Davion I (WarShip class)

Davion, Block I
Production information
Manufacturer
Introduced	2510
Production Year	2510
Use	Destroyer
Tech Base	Star League
Cost	1,926,841,000 C-bills
Technical specifications
Mass	520,000 tons
Length	685 meters
Sail Diameter	1,120 meters
Fuel	5,000 tons
Burn Rate
Safe Thrust	2 g
Top Thrust	3 g
Sail Integrity	4
KF Drive Integrity	11
LF Battery	No
Armament	4x NAC/25 3x NAC/35 2x Light NPPC 24x NL45 8x Large Laser 2x Small Laser 4x LRM-20 6x SRM-6
Armor	571.5 tons standard
DropShip Capacity	0
Crew	287 42 Officers 147 Enlisted 38 Gunners Bay Personnel: 10 First Class Passengers: 50
Grav Decks	2 x 65 meters diameter
Escape Pods/Life Boats	0/10
Heat Sinks	2,550 single
Structural Integrity	55
BV (1.0)	85,303

Description

The black sheep of the Federated Suns Navy, the Davion-class destroyer was a complete debacle. For the heavy destroyer's intended, independent missions, Davions mounted too little armor and poor firepower. Cost overruns and production delays proved devastating to the Federated Suns naval budget and the first Davion slipped its mooring 10 years behind schedule.

Few of the (future Block I) Davion-class were actually ever constructed, launching between 2510 and 2512. The death of Prince William Davion halted the project.

The Davions that survived the Federated Suns Civil War were relegated to Periphery patrols and escort duty until they were later sold to the Star League. However, rather than start from scratch and produce the originally intended destroyer, Prince Alexander Davion had the class upgraded. The Block II Davion-class launched in 2552, a significant change that resulted in a much more capable vessel. Because the class was not a total wreck, the Block I was upgradeable, and newer Block II Davions were easily constructed with only slight modifications to their parent shipyards.

25 Block I Davions survived to the beginnings of the Reunification War and Ian Cameron's Directive 22 in 2575. Prince Alexander leased all but three of the Block Is to the SLDF, of which the surviving nineteen were eventually sold outright and upgraded, becoming the prototypes for the Whirlwind-class destroyer. While the three remaining Davion I class WarShips had been retired from active service with the AFFS, there were rumors in the 2760s that the navy would reactivate some mothballed Davion Is as a part of the rapid rearmament program, which would have resulted in both classes of ship potentially operating alongside each other.

Armament

Ironically, the Block I Davion-class does mount reasonable armor and is maneuverable. In fact, the weapon systems are also very reasonable. The problem with the Davion-class is that the design is shortsighted, squandering space and mounting unnecessary systems. The vessel mounts no aft-left or aft-right defense, has startlingly few life boats, and no escape pods.

Cargo

Davion-class destroyers are failures as both WarShips and as transport vessels. The class possesses no DropShip collars, and its two bays are only able to manage two small craft or aerospace fighters and ~70.5 thousand tons of cargo. 50 accommodations for first-class passengers are also found on the vessel.

• Bay 1: Fighters/Small Craft (2), 2 Doors
• Bay 2: Cargo (70,506.5 tons), 2 Doors

Related WarShips

• Whirlwind-class destroyer – shortly before the Reunification War, Prince Alexander Davion decided to lease (and later, sell) Block I Davion-class destroyers to the Star League Defense Forces. These vessels were stripped, rearmed, and redesignated the Whirlwind-class by the Star League Navy.

• The Block II Davion ships bear little resemblance to their failed progenitors beyond the cosmetic. The Block IIs correct almost every Block I shortcoming, including increases in armor protection, firepower, fighter complement, and DropShip capacity.

See Also

• Category:Individual Davion-class WarShips

Gallery

• 

  Original Davion from TRO:3057 Revised

Bibliography

• Field Report 2765: AFFS
• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised