Near the end of the Second Great War GTVA forces liberated Epsilon Pegasi from NTF forces as the NTF leadership fled for the Knossos gate. Of key strategic importance was recapture of the large Han-Ronald shipyard there. Upon occupying the shipyard GTVA forces found that the NTF had converted the huge facility to wartime use, not only for repairing battle-damaged vessels as had previously been believed, but for production of entirely new ships.
From the beginning Bosch knew time was of the essence and realized that if he were going to attempt to build new ships, they would have to be small and capable of being built quickly in order to be available for battle. Bosch chose to set the newly captured Han Ronald facility to building a new class of cruiser based on design principles used for Bosch's own command ship, the NTCv Iceni. Four of these ships were under construction when the GTVA recaptured the shipyard. The four captured ships mounted varying weapons and power configurations, evidently due to cannibalization of parts from other ships too damaged to repair.
At 430 meters these hulls were considerably larger than any cruiser class currently in production, although still much smaller than the new 800m Diemos corvettes. Much of the extra internal space was devoted to reactor and engine space, resulting in a very high power/mass ratio. In addition, the engine-amidships configuration pioneered in the Iceni proved to have substantial benefits in structural integrity under thrust, contributing to the high speeds attained by the sleek vessels. In early trials one prototype outfitted with one of the HR2305-A reactors that power the Diemos corvette, was able to sustain speeds in excess of 60 m/s. Fully loaded and armored versions are expected to be able to maintain cruising speeds of over 40m/s, making them the fastest capitol ship currently in service in the GTVA.
After a number of trials the GTVA high council authorized an initial production run of eight of these ships for test deployment. The GTC Maenad class is intended to replace the aging Fenris class light cruisers, which proved both too lightly armed and armored to deal with the threats they faced against the shivans. While the Leviathan class ships are slated to receive overhauls and expanded weapon suites, the few surviving Fenris class ships are being decommissioned. The Manad cruisers will be able to operate for considerably longer durations without resupply, and their broad weapons suite allows them to survive engagements agaist a broad range of threats. The final Maenad production type has a well balanced and versitile weapons suite equally capable against fighters, bomber assault, and capital ships. While the Aeolus and its larger brother the Alcyone are intended primarily as escort ships and anti-fighter vessels, the Maenad class is intended to be able to operate alone on patrol routes and exploratory missions. If the initial group of ships perform as well as expected, the Maenad will go into full production as a complement to the GTC Aeolus and GTC Alcyone.
Specifications: 55000hp max spd 40m/s Crew : 1270
Length: 439m Width:125m Height:172m
Anti-capitol loadout: 2 Terslash beam cannons. 2 Sgreen beam cannons,
Heavy defense loadout: 2 Ultra AAA beams 2 antiship/bomber missile batteries
Fighter defense loadout: 3 Heavy Flak turrets 6 Rapid-fire laser turrets
[This message has been edited by morris13 (edited 07-14-2001).]
