Enterprise (WarShip class)
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- This article is about the abandoned supercarrier class. For other uses, see Enterprise.
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| |
| Enterprise | |
| Production information | |
| Manufacturer | Daussault-Shimmon Enterprises, New Earth |
| Introduced | 2749 |
| Production Year | 2745[1] |
| Use | Supercarrier |
| Tech Base | Inner Sphere |
| Technical specifications | |
| Mass | 1,600,000 tons |
| Length | 1,250 meters |
| Sail Diameter | 1,190 meters |
| Fuel | 4,500 tons |
| Burn Rate | 39.52 |
| Safe Thrust | 1.0 g |
| Top Thrust | 1.5 g |
| Sail Integrity | 7 |
| KF Drive Integrity | 31 |
| LF Battery | Yes |
| Armament |
|
| Armor | 1,536 tons of Ferro-Carbide |
| DropShip Capacity | 4 |
| Crew | 115 officers 280 enlisted/non-rated 100 gunners 1,944 bay personnel |
| Grav Decks | 2x 150m |
| Escape Pods/Life Boats | 640/435 |
| Heat Sinks | 2,988 (5,976) |
| Structural Integrity | 50 |
Description[edit]
The Enterprise was one of a kind WarShip and a remarkable failure. It was conceived as a supercarrier by Star League Defense Force staff, determined to avoid the SLDF black water battleships being outclassed by fighter carriers the same way that blue water aircraft carriers had rendered blue water battleships obsolete. The Enterprise was intended to be the last word in supercarriers and a qualitative leap ahead of anything the various Star League member states could field.[2]
While the first draft specifications for the Enterprise called for a million-ton ship that could transport three wings of fighters, requirements creep led to multiple specification and design changes, with every major revision bringing a new team of engineers into the mix. Ultimately, at least twelve different firms received payments for producing complete sets of schematics. The end product was a design sixty percent larger than the original concept and capable of carrying almost a thousand aerospace fighters. The first ship of the class was named the Enterprise, after a long line of Terran aircraft carriers, and would hold eighteen wings of fighters internally.[2]
Despite the prodigious quantity of fighters carried, the Enterprise was intended to be capable of launching a wing every thirty seconds through the fifty-four bay doors; these were all controlled as part of the most complex command and control system ever designed for a Star League vessel, located deep in the bowels of the ship and capable of tracking two and a half thousand separate objects in combat.[2]
The Enterprise finally launched in 2749, almost five years after the program had been conceived; under the watching eyes of the entire SLDF navy, the ship had to be towed out of her berth by tugs after four hours of repair and modification work failed to determine why the ship couldn't produce enough thrust to leave dock under her own power. The initial tests were abandoned, and subsequent investigation of the plans and designs discovered that as a result of all of the various changes, the engines were incapable of working in conjunction with the thruster network—even if the main thrusters could be repaired, the Enterprise would be incapable of maneuvering. The supervising technician, Admiral Ursula Verlander, opted to take early retirement and thereby saved the careers of the other senior figures who had supported the program. The project was canceled, and the Enterprise was towed to the asteroid belt and stripped down. Even the bare hulk of the Enterprise was abandoned and left to the predations of scavengers.[2]
Armament[edit]
While the Enterprise was categorically a boondoggle, and an embarrassing one at that, it did match a large assortment of capital weapons with an innovative system of large pulse lasers and anti-missile systems to prevent the ship falling prey to other carriers or to incoming missiles. The Enterprise also carried 77 missiles in each of three different classes: Barracuda, Killer Whale and White Shark.[2]
Cargo[edit]
- Bay 1: Fighters (648), 11 doors
- Bay 2: 288,220.5 tons of Cargo, 2 doors
- Bay 3: Fighters (324), 4 doors
Gallery[edit]
The Enterprise
Notes[edit]
- This Enterprise-class WarShip essentially exists to explain the Allen Nunis illustration on page 66 of ComStar.[citation needed]