Type 51 Gunboat

Type 51-Class Gunboat
Production information
Manufacturer	Terran Alliance Terran Hegemony
Use	General Purpose Combatant Escort
Tech Base	Inner Sphere Experimental
Cost	8,834,958,000 C-bills
Introduced	2300
Technical specifications
Mass	50,000 Tons
Length
Width
Sail Diameter
Fuel	2,500 Tons (5,000)
Burn Rate	39.52
Safe Thrust	3
Top Thrust	5
Sail Integrity	3
KF Drive Integrity	3
LF Battery	No
Armament	Flight 1 - Main Weaponry x4 Capital Missile Launchers (White Shark) x2 Class 10, Naval Auto Cannon x8 LRM-20 Launchers x24 Class 5 Autocannons
Armor	Primitive Aerospace Armor
DropShip Capacity	0
Small Craft/ AeroSpace Fighters	2 / 12
Crew	?? Officers 92 Enlisted/non-rated 28 Marines
Grav Decks	1 (1 = 60 meter diameter)
Escape Pods/Life Boats	0 / 8
Heat Sinks	339
Structural Integrity	100
BV (1.0)
BV (2.0)	15,513

Overview

A creation of Liam's Ghost, the Type 51-Class Gunboat is what could be classified as a Primitive Combat JumpShip. Often referred to as a PreDreadnought, given modern era of WarShips was herald with launch of the THS Dreadnought, the first Warship. As the Dreadnought herself was father of all the Warships to come. The Type 51-Class was design to compliment and support the Dreadnought.

Class History

The Type 51 class Gunboat was designed as the Terran Alliance's complimentary military Jump ship to it's fleet which was being built. Admiral James Mckenna wasn't completely blind to what would happen once the Dreadnought entered service, and thus he ordered the Type 51 Gunboat created to expand the Alliance's early lead in the coming naval arms race. The Type 51 was a new type of ship.

Much like the Dreadnought itself, it was optimized for ship to ship combat, carrying the firepower, protection, and maneuverability to out fight even the largest armed merchantman in service at the time, all on a cheap, tiny hull which allowed the Alliance to produce large numbers of these ships quickly. With these powerful little ships available for home defense, this freed up the larger, more strategically mobile ships of the Alliance Navy for offensive operations. As it was a very successful design, the Type 51 would be widely copied and exported to other states (once the newly reorganized Terran Hegemony had enough true WarShips to replace them), and would see action throughout the Age of War and well into the Reunification War. It's design would prompt new designs to compete with the Type 51, while it was sold such powers as the Rim Worlds Republic and the Lyran Commonwealth in later years.

The design was update before being retired with additional weapons to keep it relevant against ever growing competition of newer designs.

Canonity

This is a design has never existed in canon. However it's technologies did exist prior to year 2300, writers of BattleTech have never explored or highlight potential pre-Dreadnought like-WarShips. Primitive JumpShip were never known to have been designed for heavy combat. While this seems unrealistic, this is a fact of writers not having to write in the age prior to advent of the genre's main theme, ground combat with BattleMechs.

Armament and Equipment

Faster than Dreadnought, the ship was intended as escort & supplement warship. The ship could reach speeds factor 5, using its sturdy hull weather in coming firepower from lesser foes. The ship armor lay out is even in all it's firing arcs, giving it a threshold 2, able handle 16 points of capital damage per facing.

The ship's primary weapons lies in nose, with four Capital Missile Launchers firing White Shark missiles and their nuclear type should be needed. It's "big" guns comes to a single Class 10 Naval Auto cannon (NAC/10), 1 mounted each it's Front side Arcs. These weapons per side have 100 rounds for the NAC/10 and 50 missiles for the Launcher.

It's secondary conventional weapons include; six Class 5 Autocannons (AC/5) Front Side and Aft Side Firing Arcs, complimented by pair of 20-tubed Long-Range Missile Launchers, with 36 rounds of firing per firing arc. Giving the ship significant throwing power against hard hit armed Small Craft and early Aerospace Fighters.

For boarding actions, the ship's pair of Small Craft can ferry it's 28 marines to take over any opposing ship it's Captain chooses.

Cargo

• Bay 1: Fighters (6) 1 Door
• Bay 2: Small Craft (2) 1 Door
• Bay 3: Cargo (1,560 tons) 1 Doors

Variants

• Flight II

  The Type 51 would receive upgrade in the later years of it's use prior its retirement after the Reunification War. The Flight II would enjoy slight increase of capital armor with nose armor increase to 16 points and it's side & aft up to 15 points, but still retaining 2 threshold from excessive damage. The ship retains the original quad of White Shark Missile Launchers in the nose, but the Naval Autocannons would be replaced by six Class 35 Naval Lasers, with 2 found in Capital Laser Bay in Front Right & Left firing arc, while the single laser is found each of the aft side firing arcs. The ship's original conventional LRM & Autocannon arrangements remain the same, as does the number of White Shark missile reloads of 50. Increase would be the ship's head sinks, remain the at total of 339, with maximum heat of weapons fire coming from the front left & right firing arcs.

Notes

• Editor Wiki Note 1 : The Type 51 has been reference in previous Fan Made Stories, thus why it specs posted here on the Fanon Wiki.

• Editor Wiki Note 2 : It's unclear if the design itself if non-primitive, but a actual Warship with less weapons. Author has not clarified it yet.

• Editor Wiki Note 3 : The original version of the Sampan Class Cutters which appears in the Ngo Megaverse Stories used the Type 51 as their prototypes making that AU.

Bibliography

• Big Book of Primitive Jumpships