Congress

Congress
Production information
Manufacturer	Challenge Systems DeKirk Aerospace
Introduced	2542
Production Year	2542
Use	Convoy Escort / Reconnaissance
Tech Base	Inner Sphere
Cost	9,099,423,000 C-bills
Technical specifications
Mass	760,000 tons
Length	703 meters
Sail Diameter	1,207 meters
Fuel	2,000 tons
Burn Rate
Safe Thrust	1.5 g
Top Thrust	2.5 g
Sail Integrity	4
KF Drive Integrity	16
LF Battery	No
Armament	8x Large Laser 8x NAC/10 8x NAC/30 1x Killer Whale 2x White Shark
Armor	487 tons Blue Nose 440CL Ferro-Carbide
DropShip Capacity	2
Crew	256 43 Officers 192 Enlisted 21 Gunners (Crew Types) 50 Pilots / Engineers 46 Junior Officers / Other Crew (Non-Engineers) 160 Secondary Engineers Bay Personnel: 32
Grav Decks	1 x 90 meters diameter
Escape Pods/Life Boats	8/8
Heat Sinks	604 double
Structural Integrity	75
BV (1.0)	78,469

Description

Built to replace the sluggish and outmoded Quixote-class, the Congress-class frigate was one of the swiftest convoy escort and reconnaissance WarShips built in the twenty-sixth century.

Introduced in 2542, the genesis of the Congress was marred by a three-year legal battle after Challenge Systems of the Federated Suns world of Galax accused DeKirk Aerospace of industrial espionage and theft of the ship's design, with the Terran Hegemony finally brokering a compromise deal in 2540. While no party admitted liability, Challenge was included as a partner in construction and the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns received a heavy discount on orders for the Congress with the more advanced Hegemony technology absent.

Capable of 1.5 g of acceleration, the Congress was swift and well-armed for a convoy escort of the era, also equipped with some of the most advanced and sophisticated sensor systems to perform its secondary role as an information-gathering vessel in enemy territory. Every cubic centimeter of the Congress is used to maximum effect, yet is comfortable and still allows access to all major systems for easy maintenance, a hallmark of DeKirk Aerospace's design work. The Congress's only real flaw was its relatively lackluster aerospace fighter support and anti-fighter defenses, which many vessels attempted to remedy by carrying DropShips such as the Vengeance-class fighter carrier or the Pentagon-class, an assault gunship originally designed exclusively for use with the Congress.

With such a balanced mix of speed, sensor ability, and firepower, the Congress was so well received that the Terran Hegemony and the Star League saw no need to replace the 200 examples of the class for many years. A small amount of the comfortable and easy-to-maintain ships survived the liberation of Terra, with a number of Congress-class vessels appearing with the Wolf's Dragoons, Clan toumans, and ComStar naval fleets. The Inner Sphere lost all known Congresses in the Jihad, though the Clan version continued service to the founding of the Scorpion Empire and ilClan in the thirty-second century.

Armament

The Congress's main armament is sixteen Naval Autocannons, eight Armstrong LN-10 Naval Autocannon NAC/10s along the forward angles and eight Oriente-30 NAC/30s mounted in the rear quarters, secondary firepower coming in the form of Capital Missile Launchers with a massive Killer Whale missile tube mounted in the nose, with a White Shark launcher fitted in each broadside. Eight Magna Large Lasers provide scant protection against fighters.

Cargo

While the Congress carries two docking collars, it rarely carries troop or 'Mech carrier DropShips, favoring assault ships and fighter carriers to suit its intended role and boost its limited fighter complement.

• Bay 1: Aerospace fighters (6), 1 door
• Bay 2: Small Craft (4), 1 door
• Bay 3: Cargo (169,784 tons), 1 door

Variants

• Clan 

  The Clans began use of their updated Congresses in 2914. The vessels that served in the various Clan toumans differed in minor ways from the original SLDF version beyond the addition of HarJel based hull sealant technology. Boosting the fighter bay to ten OmniFighters to suit Clan military structure, the subsequent 13 additional bay personnel, and the addition of a Lithium-Fusion Battery also slightly lowered the armor tonnage to 433 tons and cargo capacity to 163,687 tons. BV (1.0) = 79,122

• Davion 

  As concessions for the alleged industrial espionage resulting in the design of the Congress-class frigate, the Federated Suns were allowed to purchase Congresses built by Challenge Systems. These vessels were designated Congress-D and lacked the advanced sensors of the Hegemony versions. The forward-firing NAC/10s of the Congress were also replaced by NAC/30s in the Congress-D. All Congress-D vessels were reported lost in the destructive Succession Wars. BV (2.0) = 77,655

Named Vessels

See Category:Individual Congress-class WarShips

Notes

• In German products, the unit's proper name was perfectly (at least prior to the Reform of German Orthography in 1996) translated to Kongreß.

Gallery

• 

  Original Congress from TRO:2750

• 

  Clan refit Congress from TRO:3057

• 

  Miniature of Congress-class WDWS Beowulf from AeroTech 2 Revised

• 

  Miniature of Congress-class CHH Bucephalus from AeroTech 2 Revised

• 

  Miniature of Congress-class CJF Kerensky's Pride from AeroTech 2 Revised

• 

  Miniature of Congress-class CSV Snake Leader from AeroTech 2 Revised

• 

  A Congress in action as a part of Task Force Leonidas from Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2

Bibliography

• AeroTech 2 Record Sheets
• Field Manual: 3145
• Field Manual: ComStar
• Field Manual: Crusader Clans
• Field Manual: Warden Clans
• Field Report 2765: AFFS
• Jihad Hot Spots: Terra
• Technical Readout: 2750
• Technical Readout: 3057
• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised
• Technical Readout: 3075