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Dante (WarShip class)

This article is about the WarShip. For the planetary system, see Dante (system).
Dante-class Warship TRO3067.jpg
Dante
Production information
Manufacturer Titan Yards
Introduced 2941
Production Year 2941[1]
Use Frigate
Tech Base Star League
Cost 9,968,115,999 C-bills
Technical specifications
Mass 610,000 tons
Length 640 m
Sail Diameter 610 m
Fuel 3,000 tons
Burn Rate
Safe Thrust 2.5 g
Top Thrust 4 g
Sail Integrity 4
KF Drive Integrity 13
LF Battery Yes
Armament
Armor 600 tons of ferro-carbide
DropShip Capacity 2
Crew 188, 24 Passengers
Grav Decks 1 x 135 meter diameter
Escape Pods/Life Boats 24/0
Heat Sinks 650 double (1300)
Structural Integrity 50
BV (1.0) 115,903[2]



Description[edit]

Developed at the request of Primus Hollings York, the heavily automated Dante-class frigate was built by ComStar as a stopgap measure while other ex-SLDF WarShips where refitted and new crews trained during the early years of the ComStar Guards and Militia. [3][4]

While ComStar had retained a number of ex-SLDF WarShips in mothballs, reactivating these ships required large crews which the Order could not supply immediately. With a degree of automation akin to the Sovetskii Soyuz Class, the Dante Class was intended to serve as the command and escort ship for DropShip flotillas. The Dante's' mix of speed, firepower and armor also make it adept at raiding tactics, but due to the limited role of the Com Guards at the time of its creation, the small cargo bay and fuel bunkerage it was designed with were incompatible with any independent operations.

In all, three Dante Class ships were constructed between 2935 and 2948 when the spiraling cost of the renovation of existing ships, difficulty in hiding both the vessels and large number of personnel to crew them from the Successor States and the death of the project's champion Primus York led to the program being frozen. As a proven design, Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht had considered the construction of further Dante Class ships, but the loss of the Titan Yards to the Word of Blake occurred before construction could even be started.

Having gained control of the Sol system, the Word of Blake built two additional Dante vessels prior to the Operation SCOUR liberation of Terra in 3078.[5] When the allied coalition forces assaulted the Sol system, one of these two Dantes was part of the Blakist WarShip squadron which defended the Titan shipyards; incorrectly identified at the time as the Narbonne,[6] it was later determined that the vessel was actually one of two new ships of the class.[5][7]

Armament[edit]

Like many post-SLDF WarShips, the Dante Class features a mixture of capital class weaponry, naval autocannons and lasers, and smaller weaponry geared to fight fleets of DropShips and aerospace fighters, the Successor State navies having obliterated each others WarShips prior to its development. This weaponry is spread fairly evenly across every angle of the ship, with only the rear lacking in a capital weapon.

Cargo[edit]

Due to the defensive role of the ComStar WarShip fleet and the inclusion of Lithium-Fusion Battery System, the Dante class vessels have limited cargo capacity of 17,087 tons split between two bays, and a 12 fighter complement.


See Also[edit]

Notes[edit]

The destruction of all three ComStar Dante class vessels was confirmed by BattleTech Developer Øystein Tvedten in the Catalyst Game Lab BattleTech forums:

No ComStar Dantes were captured by the Word of Blake. Bordeaux died at Luyten, Monpellier [sic] at Columbus, and Narbonne bit it during Case White.
  — Øystein Tvedten, BattleTech Developer, 29 Oct 2011

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. MUL online date for the Dante (WarShip class)
  2. AeroTech 2 Record Sheets, p. 290
  3. Field Manual: ComStar, p. 158
  4. Technical Readout: 3067, p. 202
  5. 5.0 5.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 128: "Original Word Of Blake Fleet"
  6. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 97–99
  7. Øystein Tvedten, BattleTech Developer, 29 Oct 2011

Bibliography[edit]