Davion I (WarShip class)

Davion
Production information
Manufacturer
Introduced	2510
Use	Destroyer
Tech Base	Star League
Cost	1,926,841,000 C-bills
Technical specifications
Mass	520,000
Length	685
Sail Diameter
Fuel
Burn Rate
Safe Thrust
Top Thrust	6
Sail Integrity
KF Drive Integrity
LF Battery	No
Armament	4 x NAC/25s 3 x NAC/35s 2 x Light NPPCs 24 x NL45s 8 x Large Lasers 2 x Small Lasers 4 x LRM-20s 6 x SRM-6s
Armor	Standard Armor
DropShip Capacity	0
Crew	287
Grav Decks	2 x 65 meter diameter
Escape Pods/Life Boats	0/10
Heat Sinks	2,550 Heat Sinks
Structural Integrity
BV (1.0)	85,303
BV (2.0)	???

Description

The black sheep of the Federated Suns Navy, the Block I Davion-class destroyer was a complete debacle. For the heavy destroyer’s intended, independent missions, Davions mounted too little armor and poor firepower. Cost overruns and production delays proved devastating to the Federated Suns naval budget. The first Block I Davion loosed its mooring 10 years behind schedule.

Few Block I Davion-class were actually ever constructed, launching between 2510 and 2512. The death of Prince William Davion haulted the project.

Block I Davions that survived the Federated Suns Civil War were relegated to Periphery patrols and escort duty, until they were sold to the Star League. However, rather than start from scratch and produce the originally intended destroyer, Prince Alexander Davion had the class upgraded. The Block II Davion-class launched in 2552, a significant change which resulted in a very capable vessel.

Block I Davions which survived the subsequent Reunification War were eventually upgraded, becoming the prototypes for the Whirlwind-class destroyer.

Armament

Ironically, the Davion-class does mount reasonable armor, and is maneuverable. In fact, the weapon systems are also very reasonable. The problem with the Davion-class is that the design is short-sighted, squandering space and mounting unnecessary systems. The vessels mounts no aft-left or aft-right defense, has startlingly few life boats, and no escape pods.

Because the class was not a total wreck, the Block I was upgradeable, and newer Block II Davions were easily constructed with only slight modifications to their parent shipyards.

Cargo

Davion-class destroyers are failures as both WarShips and as transport vessels. The class possesses no DropShip collars, and its two bays are only able to manage 2 AeroSpace Fighters and ~70.5 thousand tons of cargo.

Related WarShips

• Whirlwind-class destroyer – shortly before the Reunification War, Prince Alexander Davion decided to lease (and later, sell) Block I Davion-class destroyers to the Star League Defense Forces. These vessels were stripped, rearmed, and redesignated Whirlwind-class by the Star League Navy.

Sources

• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised, pp.204-205