special thanks to Wolfcannon for bringing this ship and others to my attention. Winchester Type: Heavy Cruiser In Class: 112 at its height In Service: 2343 Mass: 650,000 Sail Integrity: 4 Thrust: 2/3 Fuel: 2000 tons Structural Integrity: 70 Armor: 910 tons of standard armor (364, 60+ 7 fore and aft, 61+7 sides) Docking Collars: 3 Fighters: 18 Small Craft: 6 Crew: 400 Lifeboats: 0 Escape Pods: 30 Grav Decks: 2 85 meter Cargo: 51,733 Bay 1: Cargo 1 door Bay 2: Small Craft 2 doors Bay 3: Aerofighters 6 doors Weapons: Heatsinks: 1395 Forward: 6 Naval Autocannon 20s Fore Left / Fore Right 2 Naval Autocannon 20s 5 Autocannon 10s Left Broadside / Right Broadside 3 Naval Autocannon 20s Aft Left / Aft Right 2 Naval Autocannon 20s 3 White Shark Launchers 5 Autocannon 10s Aft 3 White Shark Launchers Ammo: 500 tons of naval AC ammo 500 tons of AC 10 ammo 90 White Shark Designers Notes: KF drive calculated as 50% of the ship's mass. Engine mass is twice that of normal. Overview: The original plans for what would become the Winchester class heavy cruiser were first drawn up in 2290, six years after the launch of the Dart class cruiser. An ambitious design for her time, the original Winchester was designed around a then radical battery of a dozen broadside firing naval autocannons backed up by prototype antiship missile systems and a massive spinally mounted particle accelerator. Unfortunately, the design would never see the light of day. Though the Winchester was a radical design that (if it could be made to work) would provide firepower far beyond that of the Dart, the simple fact was that nearly every component that would go into it was only (at best) in the prototype stage. Though the design had promise, the chaotic Terran Alliance Parliament would not (and probably could not) provide the massive funding needed to make the design a reality, not when they had the "perfectly adequate" Dart. So, the design languished unrealized for fifty years. In 2340, with the Terran Alliance long since dead and the thriving Terran Hegemony in power in its place, the design for the Winchester was revisited. After two years of extensive redesign work and a year of construction at the newly established Blue Nose Clipperships yards, the THS Winchester was launched amid great fanfare. Capabilities: The Winchester underwent a great many changes to take advantage of the advances in naval technology. The most readily apparent of these was the deletion of the problematic spinal gun from the design. Though it had seemed like a good idea at the time of the Winchester's initial development, designers envisioned no end of problems for it. The least of these being that since the gun would be fixed forward, and therefore the entire ship would have to turn to aim it, there was little or no chance that it could be used effectively against a mobile target. [editor's note: despite this, and other, more dangerous problems with the concept, the Star League would once again revisit the idea of the spinal gun with their Cornet class cruiser in 2766. Apparently young Richard Cameron had a fondness for really big guns. Once again the concept would prove pretty much worthless in a mobile battle and even dangerous to use.] The twelve naval autocannons of the original design were replaced by twenty state of the art guns with roughly twice the firepower of the original models. Six of these were mounted forward, taking the place of the original spinal gun. The other fourteen were distributed along the broadsides in dual and triple turrets. Backing these guns up were nine launchers for Redtail antiship missiles. Though a worthwhile suplement for the original design, these antiship missiles were pretty much superfluous given the firepower of the new cannons. In 2360 the Redtails were replaced with the first versions of the venerable White Shark, providing similar firepower to the Redtail while at the same time featuring a more advanced internal guidance package that allowed the missile to engage aerospace fighters. As a further suplement to the existing armament, the Winchester carried several batteries of conventional autocannons. These guns were a vast improvement over the secondary guns of the Dart, featuring a higher rate of fire and an increased muzzle velocity. When tied into the Winchesters more advanced fire control system, these guns proved to be an exceptional defense against aerospace fighters, especially when supported by the Winchester's own complement of fighters. For defense, the Winchester relies on just over nine hundred tons of armor. This newer armor provides nearly three times the protection of the Dart's obsolete plate. This, combined with the heavy armament, made the Winchester the powerhouse of her day and the big gun of the Hegemony fleet until the introduction of the Monsoon and Aegis. Deployment: Winchesters served admirably in the Hegemony fleet for about a hundred years, however the introduction of the Aegis may have contributed to their early fade into obscurity. By the start of the Age of War, about half of the class had been converted into Wagon Wheel class frigates, and the rest were opperating on reduced duty. Soon after that, the Hegemony began retiring the class. Though a handful were scrapped, many were sold to other states. One of the biggest buyers of Winchesters was the Taurian Concordat, who purchased a dozen Winchesters along with several Wagon Wheels and Pinto class corvettes. These ships, heavily upgraded in the mid 26th century, proved to be tenacious foes to the SLDF during the Reunification war. Ironically enough, it is for its exceptional service in the Tarian fleet that the Winchester class is best known for. Other states also made use of a handful of Winchesters, though none to the same success as the Taurians. The last Winchester class vessel (in service with house Davion) was retired in 2612.