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Description

Overview;
As part of Project Fireborn’s efforts in the lead-up to the construction of the Striker and Victory-classes, much effort was expended in the conceptualisation and practical design of a centrifuge capable of generating sufficient force to ensure a steady one-g (or as near as possible) on a ship the size of a dreadnought or above.Another key requirement was for the necessary design to be capable of absorbing combat damage without significant loss of function, and indeed to be able to maintain its rate of spin in both general duties as well as in combat. This was seen as of key importance, given that the only design that had involved a centrifuge (beyond ancient efforts back in the early dawn of the Earth Alliance’s early space exploration) was the Alph-class patrol cruiser, an old design that was frankly unsatisfactory in Earthforce’s eyes.

The EAS Charybdis was a test-bed for such a design, given that production of the Goliath-class had by then resulted in well over a hundred and fifty vessels, and the influence accrued by the Tinez design team for their collective work on the Alph-class and the flight II variation of the David-class meant they could easily call in the necessary favours to appropriate a Goliath hull for their work. In a series of firsts, the Phoenix-class would be the first ship of the post-war era to be able to carry Starfuries, and also acted as a testbed for the introduction of the then-new WRK 1005’s, with their dual capability as both offensive and defensive weapons seen as a bonus, since the addition of the centrifuge removed the placements for the interceptor batteries of the Goliath.

With the move of the ship’s hanger bay back to the classic prow position as well, the starboard hanger bay was replaced with an additional missile battery, with another mirrored on the opposite side of the ship. This allowed the Charybdis to utilise a full volley of thirty-six anti-shipping missiles along each flank. However, the Charybdis proved to be a unique vessel, as the anticipated rebuilding of the Goliath’s into this new, more tactically and strategically flexible design, was not to be. Instead, the design was supplanted by the Striker and Victory following the patronage of newly-ascended President Clark, and Charybdis itself was sent to a breaker’s yard in Proxima without ever seeing a shot fired in anger.

Class: Dreadnought
In-Service Date: February 2257-2260
Role: Technical prototype
Length; 1607.04 metres
Crew: Three-hundred, forty (340x)
Endurance: Six (6x) months cruising time
Armament:
- Twelve (12x) General Electric GAD 16 U 'Terminator' Q-spoiling Hard-Ray Heavy Lasers
- Four (4x) Walther-Raytheon WRK 1005 Light Particle Beam Pulse Cannons (interceptor-capable)
- Two (2x) Westinghouse HPM 1 'Mjolnir' Heavy Plasma Mortars
- Seventy-two (72x) Raytheon 'Matador III' Anti-Ship Missiles
Small Craft: Eight (8x) Starfuries (Not carried as standard)
Defences:
- Four (4x) Walther-Raytheon WRK 1005 Light Particle Beam Pulse Cannons (interceptor-capable)
- 1m-1.5m armoured hull (CARBONAT I Composite Armour)
- E-WEB Passive Protective System
Ships in service: Charybdis

Description

Overview;
As part of Project Fireborn’s efforts in the lead-up to the construction of the Striker and Victory-classes, much effort was expended in the conceptualisation and practical design of a centrifuge capable of generating sufficient force to ensure a steady one-g (or as near as possible) on a ship the size of a dreadnought or above.Another key requirement was for the necessary design to be capable of absorbing combat damage without significant loss of function, and indeed to be able to maintain its rate of spin in both general duties as well as in combat. This was seen as of key importance, given that the only design that had involved a centrifuge (beyond ancient efforts back in the early dawn of the Earth Alliance’s early space exploration) was the Alph-class patrol cruiser, an old design that was frankly unsatisfactory in Earthforce’s eyes.

The EAS Charybdis was a test-bed for such a design, given that production of the Goliath-class had by then resulted in well over a hundred and fifty vessels, and the influence accrued by the Tinez design team for their collective work on the Alph-class and the flight II variation of the David-class meant they could easily call in the necessary favours to appropriate a Goliath hull for their work. In a series of firsts, the Phoenix-class would be the first ship of the post-war era to be able to carry Starfuries, and also acted as a testbed for the introduction of the then-new WRK 1005’s, with their dual capability as both offensive and defensive weapons seen as a bonus, since the addition of the centrifuge removed the placements for the interceptor batteries of the Goliath.

With the move of the ship’s hanger bay back to the classic prow position as well, the starboard hanger bay was replaced with an additional missile battery, with another mirrored on the opposite side of the ship. This allowed the Charybdis to utilise a full volley of thirty-six anti-shipping missiles along each flank. However, the Charybdis proved to be a unique vessel, as the anticipated rebuilding of the Goliath’s into this new, more tactically and strategically flexible design, was not to be. Instead, the design was supplanted by the Striker and Victory following the patronage of newly-ascended President Clark, and Charybdis itself was sent to a breaker’s yard in Proxima without ever seeing a shot fired in anger.

Class: Dreadnought
In-Service Date: February 2257-2260
Role: Technical prototype
Length; 1607.04 metres
Crew: Three-hundred, forty (340x)
Endurance: Six (6x) months cruising time
Armament:
- Twelve (12x) General Electric GAD 16 U 'Terminator' Q-spoiling Hard-Ray Heavy Lasers
- Four (4x) Walther-Raytheon WRK 1005 Light Particle Beam Pulse Cannons (interceptor-capable)
- Two (2x) Westinghouse HPM 1 'Mjolnir' Heavy Plasma Mortars
- Seventy-two (72x) Raytheon 'Matador III' Anti-Ship Missiles
Small Craft: Eight (8x) Starfuries (Not carried as standard)
Defences:
- Four (4x) Walther-Raytheon WRK 1005 Light Particle Beam Pulse Cannons (interceptor-capable)
- 1m-1.5m armoured hull (CARBONAT I Composite Armour)
- E-WEB Passive Protective System
Ships in service: Charybdis