Carson (WarShip class)

This article is about the WarShip. For other uses, see Carson.

Carson
Production information
Manufacturer	Thompson's Shipyards
Introduced	2632
Production Year	2632
Use	Destroyer
Tech Base	Star League
Cost	1,743,134,000 C-Bills
Technical specifications
Mass	510,000 tons
Length	582 m
Sail Diameter	1.080 m
Fuel	8,000 tons
Burn Rate
Safe Thrust	1 g
Top Thrust	1.5 g
Sail Integrity	4
KF Drive Integrity	11
LF Battery	No
Armament	2x Medium NPPC 3x White Shark 12x NL45 6x NAC/30
Armor	314.5 tons Improved Ferro-Aluminum
DropShip Capacity	0
Crew	208 38 Officers 137 Enlisted 33 Gunners Bay Personnel: 42
Grav Decks	1 x 80 meters diameter
Escape Pods/Life Boats	27/15
Heat Sinks	1,500 (single)
Structural Integrity	40
BV (1.0)	59,487
BV (2.0)	43,435

Description

As a result of early 27th-century increased colonization (in the wake of Good Years advances such as the invention of Jamerson-Ulikov Water Purification Procedure), the Star League Navy found itself becoming too thinly deployed. To combat this problem, the Star League Navy invited designs from multiple manufacturers. A high-quality reputation led to the commission of the Carson-class destroyer from Thompson's Shipyards as an escort ship, allowing the Star League to spread their existing fleets across additional territory.

Produced at Thompson's Shipyards over Keid, the Carson met all of the requirements for extended escort mission-profile deployments – the vessel possessed reasonable crew amenities, generous cargo capacity, and large fuel tanks. However, as the Carson was the first WarShip produced by Thompson's, the firm's inexperience led to constant issues and underperformance from the Regulis-XII engine. Within five years, the excessive wear and tear when operating at maximum thrust reduced the class's safety parameters and increased the need for shipyard maintenance. Drive failures also meant the Carson was restricted to patrolling more settled regions of space shortly after its introduction.

Though the initial order required four hundred Carsons to be produced, the class was quickly replaced with more reliable WarShips such as the Lola III-class destroyer, and officially decommissioned after the introduction of the Essex-class destroyer in 2711, with the Navy withdrawing the last Carson from service in 2722. A number of Carsons were evidently passed to or purchased by the Great Houses or member states during the Star League era; in April 2765, the Capellan Confederation was operating a pair of Carsons as a part of the Capellan Navy while the Rim Worlds Republic had eighteen in service.

Although WarShips were effectively extinct during the Succession Wars the Word of Blake recovered and restored a pair of Carsons as a part of their hidden fleet in the buildup to the Jihad. These vessels were deployed in the Word's punitive campaign, and were destroyed along with the sect.

Armament

Compared with other destroyers, the Carson was both better armored or armed; however, it was also slower than other destroyers. The payload of the Carson was designed primarily to engage capital vessels, and featured naval lasers, naval PPCs, naval autocannons, and a trio of White Shark Missile systems.

Cargo

Despite its lack of DropShip collars, the Carson was able to ferry a respectable amount of cargo for a destroyer. The vessel possessed three cargo bays, one capable of containing a squadron of six aerospace fighters, and the second capable of transporting six small craft, each with one access door. A third bay with two access doors was capable of managing up to 145,043.5 tons of cargo.

See Also

• List of named Carson class WarShips.

Gallery

• 

  Original Carson from TRO:3057 Revised

Bibliography

• Field Report 2765: CCAF
• Field Report 2765: Periphery
• Jihad: Final Reckoning
• Jihad Turning Points: Luthien
• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised