Venture class Heavy Cruiser
In class: 17
In service: 2752
Mass: 980,000
Sail Integrity: 5
Thrust: 3/5
Fuel: 1,000 tons
Structural Integrity: 120
Armor: 2352 ton, Ferro Carbide (N: 325, FL/R: 326, AL/R: 326, A: 325)
Docking Collars: 3
Fighters: 18
Small Craft: 8
Crew: 361 minimum (64 Officers, 297 Enlisted)
Marines: 63 (1 Company of
Jump Infantry)
Lifeboats: 40
Escape Pods: 40
Grav Decks: 4 120 meters in diameter
Cargo: 58,038 tons
Bay 1: Fighters (18) 4 doors
Bay 2: Small Craft (8) 4 doors / Marines (3 platoons)
Bay 3: Cargo (58,038 tons) 4 doors
Weapons: (Heat Sinks: 8,700)
Forward
3 Medium NPPCs
6 NL/45s
4 White
Shark Missile Launchers
Fore Left/Fore Right
4 NAC 30s
3 Medium
NPPCs
6 NL/45s
4 White
Shark Missile Launchers
Left Broadside/Right Broadside
3 Medium NPPCs
6 NL/45s
4 White
Shark Missile Launchers
Aft Left/Aft Right
4 NAC 30s
3 Medium
NPPCs
6 NL/45s
4 White
Shark Missile Launchers
Aft
3 Medium NPPCs
6 NL/45s
4 White
Shark Missile Launchers
Ammo:
640 Naval Autocannon Rounds
320 White Shark Missiles
Overview:
Built during the decline of the Star League the Venture
class Heavy Cruiser marked the start of the Lyran Navy’s desperate effort to
modernize before the Succession Wars. Heavy Cruisers led by the Gauntlet and
Brandenburg classes had become the core of the top heavy Lyran Navy. In fact
when the Edict of 2650 was proclaimed the Arcturus class Battleship (which was
the Lyran equivalent of the Terran Monsoon) was upgraded and redesignated a
Heavy Cruiser rather than mothballed or scrapped. Add to this that some of the
oldest Lyran Cruisers, the Lyre, were still allowed to remain on active duty.
Many Lyran’s returning to
service in their nation’s navy following tours with the SLDF realized the need
for a considerable upgrade. However, it took these Lyran SLDF influenced
officers many years to successful navigate the social circles of the
Commonwealth military. When the Star League High Council approved a military
buildup by the Great Houses in 2752 these progressive Lyran Admirals made their
move.
Traditional Lyran Admirals
that still held influence over the Navy insisted on the construction of a fifth
Heavy Cruiser. Rather than argue with these conservative elements Admiral Erik
Holstein, leader of the progressive Lyran naval officers, embraced their call.
Holstein reasoned that if they designed this mammoth vessel with progressive
upgrades the improvement would be enough to convince many traditionalists that
such improvements were needed.
Capabilities:
The largest Heavy Cruiser of the period the Venture was
nearly the size of the House Davion’s Iron Duke. Too some naval experts the
Venture even appeared bigger than the Iron Duke because of the later ship’s
incredibly compact hull. Despite the ship’s large size it was a radical design
for the Lyran Navy. It’s huge engine could propel the vessel to a maximum of
2.5Gs which was average for the rest of the InnerSphere but faster than the
Commonwealth’s plodding warships. Likewise, the fuel tanks were the largest
featured on any Lyran Heavy Cruiser but were still smaller than average.
Perhaps the greatest asset of the Venture class was it’s formidable armor.
Ironically, this was do to the fact that the vessel’s superior speed enabled
greater structural integrity. This improved structural integrity combined with
cutting edge Ferro Carbide armor gave the Venture incredible durability. In
fact this ship featured more overall armor protection then the Star League’s
venerable Texas class Battleship. It is important to note that the Texas still
had better broadside armor then the Venture. Designers were also able to
include an impressive arsenal featuring long range capital weapons. The
vessel’s main armament was sixteen Naval Autocannon 30s placed in eight large
turrets. Supporting the NACs were twenty four Medium NPPCs and forty eight
NL/45s. These energy based weapons enhanced the Venture’s main armament and
were excellent for orbital bombardment if needed. Thirty two White Shark
Missile Launchers were also included to takeout enemy dropships and to a lesser
extent fighters. Per standard Lyran design doctrine for cruisers only one wing of aerospace fighters was
included for defense. This did seem to hamper the operational capability of the
Venture which seemed vulnerable to massed fighter attacks. Designers countered
that the three docking collars on the ship could all accommodate dropship
fighter carriers.
Deployment:
The Venture proved to be such
an overwhelming success in it‘s early trails that many in the Lyran Navy were
convinced of the need for improvements. Many new Lyran designs that followed;
such as the Intrepid, the Mosquito, and the Potemkin, owed their existence to
the success of the Venture. The design’s originator, Admiral Holstein, went on
to become Fleet Admiral of the Lyran Navy and commanded it at the battle of
Skondia were he was killed in action. The class quickly developed a reputation
for toughness throughout the InnerSphere and ultimately drove it’s enemies to
think of radical new ways to damage her. Unfortunately, as many who crewed the
Venture thought, it was not impossible to destroy the warship. During the 1st
Succession War the FWLN and the DCA came up with several effective methods of
disposing with their “invincible” Lyran counterparts. Rather than on taking
Lyran fleets they would attack the Commonwealth’s naval infrastructure,
particularly fueling stations, which their navy was to slow to effectively
defend. Crippled by fuel shortages the Commonwealth’s enemies would move in and
then destroy their formidable fleets. This proved tougher than expected however
as too many ships were lost by both the FWLN and the DCA. Both resorted to
tactical nuclear attacks to destroy Ventures and Thors. Marik attackers found
that massed fighter attacks from their Varyag class Carriers did the trick in
most cases. Kurita developed the most sinister tactic to destroy Lyran capital
ships, Kamikaze Jumps. In many cases using a standard civilian jumpships Kurita
pilots would jump right into a Commonwealth warship twisting both vessels
inside out completely destroying both. At the battle of Skondia alone three
Venture’s (the LCS Crusader, the LCS Dreadnought, the LCS Audacious) and 5
other warships were destroyed in this fashion. The recently formed Lyran Naval
Renovation Committee has concluded that no Venture class warship could be
salvaged mainly do to the ways in which they were destroyed. However, since the
design schematics have now been uncovered it is not infeasible that the Archon
may approve another construction run of these formidable ships.
Notable Ships:
The LCS Endeavor under the command of Kommodore Marissa
Sanders earned it’s reputation during the 3rd battle for Hesperus II
which occurred in March 2789. The Endeavor together with the LCS Granite (an
Arcturus class Heavy Cruiser) had just taken up station days before the Marik
attack. The commanding officer of the Lyran Navy, Fleet Admiral Oscar Dewey,
commanded the battle from his ship the Granite. The Granite was quickly put on the
defensive by a furious attack by the FWLS Devastator. This left a majority of
Marik aerospace fighters and the FWLS Skulker to deal with the Endeavor.
Already low on fuel Kommodore Sanders spurred her crew onward as the warships
traded volleys with one another. Eventually the Endeavor got the better of the
Skulker and destroyed her taking heavy damage in the process. Before the Marik
forces left system Kommodore Sanders made the brave decision to picking up the
Granite’s survivors which brought the warship dangerously close to the planet.
The Free Worlds League forces seeing the Endeavor had not been destroyed chose
to break off the attack and retreat rather than face the fury of one of the
Commonwealth’s most deadly warships.
The LCS Enterprise gained notoriety as an indestructible Lyran warship that served on the Draconis front during the 1st Succession War. The ship first gained fame at the battle of Skondia when it survived massive fighter attacks and managed to still destroy four Combine warships, including a Hie class Battleship during rearguard actions. The Enterprise went on to fight with distinction in a majority of the naval battles along the Kurita border throughout the war. To the shock of Draconis commanders during the battle of Dieron the Enterprise even appeared to survive a direct nuclear attack. A fighter from the Enterprise had actually sacrificed itself to intercept the nuke strike and the ship managed to jump out of system. Severely damaged in that attack the Enterprise was repaired and once again sent back to the Draconis front. Each time the ship survived it seemed to spur her opponents on to try even harder to destroy her. Finally in 2821, the Enterprise was cornered without fuel in an uninhabited system one jump rimward of Altenmarkt. An all out attack was commenced upon the Enterprise. After losing yet another warship, Draconis forces withdrew to a safe distance. Incredibly, even though she was crippled and on fire, the Enterprise remained. The Kurita commander ordered a simultaneous dual Kamikaze Jump Attack on the ship in order to make sure she was finished. The twisted hulk of what used to be the Enterprise strangely appears to live on however as some strange phenomenon have been reported from those traveling through system. Lostech prospectors who boarded the derelict seemed to disappeared themselves, for this reason the site is usually avoided. Another effect of the Enterprise’s destruction seemed to be the end of the 1st Succession War. It appeared that with her destruction the Dragon could now rest.