Baron (WarShip class)

This article is about the destroyer. For other uses, see Baron.

Baron
Production information
Manufacturer
Introduced	2520
Production Year	2520
Use	Destroyer
Tech Base	Star League
Technical specifications
Mass	480,000 tons
Length	545.5 meters
Sail Diameter	1,150 meters
Fuel	6,500 tons
Burn Rate	39.52
Safe Thrust	1 g
Top Thrust	1.5 g
Sail Integrity	4
KF Drive Integrity	11
LF Battery	No
Armament	29x NL35 8x NAC/10 6x White Shark Launcher
Armor	256 tons Improved Ferro-Aluminum
DropShip Capacity	0
Crew	233 40 Officers 150 Enlisted 43 Gunners Bay Personnel: 42 First Class Passengers: 10 Second Class Passengers: 20
Grav Decks	1 x 65 meters diameter
Escape Pods/Life Boats	38/13
Heat Sinks	1,100 single
Structural Integrity	30
BV (1.0)	34,661
BV (2.0)	27,692

Description

The Baron-class destroyer was a moderately effective design that suffered due to protracted development and construction.

With initial construction beginning in 2515 in the midst of a massive arms race intended to allow the Terran Hegemony to maintain its edge against the Great Houses, flaws were discovered with the then-revolutionary Palenkov-Reese interplanetary engines used by the Baron. While the fault was correctable, it took two years and greatly reduced their performance, by which point naval design had marched steadily onward and the Baron-class was considered out of date before the first ship had slipped its moorings in 2520. In 2582 the Star League presented over half the constructed Barons to Star League member states; the remainder were retained by the Star League Defense Force and though it would see action in the Reunification War, their performance was considered lackluster. The Federated Suns had five Barons lost or destroyed to the Taurian Concordat during the Case AMBER ambush at Tentativa alone.

The design's sole saving graces were its generously sized fuel bunkers and accommodations for thirty extra passengers, which caused many high-ranking Star League diplomats to select ships of the Baron-class as heavily armed transports into high-risk areas, including the Periphery. However, by 2720, the SLDF had decommissioned and sold off the remaining Barons to the Great Houses; the Capellan Confederation kept three Barons in their active fleet until at least 2765 while the Draconis Combine was operating five the Federated Suns three and the Lyran Commonwealth one at the same point in time.

The Succession Wars would see even mothballed Barons restored to combat status; the last active Baron in the Inner Sphere was believed to have been the Draconis Combine destroyer DCS Yedo restored to active service and destroyed in 2853 in battle over Hesperus II, but at least one Baron would survive in a Clan naval cache until the Wars of Reaving. In the buildup to the Jihad, the Word of Blake would restore three Barons to working order, subsequently deploying them in various battles around the Inner Sphere, with the last being destroyed in 3077.

Armament

Mounting a large array of NL35 capital Lasers, the Baron boasts impressive endurance on longer patrols, with six mounted in the nose, ten carried in each broadside with a further three directly aft. A mix of capital-grade autocannons and missile launchers provide support, with two NAC/10s and White Shark missile launchers in each forward angle, two more NAC/10s on each rear angle and two White Shark tubes directly rearward.

Cargo

While not carrying a Docking Collar, the Baron features a moderate cargo capacity of 137,962 tons along with carrying six aerospace fighters and Small Craft bays each.

See Also

• List of named Baron-class WarShips

Gallery

• 

  Original Baron from TRO:3057 Revised

Bibliography

• Field Report 2765: AFFS
• Field Report 2765: CCAF
• Historical: Reunification War
• Jihad: Final Reckoning
• Jihad Turning Points: Luthien
• Tactics of Desperation (BattleCorps Scenario)
• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised
• The Wars of Reaving