Editing Coventry (Individual Tharkad-class WarShip)

{{otheruses|the WarShip|the inhabited system|Coventry}}
{{infoBoxIndividualVessel
| image        = 
| vesselname   = Coventry
| prevname     =
| type         = [[WarShip]]
| class        = [[Tharkad (WarShip class)|Tharkad]]
| prevclass    = 
| servicesince =
| serviceuntil = April [[2787]]
}}

The LCS '''''Coventry''''' was a ''[[Tharkad (WarShip class)|Tharkad]]''-class battlecruiser in service with the [[Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces]] during the [[First Succession War]].

==History==
Following the huge naval battle at [[Skondia]] in February and March [[2787]] that was one of the largest and costliest naval engagements between the [[Draconis Combine]] and [[Lyran Commonwealth]] of the [[Succession Wars (History)|Succession Wars]], the Lyran Commonwealth attempted to retaliate against the Combine with a pair of daring raids. One of these was a deep raid on [[Luthien]], the capital of the Draconis Combine; the ''Coventry'' was intimately involved in the second raid, against the former [[Terran Hegemony]] system of [[Dieron]].<ref name="FSWp48">''First Succession War'', pp. 48–49: "Steiner Strikes Back: Luthien and Dieron"</ref>

Dieron was a key system for the Draconis Combine, possessed of partially-operational former [[Star League Defense Force]] shipyards and supporting both the Combine naval forces operating in the [[Federated Suns]] and Lyran Commonwealth. Due to Dieron's importance the system was guarded by a six WarShip squadron led by the ''[[Samarkand Block II (WarShip class)|Samarkand II]]''-class fighter carrier [[Radstadt (Individual Samarkand-class WarShip)|DCS ''Radstadt'']], the lead ship of the [[Draconis Combine Admiralty|Draconis Combine Admiralty's]] [[6th Fleet (Draconis Combine)|Sixth Fleet]] during the [[Star League era]]. The other ships of the squadron were older, but still active; the heaviest was the ''[[Aegis (WarShip class)|Aegis]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Selene (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)|DCS ''Selene'']], accompanied by two pairs of destroyers - the ''[[Lola I]]''-class destroyers [[Akiko (Individual Lola I-class WarShip)|DCS ''Akiko'']] and [[Maja (Individual Lola I-class WarShip)|DCS ''Maja'']] and the ''[[Essex II (WarShip class)|Essex]]''-class destroyers [[Jarett (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|DCS ''Jarett'']] and [[Sawyer (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|DCS ''Sawyer'']]. The ''Radstadt'' was undergoing routine maintenance in dry-dock, but the other ships of the squadron were actively training and exercising within a region known as the Junkyard, a cloud of debris around Nebulos, Dieron's outermost moon. The Junkyard was  a mix of asteroid fragments, radioactive debris and fragments of wrecked ships lost during the battles of the [[Amaris Civil War]]. The Combine was also working hard to restore two ''[[Bastion (Space Station class)|Bastion]]''-class defense stations to working order, and supporting the WarShip squadron were two squadrons of combat [[DropShip]]s.<ref name="FSWp48"/>

The LCAF struck at Dieron swiftly and with considerable strength; leading the assault was the ''Coventry'', supported by two ''[[Commonwealth (WarShip class)|Commonwealth II]]''-class cruisers, the [[Gallery (Individual Commonwealth-class WarShip)|LCS ''Gallery'']] and [[York (Individual Commonwealth-class WarShip)|LCS ''York'']], the ''Aegis''-class heavy cruiser [[Ironwood|LCS ''Ironwood'']] and a pair of ''[[Mako]]''-class corvettes, the [[Anthemius|LCS ''Anthemius'']] and [[Heraclius|LCS ''Heraclius'']]. Supporting the Lyran WarShip squadron was a squadron of DropShips, predominantly fighter carriers, and both the ''Gallery'' and the ''York'' were heavily armed with nuclear-tipped anti-ship missiles; in addition to the nuclear ordnance carried by the two ''Commonwealths'', many of the fighters transported by the DropShip squadron were also equipped with nuclear weapons.<ref name="FSWp48"/>

The Lyran squadron powered through the lighter Combine destroyers, destroying the ''Selene'' as they did so - the ''Selene'' succumbing to a broken spine as a result of volleys of tactical missiles from the Lyran WarShips. As the ''Radstadt'' attempted to break its moorings and join the fight, the ''Gallery'' and the ''York'' focused their efforts on attacking the ''Bastion'' stations and the shipyards with nuclear missiles, while the ''Coventry'', ''Ironwood'' and both ''Makos'' engaged the Combine WarShips. The ''Radstadt'' was able to disengage from the dry dock and launched a suicidal attack on the ''Coventry''; missing half her crew and a third of her weapons, the ''Radstadt'' was met head-on by the ''Coventry'', ''Anthemius'' and ''Heraclius''. As they fought, the ''Ironwood'' engaged both the ''Jarett'' and the ''Sawyer''; the ''Radstadt'' made a failed attempt to ram the ''Coventry'' before being destroyed, but bought enough time for the ''Akiko'' and ''Maja'' to rejoin the fight, both ''Lolas'' engaging the ''Coventry'' and her accompanying corvettes.<ref name="FSWp48"/>

With the ''Radstadt'' destroyed, the ''Akiko'' and ''Maja'' found themselves under increasing pressure as the ''Gallery'' and ''York'' joined the battle, having accomplished their mission of destroying the orbital facilities; both ''Lolas'' were destroyed, but not before they had claimed the ''Anthemius'' and ''Heraclius'' as victims and inflicted heavy damage on the ''Coventry''. The ''Ironwood'' managed to cripple both the ''Jarett'' and the ''Sawyer'', but the battle had drifted close to Nebulos and the ''Coventry'' was leaking fuel and atmosphere badly. The ground forces accompanying the WarShip squadron - the [[Fourteenth Skye Rangers]] and the [[Stealths]] - were out of contact, as the innermost moon of Dieron, Bermer, had passed between the WarShip group and the DropShips transporting the ground elements, and both regiments began their ground assault in earnest.<ref name="FSWp48"/><ref name="FSWp49">''First Succession War'', p. 49: "What Happened Out There?"</ref>

The commanding officer of the ''Coventry'' decided to order his crew to abandon ship, and called for the surviving Lyran WarShips to rendezvous to take on board survivors from the ''Coventry''. In one of a number of notable mysteries to emerge from the Succession Wars, the four Lyran WarShips were never seen again. The Lyran ground forces had anticipated being out of contact, and it was several hours before the DropShip fighter carrier group was deployed to try and make contact with the ''Coventry'' and the other WarShips; pressed for time, the DropShips conducted as good a survey as they could of Nebulos despite poor visibility and the heavy debris field, and identified a number of escape pods from the ''Coventry'' and hull fragments from either the ''Gallery'' or ''York'', but no indication of what had happened to any of the ships. With the ground forces recovered from their successful assault, the surviving Lyran ships withdrew from the Dieron system, and the ''Coventry'', ''Gallery'', ''Ironwood'' and ''York'' were all officially declared "missing in action, presumed destroyed."<ref name="FSWp48"/>

== References ==
<references />

== Bibliography ==
* ''[[First Succession War (sourcebook)]]''

[[Category: Individual WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual Battlecruisers]]
[[Category: Individual Tharkad-class WarShips]]