Cameron (WarShip class)
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- This article is about the WarShip. For other uses, see Cameron.
| |
| Cameron | |
| Production information | |
| Manufacturer | Daussault-Shimmon Enterprises[1] |
| Introduced | 2688 |
| Production Year | 2688[2] |
| Use | Battlecruiser |
| Tech Base | Star League |
| Cost | 9,367,525,000 C-bills[2] |
| Technical specifications | |
| Mass | 860,000 tons[1] |
| Length | 839 meters |
| Sail Diameter | 1,450 meters |
| Fuel | 1,000 tons |
| Burn Rate | |
| Safe Thrust | 1 g |
| Top Thrust | 1.5 g |
| Sail Integrity | 5 |
| KF Drive Integrity | 18 |
| LF Battery | No |
| Armament |
|
| Armor | 779.5 tons Ajax 7PK300 Ferro-Carbide |
| DropShip Capacity | 2 |
| Crew | 287[1]
(Crew Types)[3]
Bay Personnel: 42 |
| Grav Decks | 2 x 75 meters diameter |
| Escape Pods/Life Boats | 30/20 |
| Heat Sinks | 2,430 double |
| Structural Integrity | 80 |
| BV (1.0) | 134,202[4][1] |
Contents
Description[edit]
Despite its illustrious name, the Cameron-class battlecruiser was a massive boondoggle, heavily flawed, and a literal death trap for its crews, the result of contradicting requirements of the Star League Defense Force seeking to fill the wide gap between the navy's battleships and its cruisers and a peacetime budget freeze imposing enormous cost restrictions on the defense forces. Politicians and nobles of the 2650s mirrored the public's prevalent view of the SLDF during peacetime, questioning the necessity of large military budgets. The small firm of Daussault-Shimmon Enterprises of New Earth beat out the other bidders for the contract, but when the first complete ships were launched in 2688, the Cameron obviously fell short of the sleek, powerful vessel promised by its designers.[1][5][6]
The Admirals desired a command ship for the huge convoys traveling the Periphery, but frugally. While carrying an impressive weapon loadout, the Cameron could only match the acceleration of a battleship, largely due to the fact it was 50,000 tons over its design weight. Despite the flawed nature of the design, 40 of the ships were ordered; fear of public disapproval and yet further slashing of the SLDF budget made the Star League Admiralty afraid to admit they'd made a mistake. Modifications only hid these issues temporarily. This was to have tragic results when the SLS Saint Joan and all hands were lost due to design flaws which an investigation revealed had been covered up by engineers at Daussault-Shimmon in order to save the contract. Senior admirals resigned, the scandal led to the nationalization of the company,[7], and the remaining vessels were relegated to transport duties.[1][5][6]
Ironically, being removed from frontline service allowed them to survive the Amaris-Kerensky Civil War, despite the small number produced, the surviving examples continued in service in the Clan Invasion era. Once the various flaws of the Cameron were corrected, both ComStar and the Clans found the class to be a plodding but sturdy design that proved to be an excellent mobile command center. Amusingly, not even the advanced technology available to the Clans boosted the performance of the class to match the original design specifications.[1][5] Comstar's vessel was lost in the Jihad against their Word of Blake offshoot,[8] while the third iteration of the Star League maintained a few.[9][10]
Armament[edit]
While featuring lackluster speed, there were no complaints about the Cameron's weaponry, with four turrets housing the two Maelstrom AR-10 tubes, a capital class launcher that can fire missiles of any size, along with six other turrets carrying two Super Rand Heavy NPPCs, the largest particle projection cannon available. Combined with a secondary armament of 16 Pontiac-25 Series NAC/25 autocannons, ten Tronel-55 naval lasers, and the ability to carry 16 fighters, these weapons give the ship a tremendous offensive capability.[1][5][6]
Cargo[edit]
- Bay 1: Aerospace fighters (16), 4 doors
- Bay 2: Small craft (2), 2 doors
- Bay 3: Cargo (184,994 tons), 1 door
Variants[edit]
- Clan Upgrade - There is little functional difference between the Cameron-class vessels used by the SLDF and the Com Guards, save correcting its flawed systems and increasing by eight its bay personnel bunks to accommodate the increased fighters to a Binary. Like many vessels in their toumans, though, Clan Camerons have been retrofitted with Lithium-Fusion Battery systems and lowered the cargo capacity (to 175,891.5 tons in this case).[1][5]
Named Vessels[edit]
Gallery[edit]
Original Cameron from TRO:2750
Clan refit Cameron from TRO:3057
A Cameron in battle above Circe during Operation Klondike from Historical: Operation Klondike
Miniature of Cameron-class CCS Blood of the Coyote from AeroTech 2 revised
Miniature of Cameron-class CWS Ulric Kerensky from AeroTech 2 revised
_TRO3057r.png)
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Technical Readout: 3057 Revised, p. 154: "Cameron Profile"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 MUL entry for the Cameron (WarShip class)
- ↑ BattleSpace rulebook, p. 63
- ↑ AeroTech 2 Record Sheets, p. 305
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Technical Readout: 3057, p. 156: "Cameron WarShip Profile"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Technical Readout: 2750, p. 140: "Cameron"
- ↑ BattleSpace sourcebook, p. 57
- ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 100–101: "The Final Dance"
- ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. 161, "Clan Wolf Fleet"
- ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. 166: "The Alliance Fleet"