HOME | DD

Description

This is a 1:2000 scale model I made of the starship featured in a story I wrote recently, the Commonwealth Space Vessel Warspite. Registration number CH-307.

CH-307. Essex-class heavy cruiser.
One of a class of twenty-one such ships designed by the Cambridge Space Consortium of England, two of which form the core of the Royal Space Force. The remaining nineteen are part of the Commonwealth’s space fleet.
Ships of the class:
Royal Space Force:
Essex (CC-04)
Colchester (CC-05)
Commonwealth Space Force:
Fortitude (CH-298)   Cambridge (CH-311)        Prince of Wales (CH-325)
Repulse (CH-299)    Warrior (CH-312)             Achilles (CH-326)
Renown (CH-300)     Iron Duke (CH-317)         Canopus (CH-327)
Warspite (CH-307)   Shakespeare (CH-318)      Wellington (CH-328)
Churchill (CH-308)   Thames (CH-319)              Huntsman (CH-329)
London (CH-309)    King George VII (CH-324) Excalibur (CH-330)
Sovereign (CH-310)
Physical data
Length: 800m
Wingspan: 1040m
Height: 160m (up to 190m with mission adaptive modules fitted)
Crew
Fleet personnel
Officers: 88 (includes 24 fighter pilots and co-pilots and 6 shuttle and skip pilots)
Enlisted: 655
Marine personnel
Officers: 11 (includes 4 dropship pilots)
Enlisted: 138
Other: 2 dogs (enlisted)
Total: 894 (including 2 dogs)
Propulsion and Power
Sublight
Fusion drive. The drives themselves are located along the sides of the main hull rather than on the wing tips. This reduces the manoeuvrability of the ship, but keeps the drives away from the sensor and communications arrays.
FTL
Tachyon-ion drive. Capable of propelling the ship at up to 7.8 light years per day.
Powerplant
4 x nuclear fusion reactors. The primary source that is part of the sublight drive system. Fuel is held in numerous separate tanks located in the ship’s wings.
1 x thorium fission reactor. A secondary system that is more compact than the fusion reactors. Fuel is stored within the reactor itself, isolated until the system is activated.
Storage batteries. Located throughout the ship.
Electronics Suite
The main antenna arrays for both communications and detection systems are mounting in the wing tips, away from interference from other ship’s systems (particularly the engines) and superstructure.
Communications
Communications tether
Directed laser
EM pulse emitter
Radio
Tachyon communications
Detection Systems
Adel (Audio Detection by Laser)
EM detection
Lidar
MAD
Mass shadow detection
Radar
Tachyon detector
Tadar (Tachyon Detection and Ranging)
Weapon Systems
Main
2 x heavy neutral particle beam cannons in fixed forward mounts.
96 x heavy missiles in independent dorsal launchers.
(Optional) 64 x heavy missiles, 32 mounted under each wing on external hardpoints.
Missiles are the primary long range anti-shipping weapon while the neutral particle beam cannons are intended for direct fire at closer ranges. Missiles are generally fitted with single shaped charge explosive warheads designed to create a forward cone of effect but multiple (up to eight per missile) nuclear warheads in the 500 kilo-tonne range or single 50 mega-tonne range warheads are an option.
Secondary
2 x medium X-ray lasers mounted in dorsal turrets.
2 x 75mm light gauss cannons in ventral turrets. Capable of semi-automatic fire, bursts of programmed size or fully automatic with cyclic rate that can be set up to 1200 rounds per minute. Both are fed from 2000 round magazines.
8 x light free electron beam lasers, 6 mounted in dorsal turrets and 2 in ventral turrets.
The X-ray lasers are intended for engaging vessels up to frigate/destroyer size but are capable of damaging larger vessels as well. The rail guns are dual purpose, providing both anti-ship and space to surface bombardment capability. The free electron beam lasers are primarily intended to provide anti-missile and attack craft defence but can also be used against larger targets. The standard gauss cannon ammunition is solid armour piercing.
Auxiliary Craft
1 squadron of 12 superiority fighters
1 squadron of 12 drones
4 shuttles
2 skips
4 dropships
2 workpods

Description

This is a 1:2000 scale model I made of the starship featured in a story I wrote recently, the Commonwealth Space Vessel Warspite. Registration number CH-307.

CH-307. Essex-class heavy cruiser.
One of a class of twenty-one such ships designed by the Cambridge Space Consortium of England, two of which form the core of the Royal Space Force. The remaining nineteen are part of the Commonwealth’s space fleet.
Ships of the class:
Royal Space Force:
Essex (CC-04)
Colchester (CC-05)
Commonwealth Space Force:
Fortitude (CH-298)   Cambridge (CH-311)        Prince of Wales (CH-325)
Repulse (CH-299)    Warrior (CH-312)             Achilles (CH-326)
Renown (CH-300)     Iron Duke (CH-317)         Canopus (CH-327)
Warspite (CH-307)   Shakespeare (CH-318)      Wellington (CH-328)
Churchill (CH-308)   Thames (CH-319)              Huntsman (CH-329)
London (CH-309)    King George VII (CH-324) Excalibur (CH-330)
Sovereign (CH-310)
Physical data
Length: 800m
Wingspan: 1040m
Height: 160m (up to 190m with mission adaptive modules fitted)
Crew
Fleet personnel
Officers: 88 (includes 24 fighter pilots and co-pilots and 6 shuttle and skip pilots)
Enlisted: 655
Marine personnel
Officers: 11 (includes 4 dropship pilots)
Enlisted: 138
Other: 2 dogs (enlisted)
Total: 894 (including 2 dogs)
Propulsion and Power
Sublight
Fusion drive. The drives themselves are located along the sides of the main hull rather than on the wing tips. This reduces the manoeuvrability of the ship, but keeps the drives away from the sensor and communications arrays.
FTL
Tachyon-ion drive. Capable of propelling the ship at up to 7.8 light years per day.
Powerplant
4 x nuclear fusion reactors. The primary source that is part of the sublight drive system. Fuel is held in numerous separate tanks located in the ship’s wings.
1 x thorium fission reactor. A secondary system that is more compact than the fusion reactors. Fuel is stored within the reactor itself, isolated until the system is activated.
Storage batteries. Located throughout the ship.
Electronics Suite
The main antenna arrays for both communications and detection systems are mounting in the wing tips, away from interference from other ship’s systems (particularly the engines) and superstructure.
Communications
Communications tether
Directed laser
EM pulse emitter
Radio
Tachyon communications
Detection Systems
Adel (Audio Detection by Laser)
EM detection
Lidar
MAD
Mass shadow detection
Radar
Tachyon detector
Tadar (Tachyon Detection and Ranging)
Weapon Systems
Main
2 x heavy neutral particle beam cannons in fixed forward mounts.
96 x heavy missiles in independent dorsal launchers.
(Optional) 64 x heavy missiles, 32 mounted under each wing on external hardpoints.
Missiles are the primary long range anti-shipping weapon while the neutral particle beam cannons are intended for direct fire at closer ranges. Missiles are generally fitted with single shaped charge explosive warheads designed to create a forward cone of effect but multiple (up to eight per missile) nuclear warheads in the 500 kilo-tonne range or single 50 mega-tonne range warheads are an option.
Secondary
2 x medium X-ray lasers mounted in dorsal turrets.
2 x 75mm light gauss cannons in ventral turrets. Capable of semi-automatic fire, bursts of programmed size or fully automatic with cyclic rate that can be set up to 1200 rounds per minute. Both are fed from 2000 round magazines.
8 x light free electron beam lasers, 6 mounted in dorsal turrets and 2 in ventral turrets.
The X-ray lasers are intended for engaging vessels up to frigate/destroyer size but are capable of damaging larger vessels as well. The rail guns are dual purpose, providing both anti-ship and space to surface bombardment capability. The free electron beam lasers are primarily intended to provide anti-missile and attack craft defence but can also be used against larger targets. The standard gauss cannon ammunition is solid armour piercing.
Auxiliary Craft
1 squadron of 12 superiority fighters
1 squadron of 12 drones
4 shuttles
2 skips
4 dropships
2 workpods