Editing Defender (WarShip class)

{{otheruses|the battlecruiser design|other uses|Defender}}
{{InfoBoxWarShip
| image = [[Image:Defender (WarShip).jpg|191px]]
| name = ''Defender''
| manufacturer = [[Federated Suns]]
| Use = General Combat <br/> Command Vessel
| Tech Base = Inner Sphere
| Cost =
| Introduced = [[2360]]
| production year = 2360
| Mass = 960,000 tons
| Length = 870 meters
| Sail Diameter = 1,300 Meters
| Fuel = 3,000 tons (7,500)
| Burn Rate = 39.52
| Safe Thrust = 2.5 g
| Top Thrust = 4 g
| Sail Integrity = 5
| KF Drive Integrity = 20
| LF Battery = None
| Armament = <span></span>
* 5x [[NAC/35]]
* 21x [[NAC/25]]
* 82x [[AC/5]]
* 47x [[Machine Gun]]
| Armor = [[Armor (Capital)|standard]]
| DropShip Capacity = None
| Crew = 330
*60 Officers
*200 Enlisted
*70 Gunners
----
*Bay Personnel: 100
| Grav Decks = 2 x 120 meters diameter
| Escape Pods/Life Boats = 35/35
| Heat Sinks = 900 [[heat sink|single]]
| Structural Integrity = 40
| BV (1.0) =
| BV (2.0) = 173,687<ref name=FR2765:AFFSp26-30>''Field Report 2765: AFFS'', pp. 26, 30: Defender-Class Battlecruiser</ref>
}}

==Description==
The '''''Defender''''' Class Battlecruiser was the [[Federated Suns]]' first operational [[WarShip]] design.<ref>''Strategic Operations'', p. 15: House Davion/Federated Suns - List of First includes First WarShip - the Defender.</ref> Designed to counter the newly-formed [[Terran Hegemony|Terran Hegemony's]] ''[[Dreadnought (WarShip class)|Dreadnought]]''-Class Battleships, the ''Defender'' was built to have superior speed and firepower. Deliveries of the class proved to be slow, in no small part due to the costly difficulties involved in the production of the massive engines required. A full decade passed before the appearance of the second example of the class. By this time, the Hegemony began producing its superior ''[[Monsoon]]'' Class-Battleships which eclipsed the ''Defenders'' in armor protection and firepower. These ships would be outclassed by the 2380s when Davion authorities ceased production. A total of six vessels were produced.

The ships saw active service irregularly, being reactivated several times after their initial service period. By [[2765]], a few surviving members of the class were reactivated and served in the fleets of the Federated Suns. Two ships were active near the end of the Star League Era and formed part of the Crucis Fleet of House Davion's navy. One of the two, [[Golden Lion|FSS ''Golden Lion'']], served as the flagship of the entire FedSuns Navy, under the command of [[Fleet Admiral]] Alexi Viscoff.

The ''Defenders'' would be immortalized by the ''Golden Lion''&#39;s actions at the [[Battle of Cholame]], where the battlecruiser's efforts in the massive battle blunted the Draconis Combine fleet's attack, severely hampering that faction's efforts during the early years of the [[First Succession War]].<ref>''Field Report 2765: AFFS'', pp. 6, 25: Naval Defense Doctrine & Defender-Class Battlecruiser - Defender Class's background and its history up to 2787.</ref>

==Weapons and Capacities==
The ''Defenders'' were designed for speed, and boasted a high rate of acceleration for their day. These ships could outrun and outmaneuver the Terran Hegemony's ''Dreadnoughts'' and the early [[Black Lion I|''Black Lion'' Battlecruisers]]. The ship carried 765 tons of Standard Armor concentrated in the bow, forward-sides, and in the aft section protecting the massive engines.

The ''Defender''&#39;s main armament consisted of an array of Class 35 and 20 Naval Autocannons, which were sited in the ship's forward sections and broadsides. One of the ''Defender''&#39;s noted weaknesses was the lack of capital weaponry covering the aft-facing sides and aft section. Due to this limitation, a ship's crew needed to use speed and agility to bring the heavy weapons to bear.

The ship's lighter weaponry included a large array of Class-5 Autocannons mounted in weapons bays throughout the entire ship. The autocannons clustered most heavily around the ship's aft, to counter the threat of small craft and fighters attacking this more vulnerable section. The design also included a large number of Machine Guns, mounted throughout the ship and serving in the point defense role.<ref name=FR2765:AFFSp26-30/>

==Cargo==
This design predated the use of [[DropShips]] and included no bays for their handling. In their place, the ship had four large [[DropShuttle Bay|DropShuttle Bays]]. It also housed a Small Craft hangar able to house as many as 20 small craft, as well as a large general-use cargo bay.

*Bay 1: Small Craft (20), 10 Doors
*Bay 2: Cargo (105,890 tons), 2 Doors
*Bay 3: DropShuttle Bay (20,000 tons capacity), 1 Door
*Bay 4: DropShuttle Bay (20,000 tons capacity), 1 Door
*Bay 5: DropShuttle Bay (20,000 tons capacity), 1 Door
*Bay 6: DropShuttle Bay (20,000 tons capacity), 1 Door

==See Also==
* [[:Category:Individual Defender-class WarShips]]

==Notes==
* The ''Golden Lion'' originally appeared in ''[[House Davion (The Federated Suns)]]'' published in 1988. The ship became the basis for the ''Defender'' Class, which would appear in name for the first time decades later in the ''[[Strategic Operations]]'' rulebook as part of a list of first WarShips entering service for various factions.

* It also should be noted that the ''Defender''—aside from being the oldest original Federated Suns WarShip to be produced—was also the largest.

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Field Report 2765: AFFS]]''
* ''[[Strategic Operations]]''


[[Category:Battlecruiser classes]]
[[Category:Federated Suns WarShip classes]]
[[Category:Large WarShips]]
[[Category:WarShip classes]]