Essex II (WarShip class)

This article is about the second Essex destroyer design most commonly associated with the name "Essex". For other uses, see Essex (disambiguation).
Essex TRO2750.jpg
Essex
Production information
Manufacturer Mitchell Vehicles Interstellar[1]
Introduced 2711[2]
Production Year 2711[3]
Use Destroyer
Tech Base Star League
Cost 1,893,822,000 C-bills[citation needed]
Technical specifications
Mass 620,000 tons[4]
Length 615 meters
Sail Diameter 1,120 meters
Fuel 3,000 tons
Burn Rate
Safe Thrust 1.5 g
Top Thrust 2.5 g
Sail Integrity 4
KF Drive Integrity 13
LF Battery No
Armament
Armor 306 tons MVT CL200 Improved Ferro-Aluminum
DropShip Capacity 0
Crew 208[4]
  • 35 Officers
  • 142 Enlisted
  • 31 Gunners

(Crew Types)[5]

  • 30 Pilots / Engineers
  • 37 Junior Officers / Other Crew (Non-Engineers)
  • 141 Secondary Engineers

Bay Personnel: 32

Grav Decks 1 x 55 meters diameter
Escape Pods/Life Boats 6/6
Heat Sinks 746 double
Structural Integrity 60
BV (1.0) 62,357[4][6]
BV (2.0) 60,935[3]

Description[edit]

The second class of WarShip to bear the name, the Essex-class destroyer (also known as Essex II) was designed in response to the Star League Navy's request for a quick destroyer that could also make sustained voyages far from support, replacing the older Baron, Carson, and the Naga-class which had in turn replaced the original HAF era Essex I-class in 2645.[4]

The modern SLS Essex slipped its moorings from the Mitchell Vehicles shipyards above Graham IV in late 2711. Because its designers had wished to emphasize the vessel's swiftness and reliability, they had given it three compact and dependable lnterSystem Class VII engines, built by the Saro Company of Keid, which produce great thrust. The ship's computer systems were built by the Nirasaki Computers Collective, allowing the Essex's crew to do everything from monitor remote surveillance satellites to orchestrating corvette squadrons.[4] The class's Diamond Green Combat Computer was simple and reliable, prized traits among the SLDF admirals. Mitchell Vehicles began upgrading the systems in the 2740s to their Diamond Plum combat computer, which was able to handle more coordinated tasks and targets for the ship's weapons but required specialized training.[1]

However, the Essex was infamous for its ammunition bays, which were too lightly armored to protect its missiles and autocannon shells adequately, and became quite evident with the destruction of Essex destroyers in action against Periphery forces in the 2730s and during the Amaris-Kerensky Civil War. Of the 300 examples of the class that entered service,[2] less than thirty survived the campaign to liberate Terra, and the bulk of those left with the Exodus Fleet.[4] Examples served in the fleets of ComStar, the Free Worlds League, the Word of Blake, as well as various Clan toumans. Limited cases of both the 2711 Block and Clan variant survived into the thirty-second century to serve the ilClan.[3]

Armament[edit]

The Essex's main weapons are its twelve Whirlwind-20 Series NAC/20s, manufactured by Karon Naval Armaments of Terra and unmatched for reliability, mounted in four turrets. The Essex carries three missile tubes capable of firing Barracuda missiles, the smallest and smartest of the three standard missile types used by the Star League Navy. The remainder of the vessel's weaponry consists of a mixture of Magna-35 NL35s and Rand-10 Medium NPPCs.

Cargo[edit]

Lacking docking collars, the Essex has the following carrying capabilities:

Variants[edit]

  • Clan - those vessels that survived the genesis of the Star League in Exile continued to serve in the Clan toumans, with upgrades beginning in 2862. Beyond a reduction in armor tonnage to 262.5 tons and cargo space to allow the Essex to carry a Star of OmniFighters and an additional 6 small craft, Clan technicians also added a Lithium-Fusion Battery. The most notable modification was refitting the ships with the advanced Athena-3 computer system. Far superior to those of even the Star League, the Athena-3 could control almost all shipboard functions, so a skeleton crew of 25 could operate the vessel. However, in normal use, the computer only monitored the ship's functions with no direct control.[4]

See Also[edit]

Related WarShips[edit]

  • Essex I
    The slightly smaller progenitor Essex was replaced by the same generation of destroyers that the Essex II superseded. It survived into the Succession Wars but eventually went extinct.

Gallery[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ a b c Technical Readout: 2750, p. 128: "Essex Profile"
  2. ↑ a b BattleSpace sourcebook, p. 54
  3. ↑ a b c d "MUL entry for the Essex II (WarShip class)". Master Unit List. Retrieved 2025-03-22.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Technical Readout: 3057 Revised, p. 138: "Essex Profile"
  5. ↑ BattleSpace rulebook, p. 63
  6. ↑ AeroTech 2 Record Sheets, p. 291

Bibliography[edit]

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