"Triad Crusier", Delevan, Nova Zemlya, and June classes

Type: Strike Cruiser
In class: (at their height) 16 Delevan, 88 Nova Zemlya, and 47 June
Producer: Various
In service: 2390 (Delevan), 2400 (Nova Zemlya), 2450 (June)

Mass: 750,000
Sail Integrity: 4
Thrust: 3/5
Fuel: 2000 tons
Structural Integrity: 75
Armor: 1120 tons of standard armor (74+8 fore and aft, 75+8 remaining)

Docking Collars: 2
Fighters: 6
Small Craft: 4
Crew: 260
Lifeboats: 8
Escape Pods: 8
Grav Decks: 1 90 meter
Cargo: 163,854

Bay 1: Small Craft (4) 2 doors
Bay 2: Cargo (163,854) 5 doors
Bay 3: Fighters (6) 2 doors

Other equipment
none

Weapons:
Heatsinks: 1169 (more than enough)

Forward
2 Naval Autocannon 20
3 White Shark

Fore Left/Fore Right
3 Naval Autocannnon 20
1 White Shark

Left Broadside/Right Broadside
2 Naval Autocannon 20

Aft Left/Aft Right
2 Naval Autocannon 20
1 White Shark

Aft
1 White Shark

Ammo:
800 rounds of Naval Autocannon ammunition
80 White Shark


Overview:

Sometimes refered to as Triad Cruisers, the Delevan, Nova Zemlya, and June class strike cruisers were bulwarks of the Davion fleet for close to two hundred years. The first Delevan class cruisers were constructed eight years before the start of the Age of War. Originally begun as a small class of fast cruisers meant for rapid response, only sixteen Delevan class vessels were built. Though skirmishes had been common, full scale war had been virtually unknown for a century, and the powers that ruled the Federated Suns at the time saw no need for a massive space fleet. A small force of then powerful Delevan class cruisers, backed up by the existing fleet, were seen as a sufficient deterent to any large scale raid.

This all changed when the Age of War suddenly swept through the Inner Sphere. Though House Davion had hoped to keep out of the war, that hope died in 2399 when a Capellan fleet attacked the Davion world of Nova Zemlya. In the first recorded incident of large scale orbital bombardment in history, the Capellan fleet slaughtered seventy five percent of the planet's population. More imediately significant to the military, however, was the destruction of two Delevan class crusiers which moved to intervene and were overwhelmed by superior forces. Almost imediately it became apparent that the Davion fleet was woefully outmatched by its neighbors. In order to rectify this, the Federated Suns began a crash rearmament program, which included construction of a slightly modified version of the Delevan more suitable for large scale production (in other words, with less concern for quality in favor of quantity). In memory of those who died in Davion's first battle in the Age of War, the new class was christened the Nova Zemlya. This variant was built in enormous numbers, however the chaotic fighting of the early years of the age of war consumed the Nova Zemlya class almost as fast as it was built. Though roughly one hundred and twenty of the class were built total, there were less than ninety ever in service at the same time, and most of these were built in the years after the Ares Convention was signed, when the fighting had died down dramatically.

The June class was the follow on to the Nova Zemlya, first commissioned towards the end of Simon Davion's reign. Though on paper virtually identical to the older ship, the June corrected many defects in the Nova Zemlya, namely the poor quality of the Nova Zemlya's electrical and cooling system (a result of the rush to get the cruiser into service). The June was more than just another cruiser class, however. It also served as a template for the refit of the two earlier classes. Throughout the mid-twenty fifth century, all of the ninety odd Delevan and Nova Zemlya class vessels were refitted to specifications of the June. By 2462, there was effectivelly no difference between the three classes. Despite this upgrade, it was readily apparent that all three classes were quickly showing their age, and it was anticipated that replacement would have to begin in about seventy years.

Unfortunately, the civil war intervened. With the Federated Suns military in a shambles after the war, there was no choice but to keep the old Triad cruisers in service much longer than intended. This, combined with the dubious decision to turn numerous newer ships over to the SLDF, would come back to haunt Davion during the Reunification war.


Capabilities:

The poor showing of the Triad cruisers during the reunification war is understandable when one compares them to their opponents in the Taurian fleet, like the Independence class destroyer. The Independence in particular is a stunning example of how far naval design had left behind the Delevan and her decendents in the decades since their introduction. Though outmassed by two hundred and seventy thousand tons, the Independence actually outguns the Davion cruiser, both in total firepower and the amount of fire it can project in most arcs. The sixteen medium naval autocannons of the Triad crusier, though formidable in its day, is simply insufficient for a more modern battlefield. 

Likewise, though in its day a fast ship able to easily keep pace with destroyers, the Triad cruiser was simply unable to keep up with newer, faster ships like the Taurian's Bulldog and Independence. Though the Triad cruiser enjoyed an advantage in armor over the smaller Taurian warships, this was not enough.

Perhaps worse still, these problems might have been corectable. The Triad crusier was as much a victim of outdated naval doctrines as age. The refit effort in the mid 25th century, in addition to correcting some serious problems in the Nova Zemlya class, had at the same time freed up enormous space, which would have allowed for at the very least an upgrade to the armament and armor, allowing the Triad crusiers to compete with more modern warships. Unfortunately, the high command of the AFFC, which had always favored its ground arm, instead saw the increased cargo capacity as a valuable commodity, allowing the cruisers to opperate as transports, carrying massive amounts of war supplies to support ground forces. The end result was a ship expected to fill the role of a front line combat vessel, but hobbled by an excessive cargo load so they could better transport supplies for ground forces.

When these ships were put against vessels built soely for ship to ship combat, it was only inevitable that they would come out on the short end.

Deployment:

One hundred Triad cruisers made up the core of the Davion assault fleet during the first years of the Reunification war, supported by a number of destroyers, frigates, and a handful of battleships. The Davion naval campaign was an unparraleled disaster as they faced off against the better trained, better handled, and arguably better equipped Taurian navy. Though the Taurian fleet relied on smaller ships, a combination of superior tactics and a higher quality of ship design resulted in a resounding Taurian victory, with over two dozen Davion warships, a third of the fleet, destroyed or captured in exchange for only moderate damage on three Taurian ships. Ultimately, it was the SLDF and not the Davion fleet that brought the Taurian fleet down.

After the war, the Davions knew that the end had come for the Triad cruiser. Alexander Davion authorized the replacement of the three classes in favor of the newer Rodney class cruiser right after the whipped and demoralized Davion assault fleet returned to the Federated Suns, though the process of replacement took many years to complete. A handful remained as training vessels, however, and about a third of the class was placed into mothballs rather than scrapped. These ships would prove a boon during the darkest days of the first succession war, their reactivation giving the Davion fleet an important boost when it needed it the most. However, in the end these last few warships fell with the rest of house Davion's armada. The last Triad cruiser, the Galax, was lost about one month before the end of the first succession war.