Tharkad Class Battlecruiser.Class – Tharkad Class Battlecruiser
Displacement – 900,000 tonnes
Length – 975 meters
Crew compliment – 474
BackgroundThe Lyran Commonwealth had a proud history of being a naval power and at the pinnacle of its might for many long years sat the Tharkad class battlecruiser. Designed in 2685 the Tharkad was built with an eye towards defeating the newest ships being laid down by the Terran Hegemony and in service with the SLDF, the Avatar class cruiser as well as the older but still common Aegis class cruiser.
The ship also comprehensively outgunned other ships in House service like the Liao Du Shi Wang and outclassed the ancient Fed-Suns Defender Class and we can assume it was larger than any known DCA warship, mainly because we’re still waiting for them to produce a battleship or cruiser class vessel.
The introduction of the class when the LCS
Tharkad left the graving docks in 2690 and entered service also caused a bit of an arms race with the Hegemony who countered the new Lyran vessel with the Black Lion II which entered service in 2691. Whilst it may seem silly that it caused an arms race with a faction that could produce 2 McKenna class Battleships a year whilst also churning out cruisers by the bushel, it’s my opinion that the Hegemony kind of reacted like the Royal Navy did in the late 1800/early 1900’s.
Way back then, the British heard about a Russian ‘super ship’ that was faster than any battleship and could run down anything afloat. Hearing this report the Royal Navy built a counter in the form of an entire class of six ships to counter the Russian three. The British ships were superior in every respect and it once again cemented any perceived threat to the Royal Navy’s hegemony at sea. This is how the SLDF seems to have reacted. Did they NEED the Black Lion II? Probably not, but they had a perceived need that they did, so they went and built it.
The Lyrans produced a total of twenty eight of the big battlecruisers, often paring them with the Commonwealth class Light Cruiser, the Block II of that class entering service in 2765 gave sterling service as an escort alongside the bigger Tharkad class ships. The two classes perform well together, the Tharkad provides the big guns and the heavy fighter and dropship support whilst the Commonwealth are good escorts and can swat destroyers and dropships letting the Tharkad pound other ships flat.
The Tharkad was built from the keel up to engage and crush hostile capital ships and was well equipped for this role. Her four massive engines could propel the ship up to a maximum of 2.5g of thrust making it as ‘fast’ as the cruisers of the time and faster than more than a few destroyer and frigate classes which it could no doubt run down and annihilate, especially the old Hegemony cast offs that the bulk of the House Lords fleets consisted of. At 900,000 tonnes the Tharkad was a big warship and was built round a solidly built hull that was layered with 983.5 tonnes of Ferro-carbide armour to give protection greater than the Avatar, Aegis and later Sovietsky Soyuz class ships, indeed the Tharkad’s armour was more in line with the Aetrius and Monsoon class battleship for its scale.
The Lyran’s also didn’t hold back on arming the centrepiece of their fleets with the biggest weapons they could and the Tharkad features a diverse array of weapons. A quartet of heavy naval gauss rifles are probably the showpiece which is apt considering the Lyran’s love of big bore weaponry. Backing up these are an array of NAC-35, 30, and 20 as well as clusters of Naval Lasers in the 45 to 55cm range. Medium and heavy naval PPCs and a meaty six rack of Killer Whale missiles in the bow that round out the Tharkad class’s anti-shipping weapons.
Unlike many (nearly all) SLDF and Hegemony ships the Tharkad was also armed with smaller scale weapons to engage hostile small craft and dropships. This battery consists of clusters of medium and large lasers as well as big groupings of LRM 20 and 10 launchers that can launch veritable clouds of missiles at incoming fighter strikes.
Finally the Tharkad also had an impressive air compliment, with 36 aerospace fighters carried on board as well as a massive 6 dropships (something that wasn’t seen beat until you get into McKenna territory) a lone Tharkad is quite capable of defending itself with its organic air wing. This large organic air wing could have been inspired by the Commonwealth Block I Light Cruisers, when they entered service they too carried 6 dropships and had room for 22 small craft, this may have factored into the design of the Tharkad class nearly three centuries later.
By Hegemony/SLDF standards the near 54,000 tonne cargo bay was somewhat limited and this perhaps reflects a different doctrinal approach. SLDF/Hegemony ships were built to patrol huge tracts of space whilst I can imagine the Tharkad’s, much like the far later Mjolnir class ships being sent out to do a job and then coming home, not shilly shallying around with patrols. But 100 days worth of fuel at constant thrust is actually greater than many SLDF ships, but her smaller cargo bays and the need to keep her air group and dropships fueled cuts into this.
Despite the class’s toughness, weapons fit and defences the class fell victim to the blazing heat of war in the First and Second Succession Wars. This saw the death of the Lyran naval industry, the Commonwealth class and all but one of the Tharkad’s, the LCS
Invincible.
The LCS InvincibleSome names resound through history,
Victory, Constitution, Enterprise, Yamato, Bismarck and the
Invincible proudly joined that pantheon of famous Warships. Crippled in battle over the world of Moore the
Invincible was found to be simply uneconomical to repair, especially with the damage done to the Lyran naval yards. She was instead turned into an orbital museum, the last example of what had once been the mighty Lyran fleet.
But during the Seventh and Eight Battle of Hesperus the Lyrans were close to losing the strategically vital world and its utterly priceless Mech Factories to the invading forces of the Draconis Combine. Their capture could well mean the death of the Lyran Commonwealth to the Kurita onslaught. The Triad, the leaders of the time had one ex-aerospace and naval officer amongst their number. Henry DeCalidore proposed that in addition to the counter-attacking and relief forces that the LCS
Invincible be reactivated and sent along with the relief force. The ship had still not been fully repaired, there simply wasn’t the yard space or equipment to do so, and the
Invincible herself was over 200 years old and age had not been kind to the old ship, only made worse by the lack of repair facilities and any chance to overhaul her.
Pulling together the last remnants of the Lyran Navy who had served aboard major capital ships, men and women who had retired from service with the death of the fleet this scratch crew of 200 reactivated the
Invincible and the old ship joined the counter attacking forces despite her engines threatening to give out and concerns about her hull taking the strain of the jump as well as weapons fire.
The ship didn’t rip itself apart and appeared at the zenith jump point and opened fire, smashing the last DCMS Warships including the ancient DCS Yedo a Baron Class destroyer. With the blockade broken the
Invincible headed in system and in conjunction with the last reserves on Hesperus as well as those that arrived after the Invincible and supported by the guns of the battlecruiser the Kurita forces were driven off world and into retreat. This epic battle actually became source material for four movies as well as two live plays and the ballad
Invincible Dream.
Unfortunately the battered old warship vanished on her way back to Tharkad, suffering a misjump, a tragic end that also cemented her name in the history of the Lyran state and people’s minds.
Yet the end was not what it was expected to be. Somehow the Word of Blake found the
Invincible and recovered, repaired and reactivated her seemingly with the intent of presenting the ship along with the Word’s military strength when the Third Transfer of Power occurred. But with the collapse of the Second Star League the Word saw the prophesised Transfer slip from their hands and instead of appearing as friend the Word flew into a rage and attacked. The
Invincible herself arrived at Tharkad, painted in the glistening white of the Word and no one knew where she had been or how the Word had found her. But either through misheard orders or a fit of rage the
Invincible’scommander had the ship fire on the Lyran capital because of the collapse of the Second Star League. The shot went wide and instead of being a warning, it hit an old fusion reactor which detonated in a massive blast that lead many to believe that The Word of Blake had just nuked the capital city.
The orbital battle that followed was vicious and whilst the
Invincible did engage more ground and orbital targets she was swarmed by furious Lyran aerospace fighters and withdrew to be repaired whilst the Word launched its ground assault.
When Stone’s Coalition came to free Tharkad from the Word the
Invincible was engaged by the larger, more modern successor to the old Battlecruiser the LAS
Yggdrasil a huge Mjolnir class battlecruiser. In the orbital battle the
Invincible remained in the fight but was captured in a furious boarding action and taken into the Coalition fleet. The quickly repaired
Invincible became the flagship of Devlin Stone and it was from her bridge that he gave the go order to begin the assault on the Terran System. The battlecruiser and the rest of the Coalition fleet took a fearsome pounding in the battle for the cradle of humanity and after the war the
Invincible returned home to Tharkad.
But the return trip was a disaster, the final jump badly damaged the old ships jump core and suddenly the
Invincible was stranded in a system that lacked the facilities to repair and service her. Moored in orbit over the Capital the
Invincible remained in commission but due to her age, the damage she’d taken and the lack of any docking facilities in the Tharkad system to repair her she deteriorated and was suitable for little more than being a training ship for other Lyran warships and their dropship fleet. Such was her poor state of repair that Devlin Stone himself remarked that the
Invincible should be converted back into a museum instead of trying to refit the pride of the Lyran fleet. It should be noted that the Word also gave the
Invincible a Lithium-Fusion battery which in essence made her a sub class.
DesignThe Tharkad is a meaty effort and is a capable Warship that’s a threat to anything in her time period or the modern period.
As fast as the then new Avatar Class cruiser she outguns the Hegemony ship in a stand up broadside fight and even outguns the old Monsoon class battleship;
Tharkad Class - 408 damage
Avatar Class – 339 Damage
Monsoon Class – 357 Damage
But the competitor to the Tharkad in the form of the Black Lion II packs a heavier punch in the broadside;
Black Lion II – 456 damage
But this is through the simple dint of being a AC heavy design and Naval AC’s are fearsomely hard hitting weapons, yet the Black Lion is also far more vulnerable to fighter attacks despite having naval missiles spread everywhere but on her bow and stern arcs, carries 2 less dropships and 18 less fighters.
Armour wise the two are closely comparable.
Tharkad Black Lion II
Fore – 145 Fore - 151
Fore Sides – 140 Fore Sides - 168
Aft Sides – 140 Aft Sides - 168
Aft - 131 Aft - 151
Structural integrity – 80 Structural integrity – 75
In a gun fight in theory the Black Lion is superior thanks to the simple fact she has bracket firing whilst this was not given to the House Lords ships, yet the Tharkad classes guns are not just close in beatsticks like the NAC dominated Black Lion.
Weapons – 4 Heavy Naval gauss rifles (2 x double mounts), 11 x NL-55’s (1 x triple mount, 2 x quad), 4 x NAC-25 (2 x dual turrets), 15 x Medium NPPC’s (5 x triple turrets), 8 x Heavy NPPCs, 2 x triple turrets, 1 x dual turret, 4 x NAC-30 2 x dual turrets, 4 x NAC-35’s 2 x dual turrets, 6 x NAC-20 3 x dual turrets, 6 x Killer Whale launch tubes.
17 x Large lasers, 34 Medium lasers, 18 LRM-20, 18 LRM-10
The Tharkad has a diverse weapons fit and it can engage at long range but the lack of bracket firing means that you’re rather more reliant on luck than real accuracy at long range but she packs a significant wallop at all ranges and the big six pack of Killer Whales provides a dangerous crit seeking ability in a closing engagement and if you’re using the rules then you can fire them off boresight for even more firepower. But like most ships designed before the rules for bracket firing were a thing, the Tharkad is very much a close and hose type ship who fights well at short to medium ranges and she's basically a brawler.
The six dropships and nice big 36 strong fighter also give the class a formidable ability to engage and defeat hostile strikes from other warships. Until you get to the Texas and Farragut classes you’re not going to get bigger organic fighter compliments whilst you need an Avatar or Monsoon to equal the 6 dropship parasites. With its heavy firepower, solid protection, good thrust rating, awesome organic aerospace support and point defences the Tharkad can gun down pretty much any cruiser it comes across until the Luxor hits the scene in the dying days of the Star League.
Against something like the hard hitting Cameron the Tharkad can set the pace of the attack and the angle thanks to her higher thrust rating allowing her to out manoeuvre the lumbering and smaller ship. Even against a modern ship like a Nightlord the Tharkad stands a good chance due to its meaty firepower vs the Clan ships very eclectic mix of weapons that at least to my mind, make little sense.
Obviously the later Mjolnir class considerably outclasses the Tharkad class, they are much larger and have miles more armour and structural integrity with a terrifying (if ammo limited) punch at shorter ranges and their weapons mix is rather similar. I’d like to think that there’s some of the genetics of the Tharkad in the Mjolnir class.
The anti-fighter weaponry also for the time stands out, because the SLDF rarely bothered with anti-fighter weapons on-board its ships. The LRM clusters can do a number on fighters with 84 damage or 8 capital damage, this isn't something most fighters want to get hit with and even a modern flying brick like the Eisensturm does not want to get tickled by that barrage. The laser clusters are more a weapon of last resort, whilst the large lasers can plink its only really noticable at short ranges where they can slap you with anywhere from 54 to 72 damage (depending on what turrets are engaging you). Again this hurts, and can make quite a few fighters regret their decisions but its at the shortest of ranges.
The Tharkad also lacks any form of AMS and relies purely on her armour to absorb missile hits rather than being able to deflect or destroy them.
Fighting a Tharkad can be a nasty experience, their mix of weapons gives the class a rather meaty punch, especially if she can get her front/aft arcs to bare with her broadside. She's a thuggish brawler and can rip chunks out of any ships hide, but she has her flaws. Many SLDF warships were also NAC heavy gunboats and getting into the Tharkad's range for her guns also means getting in range of theirs and that can be bad. Her limited bracket firing abilities also mean that other ships can outrange the Tharkad and engage her more accurately at longer ranges although this works better with some ships rather than others. The champions being the Texas, McKenna, Potemkin and Leviathan classes, whilst smaller ships like the Avatar can plink away before closing the range and the Luxor is a good solid all rounder.
A Tharkad will probably try to close with you and if you can engage her as she's doing this, do so, but its going to come down to a NAC fight at the end of the day unless you happen to be one of the four champions mentioned above. And if a Tharkad is facing one of those unsupported I wonder for the Captain's sanity. The Tharkad's a great cruiser killer, it can rip destroyers apart and pound frigates into rubble, but do NOT throw her at a Battleship without friends. You want to do this.
That's the DCS
Yado being destroyed by the
Invincible'sguns. You don't want that happening to your prized battlecruiser so don't fight above your weight.
I hope folks enjoy this write up and I'm always welcoming of any comments.