Behemoth (DropShip class)

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Behemoth
Production information
Manufacturer	Brigadier Corporation, Galileo Instruments, TAG
Use	Cargo Carrier
Type	Civilian Spheroid
Tech Base	Inner Sphere
Technical specifications
Mass	100,000 tons
Structural Integrity	30
Length	200 meters
Width	200 meters
Height	275 meters
Drive System	Sunburst M-200L Megadrive
Safe Thrust	1 g
Max Thrust	1.5 g
Fuel (tons)	600 tons
Fuel (days)	68 days
Armament	4x Large Lasers 10x Medium Lasers
Armor	210 tons Standard Fore: 5 Sides: 5 Aft: 6
Crew	50
Escape Pods/Life Boats	5/5
Heat Sinks	158
BV (1.0)	1,684
BV (2.0)	1,017

Description

The Behemoth is the largest DropShip ever constructed by the Star League or the Clans. Originally designed by Krester's Ship Construction, the Behemoth was sold to foreign customers and its construction continued on after the company's demise. Due to its sheer size its structure is prone to stress damage, which is the reason why Behemoths rarely operate at more than half of their drive's thrust capacity. The hull cannot support planet-type gravity and the Behemoth therefore cannot land on planets and may not operate in atmosphere. Instead, they are typically serviced by shuttles and smaller DropShips, and operate in conjunction with cargo transfer space stations to conduct their cargo operations. While the requirement for small craft or smaller DropShips to move its cargo to planets adds an extra logistic and monetary cost compared to the 52,000-ton Mammoth class, the Behemoth's nearest rival and the largest DropShip capable of planetary operations, the sheer volume of cargo the Behemoth can carry far outweighs this. The high cost of running a Behemoth ensures that only the largest trading companies can afford to operate them and they ply only the busiest trade routes, usually far from any conflict.

Armament

As a civilian cargo carrier, the Behemoth's armament is pitiful at best, consisting of 4 Large Lasers backed up by 10 Medium Lasers. Intended as purely defensive, they are arrayed along the bottom/rear of the craft with the nose completely bare. The high cost of the craft keeping them far from any need to use these weapons has protected them far better.

Cargo

The Behemoth's cargo capacity of 75,121 tons, close to 3/4 of it's total weight, is split into 20 cargo decks linked by a central spire running the length of the vessel. Four heavy duty cargo lifts allow transit of cargo within the vessel. Due to the large degree of compartmentalization, the Behemoth can easily deal with both cargo that can and cannot be exposed to vacuum.

Owing to its heavy reliance on shuttles for cargo transfers, the Behemoth has 20 small craft bays.

Notes

• The big size and high cost of this Dropship, as well as its intended use, ensures that nearly all Behemoth are operated by large corporations and militaries. In fact there is only one known example that's privately own and is the property of Duke Hassid Ricol of the Draconis Combine.
• Though the design can not enter dense atmosphere or endure high gravity it is able to carefully land on low gravity planetoids and therefore includes landing legs.
• The Behemoth originally required a second Docking collar on JumpShips. When the Behemoth was introduced into the BattleTech universe, the construction/space travel rules postulated that a DropShip required two docking hardpoints for every 60,000 tons (or fraction thereof) of mass to dock with a JumpShip. This has been abandoned and under current rules the Behemoth, like any other DropShip, requires only a single hardpoint.
• Similarly, the structural weakness of the Behemoth is not reflected in any actual game rules and it is technically allowed to operate in atmosphere or planetary gravity just like any other DropShip.

Behemoth Ship Gallery

• 

  Behemoth-class DropShip

Bibliography

• DropShips and JumpShips, pp 64-65
• Handbook: House Liao
• Technical Readout: 3057, pp 68-69
• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised, pp 66-67
• The Star League, p. 165