Lyre class Heavy
Cruiser
In class: 90
In service: 2360 (2562)
Mass: 810,000
Sail Integrity: 4
Thrust: 2 / 3*
Fuel: 1,000 tons
Structural Integrity: 70
Armor: 1,134 ton, Standard (N: 80, FL/R: 84, AL/R: 84, A: 80)
Docking Collars: 4
Fighters: 18
Small Craft: 4
Crew: 289 minimum (50 Officers, 239 Enlisted)
Lifeboats: 25
Escape Pods: 25
Grav Decks: 3 90 meter
Cargo: 73,001 tons
Bay 1: Fighters (18) 6 doors
Bay 2: Small Craft (4) 2 doors
Bay 3: Cargo (73,001 tons) 2 doors
Weapons: (Heat Sinks: 6,000)
Forward
4 NL-45s
2 White Shark Missile Launchers
8 AC/10s
6 PPCs
Fore Left/Fore
Right
3 NAC/20s
2 Medium NPPCs
4 NL-45s
5 AC/10s
6 PPCs
Left
Broadside/Right Broadside
3 NAC/20s
2 Medium NPPCs
4 NL-45s
5 AC/10s
6 PPCs
Aft Left/Aft
Right
3 NAC/20s
2 Medium NPPCs
4 NL-45s
5 AC/10s
6 PPCs
Aft
4 NL-45s
2 White Shark Missile Launchers
8 AC/10s
6 PPCs
Ammo:
900 Rounds of Naval Autocannon/20 ammo
60 White Shark Missiles
920 Rounds of Autocannon/10 ammo
Refit Notes:
Upgraded with Modern Interplanetary Drive, same thrust rating 2/3
Armor:
1,133 ton, Imp. Ferro Aluminum (N: 113, FL/R: 124, AL/R: 124, A: 113)
Cargo: 129,018 tons (total)
Heat Sinks: +2,200 (8,200 total)
16 NAC/30s replaced the 18 NAC/20s (2 FL/R, 4 L/RBS, 2 FL/R)
14 Heavy NPPCs replaced the 12 Medium NPPCs (3 FL/R, 1 L/RBS, 3 FL/R)
32 NL-55s replaced the 32 NL-45s
4 Killer Whale Missile Launchers replaced the 4 White Shark Missile Launchers
Same amount of ammunition
Overview:
The first two Lyran warships,
the Freedom class Corvette and the Marsden class Destroyer, were completed by the
Shipil Company at the shipyards above Skye. Now next in line was to be a
Cruiser design as specified by the 1st Lyran Naval Law. The Lyran
Navy was quick to submit specifications for the new Cruiser bid to the Archons.
Some Archons saw this bid as a chance to personally profit during those
extremely tough economic times that swept the early Commonwealth. These Archons
argued that this class warship could be any vessel within the Cruiser
designation; from a Battlecruiser to a Light Cruiser. Using the Archons’ very vague
Cruiser specs the bidding for this new warship was now thrown wide open. All
kinds of proposals were floated to the Navy nearly throwing the ship’s
construction schedule off completely. Three finalists were chosen as much for
knowing the right Archon as for the worthiness of their Cruiser designs. Bowie
Industries of Dell submitted their basic catchall Cruiser design named the
Triumph class which displaced 720,000 tons exactly what the Navy had called for
originally. (Editor’s Note: The Triumph designs were purchased by Shipil after
the Cruiser bidding was concluded. The company eventually used the basic hull
design for their new and very successful Victory class Frigate). Wallace Ship
Constructors of Kessel presented their inspired Nightstalker class Light
Cruiser design which weighed in at nearly 680,000 tons. This design featured
impressive speed and maneuverability. Finally a brand new naval designer,
Commonwealth Boat Manufacturers, proposed the huge Lyre class Heavy Cruiser
that displaced a little over 810,000 tons. CBM ultimately won the bidding war
but not just because of their slogan “bigger is better”. This young company did
have the latest and largest shipyards in the Commonwealth at this time. Only
CBM was capable of building such a large ship like the Lyre but what their
facilities lacked was the ability to manufacture a Compact KF Core. The
company’s founder, Justin Day, was able to turn this negative into a positive
by successfully negotiating a deal with Hartford Shipyards of Furillo and Bowie
Industries to supply parts (including the KF Core) for the new Lyre. Also Day’s
close friendship with Archon Robert Marsden helped win the bid. Marsden was a
staunch supporter of the Lyre class and was instrumental in getting the design
approved mainly for security reasons. The Draconis Combine was beginning a
large military buildup and had already raided a number of Lyran border worlds.
CBMs location on Gibbs was the farthest from the Lyran borders of any shipyards
and therefore a safe location. Marsden’s argument for a safe location may have
been motivated by his fear that one day the Commonwealth might disintegrate. As
shown by the whole Cruiser design process the system of the nine Archons was
ineffective and endangering the Commonwealth. Marsden may have only been
supporting a Donegal naval manufacturer or planting the seeds for his takeover
of the Lyran nation, this is only speculation however.
Capabilities:
There are many similarities
between the Lyre and the Arcturus class Battleship mainly because they were
built by the same company. The Cruiser mounted some formidable capital
weaponry; like eighteen Naval Autocannon 20s, twelve Medium Naval Particle
Projection Cannons, thirty two Naval Laser 45s, and four White Shark Missile
Launchers. Supplementing the capital armament were forty six Autocannon 10s and
forty eight Particle Projection Cannons. The Lyre also had ample protection for
the time mounting over one thousand one hundred tons of standard naval armor.
The warship was equipped with Type I Fusion Engines that could propel the ship
to a maximum of 1.5Gs. Like the Arcturus the Lyre had four docking collars that
enabled it to carry assault dropship support or ground forces. One wing of
aerospace fighters and four small craft are also included for supporting
operations. Three ninety meter grav decks helped the crew relax during long
term missions. Seventy three thousand tons of cargo enabled the Cruiser to
undertake extended missions and help supply other warships accompanying it as
well.
Two hundred years after it originally entered service the Lyre class underwent a massive refit. Taking advantage of advanced Terran Hegemony technology just after the signing of the Tharkan Accords all of the Cruisers capital weaponry was replaced. The Naval Laser 45s were exchanged by the larger Naval Laser 55s and four Killer Whale Missile Launchers replaced the 4 White Shark Missile Launchers. The ship’s main weaponry was refitted but only on a limited scale to compensate for some the design’s limitations. Sixteen Naval Autocannon 30s replaced the eighteen Naval Autocannon 20s and fourteen Heavy Naval Particle Projection Cannons replaced the twelve Medium Naval Particle Projection Cannons. A new arrangement for the NACs and the NPPCs was necessary in order to fit the existing systems on ship. Although the Cruiser’s firepower was markedly increased by the refit, these limitations would lead to the development of the Gauntlet class Heavy Cruiser. To handle the extra heat generated by the upgraded weapons array two thousand two hundred heat sinks were added. A modern fusion drive was installed on the Lyre which added to the ship’s cargo space and offset the upgraded weapons. However, the vessel was still only capable of 1.5Gs of thrust at maximum burn. Finally the ship’s armor was replaced by new Improved Ferro Aluminum plating which helped increase the vessel’s protection by about a third.
Deployment:
Ships of the Lyre class were usually named after instruments of war; like the Gauntlet, the Broadsword, the Battleaxe, and the Warhammer. A total of ninety ships were built over the next fifty years by Commonwealth Boat Manufacturers and it’s partners (Bowie and Furillo produced forty of these vessels at their facilities, 20 each). The Lyre class had a long and distinguished record seeing from the time of Robert Marsden’s seizure of power to the Reunification War. Despite an extensive refit before the war the Lyre was gradually phased out of active service by the new Gauntlet class Heavy Cruiser (which was named in honor of one of the Lyre class ships destroyed during the Reunification War). Many ships were scrapped; others were mothballed, while a lucky few continued to serve on as training vessels. When the Star League fell every remaining Lyre was once again pressed into front line service. The early years of the Succession Wars would claim all of these Lyres of course.
Explanation
Both the Lyre and the Arcturus fluff were inspired by Irose’s and my previous Lyran designs. His Victory had significant differences from my other early Lyran ships. For example, ships engines like my type 1 are double the size of type 3 modern engines while Irose’s type 2 would fall somewhere in between. Also the in fluff competition was based on Lyran designs I had planned originally but with the posting of the Victory I decided to change. What I tried to do with the fluff on these two ships was to fully integrate our designs together. Thanks again for your support and Irose hope everything is okay with the fluff. If not it is open to further revision.