House of Steel: The Honorverse Companion (48 page)

While the reasons behind the move to the
Majestic
class were many, the argument that the RMN could build a substantially less costly dreadnought class than the
Gladiators
was one of the primary drivers, and the class was sold to Parliament as having a per-platform cost seven percent less than a
Gladiator
. There were other factors in play, however, including the fact that the Navy had to shift government contracts away from electronics providers that were under investigation for fraud and malfeasance.

Speeding up construction of a dreadnought (at least a dreadnought as capable as the
Gladiator
) proved to be a challenge, but the experience was to stand the RMN in very good stead in its ever-expanding wartime building programs. Ironically, though, while the
Majestic
had the virtue of being less expensive on a per-unit basis, the increased missile magazine size meant that the deployed cost of a fully equipped and armed Majestic dreadnought was nearly equal to the “more expensive”
Gladiator
it supplanted.

For all of that, the
Majestic
was never an entirely satisfactory design. Slightly smaller than a
Gladiator
, its heavy missile broadside was only possible at the cost of close combat capability, and despite the increase in active defenses, it had a far more fragile hull than the
Gladiator
. This relative frailty, despite far more numerous missile tubes during a time when beam combat was falling out of favor, was one of the reasons the entire class was decommissioned before the older
Gladiator
.

Bellerophon-class dreadnought

Mass: 6,985,250 tons

Dimensions: 1293 × 187 × 175 m

Acceleration: 420.1 G (4.12 kps²)

80% Accel: 336.1 G (3.296 kps²)

Broadside: 33M, 15L, 18G, 24CM, 24PD

Chase: 7M, 2L, 3G, 8CM, 8PD

Number Built: 38

Service Life: 1900–1921

The
Bellerophon
-class dreadnought represents the pinnacle of Manticoran dreadnought design, incorporating lessons learned from all of the previous classes and the final prewar generation of RMN simulation data and doctrine. The
Bellerophons
were originally intended as inexpensive contemporaries of the
Gryphon
-class superdreadnoughts, to be built in larger numbers than the heavier ships and to support the SDs in battle. The originally projected building ratio for the two classes was reversed almost literally overnight once war began and the emergency construction programs reached their full potential, however. The class continued in construction at a slow rate for the first five years of the war, until the Navy’s funding and infrastructure allowed it to begin building exclusively SDs for its line of battle, at which time the
Bellerophons
were honorably retired and phased out of service.

Massing just under seven million tons, the
Bellerophons
were in every way equal or superior to any of the early Manticoran superdreadnought classes and could give even the
Anduril
class a run for its money, especially given the predominance of missile-only combat in the later phases of the war.

However, no matter how advanced it was, there is no question that the
Bellerophon
, like every other conventional capital ship in the Manticoran Navy, was designed to fight the last war. When even the most advanced prewar superdreadnought was rendered hopelessly obsolete by modern standards, the cost and manpower were clearly better spent on building larger, more powerful, and more survivable ships to replace them. The majority of this class lies in mothballs and could potentially be reactivated, but the possibility that any of them will see service again is remote.

Nouveau Paris-class dreadnought

Mass: 6,331,500 tons

Dimensions: 1251 × 181 × 169 m

Acceleration: 426.7 G (4.184 kps²)

80% Accel: 341.3 G (3.347 kps²)

Broadside: 32M, 10L, 10G, 18CM, 20PD

Chase: 8M, 4L, 4G, 10CM, 10PD

Number in Service: 5

Service Life: 1905–1917

Several Havenite ships of the wall were taken into service during the early war, including five dreadnoughts during the First Battle of Hancock. None of these ships saw frontline service, but four of them spent some time as rear area security operating with captured Havenite superdreadnoughts. All of these units were scrapped by the Janacek Admiralty during the interwar period.

SUPERDREADNOUGHTS (SD)

Superdreadnoughts, along with their pod-carrying brethren, are the largest warships in any star nation’s inventory. The classic prewar SD mounted a heavy missile broadside; had the sidewalls, antimissile defenses, and armor to shrug off most missile hits themselves; and served primarily as a platform for the massive beam weapons required for a decisive engagement at close range. For centuries, SDs have been the decisive units of the wall of battle, built to survive to reach beam range and then batter their opponent into wreckage at close range.

As the core units of the wall of battle, dreadnoughts and superdreadnoughts are rarely deployed in less than divisional strength, and far more frequently they are moved around at the squadron level, complete with screen and support ships. Their true strength is in the concentrated fire a battle squadron can create, and the existence of even a single battle squadron automatically propels a naval force into one of the top two dozen or so navies in the galaxy.

The RMN accumulated a great deal of operational experience with their early
Manticore
-class superdreadnoughts before they began to add any more to the order of battle. However, they had not developed much combat experience when King Roger began the naval phase of his buildup in 1860 PD, and BuShips was forced to develop, build, test and refine designs at an ever-increasing rate, all without the benefit of any battle experience. At the peak of production, the RMN saw a new superdreadnought commissioned every month and a new class every four years, with advances leapfrogging entire classes due to the frantic production schedule.

While the design of these massive ships was in a state of flux for years, their doctrine also had been refined over years of training and simulations. The RMN knew what to do with the type even as they were constantly refining how they were designed and constructed. Not even the RMN, however, truly appreciated in 1905 how close to the end of its long reign the classic SD had come.

Manticore-class superdreadnought

Mass: 6,515,500 tons

Dimensions: 1263 × 183 × 171 m

Acceleration: 424.8 G (4.166 kps²)

80% Accel: 339.9 G (3.333 kps²)

Broadside: 22M, 18L, 24G, 8ET, 12CM, 24PD

Chase: 4M, 2L, 6G, 6CM, 12PD

Number Built: 3

Service Life: 1742–1905

The original design requirements for the Star Kingdom’s first superdreadnought called for a ship “fit to engage and defeat any ship of the wall now in commission or under construction,” and for their time, their design proved more than sufficient in that regard. With greatly improved active defenses and twice the graser broadside of the
Ad Astra
class, the
Manticore
class was a powerful, modern unit that compared favorably to even the most advanced Solarian design of the day.

HMS
Manticore
and her sister ships
Sphinx
and
Gryphon
were commissioned over a period of fifteen years, while their old battleship namesakes were redesignated HMS
Thorson
,
Perseus
and
Bellerophon
, respectively.

The trio was originally intended to form the core of a modernized capable wall of battle along with the
Ad Astra
-class dreadnoughts. The initial units rode the tail end of the wave of construction that followed the Battle of Carson, and a total of nine ships was originally planned.

HMS
Manticore
was scarcely a decade old when she first saw combat, during the rather misnamed “San Martin War.” Given that the war began and ended with a single battle, and an uneventful one at that, there was little to learn from the experience. Worse in some ways, the brief skirmish actually hampered additional efforts to secure funding, as victory had been achieved so easily and no navies in the region were viewed as a threat that warranted more than the three ships already in commission. Instead of the planned additional construction, the existing dreadnoughts and battleships underwent a modernization and service life extension program. The three ships of the
Manticore
class served as flagships for the two mixed battle squadrons of Home Fleet, with one in the yards for maintenance at any given time.

While an effective design for their time, the class was over 150 years old by the start of the First Havenite War. HMS
Sphinx
and
Gryphon
had already been decommissioned as their namesakes led new, modern classes, and while HMS
Manticore
had been refitted as a flagship and saw the opening salvos of the war, she was decommissioned in late 1905 and her name given to a brand new
Gryphon
-class hull.

Samothrace-class superdreadnought

Mass: 7,253,750 tons

Dimensions: 1309 × 190 × 177 m

Acceleration: 416.6 G (4.086 kps²)

80% Accel: 333.3 G (3.268 kps²)

Broadside: 28M, 22L, 18G, 6ET, 18CM, 26PD

Chase: 6M, 6L, 4G, 6CM, 8PD

Number Built: 7

Service Life: 1848–present

The
Samothrace
class was the second class of superdreadnoughts built by the Royal Manticoran Navy, and (not surprisingly, given that almost exactly a century separated the two classes) it was a marked improvement over the
Manticore
class. While the increased combat power was a decided advantage, the true reason for the construction of this class was, originally, to provide modern flagships for the two active battle squadrons of Home Fleet.

The plans called for a total of three hulls to be built to allow for regular maintenance cycles and still retain a division of superdreadnoughts in every squadron. However, the cost of these units, coupled with the actual and projected costs of the
Royal Wintons
, caused Parliament to cut funding, dropping the planned construction to a single hull.

However, the Navy had been steadily increasing the number of units below the wall for over a century since the discovery of the Matapan Terminus, with a major push by First Space Lord Frederick Truman in the preceding few years. With both Parliament and the senior uniformed officers of the Navy focusing on the commerce protection mission, the so-called “Gun Club” advocates were outnumbered and outvoted.

When King Roger began his buildup shortly after his coronation, one of the first actions he took was to renew construction of the two cancelled hulls, plus allocate funding for four more while the builder’s plans were finalized for the
King William
class. As one shellshocked member of the Opposition remarked following the King’s remarkable success in this initial foray: “The Admiralty asked for three, we offered one, and His Majesty compromised on seven.” It would not be the last armament battle that remarkable monarch would win.

In the late 1890s, the entire class was pulled from service and refitted extensively as command ships. Technological advances, even in the short time since their construction, allowed their defenses to be substantially upgraded while at the same time providing space for extensive command and control facilities. Many of these ships have seen wartime service as task force and fleet flagships, even after more modern classes had been placed in reserve, simply because of their command and control equipment.

King William-class superdreadnought

Mass: 7,170,750 tons

Dimensions: 1304 × 189 × 176 m

Acceleration: 417.7 G (4.096 kps²)

80% Accel: 334.2 G (3.277 kps²)

Broadside: 32M, 19L, 21G, 26CM, 28PD

Chase: 8M, 6L, 4G, 10CM, 10PD

Number Built: 25

Service Life: 1877–1919

The
King William
-class superdreadnought was the first ship of its type to reach series production, after nearly a decade of design work and lessons learned from work on the
Royal Winton
and
Samothrace
classes. It was also the first ship built from the keel out to carry the new Mk19 Capital Ship Missile, then in development as the RMN’s first laser head weapon, though not actually placed in service until several years after the first unit was commissioned.