Black Lion

This article is about the second WarShip design to be named Black Lion and most commonly associated with the name Black Lion. For the first WarShip design named Black Lion (Block I), see Black Lion I.

Black Lion
Production information
Manufacturer	Boeing Interstellar
Introduced	2691
Production Year	2691
Use	Battlecruiser
Tech Base	Star League
Cost	7,031,760,986 C-bills
Technical specifications
Mass	810,000 tons
Length	772 meters
Sail Diameter	1,433 meters
Fuel	1,000 tons
Burn Rate
Safe Thrust	1.5 g
Top Thrust	2.5 g
Sail Integrity	4
KF Drive Integrity	17
LF Battery	No
Armament	18x NAC/30 8x White Shark 6x Barracuda 32x NAC/20
Armor	1,157 tons Grumman 900 Ferro-Carbide
DropShip Capacity	4
Crew	272 48 Officers 160 Enlisted 64 Gunners (Crew Types) 120 Pilots / Engineers 49 Junior Officers / Other Crew (Non-Engineers) 39 Secondary Engineers Bay Personnel: 86
Grav Decks	2 (1 x 65 meters and 1 x 85 meters diameter)
Escape Pods/Life Boats	20/0
Heat Sinks	1837 double
Structural Integrity	75
BV (1.0)	247,597
BV (2.0)	213,343 227,332

Description

The Black Lion-class battlecruiser, named for former Director-General James McKenna's famous Black Lion, was developed after it became apparent that the infamous Cameron class ships were not living up to their design specifications. Based on the antiquated original Block I battlecruiser and bypassing the usual procedure of accepting design proposals, the Star League Defense Force Quartermaster Command awarded a contract in 2689 to Boeing Interstellar on the advice of the Warship Sub-Command Admirals. This larger version, which sported heavier armor and weaponry as well as the ability to transport supporting DropShips, was a modified version of the design Boeing had submitted during the contract competition that led to the creation of the Cameron. Despite the unusual nature of its genesis, the Black Lion exceeded all expectations, eventually eclipsing that of its predecessor and Boeing would build two per year for the next 31 years.

The Black Lion's three Carston Pegasus interplanetary engines generate almost twice as much thrust as those used on the Cameron class. With less weight than the Cameron, the Black Lion became one of the quickest WarShips of its size, but the size and complexity of the engines caused an increase in engine breakdowns due to maintenance difficulties. The Black Lion's second important improvement over the Cameron is increased armor protection: 1,157 tons of Gruman 900 ferro-carbide armor. The ship's flight deck can carry 18 heavy aerospace fighters, and its four docking rings can handle the largest DropShips.

The Black Lion class lived up to most of the admirals' expectations, often forming the core of battle groups, leading fleets into action, and easily dominating battles in the Periphery. They also served as convoy escorts in independent operations. However, like many Star League era WarShips, Black Lions cannot cope with swarms of enemy fighters and this proved their undoing during the Great Houses' so-called Hidden Wars and against the SDS drones surrounding Terra.

Armament

The most controversial aspect of the Black Lion is its choice of weapons: the vessel does not have a single energy weapon. The Black Lion mounts exclusively cannons and missiles as its primary weapons, four turrets carrying Scarsbrough-30 Series naval autocannons and two turrets capable of firing White Shark missiles. The battlecruiser also carries four turrets of smaller Imperator-20 autocannons and six tubes firing Barracuda missiles. The designers used only non–energy weapons so the ship could mount a smaller and lighter power system. The main drawback to this choice of weapons is that the ship must devote interior space to carrying ammunition and the need for regular ammo shipments to avoid the risk of ammo exhaustion in prolonged engagements.

Cargo

• Bay 1: Aerospace Fighters (18), 4 doors
• Bay 2: Small Craft (10), 2 doors
• Bay 3: Cargo (73,453 tons), 1 door

Variants

• Clan Upgrade - Less than a dozen Black Lions survived Operation LIBERATION to accompany the Exodus Fleet, though none were seemingly lost in the Pentagon Civil War or Operation KLONDIKE. Each has become prized by the Clans as Galaxy flagships. The Clans began modifications in 2843 and made several changes to these vessels: installing HarJel Hull Sealant technology, Lithium-Fusion Battery systems, and increasing the fighter complement to a full Binary of 20. These changes and a small increase in bay personnel bunks lowered the cargo ability to 68,540 tons. In addition, the Clan version lost a quarter of its raw weight of armor in the upgrade to Lamellor Ferro-Carbide armor but effectively maintained the same level of protection.

Named Vessels

• Category:Individual Black Lion-class WarShips

Notes

• In German products, the unit's proper name was translated to Schwarzer Löwe.

Gallery

• 

  Original Black Lion from TRO:2750

• 

  Clan refit Black Lion from TRO:3057

• 

  Destruction of SLS Tripitz from ComStar

Bibliography

• AeroTech 2 Record Sheets
• ComStar
• Field Manual: Crusader Clans
• Field Manual: Free Worlds League
• Field Manual: Updates
• Hide and Seek (BattleCorps Scenario)
• Jihad: Final Reckoning
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3072
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3076
• Jihad Hot Spots: Terra
• Jihad Turning Points: Luthien
• Technical Readout: 2750
• Technical Readout: 3057
• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised