jaunt through two states was considerable. Still, this gesture, full of romantic symbolism and inspired by classical Japanese legend, was considered incredibly romantic by some. Even today some maidens travel what is called the "lover's crossing" between Vega and Altair as a way of showing their devotion to their lovers].
Unfortunately, the rest of the ship's history has not been so peaceful or clear for that matter. The Combine's twenty Same class warships were on the front lines when the Succession War broke out, and though they scored some very impressive successes early on, many were quickly destroyed. Only a limited number of these warships are still believed to exist but there is a strange discrepancy that continues to puzzle some naval experts. Many sources, including the DCA, insist that only two such vessels continue to serve the Dragon as of today. However, there are some indications that at least one unknown Same still lurks somewhere in Combine space. A vessel spotted by foreign intelligence assets in the Benjamin District at the exact time as the known Same’s appeared elsewhere has raised some interesting questions. Combine authorities however dismiss these reports as attempts to mislead their own war efforts by creating ghosts in their own realm.

* Himeko class Corvette[Raider.hma (5.06 KB - downloaded 5 times.)
* Inoshishi class Corvette.hma (5.34 KB - downloaded 4 times.)
* Same class Corvette.hma (7.1 KB - downloaded 4 times.)

Takiro Draconis Cruisers « Reply #23 on: February 13, 2008, 10:15:04 PM »

Atago class Heavy Cruiser

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2652
In Class: 62
Manufacturer: Matabushi Incorporated (Luthien /Draconis Combine)

Mass: 810,000 tons
Length: 780 meters
Sail Diameter: 1,450 meters
Fuel: 3,000 tons (7,500)
Tons/Burn Day: 39.52
Safe Thrust: 2
Maximum Thrust: 3
Sail Integrity: 4
KF Drive Integrity: 17
Heat Sinks: 5,360
Structural Integrity: 80

Armor: (1199 tons, Standard Armor)
   Fore: 88
   Fore-Sides: 88
   Aft-Sides: 88
   Aft: 88

Cargo:
Bay 1: Small Craft (10) 2 doors
Bay 2: Cargo (76,075 tons) 2 doors
Bay 3: Fighters (24) 4 doors
Bay 4: Marines (756 / 36 jump infantry platoons) 1 door
   
Dropship Capacity: 4
Grav Decks: 2 (120-meter diameter)
Escape Pods: 20
Lifeboats: 10
Crew: 285 minimum (50 Officers, 235 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 5,360)
Nose (Heat: 340)
4 Naval Autocannon 25s
Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 1,230)
5 Naval Autocannon 10s
5 Naval Laser 55s
2 Killer Whale Missile Launchers
   Left/ Right Broadsides (Heat: 1,870)
      4 Naval Autocannon 25s
      5 Naval Autocannon 10s
      5 Naval Laser 55s
      1 Killer Whale Missile Launcher
Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 1,680)
4 Naval Autocannon 35s
4 Naval Autocannon 25s
1 Killer Whale Missile Launcher
   Aft (Heat: 240)
2 Naval Autocannon 35s
 
Ammunition:
1000 rounds of Naval Autocannon/35 ammunition
2000 rounds of Naval Autocannon/25 ammunition
2000 rounds of Naval Autocannon/10 ammunition
320 Killer Whale Missiles

Overview:
Named in honor of Admiral Takeo Kurita’s ancient flagship the Atago was commissioned by Urizen the Second to replace the older Sultan class Heavy Cruisers that until this time had been a bulwark of the DCA. At first, the announcement of Kurita's deployment of a new class of heavy cruiser, coming barely two years after Michael Cameron edict restricting the military strength of house militaries, caused a great deal of a stir. Many accused Kurita of disregarding Cameron's edict, and for a while there was talk that the naval arms race that had tainted the first half of the century would begin again.
However, these fears were quickly put to rest. Built with great fanfare at the Kure Naval Yards by Matabushi Incorporated there was little about this warship that was kept from the public. True to his word, Urizen II ordered the gradual phasing out of older vessels, replacing them with the new Atago class as they became available, and therefore, at least on the surface, staying below the naval limits imposed by the Star League.
[Editor's Note: Actually, the Atago is one of the few times where the Combine didn't try to duck around its obligations to the star league. This is believed to be partially due to the "Japanification" of the Combine first begun by Urizen II. Though Japanese culture had always had an influence over the Combine, it wasn't until his reign that it really took hold. This inevitably spread to the fleet as well, including to wide scale renaming or replacement of so called gaikoku (foreign) ships. Though the Combine already had several classes of ships with japanese names (such as the Hiei class battleships and several destroyer classes), under Urizen II this became policy. Sure the Sultan and other classes were old and would need replacement eventually, but they were also another thing as well. They were gaikoku.]

Capabilities:
The Atago class exemplified the design principles of the heavy cruiser. The ship is slow, and its armor is somewhat subpar for its size. On the other hand it is armed to the teeth. Fifty naval autocannons of varying calibers make up the main firepower, backed up by twenty naval lasers. While eight killer whale capital missile systems and twenty four fighters provide defense against enemy fighter attacks.
Combine naval planners envisioned the Atago as sort of a roving utility man, able to respond to trouble as it arose. With this in mind, the designers included four docking collars in the design, along with barracks space for a full regiment of jump capable marines. This allows the ship to deliver military forces to any trouble spot.
A noticeable difference from smaller Kurita warships is the spacious interior offered by the Atago. They aren’t luxurious by any standard but exceed the meager inside of lesser Draconis vessels. In part the ships’s wider corridors were done to facilitate naval operations but also as a reward to the more valued crews of these vessels.

Deployment:
   The Combine constructed sixty two Atago class Heavy Cruisers from 2652 to 2700 and spread them throughout their fleet. They served in a variety of roles which included forming the bulk of the Dragon’s Naval Assault Squadrons as well as commanding smaller frigate and destroyer squadrons. Their service during the Davion War of Succession was limited, but in general they performed well. The sixty surviving Atagos were at the fore front of Kurita advances during the start of the Succession War. They played a major role in the Draconis naval victories at Skondia and Cholame against Steiner and Davion forces respectively. While their impact has clearly been felt the entire class has taken massive damage and could be on the edge of extinction. Only a handful of these Heavy Cruisers now remain.
   One of these surviving vessels, the DCS Haguro, has a storied past that includes a female naval commander. Ryoko Igarashii, who commanded the Haguro from 2658 to 2669, was a rarity in the Combine. A woman commanding a major warship was completely unheard of in the Draconis Combine. Descended from a noble linage, that was somewhat unsung, Igarashii was a gifted naval tactician who led with a unique style. Apparently deferring her authority to male underlings, who always under performed without her guidance, she overcame a lingering cultural bias and shot to renown within the Combine. She stepped down in 2669 to settle in as housewife to a rising staff officer Tai-Sa Franklin Nobunaga. The Nobunaga family has continued to serve with distinction in the DCA. Later on the Combine honored the entire Igarashii clan for their service by naming their newest class of battlecruiser after them.

Byakuren class Battlecruiser

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2781
In Class: 4
Manufacturer: Matabushi Incorporated (Midway /Draconis Combine)

Mass: 950,000 tons
Length: 1,070 meters
Sail Diameter: 1,200 meters
Fuel: 10,000 tons (25,000)
Tons/Burn Day: 39.52
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Sail Integrity: 5
KF Drive Integrity: 19
Heat Sinks: 2,240 (4,480)
Structural Integrity: 180

Armor: (3420 tons, Lamellor Ferro Carbide)
   Fore: 700
   Fore-Sides: 614
   Aft-Sides: 600
   Aft: 400

Cargo:
Bay 1: Cargo (15,578 tons) 8 doors
Bay 2: Small Craft (2) 2 doors
Bay 3: Fighters (36) 6 doors

Dropship Capacity: 4
Grav Decks: 3 (150-meter diameter)
Escape Pods: 60
Lifeboats: 0
Crew: 315 minimum (55 Officers, 260 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 4480)
Nose (Heat: 600)
60 Particle Projection Cannons
Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 1600)
8 Naval Autocannon 30s
   Left/Right Broadside (Heat: 1200)
      60 Particle Projection Cannons
Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 480)
      12 Killer Whale Missile Launchers
   Aft (Heat: 600)
      60 Particle Projection Cannons

Ammunition:
800 rounds of Naval Autocannon/30 ammunition
120 Killer Whale Missiles

Overview:
An experimental design dating as far back as the repeal of the Edict of 2650, the Byakuren (White Lotus) class Battlecruiser was largely regarded as an oddball design that stood accepted naval traditions and protocols on their head, sacrificing almost all of the firepower wielded by her contemporaries such as the Black Lion and Igarashii in favor of speed and armor protection. A lot of armor protection.
In this regard, she wasn't the first ship to follow this design principle, but it had never had much of a following with any naval power, all of which favored offensive armament over armor protection. Even the success of similar designs like the Taurian Navy's Reunification War era Basho wasn't enough to sway most people, and the DCA wasn't an exception, rejecting the radical design out of hand when it was first presented for their approval in 2757. Recent events, however, show that the Byakuren would get the last laugh.

Capabilities:
   When a person looks over the Byakuren, the first thing that no doubt sticks out in their mind is that it carries only sixteen heavy guns, an armament barely the equal of a destroyer much less what would be regarded as a typical battlecruiser. The twenty four killer whale tubes, six fighter squadrons, and the truly massive battery of anti-fighter PPCs (which is an almost unheard of design feature) helps brighten the picture a little, but most look no further.
   Proponents of the design usually take this moment to slap those who turn away with a copy of Janes Fighting Ships and point out the ship's massive armor belt, thirty four hundred tons of the best armor money could buy and espionage could steal, over twice as thick as that used on the vaunted Texas, and the heaviest confirmable level of armor protection in use on any warship currently in service.
With this in mind, the point of the Byakuren becomes apparent. It is true that most warships her size (or even significantly smaller) outgunned the battlecruiser, often by a significant margin, but all this extra firepower actually doesn't give them a particularly significant advantage over the Byakuren, there is simply too much armor for them to get through, while the Byakuren's more humble broadside is still able to deliver serious damage to a more conventional ship's lighter armor. The ship's designers actually went so far as to claim that the Byakuren's survivability made it at the very least an even match for any ship in the fleets of the Inner Sphere; even the Terran Hegemony's vaunted Mckenna.

Deployment:
   Old habits die hard, however, and concerns about the Byakuren's lack of firepower led to its rejection by the DCA. It would take the destruction and chaos of the Periphery Uprising and the Amaris Coup for the design to be revisited. With so much of the SLDF battlefleet being wiped out right and left war planners began to re-evaluate not only their battle tactics, but the design principles of their warships. In far too many battles goliath warships were vaporized rapidly by a variety of innovative tactics. It had become painfully obvious that the light armor protection that had been considered acceptable for centuries simply didn't cut it in true, full scale open warfare, and many warships were actually, as odd as it might sound, a little bit too heavily armed.
Of course the Combine was in no position to begin a massive effort to completely replace and redesign their battlefleet, however, they were in the unique position of having a design already available with the kind of armor protection that some Admirals were clamoring for. The decision was made to begin construction of the Byakuren class as Kerensky was closing in on Amaris. A total of four keels were laid down and eventually completed at the Draconis Fleet Yards above Midway by Matabushi Incorporated. The general scarcity of resources prevented any further construction on a fifth Byaruken which was only partially completed.
Today only one Byakuren class Battlecruiser, the Kakitsubata (Iris), still serves the Dragon. Sadly her sister ships; the Byakuren, the Shakuyaku (Peony), and the Sanshikisumire (Pansy), have all succumbed to the increasing devastation of the Succession War. Even this warship’s impressive armored hull was not enough to stave off the unprecedented destruction of this cataclysm conflict. The DCA has managed to keep the Kakitsubata operational by cannibalizing her unfinished sister ship and judicious use of salvage.

Igarashii class Battlecruiser

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2708
In Class: 60
Manufacturer: Matabushi Incorporated (Luthien /Draconis Combine)

Mass: 810,000 tons
Length: 775 meters
Sail Diameter: 1,450 meters
Fuel: 4000 tons (10,000)
Tons/Burn Day: 39.52
Safe Thrust: 3
Maximum Thrust: 5
Sail Integrity: 4
KF Drive Integrity: 17
Heat Sinks: 1,500 (3,000)
Structural Integrity: 120

Armor: (1400 tons, Ferro-Carbide)
   Fore: 198
   Fore-Sides: 199
   Aft-Sides: 199
   Aft: 198

Cargo:
Bay 1: Fighters (18) 3 doors
Bay 2: Cargo (75,579 tons) 1 door
Bay 3: Small Craft (10) 2 doors
   
Dropship Capacity: 4
Grav Decks: 2 (65 and 85-meter diameter)
Escape Pods: 20
Lifeboats: 0
Crew: 251 minimum (43 Officers, 208 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 2,940)
Nose (Heat: 400)
4 Naval Autocannon 30s
Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 940)
4 Naval Autocannon 30s
   4 White Shark Missile Launchers
   1 Barracuda Missile Launcher
   Left/ Right Broadsides (Heat: 700)
      4 Naval Autocannon 25s
      1 Barracuda Missile Launcher
Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 700)
4 Naval Autocannon 25s
   1 Barracuda Missile Launcher
   Aft (Heat: 200)
2 Naval Autocannon 30s
 
Ammunition:
1400 rounds of Naval Autocannon/30 ammunition
1600 rounds of Naval Autocannon/25 ammunition
80 Killer Whale Missiles
60 Barracuda Missiles

Overview:
In 2691the Star League deployed its fearsome Black Lion class Battlecruiser and the rest of the Human Sphere took notice. This was especially true of the Draconis Combine who allegedly desired this formidable warship design for its own navy. For fifteen years their Internal Security Force (ISF) played a dangerous cat and mouse game with the SLDF eventually acquiring most of the original plans. (Editor’s Note: The House Kurita continues to deny these covert operations and instead plays up the role of its own ship, the Atago, in the design of this ship) While espionage seems to have played a major role in the development of this new Battlecruiser it was not solely responsible for the unique end product. (Editor’s Note: No conclusive proof has ever been uncovered to show that House Kurita stole the Black Lion design despite some pretty convincing accusations) As construction of the impressive Atago class Heavy Cruiser came to an end its proven equipment and capable engineers were dedicated to this growing project. Much of their knowledge and expertise went into the Combine’s Black Lion which became known as the Igarashii. Named in honor of a noted Draconis military family the first ship of its kind launched from the Kure Naval Yards in 2708 becoming one of the finest in the Draconis Combine Admiralty (DCA).

Capabilities:
Even though the Igarashii’s basic design seems to be copied directly from the Black Lion it was apparently intended to defeat its predecessor in a stand-up fight. The debate over how successful the Kurita effort was at overcoming the initial Star League design continues to rage to this day. Both ships look nearly identical as they mass just over eight hundred thousand tons and have almost the same overall length. The Combine model incorporates some aesthetic hull differences and is slightly longer because of its interplanetary engines. The Igarashii uses three Hyperion Starfire engines, originally used on the Atago, to match the Black Lion’s 2.5 Gs of acceleration without the complexity issues that hamper maintenance efforts. These drives actually showcase how much the Igarashii has in common with the Atago which first utilized two Hyperion Starfires for in system transit. Perhaps more interesting might be the fact that both Kurita designs use the same Compact KF Cores and jump sails. While these key features make a compelling case for Draconis advocates who claim the Atago, and not the Black Lion, was the basis for this battlecruiser. However, additional features and their very placement throughout the Igarashii appear to come completely from the Black Lion and almost prove that the design was plagiarized. From the corridors that line the ship to the four docking collars, the fighter bay (with the exception of a single missing door), the small craft bay, the escape pods, and even the grav decks it is almost identically to the Star League Battlecruiser.
Admittedly there are key differences between the Black Lion and its Kurita imitator. First off the Igarashii holds about four times as much fuel as its evident forerunner. The Igarashii has superior armor protection to the Star League Battlecruiser thanks in part to a heavily reinforced hull. The design also makes use of advanced Ferro Carbide plating which was probably obtained by Draconis agents for the express purpose of duplicating the Black Lion’s capabilities. The arsenal of the Igarashii departs from the Black Lion in some important ways. The vessel’s main armament, fourteen Naval Autocannon 30s, is clearly based on Star League ship. However the Igarashii utilizes sixteen Naval Autocannon 25s found on the Atago, rather than 20s found on the Black Lion, to augment the main guns. While this weapons array possessed only two-thirds as much firepower as the Black Lion it requires a smaller crew complement to operate. Also it has superior heat dissipation thanks to double heat sinks and its altered weaponry. Eight Killer Whale Missile Launchers and six Barracuda Missile Launchers appear to be holdovers from the Black Lion. Despite these differences both vessels were clearly able warships that would go onto battlefield success throughout their service in space.

Deployment:
   The Igarashii class Battlecruiser first began appearing seventeen years after the launch of the Black Lion. Construction, which was slower than the Star League Battlecruiser, continued until the destruction of the Luthien shipyards in 2787 by the Tamar Tigers. All sixty vessels were battle tested in the early years of the Succession War where they saw extensive combat. During the battle of Dieron the Igarashii finally squared off against the Black Lion but the massive clash failed to resolve the issue of which was the better ship. However, both vessels fought well and proved themselves beyond the shadow of a doubt during this epic struggle. Their fearsome capabilities made them prime targets for nuclear and massed fighter attacks which have taken their toll on this class. They have been nearly wiped out by this conflict and may soon become extinct.

Mogami class Cruiser

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2725
In Class: 24
Manufacturer: Various (Draconis Combine)

Mass: 700,000 tons
Length: 700 meters
Sail Diameter: 1,150 meters
Fuel: 10,000 tons (25,000)
Tons/Burn Day: 39.52
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Sail Integrity: 4
KF Drive Integrity: 15
Heat Sinks: 7,180
Structural Integrity: 90

Armor: (1259 tons, Standard)
   Fore: 93
   Fore-Sides: 93
   Aft-Sides: 93
   Aft: 93

Cargo:
Bay 1: Fighters (36) 6 doors
Bay 2: Cargo (35,932 tons) 2 doors
Bay 3: Small Craft (2) 1 door

Dropship Capacity: 0
Grav Decks: 0
Escape Pods: 0
Lifeboats: 15
Crew: 290 minimum (51 Officers, 239 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 7,180)
Nose (Heat: 600)
8 Naval Laser 45s
5 Large Lasers
Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 2180)
15 Naval Laser 45s
   5 Large Lasers
   Left/Right Broadside (Heat: 2180)
15 Naval Laser 45s
   5 Large Lasers
Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 2180)
15 Naval Laser 45s
   5 Large Lasers
   Aft (Heat: 40)
      5 Large Lasers

Overview:
   Though not particularly prevalent in the Draconis Fleet the Mogami class Cruiser has nevertheless earned its own niche, simply because of its clouded origins. Despite intense Kurita secrecy we can today gather from known evidence that there were at least five separate Mogami “classes”. Officially, the Draconis Combine deployed only five Mogami class ships, the Mogami, Kuma, Asashio, Nadashio, and Natori. However, records indicate that these five ships (each of which had significant structural differences from one another, suggesting they were built at different yards) were actually the lead warships for a whole series of shadow cruiser.
   The official date of the Mogami's launching was in mid 2755, barely two months after the Star League Council passed a resolution allowing the Great Houses to double the size of their private armies. However, careful study does not support this assumption, and despite the official story being that all five ships were built at Chatham, there is no indication whatsoever that the Combine has ever built Mogami class ships there. Careful analysis of freighter traffic (specifically freighters carrying parts needed for warships) seems to indicate that construction of the Mogami and her sisters took place at least five separate shipyards as early as 2725. It is believed that two dozen warships of this type were constructed beginning at least thirty years before their official appearance.

Capabilities:
The Mogami was in essence an illegal warship, built secretly in violation of Star League Edicts regarding the size of private House militaries. This fact in itself is no big deal. Every Great House did at least some stretching or outright breaking of the rules when it came to the strength of their private armies, especially when it became apparent that the League was crumbling. What makes the Mogami unique is the excessive lengths to which this secret was kept (to this day the Combine only admits to building eighteen Mogamis, and they maintain that none of them were built before 2755), and the fact that this ship was built specifically to fight in a post Star League era.
This conclusion becomes inescapable when one examines the Mogami closely. In the first case, the ship is dirt cheap. No lithium fusion battery, no docking collars, no fancy armor, not even a grav deck. The weaponry, a massed battery of nearly a hundred naval lasers and forty large lasers, provides reasonable firepower at the lowest possible price. In the second case, the ship requires very little in the way of logistical support. It carries ten thousand tons of fuel, along with enough supplies to keep operating for a year, and most important of all, does not require ammunition resupply. In the third case, the ship can be operated by practically anyone. The control systems are extremely simple and reliable, meaning that an undertrained crew will be able to control their ship fairly well.
If we take these three things into account, we end up with a relatively cheap ship that can be fueled once, staffed with green recruits, and sent off to battle. Thanks to its weaponry and armor protection, a Mogami might even be expected to last long enough for its replacement to be completed and a new crew trained. The ship is therefore ideal for the bloody ship killing fights that all out war in the InnerSphere would entail.

Deployment:
From confirmed sightings thus far we know that there were at least four Mogamis, three Nadashios, three Kumas, half a dozen Asashios, and two Natoris (the two Natoris in particular are confirmed because they both appeared at the battle of Cholame at the same time), despite claims by Takiro and later Minoru Kurita that they had only ever built five ships. We believe at least seven of these formidable warships are still in service with the Draconis Fleet. However the destruction of the Succession War has effectively ended further construction of this large vessel despite its simplicity.
   There are persistent rumors that a sixth Mogami shipyard exists somewhere still in Combine space. These stories may have begun on the vague assumption that there might just be a hidden shipyard somewhere to build this secret warship. Some place Kurama Shipyard (or Hie or Marat or another name used by one of the other hundred legends surrounding this most likely none existent place) along the coreward edge of Combine space. Fantastic tales of how the Combine was researching a new power system called the phase transition engine, or how it was where an incredibly powerful energy weapon was being developed capable of destroying entire planets, or where dealings with a transdimensional alien race broke down, resulting in the Succession War.
   Sadly this irrational list seems endless but a few still believe that there is a shipyard out there that used to build these mysterious Cruisers. The evidence for all these theories is of course non existent, and ninety nine percent of them are utterly ridiculous. Nevertheless, a significant number of people have begun to scour the coreward edge of the Combine looking for something, even if it is just a purpose to their own pathetic lives.
   That being said, there is of course the possibility that there are additional Mogamis floating around somewhere. It may never be known how many of these warships were built, but the shear amount of time between 2725 (when the first one was believed to have been built) and the start of the Succession Wars suggests that there was plentiful time to produce a large number of these ships, especially at five different shipyards. It is possible that a few of these ships were mothballed, waiting to be utilized, and just forgotten. Of course it is also possible that a sixth shipyard actually does exist. In both cases, there is no evidence to support either assumption.

* Atago class Heavy Cruiser.hma (6.4 KB - downloaded 4 times.)
* Byakuren class Battlecruiser.hma (5.94 KB - downloaded 4 times.)
* Igarashii class Battlecruiser.hma (6.67 KB - downloaded 4 times.)
* Mogami class Cruiser.hma (7.29 KB - downloaded 4 times.)

Takiro Marik Corvettes « Reply #25 on: May 03, 2008, 10:05:34 PM »

Guardian class Corvette

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2584
In Class: 30
Manufacturer: Various (Free Worlds League)

Mass: 140,000 tons
Length: 266 meters
Sail Diameter: 660 meters
Fuel: 1,000 tons (5,000)
Tons/Burn Day: 19.75
Safe Thrust: 3
Maximum Thrust: 5
Sail Integrity: 3
KF Drive Integrity: 5
Heat Sinks: 800
Structural Integrity: 33

Armor: (90 tons, Improved Ferro-Aluminum)
   Fore: 19
   Fore-Sides: 18
   Aft-Sides: 18
   Aft: 17

Cargo:
Bay 1: Fighters (12) 2 doors
Bay 2: Cargo (16,981 tons) 1 door
Bay 3: Marines (3 platoons)
Bay 4: Small Craft (4) 1 door
   
Dropship Capacity: 0
Grav Decks: 1 (30-meter diameter)
Escape Pods: 20
Lifeboats: 20
Crew: 106 minimum (18 Officers, 88 Enlisted)

Weapons: (Heat: 1,650)
   Nose (Heat: 30)
      2 Barracuda Missile Launchers
      10 Small Lasers
   Fore Left/Right (Heat: 624)
      2 Medium NPPCs
      4 Large Lasers
      10 Small Lasers
   Left/Right Broadsides (Heat: 624)
      2 Medium NPPCs
      4 Large Lasers
      10 Small Lasers
   Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 60)
      2 Barracuda Missile Launchers
      10 Small Lasers
   Aft (Heat: 312)
      2 Medium NPPCs
      4 Large Lasers
      10 Small Lasers

Ammunition:
   360 Barracuda Missiles

Overview:
   The Free Worlds League acquired thirty six Vigilant Corvettes from the Terran Hegemony as part of their agreement to join the Star League.  These ships would serve with the League Navy during the Reunification War, where several were lost in combat with the Canopian Navy. In 2582 the FWL Navy began looking for a new escort for is Atreus battleships. While the Atreus was a powerful ship, it was vulnerable to fighter attacks and several were lost to massed fighter attacks by the Canopians. The League Navy began a program in 2581 to build a new light escort, but the ship was not expected to be ready for almost decade. [Editor’s Note:  The Free Worlds shipyards were overworked maintaining and repairing the ships of the Free Worlds League and the Star League fleets. As a result there were not enough resources available to develop a completely new ship.] As an interim measure the League began to refit the Vigilants to serve as escorts for the Atreus.  The first refitted ship renamed the Guardian was launched in 2584 and all 30 surviving ships had been refit by 2602.

Capabilities:
   The refit Vigilant was designed to provide the Atreus with defense against enemy aerospace fighters. In order to reduce the amount of time required for the refit, the design team did not modify the KF Core, engines or structural framework.
   The design team started by stripping off all of the weapons carried by the Vigilant. These were replaced with weapons better suited for combat against fighters and dropships. The main guns of the Guardian are ten Medium Naval PPCs. A pair of NPPCs replaced each of the original Luxor Destroyer Naval Autocannons. These weapons proved to be very potent against assault dropships and even small warships.
   The remaining weaponry was designed for anti-fighter work. The White Shark missile launchers were replaced with a pair of Barracuda Missile Launchers. The smaller Barracudas, with their advanced targeting systems, were far more effective against fighters then the White Shark. The Guardian also mounts twenty Large Lasers for use against aerospace fighters. To provide defense against the nuclear tipped missiles used by the Periphery States the ship carries eighty small lasers which can be used to target and destroy incoming missiles.
Using the space freed up by removing the need for large ammunition bays, the designers were able to add a second squadron of fighters providing additional fighter defense. The armor protection of the ship was improved by using ninety tons of Ferro Aluminum armor. This provided the ship with marginally better protection then the original model. The biggest problem with the new ship is the heat management system.  The design team was unable to increase the heat dissipation capability of the ship.  As a result the ship is unable to fire all the NPPCs at the same time, forcing the ship’s Captain to carefully choose his targets.

Deployment:
   The Guardian did not enter service until the closing stages of the Reunification War. The ships only saw limited action against the Canopians, but they proved very effective in combat. The ships also saw action during the Free Worlds League Civil War where six were destroyed in combat. During the Succession War the remaining ships served with the League Navy along the Capellan border. The ships have proven effective against the massed Capellan fighter attacks, destroying a large number of fighters.  For this reason the ships have come under heavy attack by the Capellan’s Chesterton Destroyers, in an effort to protect the Capellan aerospace fighter forces. Currently nine Guardian class Corvettes remain in service with the Free Worlds League.

Libertad class Corvette

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2563
In Class: 120
Manufacturer: Various (Free Worlds League)

Mass: 240,000 tons
Length: 347 meters
Sail Diameter: 1,200 meters
Fuel: 3,000 tons (15,000)
Tons/Burn Day: 39.52
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Sail Integrity: 3
KF Drive Integrity: 6
Heat Sinks: 1700 [Block II], 1400 (2800) [Block III]
Structural Integrity: 50

Block II
Armor: (223 tons, Standard)
   Fore: 28
   Fore-Sides: 28
   Aft-Sides: 28
   Aft: 24

Cargo:
   Bay 1: Fighters (30) 6 doors
   Bay 2: Small Craft (Cool 2 doors
   Bay 3: Cargo (16,159 tons) / Marines (1 platoon) 6 doors
   
Dropship Capacity: 0
Grav Decks: 2 (78-meter diameter)
Escape Pods: 40
Lifeboats: 40
Crew: 121 minimum (21 Officers, 100 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 2,000)
   Nose (Heat: 270)
      2 Medium NPPCs
   Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 740)
      2 Medium NPPCs
      4 White Shark Missile Launchers
      4 PPCs
   Left/ Right Broadsides (Heat: 620)
      2 Medium NPPCs
      4 PPCs   
   Aft (Heat: 370)
      2 Medium NPPCs
      4 White Shark Missile Launchers
      4 PPCs
 
Ammunition:
   120 White Shark Missiles

Block III
Armor: (227 tons, Improved Ferro-Aluminum)
   Fore: 36
   Fore-Sides: 36
   Aft-Sides: 36
   Aft: 32

Cargo:
   Bay 1: Small Craft (12) 2 doors
   Bay 2: Cargo (14,875 tons) / Marines (1 platoon) 6 doors
   
Dropship Capacity: 0
Grav Decks: 2 (78-meter diameter)
Escape Pods: 40
Lifeboats: 40
Crew: 121 minimum (21 Officers, 100 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 2,240)
   Nose (Heat: 300)
      2 Medium NPPCs
      2 White Shark Missile Launchers
   Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 710)
      2 Medium NPPCs
      3 White Shark Missile Launchers
      4 PPCs
   Left/ Right Broadsides (Heat: 890)
      2 Medium NPPCs
      1 Naval Autocannon 40
      4 PPCs
   Aft (Heat: 370)
      2 Medium NPPCs
      4 White Shark Missile Launchers
      4 PPCs

Ammunition:
   100 rounds of Naval Autocannon/40 ammo
   120 White Shark Missiles

Overview:
   The peace treaty that ended the Third Andurien War was far from universally popular within the Free Worlds League. Many within the League resented the terms of the armistice, not least of them a number of Anduriens who believed that a seat on Ian Cameron's nascent "Star League Council" was a poor trade for Capellan annexation of their home province. With that in mind, despite the 'outbreak of peace' offered by the Star League and its growing membership, Albert Marik took the precaution of ordering a new round of military modernization, hedging against the chance that Terrence Liao (or any of the Free Worlds League's own myriad secessionist elements) be emboldened by his 'appeasement'.
   Further 'outbreaks of peace' in the interim made this move seem increasingly foolish, but increasing Periphery intransigence in the face of the Star League's rise meant that few protests were raised about the modernization.
   Part of this modernization policy was a contract for a new design of patrol corvette, intended to police the new borders and remind the Capellans, the Periphery, and the various dissidents that military dominance in the Third Andurien War had firmly rested with the League - and had not wavered in the interim. Events subsequent to the Pollux Proclamation would prove this to be a wise policy, albeit in retrospect.

Capabilities:
   Dubbed the 'Libertad' (Liberty) class, the new vessels were meant for relatively short deterrence patrols - often going less than ten weeks between port-visits.  One of the keys to their power was their capacious hangar-allowance for parasite craft such as fighters and shuttles. With ample room set aside for fuel, components, and the other supplies needed to keep these parasites operational, each Libertad could deploy a full wing of starfighters - even maintaining room for spare spaceframes to compensate for sometimes lackluster serviceability rates - and several small craft. A Libertad's parasite complement - and thus its operational role - could easily be tailored to a new mission, giving the type exceptional flexibility, allowing it to shift from front-line strike-carrier to Marine assault-transport to customs-enforcement cutter within a few days.  (In practice, the 'optimal' mix for a 'strike wing' was soon established as three starfighter squadrons, six 'spare' spaceframes, four gunboat-shuttles for self-defense, and two general-purpose small-craft for customs/boarding operations or the usual utility work.)
   However, this same generous allowance of hangar-space required compromises elsewhere.  While the Libertad class were stoutly built and well-armored for their size, their onboard armament fits were less than impressive.  However, given that the type was intended for patrol work rather than standing in the line of battle, a mix of dual-mount NPPC turrets and banks of White Shark missiles were considered more than adequate against the JumpShips, DropShips and fighters they were expected to deal with most frequently. [Editor’s Note: Details of the Block I which was retired by the mid-twenty seventh century have been omitted from this report as they didn’t survive to see the outbreak of the Succession War.]
   The 'Block II' rolling-refits were intended to redress some of the shortcomings of the original Libertads, as revealed by combat experience. A number of the vessels lost during the Reunification War had been caught 'flat-footed' by Canopian strikefighters, with their own parasites elsewhere, and their lack of onboard point-defense weaponry had proven an acute weakness. Moreover, the long deployment-times of the Canopian campaign (long in excess of FWLN guidelines for the class) had seen a disproportionate number of Libertad crewmen succumb to low-gravity complaints, some of them permanently debilitating, and their lack of grav-decks could no longer be tolerated. A revision of the authorized strike-groups saw the hangar reallocated into two dedicated sections, one housing a reinforced fighter-wing and the other devoted to several shuttles; the latter were usually split evenly between gunboats and utility shuttles, since the former had proved a disappointment in wartime situations and the latter were far more useful for the 'workhorse' duties which were the Libertads' peacetime role.
   A second SLEP upgrade was instituted at the personal direction of Kenyon Marik shortly after the Amaris Coup, as the specter of widespread warfare once again loomed on the horizon. SAFE operations within the Hegemony shortly before the Coup and turmoil within its borders thereafter brought the League's shipyards a windfall of formerly restricted technologies, a crucial redress of an imbalance which had existed for most of a century. This refit was aimed squarely at countering the danger of the Lyran Commonwealth's Mako class Corvettes - a class whose combination of speed and advanced point-defense weapons gave them the ability to bypass (or destroy) a Block II's fighters and force a close action, where the Lyran vessel held the advantage in raw firepower. Suppressing most of the parasite complement, the Libertad Block III used that room for advanced armor-protection, an overhauled power-management grid and a single (albeit devastating) massive naval autocannon mount in each broadside, offsetting many of the Lyran vessel's advantages.  Half of the class was converted to the new standard in the time between the Coup and the start of the Succession War; operational doctrine was that a corvette division (soon known as a 'patrol pair') would always consist of a Block II 'baby carrier' partnered with a Block III 'bodyguard'.

Deployment:
   The Libertads saw heavy action sooner than anticipated, for they would play a significant role in Marion Marik's offensive into the Magistracy of Canopus during the Reunification War. Indeed, the fighter-wings and missile-banks of Libertad corvettes did much to break the screen of the Canopian fleet at Thurrock, clearing a path for the League's heavier combatants.
   Despite the type's proven utility - both in its design role and elsewhere - and its remarkable ease of construction, procurement of the Libertad class was stopped in 2603. Only one hundred and twenty hulls had been commissioned, and thirteen of those were replacements for vessels lost against the Canopians or in various skirmishes. Navy requests for renewed purchases were rejected in light of the League's rising economic woes, and even when Parliament finally acknowledged the need for a modernization of the Libertad fleet, the introduction of the Star League dollar and the resultant 'cash crunch' meant that this took the form of an overhaul and life-extension program rather than new construction. (The fact that several Navy and independent studies declared that new construction would actually have been significantly cheaper was carefully ignored by the politicians, who 'knew' that renovating old ships was cheaper than making new ones.)
   After the Reunification War, the Libertads went on to undergo a System Life Extension Program (SLEP) which enhanced their self-defense and long-deployment capabilities and continued to serve in the usual 'workhorse' tasks of corvettes, mostly as patrol and border-enforcement work. Several were lost to border skirmishes, but it was the Civil War which saw the worst of the losses; by the nature of their work, Libertads were of only marginal use to either faction in the battle-line, but several would participate in deep-strike commando raids by both Loyalist and rebel forces, and when major fleet actions were fought their role as screening elements meant losses of Libertads were all but inevitable. Over the years, various accidents and skirmishes (not to mention the Civil War) whittled down the numbers of the Libertad class, and only eighty remained in FWLM colors by the outbreak of the Succession War.
   One of the most notable vessels in this class was the FWLS Matador commanded at the start of the conflict by Captain Carlos Comacho. A native of Cerillos in the 'Southwestern Worlds', Comacho lead his Libertad Block III warship during the 2787 offensive against Bolson and its shipyards.  Having twice seen his vessel put in a repair-slip by Lyran Makos, he took a particular satisfaction in the crippling of the yards which had produced those vessels.
   Later in that action, a Lyran battlegroup centered on the Tharkad-class battlecruiser LCS Intransigent jumped into the system and attempted to intercept the League main body as it withdrew. Matador was part of the only screening squadron (centered on the destroyer Majestic) which was in a position to intercept the Lyran 'heavies' short of the main fleet of vulnerable assault-transports, and like the rest of Task Force Majestic Captain Comacho did not hesitate to obey Commodore Keegan's order to attack at once. Choosing Intransigent as his target, Comacho boldly closed to the effective range of his own heavy weapons and proceeded to trade broadsides with the battlecruiser for more than an hour, buying crucial time for the main body to withdraw. Despite suffering several brutal direct hits from the Lyrans' main batteries, and witnessing the loss of all her companion vessels (including Majestic), Matador continued to fight and landed a number of telling blows on the Lyran ship before being destroyed with all hands by a full broadside of Intransigent's remaining NPPC mounts. Unable to pursue the Marik forces owing to engine damage sustained during the action, Intransigent instead recovered the few League survivors and withdrew for repairs.
   Today of only a dozen Libertads organized into six 'patrol pairs' remain in service with the Free Worlds League.

* Guardian class Corvette.hma (5.35 KB - downloaded 4 times.)
* Libertad II class Corvette.hma (11.08 KB - downloaded 4 times.)
* Libertad III class Corvette.hma (11.03 KB - downloaded 4 times.)

Takiro Marik Heavy Weights « Reply #27 on: May 03, 2008, 11:19:30 PM »

Themistocles class Destroyer/Carrier

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2653
In Class: 141
Manufacturer: Various (Free Worlds League)

Mass: 500,000 tons
Length: 690 meters
Sail Diameter: 800 meters
Fuel: 14,000 tons (35,000)
Tons/Burn Day: 39.52
Safe Thrust: 3
Maximum Thrust: 5
Sail Integrity: 4
KF Drive Integrity: 11
Heat Sinks: 736
Structural Integrity: 40

Armor: (399 tons, Standard Armor)
   Fore: 30
   Fore-Sides: 31
   Aft-Sides: 31
   Aft: 30

Cargo:
Bay 1: Small Craft (20) 2 doors
Bay 2: Fighters (108) 4 doors
Bay 3: Cargo (93,352 tons) 2 doors
   
Dropship Capacity: 0
Grav Decks: 1 (65-meter diameter)
Escape Pods: 10
Lifeboats: 0
Crew: 169 minimum (28 Officers, 141 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 736)
   Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 368)
      4 Naval Autocannon 10s
      2 Large Lasers
      2 PPCs
      4 Autocannon 5s
      4 LRM 20s
   Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 368)
      4 Naval Autocannon 10s
      2 Large Lasers
      2 PPCs
      4 Autocannon 5s
      4 LRM 20s
 
Ammunition:
   800 rounds of Naval Autocannon/10 ammunition
   640 rounds of Autocannon/5 ammo (32 tons)
   384 rounds of LRM /20 ammo (64 tons)

Overview:
The naval restrictions of 2650 hit the Free Worlds League Navy very hard. The ambitious Frost Program, which was supposed to give the League a massive fleet of battleships, battlecruisers, and a new breed of super carriers, soon proved impossible under the current naval restrictions, and much of the program, including the new supercarrier, had to be abandoned.
   However, the Captain-General still valued the fighter carrier concept, and work continued on a dramatically more humble design, which would become the Varyag. However, from the beginning it was realized that the Varyag could never be produced in large enough numbers to fill the needs of the Free Worlds League fleet, at least not under current naval restrictions. With all future Varyags already slated to form independent fleets (which would eventually become the Integrated Carrier Battlegroups) it was decided that a more quickly and easily produced ship was needed to provide fighter support to the main battle fleets. Thus was born the Themistocles.

Capabilities:
   A combination of interstellar politics and interservice rivalry would have a radical affect on the final design for the Themistocles. Even though a truly multi-role carrier able to transport numerous fighter craft and engage successfully in direct combat was not only possible but extremely feasible (the concept was used effectively by the Periphery States during the Reunification War), many Admirals in the Free Worlds League fleet considered the idea of such a ship a threat to the traditional role of the battleship. As a consequence, they lobbied successfully for severe restrictions on carrier design, limiting the naval weaponry carried by these vessels and leaving them dependent on escorts to fend off most warship attacks.
   While the Themistocles was categorized as a Destroyer by these traditionalist minded elements of the Navy because of its overall mass it was more akin to a Transport. The design, based largely on the civilian built Aristotle class Compact Core Transport in order to reduce cost, carries only a minimal armament of sixteen small naval autocannons in four quad turrets, backed up by a moderately extensive mix of anti-fighter weaponry. This arsenal is barely sufficient to fend off most corvettes, and furthermore does not provide anything even resembling total coverage. The light armor of the ship further provides poor protection against most attackers, and the civilian spec hull is simply incapable of standing up to heavy combat.
   [Editor's Note: Though the Free Worlds League might be considered to be the most extensive practitioner of carrier tactics during the Star League years, this tendency to consider the carrier as little more than a transport for fighters would actually cause them to fall dramatically behind in carrier design by the mid twenty eighth century. By that time several powers had multi-role carriers, such as the Hegemony's Riga, the Lyran Commonwealth’s ill considered Banshee, and the Federated Suns' venerable Furious, and it was only a matter of time before other powers jumped on the bandwagon. Though no state employed nearly as many carriers as the Free Worlds League, this deficiency in their carrier force was eventually considered a serious problem, leading to the crash development of the Nemesis class Carrier in 2755.]
   The only real bright spot in the design is its massive hangar capacity. Though classified as a Destroyer/Carrier, the Themistocles can carry just as many fighters as the Varyag class Battlecruiser/Carrier. However, the typical Themistocles generally did not carry anything close to a full complement. Furthermore, while a Varyag would usually carry a good mix of the best fighters available, the humble Themistocles often carried a castoff mix of cheap, lightweight aerofighters manned by green pilots, meaning that even at full strength the ship's aerowing was no match for that of a Varyag.
   On the other hand, the Themistocles, based as it was on a cargo hauler, had much roomier hangar bays than the Battlecruiser based Varyag. Most flight crews loved the carrier as a result for the superior work space she provided them.

Deployment:
   The total number of Themistocles class warships produced by with the Free Worlds League and its various provinces is believed to be one hundred and forty one. Admittedly this is only an estimate based on confirmed information. Some experts believe other ships of this class remain unaccounted for. Unfortunately it is hard to tell because exactly Because of the very nature of this ship's design. Based as it was on a civilian ship, the vessel was extremely inexpensive for its potential punch, meaning that even the minor provinces could field a number of carriers. Even more importantly, though, there was precious little at first glance to distinguish the Themistocles from a standard Aristotle class CCT. The only thing that gives the ship away is its naval autocannon turrets. Some provinces, trying to keep the strength of their private forces a secret, were known to strip the naval guns off of their carriers and claim them to be standard cargo haulers. Though bye and large willing to play along with naval restrictions imposed by the Star League, most Captain-Generals turned a blind eye to this practice, giving the League extra fighter carriers to call upon in emergencies.
   Roughly half of the "official" Themistocles class was assigned to support the main battle fleet, providing additional fighter support to the Battleships and Battlecruisers that made up the fleet. A number were assigned as training carriers, while the remainder was assigned patrol and escort duty throughout the League, where their large fighter complement made them a true terror for practically any pirate band. Though numerous Themistocles class vessels were lost during the infighting that plagued the League, the relatively cheap cost of the ships made them extremely easy to replace, and their numbers diminished only slowly.
   As with many things this situation has changed dramatically during the Succession War. At the start of this horrific conflict the Free Worlds League Navy fielded one hundred of these able vessels. The disasters of this new war have torn the heart out of the Free Worlds League's military and industry. Some of the hardest hit forces in the Free Worlds League fleet were the Integrated Carrier Battlegroups. Though they scored numerous impressive victories against House Steiner during the war, they likewise suffered extensive losses. With their frontline carrier forces depleted, the League made the decision to reinforce the surviving ICBs with Themistocles class ships, which were never designed for the direct confrontations an ICB faced. This has allowed the League to keep its carrier operations afloat for a while longer, the loss of so many of the fleet's best fighter units, and the general inferiority of the Themistocles to the Varyag and Nemesis class Carriers that it was replacing, meant that the golden years of the ICB were finished. Today only a dozen of these craft remain operational with the Marik Navy.

Dido class Frigate

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2689
In Class: 112
Manufacturer: Various (Free Worlds League)

Mass: 760,000 tons
Length: 702 meters
Sail Diameter: 950 meters
Fuel: 5,000 tons (12,500)
Tons/Burn Day: 39.52
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Sail Integrity: 4
KF Drive Integrity: 16
Heat Sinks: 4400
Structural Integrity: 50

Armor: (747 tons, Ferro Carbide)
   Fore: 128
   Fore-Sides: 115
   Aft-Sides: 90
   Aft: 90

Cargo:
Bay 1: Small Craft (6) 2 doors
Bay 2: Fighters (18) 3 doors
Bay 3: Cargo (70,430 tons) 5 doors
   
Dropship Capacity: 4
Grav Decks: 2 (90-meter diameter)
Escape Pods: 10
Lifeboats: 20
Crew: 252 minimum (43 Officers, 209 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 4,320)
   Nose (Heat: 930)
      4 Naval Autocannon 30s
      2 Heavy Naval PPCs
      4 Barracuda Missile Launchers
      5 Large Lasers
   Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 960)
      4 Naval Autocannon 30s
      4 Barracuda Missile Launchers
      5 Large Lasers
   Left/ Right Broadsides (Heat: 960)
      4 Naval Autocannon 30s
      4 Barracuda Missile Launchers
      5 Large Lasers
   Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 980)
      2 Heavy Naval PPCs
      5 Large Lasers
   Aft (Heat: 490)
      4 Heavy Naval PPCs
      5 Large Lasers

Ammunition:
   2000 rounds of Naval Autocannon/30 ammunition
   200 Barracuda Missiles

Overview:
   The Dido was conceived as a replacement for the older Stewart and Oriente class warships that had been in service since the early 25th century. Though most of the Oriente class was less than a hundred years old at the time of the Dido's development and was still a match for its most likely opponents, like the Lyran Commonwealth's Valkyrie class destroyer and Victory class frigate, Captain General Gerald Marik wanted a larger, more heavily armed ship that in addition to handling general patrol duty could also act as a fast screening vessel to the Varyag class carrier. Drawing some inspiration from the Star League's Kimagure class pursuit cruiser, designers unveiled the Dido.

Capabilities:
   The Dido is an agile frigate, capable of three Gs of acceleration at maximum thrust. Though on its face this is only a marginal improvement over the Oriente, in practice it provides a significant advantage, giving the ship a significantly tighter turning radius at high velocity.
   The influence of the Kimagure is clearly visible in the ship's weapons as the Dido's armament is largely oriented towards the front. The aft quarter is under gunned, providing a rather narrow but still present gap where the ship can be attacked with a minimum of return fire.
   The Dido is also well protected against fighters by twenty advanced barracuda missile tubes and forty large lasers. Additionally these weapons are supported by a full wing of aerospace fighters. On top of that four docking collars were added to the design, and it wasn't uncommon for a Dido to carry assault dropships to supplement its firepower even further.
   Between all of the weapons mounted on the Dido and its large propulsion system, designers were forced to skimp a fair amount on the ship's structure and armor. The hull is lightly constructed for a frigate (its structural strength is actually only about half that of the Oriente), and only seven hundred and sixty tons of armor cover that. However, in order to counter this problem, designers included expensive Ferro Carbide armor, which greatly enhanced the protection of the ship.

Deployment:
   Members of Parliament were always skeptical of the Dido from the beginning, if for no other reason than the ship cost more to build than a Sian class Battlecruiser. However this class had a powerful political ally in the Marik family who staunchly supported construction of this warship. The traditional ruling clan of the Free Worlds League, ever politically able, was able to convince enough skeptics to sign off on the project. By utilizing a wide variety of maneuvers, which included the production of this frigate by multiple shipbuilders throughout the League, the Marik’s were able to garner enough support for the Dido. So despite the high cost of this vessel it would go onto phase out several other older vessels during the Star League era. Incredibly the Captain-General’s eventually succeeded in pushing through the funding needed to build one hundred and twelve of these Frigates.
   The Dido ultimately went onto prove itself in the Marik Civil War and the 3rd Hidden War but lost eighteen of its number in these conflicts. About one-half of all Didos in service were assigned to Integrated Carrier Battlegroups (ICBs) alongside the Varyag class Carriers and the Alexander class Destroyers. In that role they were used as the maneuver element of the task force, screening the carriers and transports from attack and acting as a mobile hammer to back up the carrier's fighters. This tactic has proven very successful against the Lyrans during the Succession War but was extremely hard on the class as a whole. The first brutal battles of the war claimed most of them quickly. On the Liao front, Didos were used as part of hunter killer battlegroups tasked with searching out and destroying elusive Liao warships. As these ships weren't subjected to the same sort of punishing ship killing action that the Didos on the Steiner front faced, they tended to last much longer. However, as the war has dragged on it has become increasingly difficult to repair these complex ships and their advanced ferro carbide armor. Today only fourteen of these warships continue to survive in the service of the Free Worlds League Navy.

Aeneas class Cruiser

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2595
In Class: 60
Manufacturer: United Shipwrights (Angell II / Free Worlds League)

Mass: 850,000 tons
Length: 950 meters
Sail Diameter: 1,200 meters
Fuel: 4,000 tons (10,000)
Tons/Burn Day: 39.52
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Sail Integrity: 5
KF Drive Integrity: 17
Heat Sinks: 2020 (4040)
Structural Integrity: 80

Armor: (1,309 tons, Ferro Carbide)
   Fore: 200
   Fore-Sides: 180
   Aft-Sides: 180
   Aft: 175

Cargo:
Bay 1: Fighters (24) 6 doors
Bay 2: Small Craft (4) 2 door
Bay 3: Cargo (74,838 tons) / Marines (2 platoons) 1 door

Dropship Capacity: 6
Grav Decks: 2 (90 and 150-meter diameter)
Escape Pods: 22
Lifeboats: 22
Crew: 263 minimum (45 Officers, 218 Enlisted)

Weapons: (Heat: 4,040)
   Nose (Heat: 660)
      2 Naval Autocannon 25s
      2 Heavy NPPCs
      2 Killer Whale Missile Launchers
   Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 720)
      2 Naval Autocannon 20s
      2 Naval Autocannon 35s
   Left/ Right Broadsides (Heat: 1,880)
      2 Naval Autocannon 25s
      2 Heavy NPPCs
      4 Naval Laser 45s
      2 Killer Whale Missile Launchers
   Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 340)
      2 Naval Autocannon 25s
   Aft (Heat: 440)
      2 Naval Autocannon 20s
      4 Naval Laser 45s
      4 Barracuda Missile Launchers

Ammunition:
   400 rounds of Naval Autocannon/35 ammunition
   1000 rounds of Naval Autocannon/25 ammunition
   600 rounds of Naval Autocannon/20 ammunition
   60 Killer Whale Missiles
   40 Barracuda Missiles

Overview:
   The Aeneas class Cruiser stems from harsh lessons learned during Marion Marik's advance into the Magistracy of Canopus during the War of Reunification. The fleet arm of the SLDF's VII Corps was constructed to focus on larger craft, with its backbone being the venerable Monsoon-class Battleships and buttressed by the Free World League's new Atreus class Battleship. Marion believed that sheer weight of fire would cow the Canopians into submission without an overabundance of bloodshed. This was not to be.
   The lighter, faster units of the Magistracy fleet repeatedly engaged in high-speed passes against SLDF forces. They would build up velocity far out of the heavier ships' maximum range, streak in, and let loose only one or two volleys, score what damage they could, and be out of range again before the SLDF forces could respond. When Marik's forces could bring the Canopian fleet assets to fight, they would drive at high speed to point-blank ranges and use their superior tactical maneuverability to engage the SLDF ships in their damaged or more lightly-defended arcs of fire, causing damage all out of proportion to their size.
   After the Reunification War, as the highest-profile Marik with recent combat experience, Marion used her position to lever the Free Worlds League Admiralty into creating, essentially, a "Pocket Atreus" with the advantages of much greater maneuverability and combat endurance. With peace breaking out across the Inner Sphere, the Aeneas was given the label of "Cruiser", so as not to seem overly-aggressive to the League's restless neighbors.

Capabilities:
   While the primary focus of the Aeneas class is the high-powered engine suite, the vessel featured many state-of-the-art systems when it was introduced.
   The weapons systems mostly match and exceed the weapons found on the Atreus Battleship. Indeed, the systems are practically identical, with only a few adjustments. The Aeneas mounts no dedicated anti-fighter weapons, following the trend started by Star League vessels, instead relying on its fighter complement to keep the "bugs" off its back. To the heavy gun complement, it adds several capital missile systems for range and nuclear-strike capability.  Finally, the famously short magazines of the Atreus that led to such problems during the Canopian campaign are increased by 50%.
   As in most League ships, the aerospace fighter complement is not an overlooked branch of the black-water navy. A full wing of 18 fighters is included, and each squadron has two spare fighters in their own dedicated bays for easy replacement of battle-damaged spaceframes. The pilots also enjoy top-quality crew accommodations, making an Aeneas Cruiser a sought-after duty station.
   The Aeneas is also the first League vessel to mount advanced Ferro-Carbide Armor. League scientists studied the compound, which first appeared on the Terran Hegemony's Farragut class battleships in 2448, for 150 years before being able to match and produce it in any real quantity.

Deployment:
   Derided by critics as "a vessel designed to fight the last war" at the time of its launch in 2595, the FWLS Aeneas showed the flag and engaged in anti-piracy patrols early in its history. Not too surprisingly the Cruiser stomped flat any pirates unfortunate enough to encounter it earning quite a reputation in the process. The Aeneas was the first of seventy five planned vessels when it was originally launched with a planned deployment of two per year. However issues with the Ferro Carbide logistic train meant the next vessel, the FWLS Hector, wasn't launched until 2599. Ultimately various budget cutbacks limited the class to only sixty vessels in total.
   These warships would go largely unchallenged until the onset of the Marik Civil War in 2729. In March of that year Oliver Marik made his way to Calloway IV in a heavily-armed convoy, of which the FWLS Menelaus, an Aeneas-class Cruiser, was the heaviest vessel. On their journey, they were intercepted by a loyalist task force centered around the Ivanhoe, an ancient SLDF Monsoon class Battleship that had been sold off to the League during the class's retirement in 2668. The lighter craft paired off as Oliver's ship ran for it, and the final pairing came down to the Menelaus and the Ivanoe.  Obsolete though the Monsoon was, the Menelaus gave away near-on a half-million tons displacement to the vessel, and was in for the fight of its life.
   Captain Alistair McKeon ordered the Menelaus's throttles shoved to the stops, and the cruiser bored in on a high-speed pass that left the Ivanhoe damaged enough that it stopped its pursuit of Oliver Marik's ship and lumbered around to engage its tormentor. The Menelaus roared back in towards the massive foe at a barely-controlled velocity (momentarily causing the Ivanhoe's capatin to wonder if they were going to ram), spinning madly in an attempt to take the Ivanhoe's fire in as many arcs as it could.  Reaching close range, McKeon cut the vessel's speed sharply and swung in behind the Ivanhoe, riding its six o'clock arc much like a massive aerospace fighter. The lighter vessel used its greater maneuvering capacity to dog the Ivanhoe's tail for several minutes, sleeting fire into the back of the vessel, until critical damage to the engines left the Ivanhoe dead in space.
   Forty four Aeneas class Cruisers survived the Marik Civil War and the Third Hidden War only to face the total destruction of the Succession War. Due to their impressive capabilities these Aeneas class Cruisers became a high-priority target for the enemies of the League. As a result more Aeneas’ have been destroyed by nuclear weapons than any other Marik ship class in the Succession Wars. Only six survive today.

Sian class Battlecruiser

Tech: InnerSphere
Introduced: 2623
In Class: 52
Manufacturer: Various (Free Worlds League)

Mass: 800,000 tons
Length: 852 meters
Sail Diameter: 1,200 meters
Fuel: 3,000 tons (7,500)
Tons/Burn Day: 39.52
Safe Thrust: 3
Maximum Thrust: 5
Sail Integrity: 4
KF Drive Integrity: 16
Heat Sinks: 3840
Structural Integrity: 100

Armor: (1600 tons, Standard Armor)
   Fore: 116
   Fore-Sides: 117
   Aft-Sides: 117
   Aft: 116

Cargo:
Bay 1: Small Craft (10) 2 doors
Bay 2: Cargo (57,411 tons) 2 doors
Bay 3: Fighters (18) 2 doors
   
Dropship Capacity: 4
Grav Decks: 2 (70-meter diameter)
Escape Pods: 30
Lifeboats: 30
Crew: 269 minimum (46 Officers, 223 Enlisted)
 
Weapons: (Heat: 3,840)
   Nose (Heat: 100)
      5 Killer Whale Missile Launchers
   Fore Left/Fore Right (Heat: 600)
      2 Naval Autocannon 30s
      5 Killer Whale Missile Launchers
   Left/ Right Broadsides (Heat: 1,360)
      6 Naval Autocannon 30s
      4 Killer Whale Missile Launchers
   Aft Left/Aft Right (Heat: 1,720)
      8 Naval Autocannon 30s
      3 Killer Whale Missile Launchers
   Aft (Heat: 60)
      3 Killer Whale Missile Launchers

Ammunition:
   3200 rounds of Naval Autocannon/30 ammunition
   320 Killer Whale Missiles

Overview:
   Despite its name there is no mistaking the fact that the Sian class Battlecruiser is a Free Worlds League ship of the line. Many, especially those outside Marik space, fail to realize that this vessel was named in honor of the decisive battle of the 1st Andurien War that began the Age of War. This pivotal naval victory which is still well remembered by the League Navy was reason enough to name a Marik warship after the Capellan capital system. No doubt the Confederation’s anger over the entire issue also played a small part in this decision. [Editor’s Note: House Liao issued numerous protests over this openly hostile and disrespectful act to everyone that would listen and has refused to recognize this warship as the Sian, instead referring to it as the Marik class Battlecruiser]
   The design itself was created as a stopgap to meet the needs of the Free Worlds League during the arms race of the early twenty seventh century. Though the League initially attempted to match the battleship construction of their neighbors’ measure for measure with their Atreus class Battleships, it soon became readily apparent that the Atreus, though big and powerful, had its flaws. With the economy of the League beginning to falter by 2620, Parliament decided to greatly slow production of the Atreus, seeking instead to concentrate production on a smaller, simpler, and less expensive alternative that could effectively supplement its flagship. The end result was this formidable Battlecruiser.

Capabilities:
   The Sian is pretty much your garden variety Battlecruiser. Though not as cost effective as Parliament had hoped it would be, the ship is certainly simple, straightforward, and to the point.
   The Sian's primary armament is thirty six heavy naval autocannons. These cannon are arranged in eighteen dual turrets along the sides of the ship, presenting a pure broadside fighter. Though this can limit the tactical options of a lone ship, when operating in a massed battlegroup these ships are more than capable of covering each other's exposed arcs.
   The Sian's secondary armament is surprising, as the ship carries one of the heaviest batteries of naval missiles ever mounted on a ship. This massed battery makes fighter attacks against a Sian very dangerous indeed, and in fact many Sians served a secondary role as AA ships escorting Atreus class battleships and Varyag class carriers.
   Though relying on standard plate in order to cut costs, the Sian is reasonably well protected. Sixteen hundred tons of armor covers an extremely strong hull making for a ship that can stand a remarkable amount of punishment.
   Rounding out these exceptional offensive and defensive capabilities is a full wing of aerospace fighters and space for ten small craft.

Deployment:
   As with many Marik warships production of the Sian was diversified by federal authorities. Several different naval manufacturers worked on building multiple vessels at once. This allowed for the construction of fifty two Battlecruisers by 2650 when further shipbuilding was discontinued. Twelve of these vessels were placed into reserve status following the restriction of House Militaries by Star League law.
   In one of the tragic ironies of naval history, the first major battle the Sian and her sisters would see was against each other. After three members of Regulus' ruling Selaj family were implicated in an attempt to slaughter the Marik family, Captain-General Gerald Marik moved to deal with the traitors, leading to a major battle on Hellos Minor at the end of 2679. During the campaign, a pair of Sian class Battlecruisers (the Stewart and Amity) which had sided with the traitors attempted to lead a convoy of reinforcements to the world. In the battle that followed, the convoy was routed from the system, the Stewart was destroyed and the Amity was captured. After the successful conclusion of the campaign, the Captain General ordered the Amity renamed the Hellos Minor.
   Unfortunately, this would not be the last time these ships would face each other. Much like the rest of the League, the fleet split pretty evenly when the League was wracked by civil war in 2729. Both sides in that conflict tended to use their Battlecruisers as shock forces, and as a consequence many were lost before the Treaty of Verona was signed, ending the fighting.
   The thirty two remaining ships of this class have been called into action again during the Succession War. Much as had been done during the Civil War, the Sians were used primarily as shock troops, leading the way into the Terran Republic, the Capellan Confederation, and the Lyran Commonwealth in various League campaigns. This proved disastrous in many cases, however. During an attack on Hesperus II, Lyran defenders accounted for all twelve surviving Sians on the Lyran front destroyed, a loss that forced Marik to completely rethink their strategies against House Steiner.
   Today only five of these Battlecruisers continue to operate in Marik service. As luck would have it one of the last ships of her class to survive is also the first ship. The Sian has been operating along the Capellan frontier since the start of the war, and the Confederation holds a special dislike for the ship. Barbara Liao herself is reported to have said "If I accomplish nothing else during this damn war I will see that ship destroyed!" So far the Sian has managed to frustrate the Capellans by its continued existence.

* Themistocles class Destroyer-Carrier.hma (8.54 KB - downloaded 5 times.)
* Dido class Frigate.hma (5.95 KB - downloaded 4 times.)
* Aeneas class Cruiser.hma (7.47 KB - downloaded 4 times.)
* Sian class Battlecruiser.hma (7.01 KB - downloaded 4 times.)