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PostPosted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:58 am 
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General
General

Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:20 pm
Posts: 1201
Location: Hattiesburg, MS
An ancient Terran Alliance design, the Dart was obsolete long before the start of the Reunification War. In the entry below, you will see the 'complete makeover' the Taurian Concordat made of the eight Dart class vessels sold to its Navy prior to the War.
Code:
                    AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout
                                  VALIDATED

Class/Model/Name:  Dart II [Troop Cruiser] 
Tech:              Inner Sphere / 2750
Vessel Type:       WarShip
Rules:             Level 2, Custom design
Rules Set:         AeroTech2

Mass:              680,000 tons
K-F Drive System:  (Unknown)
Length:            703 meters
Sail Diameter:     1,135 meters
Power Plant:       Standard
Safe Thrust:       2
Maximum Thrust:    3
Armor Type:        Standard
Armament:          
    8 Killer Whale
    8 White Shark
    8 Barracuda
   32 Heavy NPPC
   16 NL55
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==Overview:==
Sold to the Taurian Concordat by the Terran Hegemony in 2562, the eight
Cruisers of the Dart class were intended to be a weapons sale that would prove
of little use to the Concordat.  The eight hulls sold had been stripped of
weapons, fire control computers, tracking radars, and all other electronics,
except for that required to navigate the ship.

Already anticipating the Reunification War to come, Star League military
leaders hoped that the Concordat would waste time and money trying to restore
the Darts to their original configuration.

The Concordat did not even try.  Knowing they were receiving empty shells,
they already had a plan to rearm the ships in their own style.  Upon meeting
the refitted Darts in combat, Star League captains anticipated an easy fight. 
After the first encounter, they dreaded seeing a Dart II appear on their
scanners.

==Capabilities:==
The Darts delivered to the Concordat had been long considered obsolete, had
the acceleration of a transport, and while they mounted heavy armor on a
reinforced frame, also carried six docking collars.

Naval engineers of the Concordat pondered the problem, and then rolled up
their sleeves and went to work.  Their first idea--a conversion of the ship to
carry no less than 144 aerospace fighters--proved to be unworkable.  Too much
of the internal structure would have to be removed to allow transfer elevators
between the various flight decks.  That plan was scrapped.

Then, a brilliant young engineer by the name of Michael Bolivar hit upon a
possible solution.  Since these ships already had the speed of transports, and
six docking collars, why not transform them into troop cruisers?  Ships
dedicated to carrying the ground forces of the TDF into the toughest fights
and deploying them from orbit.

This design may well be the source of the later Star League Potemkin class. 
The six collars were retained, and no effort was made to increase the thrust. 
Armor was maximized, but the heavy internal structure suffered no reduction.

Sixteen aerospace fighters and four small craft were embarked.  Room was
found--barely--for the space to place the hangers among the massive structural
supports.

Massive internal fuel tanks were added--14,400 tons worth.  Also added were a
year's worth of life support, food, and water, as well as 17,000 tons of spare
parts.  25,292 tons of cargo volume was retained in the design.

For the crew of three hundred and seven, one hundred and fifty marines, and
fifty-three passengers, both of the 145-meter grav decks were retained and
restored to full functionality.

Armament was not quite what the Taurian--or Star League--Navy expected. 
Twenty-four Norman/Raytheon capital missile launchers gave an exceptional
anti-fighter capacity, as well as a limited nuclear strike potential.  Eight
launchers each of the Barracuda, White Shark, and Killer Whale class were
mounted, one per arc.  Each launcher had a 30-missile magazine, while the
Killer Whales had a second 5-missile magazine containing nuclear tipped
missiles.

Sixteen Martin-Gordan Sunburn Class 55 Naval Lasers were also fitted, in twin
mounts, with one mount per firing arc.  But the real weapons of the design
were the thirty-two High Energy Systems Nova class Heavy Naval PPCs.  These
weapons were mounted in bays of four, one per firing arc.  Capable of
destroying enemy corvettes and destroyers at ranges of 900 kilometers, the
Quad Nova mounts were what made the Dart II so feared.

To add insult to the Star League's injury, enough heat sinks were provided to
fire every weapon simultaneously.  As a product of Taurian innovation, the
Dart II was terrific.  But that was cold comfort to the sailors of the Star
League that had to face these ships that the Hegemony had sold their enemies.

==Variants:==
Itself a variant, the Taurians never made any additional Dart II class
cruisers.

==Notable Vessels & Crews:==
Below are listed all known Dart II class vessels in service with the Taurian
Concordat.

Longbow (SCL-013)
Quarrel (SCL-014)
Tomahawk (SCL-015)
Harpoon (SCL-016)
Javelin (SCL-017)
Arrow (SCL-018)
Pilum (SCL-019)
Spear (SCL-020)

==Deployment==
The first refitted Dart II entered service with the Fleet in 2566--the last in
2573.  Until 2585, they served alongside other transport vessels, using their
heavy firepower to protect vital convoys and moving troops from world to
world.  Though they did engage the enemy during this time, they proved too
important to risk at such fights as Robsart.

This all changed when the Taurian Guards Corps was selected to counter-attack
at Diefenbaker.  All eight of the Dart II class in service were assembled into
Task Force 44, along with fourteen smaller transports and auxiliaries.  Their
only mission was to get the Guards to the surface of Diefenbaker.

Escorting Task Force 44 were the twenty-seven WarShips of Task Force 77, with
two Calderon class battleships leading from the front.  On February 2, 2585,
the Combined Fleet jumped into Diefenbaker.  The surprised SDLF ships
defending the zenith point died under the guns of eight Dart IIs and two
Calderons.

Not one Taurian ship was lost.

Task Force 44 headed straight for the planet, while Task Force 77 provided
cover.  Two light naval groups had been left to cover the planet and III Corps
transports.  The Darts had no difficulty in wiping out those defenders and
settling into orbit.

Immediately afterwards, they dropped the Guards directly atop III Corps on the
planet below.  For four solid months, the ground battle raged, as the SLDF
tried to drive Task Force 44 and Task Force 77 from the system.  Though
casulties were high, morale among the Concordat forces was even higher, as
their ground forces were slowly defeating the Star League juggernaught below.

Finally, it came to an end.  Task Force 77 was forced to withdraw in the face
of a massive Star League reinforcement that arrived on 7 May, 2585.  They
attempted to slow the Star League ships to allow Task Force 44 time to
withdraw as well, but the odds were too great, and after losing a dozen ships
had to flee.

Admiral Amanda Givens, commander of Task Force 44 knew her command had no hope
of outrunning the Star League forces--and Diefenbaker lacked pirate points. 
She held her position and waited for the SLDF to come to her.  In the
resulting battle, all of Task Force 44 was destroyed, though her eight Dart
IIs took seventeen of the enemy with them.

Shortly thereafter, with the help of massive orbital fire support, the last
surviving members of III Corps finally destroyed the Taurian Guards on the
surface of Diefenbaker.  3rd Diefenbaker proved a victory for the SLDF, but
the Star League III Corps was now just a shadow of itself.  Operations in III
Corps Sector ground to a halt for two years as it reconstituted, while the
Davion Auxiliary Corps took over the offensive role against Montour.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class/Model/Name:  Dart II [Troop Cruiser] 
Mass:              680,000 tons

Equipment:                                                            Mass  
Power Plant, Drive & Control:                                       81,600.00
Thrust:  Safe Thrust: 2
      Maximum Thrust: 3
Kearny-Fuchida Hyperdrive:  Compact (Integrity = 14)               307,700.00
Jump Sail (Detachable): (Integrity = 4)                                 64.00
Structural Integrity: 90                                            61,200.00
Total Heat Sinks:    8,920 Single                                    8,472.00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps:                                                  14,688.00
Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters:              1,700.00
Fire Control Computers:                                                   .00
Food & Water:  (360 days supply)                                       918.00
Armor Type:  Standard  (544 total armor pts)                         1,224.00
                           Capital Scale Armor Pts
   Location:                            L / R
   Fore:                                 91
   Fore-Left/Right:                   91/91
   Aft-Left/Right:                    91/91
   Aft:                                  89

Cargo:
   Bay 1:  Fighters (8) with 2 doors                                 1,200.00
           Small Craft (2) with 1 door                                 400.00
   Bay 2:  Fighters (8) with 2 doors                                 1,200.00
           Small Craft (2) with 1 door                                 400.00
   Bay 3:  Cargo (1) with 2 doors                                   25,292.00

DropShip Capacity:  6 Docking Hardpoints                             6,000.00
Grav Decks #1 - 2:  (145-meter diameter)                               200.00

Crew and Passengers:
     44 Officers (44 minimum)                                          440.00
    139 Crew (137 minimum)                                             973.00
     72 Gunners (72 minimum)                                           504.00
     20 1st Class Passengers                                           200.00
     33 2nd Class Passengers                                           231.00
    150 Marines                                                        750.00
     52 Bay Personnel                                                     .00
Weapons and Equipment      Loc        SRV    MRV    LRV    ERV  Heat    Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Killer Whale(35 msls)    Nose         4      4      4      4   20  1,900.00
1 White Shark(30 msls)     Nose         3      3      3      3   15  1,320.00
1 Barracuda(30 msls)       Nose         2      2      2      2   10    990.00
4 Heavy NPPC               Nose        60     60     60     60  900 12,000.00
2 NL55                     Nose        11     11     11     11  170  2,200.00
1 Killer Whale(35 msls)    FL/R         4      4      4      4   40  3,800.00
1 White Shark(30 msls)     FL/R         3      3      3      3   30  2,640.00
1 Barracuda(30 msls)       FL/R         2      2      2      2   20  1,980.00
4 Heavy NPPC               FL/R        60     60     60     60 1800 24,000.00
2 NL55                     FL/R        11     11     11     11  340  4,400.00
1 Killer Whale(35 msls)    L/RBS        4      4      4      4   40  3,800.00
1 White Shark(30 msls)     L/RBS        3      3      3      3   30  2,640.00
1 Barracuda(30 msls)       L/RBS        2      2      2      2   20  1,980.00
4 Heavy NPPC               L/RBS       60     60     60     60 1800 24,000.00
2 NL55                     L/RBS       11     11     11     11  340  4,400.00
1 Killer Whale(35 msls)    AL/R         4      4      4      4   40  3,800.00
1 White Shark(30 msls)     AL/R         3      3      3      3   30  2,640.00
1 Barracuda(30 msls)       AL/R         2      2      2      2   20  1,980.00
4 Heavy NPPC               AL/R        60     60     60     60 1800 24,000.00
2 NL55                     AL/R        11     11     11     11  340  4,400.00
1 Killer Whale(35 msls)    Aft          4      4      4      4   20  1,900.00
1 White Shark(30 msls)     Aft          3      3      3      3   15  1,320.00
1 Barracuda(30 msls)       Aft          2      2      2      2   10    990.00
4 Heavy NPPC               Aft         60     60     60     60  900 12,000.00
2 NL55                     Aft         11     11     11     11  170  2,200.00
1 Lot Spare Parts (2.50%)                                           17,000.00
1 Bay Personnel Quarters                                               364.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                                            Heat: 8,920     680,000.00
Tons Left:                                                                .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        7,175,803,200 C-Bills
Battle Value:      118,780
Cost per BV:       60,412.55
Weapon Value:      56,578 (Ratio = .48)
Damage Factors:    SRV = 5,880;  MRV = 5,880;  LRV = 4,653;  ERV = 1,894
Maintenance:       Maintenance Point Value (MPV) = 483,767
                   (70,817 Structure, 137,870 Life Support, 275,080 Weapons)
                   Support Points (SP) = 565,875  (117% of MPV)
BattleForce2:      Not applicable


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 12:32 pm 
Offline
Commanding General
Commanding General

Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2007 5:28 pm
Posts: 1828
Anytime you can effectively combine a transport, with a convoy escort, especially on a recycled hull, you free other escorts for offensive duty. This design really seems to fit with your version of the TCs use of every available resource to maximum benefit.


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