Du Shi Wang
Sarna News
| |
| Du Shi Wang | |
| Production information | |
| Manufacturer | |
| Introduced | 2380 |
| Production Year | 2380[1] |
| Use | Battleship |
| Tech Base | Inner Sphere |
| Cost | 9,211,920,000 C-Bills[1] |
| Technical specifications | |
| Mass | 900,000 tons |
| Length | 870 meters |
| Sail Diameter | 1,300 meters |
| Fuel | 5,000 tons |
| Burn Rate | 39.52 (tons) |
| Safe Thrust | 1.5 g |
| Top Thrust | 2.5 g |
| Sail Integrity | 5 |
| KF Drive Integrity | 18 |
| LF Battery | None |
| Armament |
|
| Armor | 2,024 tons standard |
| DropShip Capacity | 2 |
| Crew | 355[2]
Bay Personnel: 36 |
| Grav Decks | 2 (1 x 150 and 1 x 70 meters diameter) |
| Escape Pods/Life Boats | 15/25 |
| Heat Sinks | 2,100 single |
| Structural Integrity | 150 |
| BV (2.0) | 45,726[2] |
Description[edit]
Designed by the Duchy of Liao and launched in 2380 as the first true WarShip built by the newly-formed Capellan Confederation, the Du Shi Wang was originally intended to anchor the massive armed merchant fleets the Duchy of Liao possessed. As such, the ship was normally escorted by a large number of support vessels to cover its design weaknesses and augment its strengths. Standard tactics were to simply point the battleship at the largest target and pummel it until it was destroyed - a tactic in part driven by the lack of funding to embody the large broadside armaments common to other battleships of the era.[2]
A large amount of armor was placed on the front of the vessel to support the Du Shi Wang's role as a frontal attack craft - more armor than had in fact been seen on the nose of any WarShip fielded up to that point. Equipped with a weapons suite consisting solely of energy weapons, including Heavy Naval PPCs based on designs stolen from the Terran Hegemony, the "God of Burning Suffocation" was intended to perform long patrols. The Du Shi Wang was notable for being the first vessel to use massed orbital bombardment against civilian targets when the Confederation subjected the Federated Suns world of Novaya Zemlya to extensive bombardment in 2399.[2]
The ship suffered from poor crew arrangements that emphasized a class system instead of efficiency; officers, the marines, and passengers were given priority over vital ship features like life boats and given sole access to the smaller of the two gravity decks in the rear of the vessel while the majority of the crew was left to the forward areas, a combination of poor design features that contributed to the destruction of many vessels during the Age of War. The Du Shi Wang was also reliant on the skill of the crew for efficient maneuvering to keep the nose pointed at dangerous opponents as its speed was average for vessels of similar size and the era.[2]
The greater part of the Du Shi Wang class to survive the Age of War were out of service during the era of the Star League; in 2765 the Confederation was operating just five Du Shin Wangs, each of which formed the nucleus around which a commonality naval squadron was built. Still formidable ships at the time, each Du Shi Wang was accompanied by a pair of heavy cruisers either Aegis or Soyal-class, or one of each - and two or three lighter WarShips.[3]
During the buildup to the First Succession War the Confederation restored more Du Shi Wang-class ships to service, but less than a dozen were available at the start of the war's opening salvos, and all had been lost or destroyed by the end of the Second Succession War.[3]
Only one Du Shi Wang was known to exist in the thirty-first century; captured at some point by the Star League Defense Force, that battleship had accompanied General Aleksandr Kerensky on the Exodus and survived the Pentagon Civil War before serving as a part of the Clan Mongoose touman as the Quicksilver Mongoose. Nearly destroyed by Clan Smoke Jaguar during the Absorption of Clan Mongoose, that last Du Shi Wang was mothballed in the Strana Mechty system for more than two hundred years, up until the loss of contact with the Clan Homeworlds around 3085.[2][4]
Armament[edit]
Designed as a full frontal assault vessel due to lack of funds, 4 Heavy NPPCs are placed in the nose. Secondary weapons consist of 20 NL45 where 6 are placed in the FL/FR, 8 in the LBS/RBS and 6 in the AL/AR sections. 2 Medium NPPC cover the Aft.[2]
Cargo[edit]
- Bay 1: Aerospace Fighters (18), 6 Doors
- Bay 2: Cargo (73,320 tons), 4 Doors
- Bay 3: Cargo (70,000 tons), 4 Doors
Named Vessels[edit]
(See List of named Du Shi Wang-class WarShips)
Gallery[edit]
Original Du Shi Wang from TRO:3075
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 MUL entry for the Du Shi Wang
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Technical Readout: 3075, p. 252: "Du Shi Wang"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Field Report 2765: CCAF, p. 5: "Guarding the Vault of Heaven"
- ↑ Era Digest: Golden Century, pp. 8, 10, 12: "Mongoose actions during the fleet engagement during of Trial of Absorption and aftermath of the battle".