Chronicles of Sol: The Fall

In this interlude, we are going to explore the term heavy cruiser and take a look at a few of the ships that have been given the designation Heavy Cruiser. In general heavy cruisers are often considered to be the smallest of the true capital ships, and are often grouped alongside other capital ships such as battleships, and carriers as major combatants. Dreadnoughts and the like are often classed as super-capital ships. Vessels we aren’t going to be looking at just yet. Rather we will be looking mainly at heavy cruisers.

The first question to ask is what exactly is a heavy cruiser? Well to answer that we must first consider what a cruiser is. Cruisers are typically the general purpose workhorses of the fleet. They are often larger and heavier than destroyers, but in general, that is about it. The term cruiser actually encompasses a wide variety of different ship types. From mainline combat vessels to rearline support ships all of them fit under the umbrella of cruiser. So what is a heavy cruiser? Well in short they are the largest, and heaviest of the ships classed as cruisers. Most heavy cruisers are mainline combat ships and outfitted accordingly. They feature a strong mix of weapons, sturdy armor, and a decent engine to create a strong balanced mix of firepower, mobility, and protection.

That leaves us with the question of what exactly does all that mean? What exactly is a mainline combatant in space combat? Well, in short, such a vessel is one meant to dish out damage, while possessing enough mobility to be tactically and strategically viable, and still being durable enough to take hits. However not all ships classified as a heavy cruiser fit this balanced definition, not in full anyway. Some ships previously classed as a heavy cruiser over the years would not be classified as such if built today either. In many respects, however, the heavy cruiser, is a smaller cheaper alternative to the mighty battleship, and is often employed in much the same set of roles which typically include ship-to-ship combat, and orbital bombardment/orbital support. In smaller fleet groups, they are often employed as flagships, while in larger ones they are often used to support the battleships.

Weapon-wise, there are few restrictions on what a heavy cruiser may carry. They are typically equipped with a mix of weapons including at least a primary, and secondary battery of direct fire weapons such as railguns, lasers, or particle cannons. At least one weapon for point defense either missiles or lasers. Typically its a combination of laser and missile. Most cruisers also have some torpedo tubes for long-range ship-to-ship combat. In addition, most heavy cruisers have at least one hanger and often have at least one fighter wing. There are exceptions to this, however.

Now let's take a look at a few of the ships, classed as a heavy cruiser over the years. The first up is one of the oldest the Olympia class. A ship whose importance stems from its being one of the earliest major combat vessels designed for space combat, and one of the most successful. It is also notable for being the last major combat ship to use a gravity ring system. The ship class measures an impressive 470 meters in length which makes her one of the largest combat vessels of her age. A good chunk of her bulk however could be attributed to the massive rotational ring system employed to provide the ship with artificial gravity. An absolute necessity for large vessels of the age, and especially so for ships expected to serve on long deployments.

However those systems while crucial to their operation were also a major vulnerability. They were massive and fragile. Easily damaged in combat, and worse they also restricted the armaments that could be mounted on a ship. Furthermore, they also restricted the firing arcs of what weapons the ship did carry. Not only that, but the rings also complicated the matter of placing adequate armor on starships such as this.

The Olympia despite these complications did manage a decent armament and had decent armor on her most critical sections. Enough to help her last longer in battle than other ships of her size in that period. Her weapons included several mounted railguns, forty strategically positioned point defense laser cannons, and a powerful battery of 40 nuclear missile tubes. As a result, she was a potent combatant in her age. Not only that but she was quite the popular ship class among fleet commanders and captains. So popular that every colonial fleet supported their own variant of the cruiser. The ship class served with distinction throughout the first colonial war, and also served quite well in the minor conflicts that predated the war.

Moving on, the oft-forgotten X-444 later designated the Pyke Class was designed as part of the four hundred series by Star Tech Industries. At the time this ship was being designed STI was based on Mars, and as such Star Tech Industries had access to certain developments that otherwise would not have been available since the Pyke was designed during the interwar period between the first and second colonial wars.

By modern standards, she isn’t considered to be a capital ship, but she comes close. The Pyke measured an impressive 1250 meters in length and featured artificial gravity technology. Allowing for the bulky rotation rings found on older ships to be removed. Also featured on the ship was one of the earliest examples of pulse wave engine technology. In fact, it was the earliest production model of laser-based pulse wave engines. That fact alone makes the Pyke worthy of note.

Unfortunately, it had a remarkably uneventful service period and the rapid march of technology, saw the ship passed by in just a few short years, by the much more memorable X-545. A ship that was developed to replace it just five years after the first Pyke was launched.

The Pyke employed a reinforced titanium armor scheme that featured a fifteen-meter belt that covered all critical areas. Her primary armament consisted of one hundred and two high-energy linked laser batteries. She also carried nearly a thousand-point defense laser cannons. In fact she was one of the first capital ships to not feature kinetic weapons as part of her armament. She did feature ship-to-ship torpedoes that employed fusion warheads.

By the time the second colonial war came around the ship had already been replaced, but a few examples of the class did see action in that war. Often attached to reserve units. Those ships did serve well on the line.

The X-545 also known as the New York class was developed by Star Tech Industries as a successor to the Pyke class of Heavy Cruisers. Lessons learned from the development and service of the earlier Pyke class along with lessons learned from other 400 series ships were used in the design of the X-545. The X-545 however is most well known for being the first combat ship to employ polarized hull plating. Like the Pyke she featured an all laser primary armament. The ship was also a bit larger at 1300 meters in length.

The X-545 New York is one of the most distinguished classes of ship to have served in the Second Colonial War. With ships of the class being involved in all major battles. The Polarized plating she was equipped with proved quite effective at protecting her from enemy laser weapons and was sturdy enough to deflect the kinetic weapons in use at the time with a fair degree of reliability. As a result, it was very rare for a New York class ship to be sunk. Ships of the class were often named after notable leaders hailing from the city after which the class was named.

Skipping ahead, the most notable ship that laid the format for modern heavy cruisers would perhaps be the X-899 codenamed Shadowstalker. The ship was 1900 meters long which makes her a bit smaller than most modern heavy cruisers which are typically around 2200 meters in length. The vessel featured overlord hull plating of eight meters in thickness, and she was among the first cruiser classes to employ a beam array. This was NOT a particle-cutting beam like those found on modern ships, but it is a particle-based beam weapon. The weapon in question is an early precursor to modern cutting beams. It fires a comparatively short four-second pulse of charged particles.

That weapon alone is not what makes the Shadowstalker notable. It also tested a sophisticated new generation stealth system which helped conceal a ship by reducing its energy leakage to nearly zero and modulating the armor’s dispersal field to better disrupt incoming sensor scans. The result was a ship largely invisible to most detection methods. A fact that led to some role confusion among strategists attempting to use the ship effectively.

Many tried to treat her like a stealth cruiser, but that was not what she was. She was a full line vessel and armed accordingly. In addition, her armor was much superior to previous generation armor even if it was only six meters thick, which was thinner than most heavy cruisers of the age. A fact that also gave her an edge in maneuverability. The Shadowstalker was fast, durable, well armed, and hard to find. She served with distinction in many of the small conflicts that predate the beginning of the third colonial war, and she is also noted as being the last STI vessel designed while the company was still based on Mars. All of the later ships in the 900, 1000, 1100, and 1200 series of starships designed by Star Tech were done at her headquarters on Earth, which was interestingly enough also where the company was originally founded. That return was merely a sign of how well Earth had recovered from WWIII which was the cause of the company moving to Mars.

The next two cruisers to cover are the Osaka class, and her successor the Tokyo class. The two ships are remarkably similar externally. On the inside they are quite different. Technically they are both 1100 series starships developed by Star Tech Industries for use by Earth’s fleet. The Tokyo is the newer vessel and was an updated design intended to serve as a stopgap until the new 1200 series of ships was employed.

The Osaka was originally developed based on requirements for a fast durable cruiser. One well equipped to engage smaller light vessels while still retaining enough punch to take on other vessels of the line. Her primary ship-to-ship weapon was her cutting beam array, which was very effective at slicing through armor. To support this weapon, she also carried eight banks of heavy particle cannons, which could shred most ships in seconds. Her secondary battery consisted of twenty-four dual-purpose light particle cannons. The ship was outfitted with short-range missile launchers, and ship-to-ship torpedoes as well.

During her service period, her agility and the power of her cutting beam made her quite effective against most other human vessels of the age. The class was even instrumental in Earth’s conquest of her colonies and the reunification of humanity. However, against the Cathamari the ship proved to be somewhat ill-equipped to fight the ships the Cathamari employed. In particular, her main weapon the cutting beam proved ineffective against shields, and unlike other heavy cruisers of the time she did not have enough torpedo tubes to overwhelm them with missiles. Her particle cannons were somewhat effective, but she found herself lacking in sufficient punch.

The Tokyo was designed to overcome these shortcomings and featured several iterative improvements on the design. Her main battery of particle cannons were increased in yield by twenty percent, and the number increased. These gave her a much heavier volume of fire for use against capital ships, but reduced her ability against smaller ships. Weapons alone were not the only improvement. Her armor while at first glance was unchanged, actually included several minor improvements that increased overall integrity by five percent, and reduced the effectiveness of Cathamari plasma rounds by twelve percent.

The biggest change however was her engines. The Tokyo featured a significant reconfiguration of the Engines. The Osaka class employed three main dual-core particle pulse wave engines, each one supported three single-core secondary engines. The Tokyo however was configured to act as the test bed for the same engine configuration being planned for the then-upcoming 1200 series vessels including the Enterprise. Where she now featured five tri-core main engines directly linked to two quad-core secondary engines.

Naturally, this new engine configuration took up more overall volume in the hull and required more power. As such a few design trade-offs had to be made. The Tokyo ended up sacrificing reserve troop quarters, and her secondary torpedo bays to fit these beefier engines. Most would argue that the result was well worth it, however, as the Tokyo enjoys phenomenal agility on the battlefield. As a quick and dirty cruiser designed and commissioned under wartime conditions, the Tokyo proved remarkably effective, while her older sister class Osaka remained useful in certain roles.

With that, we have taken a look at a few of the more notable ships to have been classed as a heavy cruiser. A few of which are by modern standards no longer considered capital ships, well true capital ships anyway. This brings to mind the current size requirements for that. To be considered a true capital ship, a ship must be at least 1500 meters in length, and at least half that in span. It must also have at least fifty decks with further requirements on tonnage, armor, and weaponry. Requirements that we need not go into right this moment. Now that we have looked at a few heavy cruisers we should now have a general idea of what these ships are and their role in battle. They are often the core of many a fleet, and the backbone of a navy. They might not have the prestige of the larger battleship or the venerable carrier, but they get the job done, and they do it well.