Some Taurian Corvettes

[master arminas]

Code: [Select]

Class/Model/Name:    Warlock
Tech: Inner Sphere / 2360
Vessel Type: WarShip
Rules: Level 2, Custom design
   
Mass: 150,000 tons
Inner Sphere / 2360: Chandler Light 150
K-F Drive System: KF Millenium Engineering 68
Length: 335 meters
Sail Diameter: 878 meters
Power Plant: GE-Westinghouse KVC-36 Standard
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Armor Type: Jessup Composites 119 Improved Ferro-aluminum

Armament:
8 Jankowski Mark I NAC/10
32 Aurora Missiliers Deathscap LRM 15
32 Hyades Weapons Consortium Retaliation Autocannon/10
Manufacturer:    Chandler Shipwrights
   Location:    New Columbia
Communications System:    Wintershaven Comm Mark 7
Targeting & Tracking System: Berringer Systems SPZ-11c Phased Array
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class/Model/Name: Warlock
Mass: 150,000 tons
Equipment:             Mass
Power Plant: Standard 36,000.00
K-F Hyperdrive: Compact (Integrity = 5) 67,875.00
Jump Sail: (Integrity = 3) 38.00
Structural Integrity: 50 7,500.00
Safe Thrust: 4   
Maximum Thrust: 6   
Heat Sinks: 496 Single 183.00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps:   3,555.00
Bridge & Controls:   375.00
Food & Water: (180 days supply) 162.00
Armor Factor: 148 Improved Ferro-aluminum 147.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Armor Value
      (Capital Scale)         
  Fore:   26         
  Fore Left / Right:    26 / 26         
  Aft Left / Right:   26 / 26         
  Aft:   18         

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equipment & Options:               
Cargo:     
   Bay 1: Small Craft (2) with 2 doors 400.00
   Bay 2: Cargo (1) with 2 doors 7,587.00
     
Grav Decks:     
   Grav Decks #1 - 2:  (95-meter diameter) 100
Escape Pods: 30 (7 tons each) 210
Crew and Passengers:     
   16 Officers (16 minimum)   0.00
   59 Crew (59 minimum)   0.00
   19 Gunners (19 minimum)   0.00
   46 2nd Class Passengers   0.00
   30 Marines   0.00
   10 Bay Personnel   0.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weapons & Equipment: Loc SRV MRV LRV ERV Heat Mass
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) Nose 10 10 10 -- 30 2,010.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) Nose 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 20 53.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds) Nose 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 12 68.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) FL/R 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) FL/R 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 40 106.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds) FL/R 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 24 136.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) L/RBS 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) L/RBS 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 40 106.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds) L/RBS 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 24 136.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) AL/R 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) AL/R 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 40 106.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds) AL/R 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 24 136.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) Aft 10 10 10 -- 30 2,010.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) Aft 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 20 53.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds) Aft 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 12 68.00
1 Lot Spare Parts (5.00%)             7,500.00
10 Bay Personnel Quarters             70.00
TOTALS:           496 150,000.00
Tons Left:             .00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 1,583,914,440 C-Bills
Battle Value: 44,394
Cost per BV: 35,678.57
Weapon Value: 18,134 (Ratio = .41)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 1,291; MRDmg = 1,172; LRDmg = 658; ERDmg = 222
Maintenance Point Value:    MPV = 179,878 (62,378 Structure, 87,788 Life Support, 29,712 Weapons)
Support Points: SP = 208,350 (116% of MPV)
BattleForce2: (Not applicable)

AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout
Overview:
With the lead vessel commissioned into service in 2360, Taurian Concordat Ship Warlock and her sisters were the first modern men of war of the fledgling Taurian Concordat Navy, officially founded just six years previously.  Before TCS Warlock, all previous vessels had been so-called 'primitive' designs, with antiquated systems requiring much greater mass and internal volume.  In fact, the few vessels constructed before the Warlock class were all lightly armed explorers, equipped with the bare minimum of weapons required to defend themselves in the wilds beyond the Syrtis Rim.
Classified by the Taurians as an Escort (later redesignated as a Destroyer Escort), Warlock was designed with the assistance of a former naval engineer turned refugee from the Terran Hegemony.   Intended as more of a proof of concept vessel than a true fighting ship, this austere and rugged little craft nonetheless proved so impressive that the Protector and his officers immediately authorized production of a total of eighteen, which entered service over the next sixteen years.
During the dangerous times of the latter half of the 24th Century, the Warlocks roamed the border systems, patrolling Taurian space against Davion or Capellan intrusions.   It was with these vessels that the majority of the skirmishes of the Age of War would be fought and won by the TCN.   Although a third of the Warlocks produced would be lost in action during this time, these escort and patrol vessels would account for more than seventeen times their own tonnage in enemy ships destroyed or captured during the dawn of the Age of War.
The introduction of the highly successful and popular Wildcat class in 2377 resulted in the removal of the Warlocks from front-line service.   Unable to match the larger, more powerful ships in either firepower or armor protection, and lacking the ability to deploy fighters, the Warlocks were relegated to anti-piracy duties in the sparsely populated colonies far from the Davion and Capellan borders.   As more and more Wildcat class ships entered the fleet, the hard-used Warlocks were slowly reassigned to less strenous duties in the interior of the Concordat.   TCS Warlock, the lead ship of the class, was selected in 2440 to serve as the Academy Training Ship in the Hyades Cluster, while her eleven surviving sisters served as light patrol, escort, and courier ships.
During the mid-26th Century, the looming storm of a unified Star League caused to Concordat to begin to slowly build up its own military forces to repel any invasion.  However, even their worst contingency planning would prove woefully inadequate against what the Star League would eventually bring to bear.  Preperations were made to expand the Fleet, and the old Warlocks were refitted with new armor composites to improve their odds of surviving.
In 2566, TCS Mystic vanished without a trace while running a patrol route from Montour to Badlands.   An extensive survey of the missing vessels patrol route located no debris or signs of any engagement.   After a seven month search, TCS Mystic was declared Missing, Presumed Lost and struck from the TCN Naval Rolls.   Four and a half centuries would pass before the fate of Mystic and her crew was uncovered.
During the grueling seven-year siege of the Hyades by the Star League, a severe shortage of combat ships caused the Warlocks to be pressed into front-line service.   When TCS Necromancer was destroyed during an assault in 2594, TCS Warlock was left as the only vessel of her class still in existence.   After Marantha Calderon surrendered to League forces in 2596, Warlock was scuttled by her own crew in order to prevent her from being seized as a prize by the victorious enemy.
In 2998, Taurian explorers discovered TCS Mystic drifting without power or life support in an unexplored system 'south' of the Badlands star cluster, or what is now referred to as the Pirates Haven star cluster.   Their curiosity roused, the exploration team boarded the ancient ship only to find the long-dead crew still at their stations.  Unable to start even the auxiliary generators aboard ship, the exploration team quickly discovered the problem:   all six fuel bunkers were dry, and the emergency batteries completely discharged.
Undaunted by the setback, the team managed to jury-rig portable generators to read Mystic's final log entries.  Nothing unusual was discovered in the logs or the ship's sensor records.  The log ended with the vessel's commanding officer noting that the ship was preparing to jump to Althea's Choice in order to deliver a shipment of medical supplies that the colony desperately needed.
Although the explorers were unnerved by the dead ship and crew, they thoroughly searched Mystic from stem to stern:  they found only corpses aboard.  The medical supplies were discovered untouched in the main hold, supplies worth over fifty million C-bills on the black market of today.  The team determined that Mystic was in prime condition to be salvaged, but they lacked the equipment to do so.
Leaving their DropShip and a salvage team aboard, TCAS Odyssey returned to Concordat space to report their discovery to the authorities.   Six months later, Mystic was restored to working condition and cautiously made her way back to the Hyades Cluster.  Upon her arrival, experts from both the naval service and civilian industry examined the vessel thoroughly in order to discover what exactly had happened to Mystic and her crew.  Two years would pass, but the investigation revealed nothing.
Finally, in 3001, TCS Mystic was recommissoned into active duty service with the TCN, crewed with volunteers from the Navy's JumpShips and DropShips.   Her austere design and simple systems are easily maintained, even in this technologically bankrupt era, but one critical element was lacking:  the ability to produce additional munitions for Mystic's Jankowski naval autocannons.   Luckily, her magazines were fully stocked when she was discovered, but with no additional supplies forthcoming, the Protector decreed that Mystic be hidden away against a future crisis.   Ever since, TCS Mystic has remained within Flannagan's Nebula at a secret naval installation.  She waits for the day to arrive when the last known surviving ship of war of the Old Concordat can openly and proudly stand post in its defense once more.

Capabilities:
Massing just 150,000 tons, TCS Warlock and her sister ships were small indeed by the standards of the Age of War.   And yet, despite their low weight and simple design, it was with these ships that the reputation of the TCN as a fighting navy would be built.   Even as late as the Reunification Wars, the Warlocks would often enough prove to be a match for ships as much as three times their own tonnage.
Consuming almost half of her limited mass allotment was the Hyades KF Engineering Millennium 68 drive core.   A stable design, the Millennium 68 soon gained a reputation for being a sweet drive; simple to maintain and operate, reliable even when damaged in combat, and relatively inexpensive for a compact core system.   In many respects, the small size of the Warlocks provided naval engineers with unexpected benefits in regard to the KF drive.   Less area and volume meant that the liquid helium exchangers and conduits could be built sturdier and more resistant to cracking, and reserve tanks could store enough spare helium for a complete replacement of the core's cooling medium.
For in-system transit, the quartet of GE-Westinghouse KVC-36 drives could accelerate these Escort Destroyers at a maximum of 3-g's, a truly revolutionary achievement for the era in which they were constructed.   Vibration at thrusts above 2-g's was, unfortunately, quite significant, as was increased fuel consumption.   This problem was never fully solved, making the Warlocks very rough rides at full power.   But, if the drives were prone to vibration at high power output, they were also easy to maintain and reliable in the field.   And at accelerations of 1-g or less, the KVC-36 was one of the most fuel-efficient transit and maneuvering drives ever constructed.
One hundred and forty-eight tons of Jessup Composite 119 standard armor covered the structure and hull of the Warlocks.   One of the few failings of these ships was the light frame upon which they were constructed, limiting the amount of armor protection to little more than that carried by a modern Achilles class Assault DropShip.   It must be noted, however, that even with such a limited and lightweight armor scheme, the Warlock carried heavier protection than many other ships of the period, including the standard Corvette of the Star League Defense Force, the Vincent class.
No docking collars were mounted on these ships, and parasite complement was limited to just two shuttles; another weakness.     There were many proposals made for refits that would have incorporated four fighter bays on the Warlocks, but each was ultimately rejected because of insufficient internal volume for the fighter bays, their crews, and supplies.   This lack of aerospace support was one of the factors that ultimately resulted in the reassignment of the Warlocks in favor of the Wildcat class ships, which did carry eight aerospace fighters.
Despite the lack of excess volume inside the Warlocks, care was taken by Chandler Shipwrights to provide adequate space for the complement of 16 officers, 88 crew, and 30 Marines.   A pair of contra-rotating 95-meter diameter grav decks were mounted just forward of the transit drives in order to provide the gravity necessary to maintain physical health and psychological well-being on long duration space voyages.   There is a sufficient excess of private quarters to accommodate up to forty-six passengers as well; a dozen of these passenger quarters are built in such a manner that they can double as a brig if needs require.   Food, water, and life support are stocked in adequate quantities to provide for a deployment of up to six months before requiring resupply, although most ships will restock provisions and life support much more frequently.    Thirty dedicated escape pods are built into the ship as well, providing enough capacity to evacuate the crew and passengers in the event of an emergency.
Five armored fuel bunkers, containing a total of 3,555 tons of fuel, are built into the ship as well.   This extensive supply of dedicated fuel tanks differs from the common Inner Sphere practice of providing a bare minimum of fuel, while relying upon cargo space for additional quantities.   This practice horrifies most Taurian spacers.   While it is accepted that space is dangerous for a variety of reasons, the vast majority of Taurians see no reason to provoke Murphy in such an unwise manner.   Auxiliary fuel tanks stored in cargo bays lack armor, purge systems, fire-fighting systems, and damage control systems normally built into dedicated fuel bunkers aboard ship.   This makes such reserve tanks into a veritable catastrophe waiting for a spark.  Other powers have argued that such risk is minimal, and that the flexibility of being able to carry more munitions or cargo at the expense of fuel is a legitimate counter-point.   Regardless of those arguments, Taurian doctrine on ship design still requires dedicated storage of all fuel aboard ship in specifically designed bunkers.     
This ammount of fuel is sufficient to continually thrust at 1-g for six months, although high-G maneuvers and combat operations will consume fuel at a vastly greater rate.   Still, even at the maximum thrust a Warlock can achieve, a fully stocked vessel of this class can accelerate for more than twenty-five standard hours before exhausting their onboard fuel supply compared to less than seven standard hours for a Star League Vincent class ship.   This generous supply of fuel will often allow skippers of Warlock class ships to evade hostile vessels, even from deep within their maneuver sphere.
Cargo capacity of the Warlocks was of necessity quite limited, with only 7,500 tons available for spare parts storage and just an additional 7,586 tons of open cargo volume.   Still, this represented more than 10% of the total ships volume, which the Concordat considered as adequate for the purposes of a defensive naval force.   The limited cargo volume did prohibit TCN vessels from undertaking long-range offenses against their foes, at least without significant support from dedicated replenishment vessels.
Armament-wise, the Warlocks were marvels for their era, outgunning vessels four times their mass.   Once again, the Taurian designers and engineers concentrated on abiding with the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid!).   Primary armament consisted of eight single mount Jankowski Mark I Class 10 Naval Autocannons, one each in bow, stern, the broadsides, the fore-quarters, and the aft-quarters.   Simple and reliable weapons, the Jankowski's were so situated that no matter what angle of approach a hostile vessel might take, two or three guns could track it successfully.   While considered mere pop-guns by many of the Great Houses, the Mark I Jankowski's were more than adequate against enemy DropShips and light WarShips, and could even conduct orbital bombardment if that were to be required.   Each of the eight turrets was supplied from its own independent armored magazine, containing fifty bursts of NAC shells.     Lacking space for the bulky and unreliable automated transfer equipment of the era, the design team of the Warlock decided against mounting any such equipment.
Backing up the Jankowski's was sixteen more turrets of much lighter weapons, once again evenly spaced across the hull of the ship.   Eight of these turrets consisted of quad mounted Aurora Missiliers Deathscap LRM-15 launchers, while the remainder consisted of quad mounted Hyades Weapons Consortium Retaliation AC-10s.   Useful only at close ranges, these secondary batteries provided the Warlocks with a hefty anti-fighter (or flak) belt that few other ships of the period could match.   Each turret was supplied from an independent armored magazine containing 200 missile salvoes or 200 bursts of autocannon shells.   At ranges where the secondary battery could bear, these weapons increased the overall firepower of the Warlocks by nearly 80%.
Overall, the Warlocks were solid little ships with ample firepower and good maneuvering capabilities.   Their ability to perform patrols lasting three months or more allowed the Concordat to protect their citizens against raiders, whether those raiders were pirates or agents of another House.   And while their limited capacity for offensive operations was certainly of concern, the primary duties of these ships (indeed, the entire Taurian Navy) was to defend their own worlds, not to conquer those of another power.

Battle History:
The Tormassov Incident was the first confrontration between the Taurian Concordat and its two belligerent neighbors, the Capellan Confederation and the Federated Suns.   The full account of the events leading up to the skirmish between the Concordat and the Capellans on 23 August 2368 and then between the Davions and Taurians on 25 August have been studied elsewhere in significant detail, so the author will not recount them here.   Instead, this TRO will focus on the naval battles directly, something seldom before done with any specificity.
Three Warlock class ships (TCS Warlock, TCS Oracle, and TCS Wizard) had converged upon the system of Ridgebrook in response to the arrival of Tormassov's Galactic Rangers.   When General LeBlanc entered the system on 23 August, both the TCN and the Rangers were taken aback.   Although surprised by the unexpected attack, the TCN responded in full fury when the Capellan vessels opened fire on Taurian shipping as well as the vessels belonging to the Rangers.   Captain Hal Ransom of TCS Warlock, the senior TCN officer in system, launched an immediate and vicious counter-attack that caught LeBlanc's forces off-guard.     Expecting Tormassov's new allies (or so LeBlanc thought) to be little more than pirates and privateers, LeBlanc was not prepared for the sheer firepower of the Warlock class ships.
His own flotillia consisted mostly of primitive designs that featured only light guns and little, if any, armor.   Only his flagship, the cruiser St. Ives, was truely a match for the little Warlocks.   Within twenty minutes, three of LeBlancs warships were seriously damaged, but each of the three Taurians were also hurting.   It was at this point that the Rangers panicked and fled the system.   Deciding that the old adage about discretion being the better part of valor was indeed correct, LeBlanc chose to follow his original orders and continue to pursue the Rangers.
Two days later, a Davion naval force entered Ridgebrook intent on destroying the secret base from which Franco Liao had (unintentionally) invaded their space.   With their magazines topped off and the majority of their previous battle damage patched (if not fully repaired), Ransom and his three ships turned to engage the Davion Strike Force.   The trio of Warlocks was outnumbered four-to-three, and outmassed by a factor of three, but Ransom launched his attack when the Davion commander ignored his instructions to immediately leave Concordat space.
It was in this battle that the reputation of the Concordat as first-class spacers was born.   The Taurian crews, hand-picked by aggressive and capable commanders and honed to a razor's edge by constant training, manning small, yet efficient and lethal, ships tore into the Davions like a whirlwind.   Captain Ransom used his command's superior maneuverability to coordinate attacks by all of his ships on a single foe; destroying first one, and then a second Davion vessel.
But the Taurians were taking hits on their own armor and internal structures; a solid blow from the heavy naval autocannons of the Davion cruiser shattered Wizards armor and penetrated deep inside before igniting her forward magazines.   When the flare of the explosion had faded, sensors revealed only a debris field remained.   Despite the destruction of TCS Wizard, the Davion commander had taken too much damage to remain and he ordered both of his surviving ships to withdraw.
TCS Oracle lost power at this time and was unable to pursue, leaving just Hal Ransom's Warlock to harry the Davions to the jump point.   Continuing to exchange fire with the fleeing enemy, Warlock managed to disable a third Davion ship, leaving her drifting without power.   His armor holed in a dozen compartments, and ammunition running low, Captain Ransom let the fourth ship go, and sent his Marines to board and captured the drifting hulk.   The Taurian Marines, well-versed in the tactics of zero-g warfare, quickly subdued the crew and took the vessel.
This incident provoked a series of confrontations all along the Calderon-Davion border for over a decade; confrontations that would cause the destruction of seven Warlocks and more than a score of Davion ships.   Yet, through all of the skirmishes, history records that the Davions would not successfully take a single Taurian system until the Reunification Wars.   The courage and unflinching dedication to their nation protrayed by the crews of the Warlock class Escorts in defending the Concordat set the example for all future spacers of the Taurian Concordat Navy.

Variants:
Despite their age and small size, the Warlocks constantly received the latest upgrades in electronics.   In 2524, they were also slated to have their armor replaced with the new acquired improved ferro-aluminum, a change that resulted in nearly 20% greater protection than the original design.   By the time that Reunfication War began, all surviving Warlocks had received the new armor composite.

Notable Vessels & Crews:
Warlock, Adept, Druid, Enchantress, Harlequin, Inquisitor, Magician, Mystic, Necromancer, Oracle, Witch, Wizard (plus six vessels lost during the Age of War)

Deployment:
From the very beginning, the fledgling TCN recognized that however powerful an individual ship may be, Murphy is always standing in the wings waiting for a chance to pounce.   Because of that, and the fact that the majority of Taurian ship designs are quite light-weight when compared to Inner Sphere classes, TCN doctrine has always been that the smallest formation, whenever possible, is the two-ship division.
With the introduction of the Warlock class in 2360, the TCN began to deploy these vessels in groups of two ships each.   This gives each individual ship a consort that can provide assistance in an emergency, generate a separate vector to box an enemy vessel between, and allow the TCN to engage much heavier hostile vessels with a chance of success.   The disadvantage is that less territory can be patrolled and defended at one time.   But at the dawn of the Concordat, this was not such a terrible downside.   By the time that the Concordat had expanded it borders through colonization efforts, additional ships were available to defend and patrol those new systems.
Eventually, eighteen Warlocks would be commissioned into service, organized into nine separate divisions.   Only rarely were Warlock class ships assembled into larger squadrons.   Of the eighteen built, six would be lost in action during the Age of War.

[master arminas]

I have posted my Warlock and Wildcat class ships before, but they seem to have vanished in the last move of the boards.  So, here they are again.  To those who will say that they are too good to be Taurian ships; that the Taurians couldn't have built them:  tough.  This is my take on what the TCN looked liked.  You don't like, don't read it.

Everyone else, enjoy.

Master Arminas

[master arminas]

Code: [Select]

Class/Model/Name: Wildcat
Tech: Inner Sphere / 2377
Vessel Type: WarShip
Rules: Level 2, Custom design

Mass: 190,000 tons
Inner Sphere / 2377: Chandler Light 190
K-F Drive System: KF Millenium Engineering 86
Length: 372 meters
Sail Diameter: 899 meters
Power Plant: GE-Westinghouse KVC-46 Standard
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Armor Type: Jessup Composites 180/d Improved Ferro-aluminum
Armament:
8 Jankowski Mark I NAC/10
32 Aurora Missiliers Deathscap LRM 15
32 Hyades Weapons Consortium Retaliation Autocannon/10
4 Norman Raytheon Javelin Barracuda
Manufacturer: Chandler Shipwrights
Location: New Columbia
Communications System: Wintershaven Comm Mark 8
Targeting & Tracking System: Berringer Systems SPZ-12b Phased Array
________________________________________
Class/Model/Name: Wildcat
Mass: 190,000 tons
Equipment: Mass
Power Plant: Standard 45,600.00
K-F Hyperdrive: Compact (Integrity = 5) 85,975.00
Jump Sail: (Integrity = 3) 40.00
Structural Integrity: 50 9,500.00
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Heat Sinks: 536 Single 190.00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps: 3,555.00
Bridge & Controls: 475.00
Food & Water: (180 days supply) 216.00
Armor Factor: 180 Improved Ferro-aluminum 187.00
________________________________________
Armor Value
(Capital Scale)
Fore: 32
Fore Left / Right: 32 / 32
Aft Left / Right: 32 / 32
Aft: 20
________________________________________
Equipment & Options:
Cargo:
Bay 1: Fighters (4) with 4 doors 600.00
Small Craft (2) 400.00
Bay 2: Fighters (4) with 4 doors 600.00
Small Craft (2) 400.00
Bay 3: Cargo (1) with 2 doors 9,628.00

Grav Decks:
Grav Decks #1 - 2: (95-meter diameter) 100
Escape Pods: 40 (7 tons each) 280
Crew and Passengers:
18 Officers (18 minimum) 0.00
65 Crew (65 minimum) 0.00
23 Gunners (23 minimum) 0.00
68 2nd Class Passengers 0.00
30 Marines 0.00
36 Bay Personnel 0.00
________________________________________
Weapons & Equipment: Loc SRV MRV LRV ERV Heat Mass
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) Nose 10 10 10 -- 30 2,010.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) Nose 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 20 53.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds) Nose 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 12 68.00
1 Barracuda(30 msls) FL/R 2 2 2 2 20 1,980.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) FL/R 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) FL/R 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 40 106.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds) FL/R 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 24 136.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) L/RBS 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) L/RBS 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 40 106.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds) L/RBS 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 24 136.00
1 Barracuda(30 msls) AL/R 2 2 2 2 20 1,980.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) AL/R 10 10 10 -- 60 4,020.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) AL/R 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 40 106.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds) AL/R 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 24 136.00
1 NAC/10(50 rounds) Aft 10 10 10 -- 30 2,010.00
4 LRM 15(200 rounds) Aft 4(36) 4(36) 4(36) -- 20 53.00
4 Autocannon/10(200 rounds) Aft 4(40) 4(40) -- -- 12 68.00
1 Lot Spare Parts (5.00%) 9,500.00
36 Bay Personnel Quarters 252.00
TOTALS: 536 190,000.00
Tons Left: .00
________________________________________
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 1,614,426,440 C-Bills
Battle Value: 48,318
Cost per BV: 33,412.53
Weapon Value: 20,180 (Ratio = .42)
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 1,371; MRDmg = 1,252; LRDmg = 731; ERDmg = 266
Maintenance Point Value: MPV = 224,828 (80,158 Structure, 111,798 Life Support, 32,872 Weapons)
Support Points: SP = 234,900 (104% of MPV)
BattleForce2: (Not applicable)
AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout
Overview:
Soon after the Warlock class entered service with the TCN, the Navy's Bureau of Ships began devising schematics for the next class of Destroyer Escort. The success of the Warlocks design showed BuShips what features needed to be retained, and a lengthy discussion with the skippers and execs of existing Warlocks gave the design engineers valuable knowledge of what line officers wanted in the new design. That series of discussion with officers of the line convinced the Bureau that the two greatest weaknesses of the Warlock were the lack of weapons capable of engaging targets beyond the range of the Jankowski naval autocannon and the inability to deploy fighters, both for defense of the mothership and as a deep-strike/recon element.

The engineers rolled up their sleeves and went to work, taking care to include the men and women who actually took Warlocks into battle at each stage of the design process. A decade later, BuShips called a Fleet-wide conference between all Flag officers and as many past and present Warlock command teams as could be assembled. The Protector was present as well. The purpose of the meeting was to unveil two new ship designs, both of which took into account all of the comments and critiques of the assembled audience. The pair of proposals offered that day were for two vessels that would truly bring the Taurian Concordat Navy to life in the years to come: TCS Wildcat and TCS Resolution.

Wildcat was slated to replace the Warlocks in the Destroyer Escort role, while the much heavier Resolution was intended to perform as a Fleet Destroyer; moreover, one capable of standing against the latest Davion and Capellan strike cruisers in individual combat. Both ships incorporated features that all of the naval officers present had suggested, and both promised (on paper, at least) to perform at even higher standards than the Warlocks.

The conference lasted for sixteen days during the month of May in the year 2374. Debates raged over the two designs, as the assembled officers of the Protectors small Navy argued about what the configuration of the Fleet should be. A small minority wanted to immediately proceed with a pair of cruisers, heavier and more powerful than the Resolutions, a series of designs that BuShips had been working on for some time. But the majority of the men and women believed that before the TCN could build (and man) heavier ships of war, they needed to have a large and robust fleet of DEs and DDs available.

Finally, the time came when everyone present had spoken, except for Protector Richard Calderon. His brow wrinkled in concern over the looming confrontation with Lucien Davion (the Galactic Rangers incident being just two and a half years prior to the conference), he asked the following:

"How quickly can we build these Wildcats?"

"Perhaps two per year, sire, once we gear up and retool the shipyards, which will take at least two years."

"And the Resolutions?"

"One per year, once we hit our stride. We can expand the slips during the retooling for the Wildcats, so it will only add an additional six months before we can begin construction on the Resolutions."

"And these cruisers that you want, Admiral? How long would it be before they could enter the Fleet?"

The officer he confronted shook his head. "We might be able to build one every eighteen months—two years is a more cautious time-frame. And it will be four years before we could even lay down the first, with a build time of three or four years each."

Richard nodded his head and then looked at his assembled officers one-by-one. "We cannot afford the time to wait," he said that day. "Right now, we need ships. Active ships on patrol to defend our borders. Defend our people. We cannot afford to wait on these untested cruisers; not while the citizens we are sworn to serve live under threat of war. Build the ones we can field the soonest."

And with that, the Protector stood and walked out of the conference room. The following morning, contracts were signed with Chandler Shipwrights for the construction of the Wildcat and Resolution class ships.

And so it was, that with one decision by the Protector of the Taurian Concordat, the Navy would consist in large part of smaller, lighter ships. This decision would influence the doctrine of the TCN up to the brink of the Reunification Wars.

As for the Wildcats? Those famed ships would become the largest single class of WarShip the Taurians managed to produce, with a total of ninety-six produced over a span of two hundred and thirty-four years. Eight would be lost during the Age of War, but the remainder stood on active duty with the Concordat Fleets for more than two centuries.

Capabilities:
At 190,000 tons, the Wildcats were 40,000 tons heavier than the Warlock class ships, but were still on the smallish side when compared to other corvettes of the era. Often referred to in Davion memos as 'improved Warlocks', the Wildcats took the best of the Warlocks and built upon that to create a truly remarkable little ship o' war.

At the heart of the ship was the Hyades KF Engineering Millennium 86 compact core drive. Incorporating the latest advances in jump drive technology, the Millennium 86 was the first Taurian drive able to jump a full 30 light-years in one go (the older Warlocks were limited to jumps of 24 light-years or less). But while the drive core gave the Wildcat strategic reach, it was the GE-Westinghouse KVC-46 interplanetary drives that made it a tactical marvel. Able to accelerate at a maximum thrust of 3-g's, this quad engine gave the Wildcat superb maneuverability in combat. However, much like the KVC-36 of the Warlock, the -46 suffered from problems with vibration when engaged at full power.

One hundred and eighty-eight tons of Jessup Composites 143/b standard armor sheathed the hull of the Wildcats, providing substantial armor protection for their time. Indeed, these tiny corvettes would feature heavier armor than many larger ships designed four centuries later.

Like the Warlock and all later Taurian Destroyer Escorts and Fleet Destroyers, the Wildcat lacked docking collars for DropShips. While many in the Fleet argued for the inclusion of at least two collars, others pointed out that even mounting one would nearly double the price of these ships. But the Wildcats did carry an extensive complement of parasite vessels: eight aerospace fighters and four small craft. Legendary in Taurian naval circles, the twin hanger bays of the Wildcats were often remembered with fondness, both for their logical and safety conscious arrangement as well as their ability to accommodate even the largest aerospace fighters and shuttles. Each bay featured four doors, giving the Wildcats the ability to scramble their entire parasite complement in less than 15 minutes from sounding the alert. Fighter and small craft pilots praised the ease in which recovery operations could be conducted as the single finest point of the bays. Later Taurian ships would attempt to copy the hangers of the Wildcats, but none were quite as capable.

Two 95-meter diameter contra-rotating grav decks were mounted just forward of the transit drives to provide for the health and well-being of the ship's crew of 18 officers, 124 NCOs and spacers, 30 Marines, and up to 68 passengers. A dozen of the passenger compartments could be converted into cells for a brig if that was needed by the ship's captain. Forty escape pods built into the outer hull allowed the crew of the Wildcats to fully evacuate these ships in the event of disaster striking.

Food, water, and life support were provided for cruises lasting up to six standard months. Fuel tankage was the same as the lighter Warlocks, with 3,555 tons of fuel divided into several armored fuel bunkers across the ship. This bunkerage gave the Wildcats the ability to cruise at 1-g for up to 180 standard days before exhausting their onboard fuel supply. Of course, this did not take into account the ship's parasites requiring access to the fuel tanks for their own operations. It was a rare Wildcat that spent as much as three months without requiring a port-call to resupply. 9,500 tons of spare parts were stored onboard, and the ample cargo hold could carry an additional 9,627 tons of supplies for the ship or Taurian colonies.

As with the smaller Warlocks, eight Jankowski Mark I class 10 naval autocannons formed the core of the ships on-board firepower. Arrayed in single mounts spaced evenly around the ships perimeter, the big Jankowskis gave these small vessels a sizable punch, especially to the broadsides. Each of the Mark Is was fed from its own independent armored magazine, containing a full 50 bursts of fire for the cannons.

The Wildcats were the first class of Taurian WarShips to include capital missile launchers in their design. Originally, the vessels mounted four Norman-Raytheon Javelin launchers for the Nike missile, but these were converted to handle the Barracuda missiles when those improved light missiles became available in later years. The Nikes were identical in dimensions and weight as the later Barracudas, but lacked the sophisticated auto-tracking systems that made the Barracudas so accurate at range. Both of these light missiles had roughly the same performance against aerospace fighters, although the Barracuda was far more accurate. In fact, the TCN retained its inventory of Nikes well into the Reunification Wars, even though none were produced after the technology for the Barracuda became available. Mounted in single tubes in the fore- and aft-quarters of the Wildcat, the Javelins fields of fire overlapped on the broadside arcs, but still covered the bow and stern. Each missile launcher was provided with its own armored magazine containing 30 Nike or Barracuda missiles.

For anti-fighter/anti-DropShip work, two more weapon systems were mounted as well. Each section of the ship mounted a pair of quad turrets, one with Aurora Missiliers Deathscap LRM-15 launchers, the second with Hyades Weapons Consortium Retaliation class 10 autocannon. As with the Warlock class, this flak belt provided a daunting deterrent to hostile aerospace fighters and increased total ships firepower by more than 45%; at least at close range. Each of the secondary turrets were given their own armored magazine, containing either 50 missile salvoes or 50 bursts of cannon fire.

Like the older Warlocks, the primitive munitions transfer systems of the era were simply too bulky to squeeze into a hull so volume-limited, so the Wildcats simply did without the automation so commonly found on Inner Sphere vessels.

The Wildcats were the ships TCN crews wanted from the beginning: tough as nails, simple and reliable, with systems that were rugged and easy to maintain in the peak of condition. Their robust and redundant thrusters made them agile vessels that could turn on a dime and achieve acceleration rates few other ships of the period could claim. Well protected with armor plating, the guns and missile launchers of these escorts easily matched those of many heavy destroyers and light frigates of the time:  it was the little Wildcats that the media (and the Taurian people) seemed to care for. And the Navy loved their Wildcats. With eighty-eight remaining in commission at the start of the Reunification Wars, it was a rare officer of the TCN that had not cut his teeth aboard a 'Cat.

Battle History:
When hostilities erupted between the Star League and the Taurian Concordat in 2577, several small skirmishes between the SLDF and TCN characterized the initial foray into Concordat space. Following the success of Case Amber, Escort Division Fourteen (consisting of TCS Fer-de-lance, TCS Hellcat, TCS Man o' War, and TCS Stingray) sparred with light ships of the SLDF probing Taurian defenses in the Pleiades Star Cluster.

On December 27, 2577, four Lola I class Destroyers and six Vincent class Corvettes jumped into a pirate point of Electra to gauge the Taurian defenses. The lead lance of ED-14 (TCS Hellcat and TCS Fer-de-lance) were the only WarShips present to meet the SLDF threat, though a courier JumpShip was dispatched to Maia to summon the second lance (TCS Stingray and TCS Man o' War).

Confident in five-to-one odds, the SLDF recon-in-force advanced towards the TCN vessels waiting in low orbit. But Captain David Gibbs aboard Hellcat (the division CO) knew something that the Terries did not. Electra was the home of Seven Sisters Aeronautical Engineering—the company that was producing the new Harbinger class escort DropShip for the TCN.

As the SDLF ships closed, sixteen newly completed Harbingers lifted off from the planetary surface, along with all 256 aerospace fighters assigned to the defense of Electra. Hellcat and Fer-de-lance launched their own fighters as well, and a swirling melee erupted as two TCN corvettes, sixteen DropShips, and 272 aerospace fighters met ten SLDF warships with 84 aerospace fighters alongside. Unfortunately for the TCN, the nuclear-tipped Killer Whales for the Harbingers had yet to be delivered, forcing them to enter combat with only chemical explosive warheads.

Gibbs ordered the bulk of the fighters and all of the Harbingers to concentrate on the Lolas, while he and Fer-de-lance dealt with the six Vincents. Relying upon their heavy armor for protection, the two Wildcat class ships closed to point-blank range in the center of the SLDF corvettes and began to hammer away at their opponents. Despite being outnumbered three-to-one by the SLDF Vincents, Hellcat and Fer-de-lance quickly discovered that they, in fact, outgunned their opponents.

When Stingray and Man o' War jumped in from Maia thirty-seven minutes later, five Vincents were crippled hulks, the sixth was scattered debris, and all four Lolas were running towards deep-space, streaming air, with Hellcat and Fer-de-lance in hot pursuit. The fresh ships were able to—barely—intercept the withdrawing SLDF contingent, but could only exchange one volley before the range widened once again. That volley destroyed one of the Lolas.

None of the Taurian corvettes were lost, though both Hellcat and Fer-de-lance suffered damage, and eleven Harbingers and more than sixty aerospace fighters were destroyed. The SLDF learned their lesson from this encounter however, and when they did later return to Electra a half-dozen Monsoon class battleships led their way into the system.

Variants:
Other than scheduled upgrades to the electronics, sensors, and communications systems, the Wildcats remained virtually unchanged from 2377 until just prior to the Reunification Wars. After the Concordat learned to produce Improved Ferro-aluminum armor composites in 2549, the TCN would launch a program to upgrade the existing Wildcat, Resolution, Concordat, and Winchester class vessels with the new armor compound. The Wildcats received 187 tons of Jessup Composite 180/d—a 25% increase in effective armor protection.

Notable Vessels & Crews:
Wildcat, Antelope, Banshee, Basilisk, Beagle, Bengal, Black Widow, Bloodhound, Boxer, Bulldog, Cachalot, Centaur, Cerberus, Charon, Charybdis, Cheetah, Chimera, Copperhead, Cormorant, Coyote, Cyclops, Dolphin, Dragon, Dryad, Eagle, Falcon, Fenris, Fer-de-lance, Fox, Fury, Gorgon, Goshawk, Gremlin, Greyhound, Grizzly, Gryphon, Hammerhead, Harpy, Hellcat, Hellhound, Hornet, Hydra, Incubus, Jackal, Jaguar, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Kraken, Leopard, Lion, Lynx, Man o' War, Manticore, Mastiff, Medusa, Mermaid, Minotaur, Mongoose, Narwhal, Nautilus, Nymph, Ocelot, Orca, Oroborous, Osprey, Panther, Pegasus, Peregrine, Phoenix, Rattlesnake, Roc, Sable, Scorpion, Scylla, Shrike, Sidewinder, Snapper, Spectre, Sphinx, Stingray, Terrier, Tiger, Unicorn, Valkyrie, Vixen, Wasp, Werewolf, Whippet, Wolf, Wolfhound, Wolverine, Wyvern (plus eight ships lost during the Age of War).

Deployment:
Whenever possible, the TCN would deploy its Destroyers (both Fleet and Escort) in divisions of two ships. This buddy system ensured that support was always close at hand, even in the most distant reaches of the Concordat. Wildcat divisions were assigned all manner of missions, from anti-piracy patrols to convoy escort, to border patrols and cruise to show the flag, to escorting the Concordat and Winchester class cruisers. As heavier and more modern corvettes became available, the Wildcats were gradually removed from the front-lines and assigned to routine patrols and escort runs between Concordat worlds. During the Reunification Wars, however, the Wildcats were called back to front-line duty. Although outclassed by the majority of the Davion and Star League vessels, the crews of these feisty ships never hesitated to close with the enemy and bring him under fire.

Eight Wildcats were lost during the Age of War, but eighty-eight remained in service until the Reunification Wars. None would survive that maelstrom of combat.