The Hanako was one of a handful of "intermediate" designs developed by the Great Houses to expand their own fleets following the Terran Alliance's launch of the Dreadnought. Built for the Alliance of Galedon by shipyards over both Galedon and New Samarkand, the Hanako was intended as an escort and patrol vessel, not really a threat to the mighty Dreadnought, but well suited to engage converted merchant ships such as those used by the Ozawa Mercantile Association. This was primarily a matter of necessity, as Shiro Kurita's demand for more transports to support the Alliance's expansion limited the resources that could be invested on a dedicated combat vessel.
Though limited in capabilities due to its size, the Hanako made up a significant portion of the Alliance of Galedon's (and later the Draconis Combine's) early fleet, with some thirty ships constructed. This class would remain in service with the Combine until the early 25th century, when the Combine's growing fleet of true WarShips rendered it surplus to requirements. Rather than scrapping them, the Combine sold the remaining twenty eight ships at very favorable terms to the Rim Worlds Republic and Taurian Concordat, hoping that the acquisition of such "near capital" assets would allow them to cause trouble for the Combine's immediate rivals. A number of these ships would be destroyed in various clashes (particularly the Rim War between the Capellan Confederation and Taurian Concordat, which claimed four ships), and the Concordat's remaining vessels would in turn be resold to the Outworlds Alliance and Magistracy of Canopus in the mid 26th century.
Of the nineteen ships to make it to the reunification war, seventeen would be lost. The survivors, one Rim Worlds vessel that remained loyal to the Amaris regime, and one Canopean ship, would be scrapped soon after the war.
Notable Ships:
MoCS Yuriko
Built in 2306 at New Samarkand, sold to the Taurian Concordat in 2406, and sold again to the Magistracy of Canopus in 2556, the Yuriko was described as the "Cranky Old Headmistress" by its Canopean crews due to its great age, its often touchy systems, and its use as a training ship. When the Reunification War began, the ship and its crew of primarily cadets (unique even in the Magistracy by being entirely female) were pressed into service to attack Star League commerce and supply lines. In this job, the Yuriko saw considerable success, making several sorties over the next three years and destroying fifteen jumpships, eighteen dropships, and a Tracker class WarShip acting as a Q-ship. Though these actions did little to tangibly hinder the SLDF, the Yuriko's successes were a boon to Canopean morale and a constant thorn in the side of the SLDF. Following rumors that an SLDF Admiral had described their ship as "a relic manned by Canopean schoolgirls that can somehow evade the finest navy in the universe" the crew added nose art to their ship, a cartoon depiction of a schoolgirl in a scandalously short skirt winking mischievously, while behind it an anthropomorphized representation of the Star League emblem looked the other way obliviously.
However, eventually even the Yuriko's luck would run out. A year after adopting their new nose art, the Yuriko was ambushed by a Free Worlds League destroyer hiding in the sensor shadow of the convoy it was escorting. In a brief exchange, the Yuriko was badly damaged, and, unable to escape, surrendered. The ship and its crew remained nominally in Free Worlds League custody for the rest of the war, but the personnel were transferred to recently pacified Canopean worlds under "house arrest" as soon as was practical, due to their predominantly young age (the ship was manned not just by cadets, but also other volunteers as young as sixteen). Even in defeat, the ship's crew remained local celebrities wherever they ended up.
After the war, the Yuriko was returned to the Magistracy. Though it was in such a bad state that it would never fight again, there was a small but vocal call to turn the vessel into a museum ship. However, the military governor Melissa Humphreys vetoed the idea, claiming it was too costly in this period of post war reconstruction (though it is commonly claimed that she did so to prevent the Canopeans from retaining a symbol of defiance). The ship was scrapped in 2602.
Hanako class Patrol Ship
Mass: 80,000 tons
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Advanced)
Introduced: 2305
Mass: 80,000
Battle Value: 2,820
Tech Rating/Availability: D/D-X-X-X
Cost: 3,767,523,400 C-bills
Fuel: 800 tons (8,000)
Safe Thrust: 3
Maximum Thrust: 5
Sail Integrity: 3
KF Drive Integrity: 6
Jump Range: 20
Heat Sinks: 165
Structural Integrity: 70
Armor
Nose: 15
Fore Sides: 15/15
Aft Sides: 15/15
Aft: 10
Cargo
Bay 1: Small Craft (6) 2 Doors
Bay 2: Cargo (1153.0 tons) 1 Door
Ammunition:
320 rounds of AC/5 ammunition (4 tons),
800 rounds of Machine Gun ammunition (4 tons)
Dropship Capacity: 0
Grav Decks: 1 (80 m)
Escape Pods: 0
Life Boats: 20
Crew: 12 officers, 49 enlisted/non-rated, 8 gunners, 30 bay personnel, 40 marines
Notes: Mounts 110 tons of primitive aerospace armor.
Weapons: Capital Attack Values (Standard)
Arc (Heat) Heat SRV MRV LRV ERV Class
FRS/FLS (144 Heat)
2 Naval Laser 45 140 9(90) 9(90) 9(90) 9(90) Capital Laser
4 AC/5 4 2(20) 2(20) 0(0) 0(0) AC
AC/5 Ammo (80 shots)
2 Machine Gun 0 0(4) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) Point Defense
Machine Gun Ammo (200 shots)
ARS/ALS (4 Heat)
4 AC/5 4 2(20) 2(20) 0(0) 0(0) AC
AC/5 Ammo (80 shots)
2 Machine Gun 0 0(4) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) Point Defense
Machine Gun Ammo (200 shots)
