Du Shi Wang

Du Shi Wang.JPG
Du Shi Wang
Production information
Manufacturer ???
Introduced 2380
Production Year 2380[1]
Use Battleship
Tech Base Inner Sphere
Cost 3,601,780,000 C-Bills
Technical specifications
Mass 900,000 tons
Length 870 m
Sail Diameter 1,300 m
Fuel 5,000 tons
Burn Rate 39.52 (tons)
Safe Thrust 1.5 g
Top Thrust 2.5 g
Sail Integrity 5
KF Drive Integrity 18
LF Battery None
Armament
Armor 2,024 tons of Standard
DropShip Capacity 2
Crew 60 officers, 265 enlisted/ non-rated, 30 gunners, 36 bay personnel, 10 marines, 5 first class passengers
Grav Decks 2 (150 and 70 meters diameter)
Escape Pods/Life Boats 15/25
Heat Sinks 2,100
Structural Integrity 150
BV (1.0) ???
BV (2.0) 57,066



Description[edit]

Designed by the Duchy of Liao and launched in 2380 as the first true WarShip built by the newly-formed Capellan Confederation, the Du Shi Wang was originally intended to anchor the massive armed merchant fleets the Duchy of Liao possessed. As such, the ship was normally escorted by a large number of support vessels to cover its design weaknesses and augment its strengths. Standard tactics were to simply point the battleship at the largest target and pummel it until it was destroyed - a tactic in part driven by the lack of funding to embody the large broadside armaments common to other battleships of the era.[2]

A large amount of armor was placed on the front of the vessel to support the Du Shi Wang's role as a frontal attack craft - more armor than had in fact been seen on the nose of any WarShip fielded up to that point. Equipped with a weapons suite consisting solely of energy weapons, including Heavy Naval PPCs based on designs stolen from the Terran Hegemony, the "God of Burning Suffocation" was intended to perform long patrols. The Du Shi Wang was notable for being the first vessel to use massed orbital bombardment against civilian targets when the Confederation subjected the Federated Suns world of Novaya Zemlya to extensive bombardment in 2399.[2]

The ship suffered from poor crew arrangements that emphasized a class system instead of efficiency; officers and passengers were given priority over vital ship features like life boats and given sole access to one of the two gravity decks, a combination of poor design features that contributed to the destruction of many vessels during the Age of War. The Du Shi Wang was also reliant on the crew for maneuvering to keep the nose pointed at dangerous opponents.[2]

The greater part of the Du Shi Wang class to survive the Age of War were out of service during the era of the Star League; in 2765 the Confederation was operating just five Du Shin Wangs, each of which formed the nucleus around which a commonality naval squadron was built. Still formidable ships at the time, each Du Shi Wang was accompanied by a pair of heavy cruisers either Aegis or Soyal-class, or one of each - and two or three lighter WarShips.[3]

During the buildup to the First Succession War the Confederation restored more Du Shi Wang-class ships to service, but less than a dozen were available at the start of the First Succession War and all of them had been lost or destroyed by the end of the Second Succession War.[3]

Only one Du Shi Wang was known to exist in the thirty-first century; captured at some point by the Star League Defense Force, that battleship had accompanied General Aleksandr Kerensky on the Exodus and survived the Pentagon Civil War before serving as a part of the Clan Mongoose touman as the Quicksilver Mongoose. Nearly destroyed by Clan Smoke Jaguar during the Absorption of Clan Mongoose, that last Du Shi Wang had been mothballed in the Strana Mechty system for more than two hundred years.[2]

Armament[edit]

Designed as a full frontal assault vessel due to lack of funds, 4 Heavy NPPC are placed in the nose. Secondary weapons consists of 20 NL45 where 6 are placed in the FL/FR, 8 in the LBS/RBS and 6 in the AL/AR sections. 2 Medium NPPC cover the Aft.[2]

Cargo[edit]

  • Bay 1: Fighters (18) 6 Doors[2]
  • Bay 2: Cargo (73,320 tons) 4 Doors[2]
  • Bay 3: Cargo (70,000 tons) 4 Doors[2]

Named Vessels[edit]

(See List of named Du Shi Wang-class WarShips)

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. MUL online date for the Du Shi Wang
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Technical Readout: 3075, p. 252: "Du Shi Wang"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Field Report 2765: CCAF, p. 5: "Guarding the Vault of Heaven"

Bibliography[edit]