by David Weber
Javelin-class destroyer
Mass: 87,250 tons
Dimensions: 381 × 45 × 26 m
Acceleration: 519.7 G (5.096 kps²)
80% Accel: 415.7 G (4.077 kps²)
Broadside: 6M, 2L, 4CM, 3PD
Chase: 2M, 1L, 2CM, 2PD
Number Built: 65
Service Life: 1883–present
The Javelin-class destroyer is a contemporary of the Chanson class but has a fundamentally different design philosophy. Where the Chanson focused on cramming as much defense as possible into as small a hull as possible, the Javelin favors a heavier offensive punch, at the cost of some defense. It was intended to serve mostly as a fast screening unit for battlecruiser squadrons and has seen less independent command than its more survivable cousins.
While in simulation it seems like a highly effective design, its heavy offensive punch came at a price. Magazine space to support the larger broadside was one limitation, and the fact that all six launchers shared only two magazines made the design particularly vulnerable to damage. Missile tubes and magazines also had to be placed nearer to the sidewall generator spaces than normal and as a result the class has been plagued by feedback issues between grav drivers and sidewall generators for its entire service life. Compared to the Chanson and even the much maligned Culverin class, the Javelins were never particularly popular among either RMN planners or their crews. Most of them were relegated to reserve duty by 1920 even though some much older Chanson-class hulls were still in active service.
Culverin-class destroyer
Mass: 104,000 tons
Dimensions: 404 × 48 × 27 m
Acceleration: 547.4 G (5.368 kps²)
80% Accel: 437.9 G (4.294 kps²)
Broadside: 5M, 4L, 5CM, 4PD
Chase: 2M, 1L, 2CM, 2PD
Number Built: 72
Service Life: 1899–present
The Culverin class was designed as a powerful, general purpose destroyer to replace both the Havoc and Chanson classes. Although a bold design in terms of intent, the first units to be delivered came in over budget, late, and “overweight.” Changes in requirements during the design process resulted in an increase in the offensive throw weight and a decrease in crew size, dictating the use of automation more commonly seen in merchant ships. In the end, the automation project was abandoned after the first two ships, but not before these changes delayed the commissioning of the first ship by two years and resulted in software and hardware glitches that were all but impossible to work out. The armament changes caused the Culverin to grow by nearly eight thousand tons and to lengthen by almost ten meters. Some point to these early problems as the reason that it took the Admiralty another ten years to try again to reduce crew requirements through increased automation.
When all was said and done however, the Culverin class was nearly as good as its design simulations said it should be. It has significant electronic warfare assets, an impressive broadside for a destroyer, and solid defensive capabilities that mesh perfectly with the latest generation of Manticoran hardware. The primary complaint about the Culverin is its reputation as a maintenance headache, although part of this reputation resulted from periodic shortages of spare parts during the initial construction phase. The peculiar internal layout brought on by the design changes has caused a great deal of trouble for damage control teams, a fact that wasn’t fully appreciated until the first units began to see combat.
Wolfhound-class destroyer
Mass: 123,500 tons
Dimensions: 428 × 51 × 29 m
Acceleration: 784.7 G (7.695 kps²)
80% Accel: 627.7 G (6.156 kps²)
Broadside: 6M, 3G, 6CM, 5PD
Chase: 2G, 4PD
Number Built: 19
Service Life: 1919–present
The Wolfhound-class destroyer is a general purpose destroyer originally designed during the Janacek Admiralty to replace the entire RMN inventory of older model destroyers. Eighteen percent heavier than the Culverin class, the Wolfhound takes full advantage of the new technologies that enabled the RMN to build a destroyer that is more effective than many prewar light cruisers. The class has a limited off-bore capability and carries the latest generation of single drive missiles in RMN service, far longer ranged and more powerful than anything in service at the start of the war. With a crew of only eighty-seven, the complement of an old-style destroyer can be spread across nearly four Wolfhounds, freeing up manpower for other new construction without reducing the total number of destroyers in service.
While the Wolfhound is an effective platform by any prewar standard, once the performance numbers began to appear for the new Roland-class destroyers, the RMN substantially revised their building schedules. Given the missions that it would be assigned, the Wolfhound would not be significantly more capable than the hulls already in service, at least not enough to warrant the cost of replacing almost four hundred of them in wartime. Only nineteen Wolfhounds are currently in service; the other twenty of the original flight were destroyed in the Grendelsbane raids. While there are plans to put the Wolfhound into limited series production to start slowly replacing the oldest surviving destroyer classes, currently all of the smaller building slips have been dedicated to building Rolands and Avalon-class light cruisers.
Roland-class destroyer
Mass: 188,750 tons
Dimensions: 446 × 54 × 45 m
Acceleration: 780 G (7.649 kps²)
80% Accel: 624 G (6.119 kps²)
Broadside: 5L, 10CM, 9PD
Chase: 6M, 2G, 6PD
Number Built: 46+
Service Life: 1920–present
The Roland class reflects much of what the RMN has learned in the course of the war against Haven. In terms of sheer size, it is the largest destroyer ever produced, rivaling the size of other navies’ light cruisers.
The RMN had been caught short of suitable flagships for cruiser and destroyer service during the First Havenite War, and the Rolands were one attempt to address that shortage. Every member of the class was fitted with extensive command and control capability and, in essence, each can operate as the flagship of a destroyer squadron.
The Roland is also the smallest warship to carry the Mark 16 dual-drive missile, mounting a cluster of six launchers in each hammerhead. Using off-bore fire, it can bring all missiles to bear on a single target. The obvious downside of this arrangement is that a single hammerhead hit can take out half the total missile armament.
The Roland is a match for any conventional light or even heavy cruiser without multi-drive missiles of its own. The Roland is able to engage at a range far outside the opponent’s and is fast enough to make a run for it if its Mk16s are unable to penetrate the enemy’s defenses. As with the Wolfhound, the Roland class has no place in the modern RMN wall of battle, and all of the units thus far deployed have been sent to either the Talbott Quadrant or Silesia for use as pickets, system defense, and convoy protection. The Roland's use as a commerce raider has yet to be proven but extensive simulations reportedly have shown that the Roland will excel in that role should it be necessary.
LIGHT CRUISERS (CL)
Historically, the frigate was the primary RMN cruising unit, not the light cruiser. Designed for independent, long-endurance interstellar operations, frigates frequently engaged in commerce protection, anti-piracy operations, and strategic intelligence gathering. They became a common sight in many Verge systems as the Manticoran merchant fleet expanded, and as the first independent commands for many outstanding Manticoran officers of the war years, these tiny ships may rightly claim to have played a major part in the RMN’s subsequent successes.
The RMN’s longtime predilection for this type, despite its known disadvantages, stemmed from the need for numbers of platforms to deal with relatively low-level threats. Frigates were cheaper than destroyers, although their crew sizes and operating costs were very nearly equal, and they were capable of trouncing almost any pirate they were likely to meet. The ability to depl
oy them in greater numbers made them more desirable to a Navy whose primary business was just that—trouncing pirates—despite the always marginal combat power imposed by the heavy demands life-support, power rooms, and hyper generators placed upon the available mass and volume of such small hulls.
It took the looming war against Haven to knock the frigate out of favor due to its inability to face any regular warship, regardless of tonnage, and one of King Roger’s major initiatives was the gradual replacement of the large inventory of frigates with light cruisers for long-range interstellar missions.
Light cruisers were seen as interstellar units, intended to operate for long periods of time without outside support, primarily for strategic and tactical scouting missions. Substantially larger than current-generation destroyers, they were also more potent combat units, capable of dealing with the increasing numbers of heavily armed “privateers” operated by various Silesian separatist movements in the Confederacy. Despite this, Manticore never had more than a couple of dozen light cruisers in service prior to King Roger’s naval expansion program. Lacking neighbors with ill intent and with a battle fleet geared primarily towards home system defense rather than power projection, the RMN’s limited wall of battle had little need for strategic scouting, and the tactical scouting role was filled by LACs and destroyers in the home system. Roles had begun to shift within the RMN in the 1820s, however, due to the ever-expanding reach of the Manticoran merchant marine. As conditions worsened in Silesia, missions normally assigned to destroyers began to be filled by the limited number of RMN light cruisers, and tasks normally assigned to frigates began to be filled by destroyers and light cruisers alike. The success of both the merchant marine and the light cruisers assigned to protect it prompted an acceleration of CL building programs, which were already underway when Roger began to increase the size of the battle fleet. The expansion of the battle fleet substantially accelerated the process, and as increasing numbers of cruisers became available, the remaining frigates were steadily taken out of service, both to free up manpower for the king’s “New Navy” and to increase the combat power and survivability of individual units.
The best known light cruiser in RMN history is certainly HMS Unconquered (CL-16), built in 1649 PD, which served as the first hyper-capable command for both Edward Saganami and Ellen D’Orville. Unconquered has been restored and kept in permanent commission as a living museum in orbit around Manticore.
Courageous-class light cruiser
Mass: 88,250 tons
Dimensions: 389 × 40 × 31 m
Acceleration: 519.6 G (5.096 kps²)
80% Accel: 415.7 G (4.076 kps²)
Broadside: 7M, 2L, 2G, 3CM, 3PD
Chase: 2M, 1L, 2CM, 2PD
Total Built: 62
Service Life: 1820–1909
The Courageous-class light cruiser was the oldest light cruiser class in the RMN’s inventory at the start of the war. These cruisers were originally scheduled to be decommissioned in 1897 PD, but remained on the active list for another ten years in light of the Navy’s growing demand for light combatants in Silesia, coupled with a shortage of yard space for the construction of replacements. The Courageous class was designed for commerce escort and anti-piracy duties, where it could make best use of its heavy offensive armament. Although scarcely larger than a modern destroyer, the Courageous mounts a broadside of seven lightweight missile tubes and was one of the few units of its size to mount grasers in its beam broadside.
The heavy offensive armament of the class came at a cost, however. It is virtually unarmored, even by light cruiser standards, and the designers opted to save even more mass by reducing crew spaces and bunkerage to levels well below current standards. The reduction in cruise duration between resupply evolutions has rendered the Courageous less suited to its intended role than its weapons fit might indicate, and in that respect it was a disappointing replacement for the classes it superseded.
Despite the age of its offensive systems and its endurance issues, the Courageous class has a good performance record. It was still a strong performer in missile combat and, if it could keep the range open, was a match for most contemporary light cruisers. However, the combination of reduced endurance and cramped crew accommodations make it unpopular with crews. The surviving ships had a series of major upgrades over the years, but hardware supply constraints have caused them to fall behind the more modern classes. They were being replaced on a hull-for-hull basis by the Valiant class as the war began, and the last unit was decommissioned in 1909 PD.
Apollo-class light cruiser
Mass: 126,000 tons
Dimensions: 438 × 46 × 35 m
Acceleration: 517.8 G (5.078 kps²)
80% Accel: 414.2 G (4.062 kps²)
Broadside: 5M, 6L, 4CM, 4PD
Chase: 2M, 1L, 3CM, 3PD
Total Built: 132
Service Life: 1856–present
The Apollo class is a beam-centric light cruiser designed for anti-piracy operations. Built as the result of an 1846 design study, the focus of the design was overall protection and antimissile defenses on extended duration deployments far from resupply, primarily in places like Silesia, but also with an eye towards future fleet scouting requirements.
The first seven ships built to the design study’s specifications were delivered between 1851 and 1856 PD. The RMN had awarded the Jordan Cartel a production contract lasting through the 1860s, but three of the first twelve ships failed their full power trials due to structural flaws. The subsequent scandal forced the cancellation of all naval contracts with the Jordan Cartel, following a lengthy investigation of charges of fraud and substandard building practices. Even before the investigation concluded, the Navy had turned construction over to the Hauptman Cartel. Following the investigation, Hauptman was also awarded possession of the remaining Jordan hulls for salvage of parts and systems. Aside from the first two, all of the remaining hulls have been built by the Hauptman Cartel, which received contract renewals in the mid 1860s and early 1870s.
The Apollos are designed to fight a closing battle while maneuvering into beam range, and have electronic countermeasures and sidewalls as strong as some older heavy cruisers. They also boast heavier armor than most light cruisers. At close quarters, nimble maneuvering and a heavy energy broadside should make an Apollo more than a match for any ship of its type. However, the beam armament has come at the expense of the missile broadside, leaving only five tubes in each broadside, with disadvantages that became truly obvious only after the widespread introduction of the laser head towards the end of the nineteenth century. The Apollos have undergone three major refit cycles to update their electronics and fire control systems. The remaining units in the class are expected to be decommissioned soon, though wartime requirements may extend their service life yet again.
Talisman-class light cruiser
Mass: 124,250 tons
Dimensions: 438 × 46 × 35 m
Acceleration: 517.9 G (5.079 kps²)
80% Accel: 414.3 G (4.063 kps²)
Broadside: 5M, 2L, 4CM, 4PD
Chase: 2M, 1L, 3CM, 3PD
Number Built: 16
Service Life: 1871–present
The Talisman-class light cruiser is a dedicated intelligence-gathering cruiser built on the versatile Apollo hull. With most of the Admiralty convinced that war with Haven was a near certainty, plans were put in place to shadow Havenite units in neutral space and picket Havenite systems with Talismans, in order to capture as much data as possible on Havenite propulsion, sensor, and fire control systems. In the event that war broke out, the Talisman-class ships were to be assigned to screening formations, using their upgraded sensors to provide a direct data feed to the wall’s fire control computers in real time as the battle progressed.
Four broadside lasers were removed and magazine space was reduced to make room for an extensive suite of passive sensors, analysis gear and room for the crew required to run the systems. The entire forward half of the boat bay wa
s dedicated to launch and recovery equipment for a variety of reconnaissance drones.
While political considerations rendered their primary mission difficult in many cases, the Talismans served well throughout the early years of the war. Several of them eventually ended up in the service of ONI special operations teams and a study is underway to refit the others as advanced drone tenders. This would allow a division to hyper into a newly occupied system and set up an ad hoc perimeter security array on short notice. This capability is expected to be of most use in the new territories of the Star Empire of Manticore.
Illustrious-class light cruiser
Mass: 135,750 tons
Dimensions: 449 × 47 × 36 m
Acceleration: 517.3 G (5.073 kps²)
80% Accel: 413.9 G (4.059 kps²)
Broadside: 5M, 4L, 6CM, 6PD
Chase: 2M, 1L, 4CM, 4PD
Number Built: 26
Service Life: 1876–present
The Illustrious class was a product of the Enhanced Survivability Program undertaken by BuShips in the early 1860s. Unlike some of the other designs spawned by that program, the Illustrious class carried the concept far enough to compromise the offensive capabilities of the design, and most authorities consider the ship severely under-gunned. The Admiralty agreed with that assessment and shifted resources to the continued production of the older Apollo class rather than the newer Illustrious-class CLs.
The Illustrious design has been disparagingly referred to as the most expensive destroyer ever built. This is perhaps unfair, as the class has found several useful niches, but the RMN had hoped to use it as a more generalized light cruiser and hence overall it is regarded as a failure. Lacking the firepower to be a credible threat to any modern warship in its tonnage range, standard employment options for the class usually emphasize missions where its defensive armament is an advantage. Initially these deployments focused on situations where it was more likely to find a mismatch in its favor, either hunting pirates in Silesia or in an antiscouting role with the fleet. As the tempo of wartime operations increased, command groups with Illustrious-class cruisers attached have taken to detaching them to cover convoy elements while heavier elements have been tasked elsewhere. A related idea that saw Illustrious-class ships attached in division strength to deep raiding battlecruiser squadrons as supplementary defensive firepower met with some limited successes early in the war. Their conversion into light, fast-attack transports assigned to the RMMC is also under consideration.