Dreadnought (WarShip class)
- This article is about the WarShip class. For the eponymous first ship of that class, see Dreadnought (Dreadnought).
Dreadnought | |
Production information | |
Manufacturer | |
Introduced | 2300 |
Production Year | 2300[1] |
Use | Battleship |
Tech Base | Inner Sphere |
Technical specifications | |
Mass | 960,000 tons |
Length | 890m |
Sail Diameter | 1,050m |
Fuel | 5,000 tons |
Burn Rate | 39.52 |
Safe Thrust | 1.5 g |
Top Thrust | 2.5 g |
Sail Integrity | 5 |
KF Drive Integrity | 19 |
LF Battery | No |
Armament | 24 x NAC/20s 16 x NAC/10s 64 x AC/5s 64 x AC/2s |
Armor | 1,147.5 tons of Standard |
DropShip Capacity | 0 |
Crew | 146 Officers 518 Enlisted/non-rated 98 Gunners 20 1st-Class Passengers 50 2nd-Class Passengers 270 Marines 128 Bay Personnel |
Grav Decks | 2x 150m |
Escape Pods/Life Boats | 60/60 |
Heat Sinks | 2,048 |
Structural Integrity | 60 |
BV (2.0) | 104,949 |
Description
The first true WarShip to be produced, the Dreadnought was originally considered to be a plaything of Admiral James McKenna. The TAS Dreadnought, launched in 2300, was the first of seven ships in this class and served as McKenna's flagship until he transfered his flag to the Black Lion. In 2315, McKenna disabused the warring parties of the Terran Alliance that these ships were mere playthings when he staged several firepower demonstrations involving destroying uninhabited islands on Terra from orbit, and paved the way for the birth of the Terran Hegemony.[2][3]
The Dreadnought class would serve for just over 300 years before being formally retired in 2602; during these three centuries, no Dreadnought was lost in combat, although two Dreadnoughts were lost as a result of navigational accidents during the Age of War and a third was scrapped after a series of engineering mishaps. While the Dreadnought-class was superceded in service by the Farragut and Monsoon classes, three of the four surviving Dreadnoughts remained as reserve vessels within the Star League navy; unlike many later vessels, each Dreadnought mounted an array of fighter-scale weapons, making them capable of repulsing a fighter escort even without dedicating any of the cargo or small craft bays to carrying fighter support.[2]
The Reunification War was the final campaign for the Dreadnought-class, and three of the four surviving vessels were scrapped or gifted to museums after the war; the last vessel to remain in service was also the first, the SLS Dreadnought.[2]
Armament
The Dreadnought-class was intended to operate independently and was armed entirely with naval and fighter grade autocannons, making the class capable of fearsome displays of firepower but also causing them to require frequent resupply, even with the capacious cargo bays on each vessel. The larger NAC/20s were mounted fore, aft and within the broadsides, with the lighter NAC/10s mounted in the fore and aft side arcs. The lighter AC/5s and AC/2s were mounted evenly around the ship, making it difficult for attacking light craft to find an easy avenue of approach.[2]
Cargo
- Bay 1: 12 Small Craft, 2 doors
- Bay 2: 12 Small Craft, 2 doors
- Bay 3: 132,316.5 tons of Cargo, 4 doors
- Bay 4: 40,000 tons of Cargo, 2 doors
See Also
References
- ↑ MUL online date for the Dreadnought (WarShip class)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Historical: Reunification War, p. 222-223, "Dreadnought-class Warship"
- ↑ The Star League, p. 13