Author Topic: Compendium of Duranium Legion Ship Designs (Read 1550 times)

nuclearslurpee · « **on:** September 10, 2022, 12:20:58 AM »

Ship designs of the Duranium Legion will be posted in this thread. Most new class designs should be given in the text at their first appearance (or shortly thereafter), but will also be compiled here for the benefit of the readership. Refer to the handy table of contents below to locate ships from a particular time or era in the AAR narrative.

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Table of Contents

Y4100: "Lost Tech" Ship Designs (Part 1/2) (Part 2/2)
Y4100: Post-War Ship Designs
Y4100 to Y????: New Exploration Era Designs from 4100
...

nuclearslurpee · « **Reply #1 on:** September 10, 2022, 12:33:20 AM »

Year 4100 Duranium Legion Ship Designs

I. “Lost Tech” Ship Designs

Most of these ship classes should be familiar to readers of the first volume of the Chronicles. These have been reconstructed for version 2.1, which in a few cases has required minor changes from the 1.12 designs due to minor changes such as Boat Bay improvements or maintenance storage capacity upgrades since the earlier version. The reader should be aware that a few of the designs listed here do not appear in the second volume, all examples having been lost during or prior to the Civil War, and these are listed only for historical completeness of the records.

Warships

The Defiant-class light cruiser was the backbone of the Legion Navy prior to the Year 4000. Sporting an impressive array of 152 mm railgun batteries, while capable of modest point defense the real mission of a Defiant was to close with the enemy at speed and destroy them with bursted railgun fire, in true Legion style. While capable of this mission, Legion analysts complained that the class was based on too small a hull, a valid concern which ultimately led to the development of the more roundly-capable Invincible class.

Off-Topic: Defiant class Light Cruiser • show

Built on the same hull as the Defiants, the Grand Cross-class Light Jump Cruisers traded the entire armament for squadron jump capability. Thus, a squadron of three Defiants and a Grand Cross was in theory capable of prosecuting a campaign anywhere in the galaxy. In practice, the lack of armament aboard a Grand Cross was the direct impetus for the following Judgment Day class.

Off-Topic: Grand Cross class Light Jump Cruiser • show

If the Defiant class was the backbone of the Legion Navy, the Charybdis-class Destroyers were its workhorses. Equipped with an impressive arsenal of 102 mm rapid-firing defense batteries, the Charybdis class provided a formidable point defense capability to supplement the offensive firepower of the Defiant cruisers. This class proved essential in the Legion’s wars against the Mongolicans and Belaire, both of which relied heavily on torrentous light missile volleys in their battles against the Legion.

Off-Topic: Charybdis class Destroyer • show

As with the cruisers, several ships of a modified design were built on the same hull to provide a jump capability. The Furious-class Jump Destroyers thus ensured that the Legion’s cruiser squadrons would have adequate supporting fire no matter where in the galaxy they were fought. Unlike the Grand Crosses, these retained a small number of point defense batteries to further support their comrades in arms, rendering the Legion destroyer squadrons on the whole a very capable force.

Off-Topic: Furious class Jump Destroyer • show

The Bellerophon-class Frigates were deployed by the Legion alongside the larger ships. Unarmed except for a small point defense battery, the primary mission of the Bellerophons was to provide long-range passive detection and active target acquisition capability for the larger warships. While early-4000s Legion Naval doctrine generally held that battlefield intel could never be had in excess, the Bellerophon class was ultimately found lacking in ability to stand up under enemy fire as part of a Legion battle fleet, a problem which caused the Lords Admiral no small amount of consternation prior to (and after) the Collapse.

Off-Topic: Bellerophon class Frigate • show

As with the larger warships, a jump-capable warship was based on the same hull as the Bellerophons. The Excelsior-class Jump Frigates mounted a squadron jump drive in the volume freed by removing the Bellerophons’ sensor suite, ensuring a mobile sensor capability for the Legion’s war fleets, in addition to an extra defense battery over the Bellerophons. These ships were not found to be terribly problematic, but generally suffered from close association with the awkward Bellerophon class.

Off-Topic: Excelsior class Jump Frigate • show

The Ars Magica-class Survey Frigates were the first iteration of the frigate hull type to enter production, owing to the premium value placed on its deep space exploration capabilities by the Lords Admiralty and in fact by the Emperor himself. Equipped with a self-jump drive and a set of gravitic and geological survey sensors, the Ars Magicas had the crucial mission of finding new systems, resources, and most of all alien races for the Legion to conquer and exploit.

Off-Topic: Ars Magica class Survey Frigate • show

The Ars Magica class was later upgraded to a more-capable Mk II variant due to the slow speed and vulnerability to Mongolican ambush exhibited by the original class design.

Off-Topic: Ars Magica Mk II class Survey Frigate • show

The Hellfire-class frigates were the first new warship design of the Legion Navy after the Year 4000. The beam cannon armament was intended as a counter to potentially laser-armed opponents, which the Hellfire class was designed to engage at long range and defeat with minimal damage taken. While the class was highly successful in this role, nevertheless it was extremely controversial among the deeply conservative Lords Admiralty of the period, who objected to the divergence from traditional railgun-focused combat doctrine.

Off-Topic: Hellfire class Frigate • show

At the time of the Collapse, the Hellfire class was in the process of being refitted into a Mk II variant, with two principal proposals under consideration. The first of these proposals aimed to use improved fire control technology to provide extra ammunition and maintenance supply storage to improve the endurance of the class, as battlefield experience had shown that the original design struggled to defeat enemy ships before its limited endurance forced a tactical withdrawal.

Off-Topic: Hellfire Mk II-A class Frigate • show

The second Mk II proposal sought to address the lack of armor in the original design specification, providing somewhat less maintenance supply storage compared to the first proposal and necessitating the removal of the second fire control to maintain the class tonnage. While the 50% increase in armor thickness was surely welcomed by crews, the lack of a second fire control system left the class with a single point of failure in combat, a fact which was occasionally exploited during the Civil War.

Off-Topic: Hellfire Mk II-B class Frigate • show

The Invincible-class light cruisers were a direct response to the undersized nature of the Defiant class, and as such were the first Legion Naval warships to mount a dual armament of main 152 mm and defensive 102 mm weapon batteries. The Legion Navy was in the process of replacing the Defiant-class light cruisers with these improved models when the Collapse occurred, stranding much of the Legion Navy including the entire complement of Invincibles commissioned to that point deep in the Belaire-Tegyrian expanses. Thereafter perpetually short on vessels, the Legion Navy would never succeed in eliminating the Defiant class from its roster throughout the remainder of the XLI century.

Off-Topic: Invincible class Light Cruiser • show

The Judgment Day-class light jump cruisers were designed rather differently from their Invincible sisters, despite the apparent parallel between the two classes and the earlier Defiant and Grand Cross classes. The Judgment Day class sought to address the chief perceived weakness of its predecessor by mounting an eight-battery 102 mm defensive armament in exchange for a significant reduction in armor thickness, a decision made based on battlefield experience which showed that jump ships were rarely targeted in battle. While this experience would be radically contradicted during the Civil War, the fact that no jump point-based warfare occurred during the War meant that little could really be said about the correctness of this unusual design decision.

Off-Topic: Judgment Day class Light Jump Cruiser • show

While the Invincible class had been quite successful in its short service lifetime prior to the Naval Conference of 4009, the Lords Admiralty still desired an equivalent response to the threat posed by the Mongolican and Belaire capital ships displacing in excess of 20,000 tons. One of the chief outcomes of the Conference was a mandate for construction of the 20,000-ton Leviathan-class heavy cruisers to fill this capability gap as best as Legion shipbuilding capacities of the time would allow. Ultimately, due to the Collapse these vessels would only see service against one another during the bloody Civil War, during which the massive 203 mm primary railgun batteries of the class seemed to be reasonably effective as the heavy cruisers pounded each other into atoms.

Off-Topic: Leviathan class Heavy Cruiser • show

The Retribution-class Dreadnoughts were intended to be the ultimate War-winning weapons, armed with the devastating PEL-12 Neutron Lances to excoriate even the Leviathan-class heavy cruisers in a single volley. Unfortunately, the only two examples of the class were completed after the conclusion of the War, being continually delayed by the economic struggles of the Legion which were characteristic of that era. While they have been considered a useful deterrent in the post-War era, the actual combat capability of the class was never tested during the remainder of the XLI century.

Off-Topic: Retribution class Dreadnought • show

Retribution class Dreadnought 37,500 tons 1,105 Crew 6,507.4 BP TCS 750 TH 3,750 EM 0
5000 km/s Armour 12-99 Shields 0-0 HTK 210 Sensors 11/33/0/0 DCR 32 PPV 168
Maint Life 2.30 Years MSP 4,505 AFR 352% IFR 4.9% 1YR 1,157 5YR 17,357 Max Repair 625 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 500 tons
Lord Captain Control Rating 4 BRG AUX ENG FLG
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Flight Crew Berths 10 Morale Check Required

Hyperion Drive Yards H-1250 Capital Engine 'Colossus' (3) Power 3750 Fuel Use 22.14% Signature 1250 Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,225,000 Litres Range 26.6 billion km (61 days at full power)

Priapus Energetics Laboratory PEL-12 Neutron Lance (4) Range 240,000km TS: 5,000 km/s Power 37-4 ROF 50
Arcadia Weapons Systems 203 mm Heavy Battery Mk IV (8x4) Range 160,000km TS: 5,000 km/s Power 12-4 RM 40,000 km ROF 15
Arcadia Weapons Systems 102 mm Defense Battery Mk III (16x4) Range 30,000km TS: 5,000 km/s Power 3-3 RM 30,000 km ROF 5
Sangarius Systems Heavy Battery Director Mk IV (3) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 5,000 km/s
Sangarius Systems Defense Battery Director Mk IV (4) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 5,000 km/s
Chryson Dynamics 12 TW Induction Drive Cell Mk VI (4) Total Power Output 48.3 Exp 5%
Chryson Dynamics 16 TW Induction Drive Cell Mk VI (3) Total Power Output 49 Exp 5%

Scamander Corporation Series XXI Capital Targeting System (1) GPS 63 Range 14.9m km MCR 1.3m km Resolution 1
Scamander Corporation Series XI Capital RF Wave Scanner (1) Sensitivity 33 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 45.4m km
Scamander Corporation Series XI Capital Infrared Scanner (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 26.2m km

nuclearslurpee · « **Reply #2 on:** September 10, 2022, 12:33:51 AM »

Small Craft

The R-56 recon fighters were originally carried aboard Legion light cruisers to provide passive stealth and passive monitoring capabilities. However, the lack of active sensor capabilities meant that only limited intelligence could be gained by these craft, necessitating the introduction of a supplemental active reconnaissance fighter.

Off-Topic: R-56 class Recon Fighter • show

The AR-56 served well enough to cover the gap in small craft reconnaissance left by the short-range, passive-only configuration of the R-56, despite crew complaints about the slapdash construction of the class. The successful rescue of the survey frigate Adamant by one of these fighters has forever etched the class into the institutional memory of the Legion Navy.

Off-Topic: AR-56 Osprey class Recon Fighter • show

The JR-1014 jump scout was an ultimately failed attempt to combine passive and active reconnaissance capabilities on a jump-capable fighter hull. The result was terribly underpowered and slow, and the loss of all constructed examples in the Collapse was considered something of a silver lining by many of the Lords Admiral.

Off-Topic: JR-1014 class Jump Scout • show

While not strictly military crafts, the Warden-class traffic monitors gave excellent service to the Legion Navy as jump point monitors and occasionally as fleet scouts due to a chronic lack of intact Bellerophons. The only real weakness of the class, aside from the natural limitations on its sensor capabilities due to its auxiliary classification, was the lack of organic jump capability. This weakness was rectified by the introduction of the far more numerous Gatekeeper-class vessels, all of which were unfortunately lost abroad as a result of the Collapse.

Off-Topic: Warden class Traffic Monitor • show

Off-Topic: Gatekeeper class Traffic Monitor • show

Auxiliary Vessels

While instrumental to the success of the Legion Navy, the auxiliary vessels are generally less celebrated and rarely possess particularly exciting class histories. As such, known class designs are presented below without commentary as a reference only.

Off-Topic: Phaeton class Freighter • show

Off-Topic: Olympia class Cargo Shuttle • show

Off-Topic: Typhon class Colony Ship • show

Off-Topic: Dragon class Tanker • show

Off-Topic: Salamander class Troop Transport • show

Off-Topic: Libra class Fleet Tender • show

Off-Topic: Andromeda class Stabilisation Ship • show

Off-Topic: Accatran class Salvager • show

Off-Topic: Ogre class Tug • show

Off-Topic: Knossos class Fuel Harvester Platform • show

Off-Topic: Obsidian class Orbital Mining Platform • show

Off-Topic: Achelous class Terraforming Platform • show

The authors are certain that the above record, while comprehensive in expressing the sum of the authors’ knowledge, are certainly incomplete and do not represent the complete roster of pre-War, or even pre-Collapse, Legion Naval ship classes. Most notably, the authors have been unable to locate detailed specifications for the famous Manticore-class command cruisers or the infamous Poseidon-class dreadnoughts. Additionally, a number of small craft not listed above have been attested to in various surviving documents, but actual design schematics have remained elusive.

nuclearslurpee · « **Reply #3 on:** September 10, 2022, 12:34:38 AM »

II. Post-War Ship Designs

Legion Naval vessels designed and constructed in the post-Civil War era were generally of a lower technology level and build quality compared to those of the previous era, owing to both economic hardships as well as destruction of technological infrastructure during the Civil War. The reader will note several contrasts between the ship designs below and those in the preceding section: (1) use of nuclear gas-core engine technology, which could produce at most perhaps 75% to 80% of the same thrust per ton as the ion drive technology used by classic Legion designs; (2) use of inferior railgun battery and fire direction technology due to the destruction of the Arcadian family of Lords during the War; (3) use of weaker beam cannons based on the smaller PX-300 series of designs, a necessity forced by a lack of corundium to construct the far more powerful PEL-4, PEL-6, or PEL-12 designs; and (4) use of the rebranded “Series B” Scamander Corporation sensor technology, officially marketed as an uridium-saving measure but in all likelihood a direct consequence of the disastrous Scamander Raid of 4048 by desperate survivors of the Antilochus-Minotaur faction, in which perhaps ~85% of Scamander science and engineering staff were massacred in cold blood.

Warships

The Seraphim-class frigates were, strictly speaking, not a “post-War” class as they were designed towards the end of the war, using cheaper or available technology to fill secondary fleet roles in the face of mounting losses. Ships of the class gave excellent service against the rather poorly armored raiding ships which commonly harassed Legion shipping in the post-War era, but ultimately proved insufficient to fully combat the escalating threat of piracy.

Off-Topic: Seraphim class Frigate • show

The Victorious-class scout cruisers were built in an attempt to augment the limited numbers of Seraphim-class frigates by delivering a wing of fast SC-64 Raven scouts to an area of operations. Unfortunately, the Victorious class provided no real upgrade in terms of firepower, and bandit groups rapidly adapted to the new class by deploying heavier armaments which the weakly-armed Seraphim class could not hope to match up against.

Off-Topic: Victorious class Scout Carrier • show

The Warspite class was the decisive final blow against the bandit plague. With its heavy armor and long-range beam cannon armament, even the most powerful pirate armadas struggled to stand up to the Warspites in open battle, with even the underpowered PEG-3/C outranging any weapon the raider ships could bring to bear. While the class is superficially similar to the famous Invincible-class light cruisers, the Lords Admiralty chose to designate the Warspites as “full” cruisers, largely for the sake of their fragile public and political image.

Off-Topic: Warspite class Cruiser • show

Small Craft

Despite their reliance on inferior technology, the SC-64 Raven class of scout fighters arguably represent a superior design philosophy to that behind the venerable R-56 and AR-56 recon fighters. Not only do SC-64s mount both passive and active reconnaissance capabilities on a single hull, but their use of a larger than usual propulsion block allows them to achieve much higher speeds than contemporary larger warships, and in fact they can even match (but not outrun) pre-War Naval vessels when necessary.

Off-Topic: SC-64 Raven Scout • show

Auxiliary Vessels

As before, these specifications are given solely for completeness, and are presented without further commentary.

Off-Topic: Sangraal class Freighter • show

Off-Topic: Lunar class Cargo Shuttle • show

Off-Topic: Arctura class Colony Ship • show

Off-Topic: Canak class Tanker • show

Off-Topic: Piscina class Troop Transport • show

Off-Topic: Gororan class Salvager • show

The above is believed to be a complete inventory of all ship classes in service with the Legion Navy at the beginning of 4100. Not included above are any ship classes used by the civilian shipping Lord families and corporations, which are poorly-documented in official records of the time and are in any case not terribly interesting to speak of.

nuclearslurpee · « **Reply #4 on:** September 17, 2022, 12:40:02 PM »

Duranium Legion Ship Designs of the New Exploration Era (4100 to present)

Warships

The Seraphim GE-class frigates were a rather emergency modification of the post-War Seraphim class, with the sizeable passive sensor suite replaced with the small passive scanners of the SC-64 Raven scout class, and the space made available by this change used to mount a single geological survey sensor. The resulting ship design was hardly a robust survey frigate design, but did possess that most critical of abilities of which the Legion Navy of 4100 was desperately in need of, this of course being availability. The GE models operated in squadrons of four, three of which would be the GE class while the fourth member would remain in the original Seraphim configuration to provide patrol and reconnaissance capability as needed.

Off-Topic: Seraphim GE class Frigate • show

The closely related Seraphim GV-class frigates were a similar modification, mounting a gravitational survey sensor instead of the geological variant. These were operated in much the same way as the GE models, in groups of three escorted by an original-model Seraphim to provide protective reconnaissance and sensor coverage as needed. Only three of these conversions were refitted from the GE models, as the Legion high command preferred to retain a few GEs on hand to continue filling the mineral survey role during the early exploration era of the 4100s.

Off-Topic: Seraphim GV class Frigate • show

Military Ships

The Xanadu-class survey frigates were the first new-build Legion survey vessels since the Collapse, and at first glance appeared to be an inferior copy of the famous Ars Magicas. While the survey sensor suite and maximum mission range of the class perhaps left something to be desired, the secret weapon of the Xanadu class was its propulsion section, enabling it to comfortably outpace any of the old Ars Magica variants and thus complete its survey mission quickly, if not fuel-efficiently. Three variants were designed and eventually saw service with the Legion Survey Fleet: the base variant, with mixed geological and gravitational survey sensors, and the GE and GV variants with paired geological or gravitational systems, respectively. Proponents of the class and its trimodular design emphasized the potential for flexible construction schedules to meet the emergent needs of the Legion Navy, while opponents claimed that reliance on specialist units would lead to a rigid, inflexible Survey Fleet which would resort to overbuilding or costly refits to meet its ever-evolving mission profiles.

Off-Topic: Xanadu class Survey Frigate • show

Auxiliary Ships

The Elemental-class orbital mining platforms were the first new-build space stations constructed with planetary industry since the Civil War era. They possessed only 80% of the mining module capacity as the older Obsidian class, but this was considered a necessary compromise in order to produce a mining platform which could, if necessary, be transported through a non-stabilized jump point through the combined efforts of a Libra-class fleet tender and an Ogre-class tug. The question of why, exactly, the Legion would ever want to deploy a vulnerable orbital mining platform beyond the borders of the stable jump point network was never satisfactorily addressed.

Off-Topic: Elemental class Orbital Mining Platform • show

Author Topic: Compendium of Duranium Legion Ship Designs (Read 1550 times)

nuclearslurpee (OP)

Compendium of Duranium Legion Ship Designs

nuclearslurpee (OP)

Compendium: Year 4100 "Lost Tech" Designs (1/2)

nuclearslurpee (OP)

Compendium: Year 4100 "Lost Tech" Designs (2/2)

nuclearslurpee (OP)

Compendium: Year 4100 Post-War Designs

nuclearslurpee (OP)

Compendium: New Exploration Era Designs from 4100