Carrack

Carrack
Production information
Manufacturer
Introduced	2603 (SLDF)
Production Year	2950
Use	Transport
Tech Base	Clan
Cost	8,421,192,000 C-Bills
Technical specifications
Mass	300,000 tons
Length	830 m
Sail Diameter	880 m
Fuel	2,000 tons
Burn Rate
Safe Thrust	1.5 g
Top Thrust	2.5 g
Sail Integrity	3
KF Drive Integrity	7
LF Battery	No
Armament	16x ER large laser 40x Anti-missile system 32x Large pulse laser 16x NL35 3x NAC/20 6x NAC/10
Armor	70 tons standard
DropShip Capacity	2
Crew	43
Grav Decks	1 x 98 meters diameter
Escape Pods/Life Boats	4/4
Heat Sinks	747 double (1494)
Structural Integrity	15

Description

Developed as a merchantman to ply potentially hostile Periphery shipping lanes, the Carrack-class military transport served with the Star League Defense Force and Great House navies. Inspired by the impressive but wildly expensive Sylvester merchant WarShip, the Terran Hegemony would attempt to create its own similar class for military use in 2603.

While no examples of the class were known to remain in the Inner Sphere following the maelstrom of the early Succession War era, an undetermined number accompanied the Exodus Fleet. The modern Clan Carrack military transport first entered service in 2950, a creation of Clan Nova Cat and Clan Diamond Shark. ComStar analysts were unable to determine how many of the Carracks which are currently in service among the various Clan toumans are upgraded Star League era vessels and how many are new, Clan-built ships. What ComStar was able to conclude following operations on Wayside V was that the differences between the original Star League and standard Clan Carrack were negligible; while mounting HarJel-based Hull Sealant technology, unlike many redesigned and upgraded Clan vessels the modern Carrack is not equipped with either advanced armor or a Lithium-Fusion Battery.

The modern Carrack-class transport serves in the fleets of nearly every Clan, but the Merchant Castes of both Clans Diamond Shark and Nova Cat possessed the lion's share. In truth most of these Diamond Shark and Nova Cat Carracks are the downgraded nonmilitary versions stripped of capital grade weaponry, both Clans unwilling to give their Merchant Castes war matériel on par with that of the Warrior Caste.

Armament

Due to its role as a military transport, the Carrack features a light array of mixed capital class and anti-fighter weaponry. The nose bay and each broadside featured a pair of NL35s and a single NAC/20, two ER large lasers and four Large pulse lasers, rounded off by four anti-missile systems for point defense. Save for downgrading the Naval Autocannon to a NAC/10, each fore and rear angle as well as directly aft features almost the same layout as well.

Cargo

The Carrack's 63,446-ton cargo hold surrounds the vessel's Compact Kearny-Fuchida Drive core and is flanked in turn by two Small Craft bays on either side. These bays frequently house a pair of aerospace fighters and a pair of shuttlecraft, however, the exact composition of the small craft complement appears to depend on each individual vessel's captain.

Variants

• SLDF

  The original SLDF version did not survive in any Inner Sphere Navy, nor has it been seen in any Clan touman.

• Merchant 

  Begun in 2985, the joint venture between Clans Nova Cat and Clan Diamond Shark that reduces the Carracks' offensive and defensive capacity to become true merchant vessels, the so-called Carrack (Merchant) removes all the Naval Lasers and Autocannons for a lighter defensive array of one ER Large and two ER Medium Lasers, one Large and two Medium Pulse Lasers and an Artemis IV-enhanced LRM-20 rack on every facing, the front and rear merely adding an additional Artemis-enhanced SRM-6 launcher. Carrying almost half the volume of standard heat sinks the Merchant Carrack carries a minimal fifteen and a half tons of standard armor, freeing up a massive amount of space for cargo, 98,806 tons worth, nearly a third over that of the standard Carrack transport. The Merchant Carrack also carries a full Star of Elementals to help fend off boarding attempts, and a crew of 116 with 50 bay personnel. BV (1.0) = 10,674

• Fighter Carrier 

  During the First Succession War, the Free Worlds League used some Carracks converted into aerospace carriers. One example of this conversion was the FWLS Pretoria Castle, which was capable of transporting a Wing of aerospace fighters.

Related WarShips

• Sylvester (WarShip class) - Only four Sylvesters were produced before 2514 for Lyran civilian use. Deemed too expensive to become a staple of any merchant fleet, the Terran Hegemony took interest in the idea of a heavily armed transport for military use and began production of the Carrack-class.

See-Also

• Category:Individual Carrack-class WarShips

Notes

• To date, no record sheet or formal variant for this modified version of the Carrack has been released.

• The number of proper Carrack transports and its downgraded Merchant variant are hard to properly ascertain. Through the ravages of the Jihad and Wars of Reaving, multiple Clans were noted to have lost their Naval WarShip forces, only to regain the use of "transport" vessels. These vessels have been questioned as to whether they are truely "WarShips" at all, and these vessels are likely to be variously undercounted and ignored in the Clan's fleets.

• In German products, the unit's proper name was altered to Carraca, which is the perfect Italian translation of Carrack (the German would be Karracke).

Gallery

• 

  Original Carrack from Explorer Corps

• 

  Carrack from TRO:3067

• 

  Carrack (Merchant) from TRO:3057r

Bibliography

• Explorer Corps
• Field Manual: Crusader Clans
• Field Manual: Updates
• Field Manual: Warden Clans
• First Succession War
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3072
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3076
• Strategic Operations
• Technical Readout: 3067
• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised