Baron (WarShip class)

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Baron
Production information
Manufacturer	???
Introduced	2520
Use	Destroyer
Tech Base	Star League
Cost	???
Technical specifications
Mass	480,000 tons
Length	545.5 meters
Sail Diameter
Fuel
Burn Rate
Safe Thrust
Top Thrust	3G
Sail Integrity
KF Drive Integrity
LF Battery	No
Armament	19 x NL35s 4 x NAC/10s 4 x White Shark Launchers
Armor	Improved Ferro-Aluminum
DropShip Capacity	0
Crew	275 + 30 passengers
Grav Decks	1 x 65 meter diameter
Escape Pods/Life Boats	38/13
Heat Sinks	1,100
Structural Integrity
BV (1.0)	34,661

Description

The Baron Class Destroyer was a moderately effective design that suffered due to protracted development and construction.

With initial construction beginning in 2515 in the midst of a massive arms race intended to allow the Terran Hegemony to maintain it's edge against the Great Houses, flaws were discovered with Baron Class' then revolutionary interplanetary engines. While the fault was correctable, it took 2 years and greatly reduced their performance, by which point naval design had marched steadily onward and the Baron-class was considered second rate before a single ship had slipped it's moorings. By 2582 the Star League had presented over half the constructed Barons to its member states, and though it would see action in the Reunification War, the design became much maligned.

The design's sole saving graces were its generously sized fuel bunkerage and accommodations for thirty extra passengers, which caused many high ranking Star League diplomats to select ships of the Baron-class as heavily armed transports into high risk areas of the Periphery. However by 2720, the SLDF had decommissioned and sold the remaining ships to the Great Houses, where they served until being destroyed during the early Succession Wars.

Armament

Mounting a large array of NL35 capital Lasers, the Baron boasts impressive endurance on longer patrols, with six mounted in the nose, ten carried in each broadside with a further three directly aft. A mix of capital grad autocannons and missile launchers provide support, with two NAC/10s and White Shark missile launchers in each forward angle, two more NAC/10s on each rear angle and two White Shark tubes directly rearward.

Cargo

While not carrying a Docking Collar, the Baron features a moderate cargo capacity of 137,962 tons along with carrying six AeroSpace Fighters and Small Craft bays each.

Notable Ships of the Class

• DCS Yedo - The last known Baron to exist in the Succession War Era. The Yedo was one of the class sold to the Draconis Combine and was one of the few WarShips left in the DCMS Second Succession War era navy. The Yedo took part in the failed invasion of Hesperus II in 2853 and was destroyed by the Lyran Tharkad-class LCS Invincible.

• WoBS Light of Hope - Word of Blake controlled Destroyer, used in early part of Jihad for naval support over Luthien. The ship was destroyed by Clan Nova Cat forces that invaded the the planet to attack WoB forces in 3072.

References

• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised - pg, 200-201