Draconis Combine Admiralty

Description

Where the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery focuses on ground forces, the Draconis Combine Admiralty (DCA) focuses on aerospace fighters, DropShips, JumpShips, and WarShips. All equipment, pilots, and support crews are a part of the DCA. The DCA and DCMS are both branches of the Draconis Combine's Bureau of the Military, and there is an intense rivalry between the two as each believes it is the most important branch.

Samarkand-class Carrier of the Draconis Combine Admiralty.

Star League era

The DCA began expanding sharply after the Star League Council repealed the Council Edict of 2650, which had sharply limited the size of the military each Great House was allowed to operate. The Edict was repealed in 2752, and by 2765 the DCA had already expanded from just thirty WarShips to forty-two, largely through the reactivation of mothballed WarShips. The DCA was lighter in terms of WarShip weight than its contemporaries because of the limitations of the Draconis Combine industrial base, but had attempted to compensate by developing doctrines and tactics that focused on the use of small, powerful WarShips such as the home-produced Narukami-class destroyer.

Of the forty-two WarShips operating in 2765, two - a pair of Vigilant-class corvettes named the DCS Iwate and DCS Wakayama - were permanently assigned to the First Proserpina Hussars; the remaining forty WarShips were distributed between eight distinct fleets, two of which were assigned to each of the Benjamin, Galedon, Pesht and Rasalhague district. Each fleet was based around a single Samarkand-class fighter carrier, but the remaining thirty-two WarShips were a mix of seven assorted cruisers and twenty-five destroyers and corvettes. Of those lighter ships, the six Block I Narukami-class destroyers were limited to operating within the Pesht-based fleets to ensure they had access to the shipyards required to keep the demanding destroyers operational.

The DCA was fanatically loyal to Coordinator Takiro Kurita; while the DCMS viewed the DCA as little more than a glorified taxi service, the DCA was less restrictive in its recruitment than other areas of the Combine military and talented individuals from lower classes could and did rise through the ranks. While the ISF maintained a presence on every ship and all of the DCA crews were vetted by the ISF, the number of crews was increasing rapidly as the DCA expanded and those crews were loyal, proud, well trained and aggressive.

Kirishima-class Cruiser of the Draconis Combine Admiralty.

Succession Wars

The separation of aerospace fighters is a constant sore spot with DCMS commanders, who want to have tactical control of aerospace support. As the ASF's are under the command of DCA officers, ground-support efforts only occur after DCA missions are complete. Takashi Kurita actually encouraged this rivalry as he thought it improved performance and morale.

With Theodore Kurita's emphasis on combined arms operations, this rivalry may be reduced as DCA assets are integrated more completely into DCMS operations, but the production of new WarShips for the first time in centuries could exaggerate the rivalry.

Clan Invasion

After the resurrection of the Combine's WarShip program, the DCA took control of WarShips. However, when assigned to support a BattleMech regiment, operational command of the WarShip fell to the regimental commander.

Composition History

2765

• First Fleet (Veteran/Reliable)

• Flagship - Samarkand-class carrier DCS An Ting

- The First Fleet was based in the Galedon district.

• Second Fleet (Veteran/Fanatical)

• Flagship - Samarkand-class carrier DCS New Samarkand

- The Second Fleet was based in the Galedon district.

• Third Fleet (Veteran/Reliable)

• Flagship - Samarkand-class carrier DCS Hagiwawa

- The Third Fleet was based in the Benjamin district.

• Fourth Fleet (Regular/Fanatical)

• Flagship - Samarkand-class carrier DCS Benjamin

- The Fourth Fleet was based in the Benjamin district.

• Fifth Fleet (Veteran/Reliable)

• Flagship - Samarkand-class carrier DCS Trondheim

- The Fifth Fleet was based in the Rasalhague district.

• Sixth Fleet (Veteran/Fanatical)

• Flagship - Samarkand-class carrier DCS Radstadt

- The sixth Fleet was based in the Rasalhague district.

• Seventh Fleet (Regular/Reliable)

• Flagship - Samarkand-class carrier DCS Kagoshima

- The Seventh Fleet was based in the Pesht district.

• Eighth Fleet (Regular/Reliable)

• Flagship - Samarkand-class carrier DCS Irece

- The Eighth Fleet was based in the Pesht district.

The DCA had the following WarShips actively deployed in 2765:

• Eight Samarkand-class carriers (two Block I, six Block II)
• Five Aegis-class heavy cruisers
• Two Cruiser-class heavy cruisers
• Six Narukami-class Block I destroyers
• Five Baron-class destroyers
• Five Essex I-class destroyers
• Five Lola I-class destroyers
• Four Vincent Mk. 39-class corvettes
• Two Vigilant-class corvettes

The DCA was also operating between two and three times as many transport JumpShips as it had WarShips and hundreds of DropShips; the WarShips were rarely involved in transporting ground units, tasks which were instead left to the various transport JumpShips.

3058

The Draconis Combine Admiralty had the following WarShips either in commission or undergoing shakedown cruises in 3058:

• Kyushu-class (frigate)

• DCS Dream of Kessel - destroyed during Operation: Bulldog (3059)
• DCS Draconis Rift
• DCS Luthien - destroyed at Benjamin (3072)
• DCS Victory at Wolcott - destroyed during Operation: SCOUR
• DCS Dieron Star
• DCS Galedon Explorer - destroyed by Clan Snow Raven(3068)
• DCS Pride of New Samarkand - destroyed during Operation: Bulldog (3059)

• Kirishima-class (cruiser)

• DCS Shiro - destroyed during Operation: BULLDOG (3059)
• DCS Urizen II - destroyed by Clan Nova Cat during Jihad
• DCS Takashi - destroyed during Operation: SCOUR
• DCS Siriwan - destroyed at Algedi by Azami Brotherhood

• Tatsumaki-class (destroyer)

• DCS The Lair of Mighty Wyrms
• DCS Dragon's Last Tear - destroyed by Clan Ghost Bear (3062)
• unnamed vessel - destroyed during Operation: Bulldog (3059)

• Inazuma-class (corvette)

• DCS Night of Agony - destroyed at Benjamin (3072)
• DCS Winds of Heaven
• DCS Amber Lotus
• DCS Swiping Claw - destroyed at Benjamin (3072)

• Kaga Class (aerospace carrier)

• DCS Mount Niitaka

• Yamato Class (battleship)

• unnamed

See also

• Screen Launcher
• Void medium battle armor [DCA variant]

Bibliography

• Field Manual: Draconis Combine
• Field Report 2765: DCMS
• House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)