Riga Type: Destroyer In Class: 60 at its height In Service: 2747 Mass: 600,000 Sail Integrity: 4 Thrust: 4/6 Fuel: 9000 tons Structural Integrity: 60 Armor: 540 tons of Lamellor Ferro Carbide (100+6 fore and aft, 85+6 sides) Docking Collars: 2 Fighters: 36 Small Craft: 5 Crew: 240 Lifeboats: 20 Escape Pods: 30 Grav Decks: 2, 140 and 65 meter Cargo: 59,562 Bay 1: Cargo 1 door Bay 2: Small Craft 2 doors Bay 3: Aerofighters 6 doors Other Equipment: Lithium Fusion Battery, HPG Weapons: Heatsinks: 579(1158) Forward: 2 Naval Autocannon 40s 4 Medium Naval PPCs 4 Barracuda Launchers Fore Left / Fore Right 2 Naval Laser 45s 2 Naval Laser 35s Left Broadside / Right Broadside 2 Naval Autocannon 30s 4 Barracuda Launchers Aft Left / Aft Right 2 Naval Laser 45s 2 Naval Laser 35s Aft 4 Naval Laser 45s 4 Naval Laser 35s Ammo: 200 rounds of NAC 40 ammo 400 rounds of NAC 30 ammo 120 Barracuda Designer's notes: Converted somewhat on the fly using the AT2 recordsheet for the York and the entry in TR3057. Therefore the tonnage may be slightly off, though not disastrously so. Overview: From technical readout 3057: "Launched in 2747, the Riga Class destroyer/carrier takes its name from a Hegemony frigate launched more than 300 years earlier. The modern Riga was rushed into production after the death of First Lord Simon Cameron on the distant world of Stars End. With Alexandr Kerensky acting as regent for the 8-year old Richard Cameron, a war between the member-states looked increasingly likely. Sixty of the vessels had deployed before the dreadful events of Christmas 2766. Most of these Rigas were deployed in the Periphery, but a few remained in the Hegemony. Two of these vessels became the first victims of Jonathan Cameron's Reagan Space Defense System, which hit them with ground based lasers and particle cannons as they maneuvered to support SLDF units fighting for survival in the Hegemony capital of Geneva." Okay, that's a whole lot more succinct and to the point than I have ever been able to manage. What more really needs to be said? Capabilities: Though classified as a destroyer, the Riga doesn't quite fit in that category. Unlike other destroyers of her time, such as the Essex, the Riga was neither cheap nor produced in particularly large numbers. She is, by everyone's best classification, something in a gray area between frigates, destroyers, and carriers, built to opperate independently and handle potentially any threat she could expect to meet. Though not stunningly well armed, with only six heavy guns backed by five naval laser batteries, the Riga makes up for this with its large integral complement of six fighter squadrons. Backing up these offensive weapons are twelve barracuda missile tubes, providing the majority of the fighter defense. However, these missiles cannot provide coverage to the ship's exposed aft, a design oversight brought about by the rush to deploy the ship. This means that the Riga must depend on its integral fighter complement in order to protect its vunerable tail from hostile fighters. For a destroyer, the Riga's armor protection is exceptional. Better than five hundred tons of the most advanced armor available cover the hull of the ship, allowing it to take hits that would leave other, larger ships in serious trouble. Deployment: Numerous Rigas were produced in the early years of the Regency. However, when it became apparent that war wasn't going to break out (yet), production of the expensive destroyer class was greatly slowed, finally grinding to a halt in 2766. Though expensive, most naval officers loved the ship, and its basic design would have a great deal of influence over later vessels like the Nergal class assault carrier and Genesis class destroyer. Though the ultimate fate of most of the class has already been documented and I see no point in further repeating what has already been said, in recent years more information about the possible fate of two ships in this class, the Golden Hind and Vasa, was uncovered on the Davion world of June. In 3060 agents of MIIO, opperating on an anonymous tip, aprehended one Samuel Ringe at a local bar on June. Ringe, wanted for acts of piracy committed on Skye in 3011, gave himself up freely to the agents. [editor's note: MIIO taking interest in a piracy case, especially a forty nine year old one that took place in another successor state is unusual in the extreme. This certainly raises the possibility that they knew precisely what Ringe could give them in advance, and certainly lends credence to his story.] While in the custody of MIIO, Ringe revealed that in 3016 he was employed by one Sal Bremmerman, a trillionair industrialist from June, to act as an escort for a deep range exploration and salvage opperation. During the opperation, Ringe claims that they uncovered a pair of Riga class destroyers, identified as the Golden Hind and Vasa (which were originally reported destroyed in the Rim Worlds Republic during the Amaris Coup). However, the ships were too badly dammaged to recover with the equipment they had on hand, so they were forced to leave their prizes behind. [editor's note: This Sal Bremmerman is the very same Sal Bremmerman that some claim the Order assassinated in 3025 in connection with another lost ship story. Of course, I know nothing about any such nefarious plot. After all, I heard the poor guy had a heart attack.] Though the Federated Commonwealth officially declared that Ringe was nothing more than a pirate looking to get out of trouble, there is some indication that an expedition was sent out shortly before the civil war began to investigate the region of space indicated by Ringe. They were unable to find anything before the Civil War forced them to return home, and officially the matter is closed. As for Mr. Ringe, given his age and his lack of a real criminal record (his only recorded crime is the single act of piracy from nearly fifty years ago) the Federated Commonwealth officially dropped all charges pending against him, allowing him to live out the rest of his life, which was fairly short. He died peacefully in his sleep about a week later.