LOLA IV
Overview
The next ships handed over the Raven Shipyards were the Clan's two
Lola III class Destroyers:
Auriga (2977) and
Sagitta (2978). These ships would require a more substantial rebuild than the earlier
Essex III class Destroyers, with
Auriga returning to the Scorpion Touman in 2979 and
Sagitta in 2980. While combat performance was paramount, the main delaying factor was the installation of a Star League era Naval Comm-Scanner Suite (Large). Originally intended for lightly armored
Bug-Eye Covert Surveillance Corvettes (and not fitted on any modern Clan vessel know to ComStar), the Raven engineers and Scorpion Scientists had to reconfigure the radar emitters, scanner heads, and receiving arrays multiple times in order to make the system finally work.
Although the overhaul consumed rather more time than originally anticipated, the installation of the NCSS gave the new
Lola IVs (as the Ravens designated the ships) the ability to detect hostile or unknown vessels at three times the ranges of more conventional search arrays, as well as coordinate the actions of multiple ships (not to mention scanning planetary surfaces!). Rights to convert their own
Lola IIIs were quickly transferred to the Ravens when the Khans of that Clan offered to reduce the overhaul costs of these two new Scorpion vessels by an additional 10%. Having seen with their own eyes the data from the initial post-refit test flights, the Ravens realized this new ship was
exactly what their Touman needed.
The two Clans have held the plans for the
Lola IV very tightly . . . to date, only the Horses have managed to secure the right to convert their existing ships.
Capabilities
The redesigned
Lola IV remained at the same tonnage (680,000 tons) and thrust (2-G/3-G) as the earlier
Lola III. Working from the desired Scorpion schematics, the Raven engineers overhauled the armor scheme completely, upgrading from 286.5 tons of ferro-carbide armor to 673 tons (220% of the original plating). Lithium-fusion Batteries and an HPG transmitter were fitted to the design. While the original Clan complement of 10 fighters was retained, the design team reduced the number of small craft from 10 to 4, and added quarters for a Star of battle-armored Marine Elementals. As with the earlier
Essex III rebuild, the
Lola IV featured widened passageways allowing for the Marines to freely roam throughout the ship's interior.
The installation of a Large Naval Comm-Scanner System came next. Although light-weight, the bulk and sensitivity of the scanning receptors necessitated several redesigns to make the system functional. Two 105-meter contra-rotating grav decks were then added . . . a feature that no
Lola-class Destroyer before it had installed. Also new were the pair of docking collars installed amidships that would allow the Scorpion's newest WarShip able to transport a pair of DropShips for additional supplies, firepower, or ground combat troops--whichever was needed.
Fuel stores were increased to more than 14,000 tons--enough to cruise at 1-G for a standard year. Likewise, onboard provisions, water, and life support were provided in sufficient quantities to ensure that the full ship's complement of 360 (42 officers, 139 crewmen, 12 comm-scanner technicians, 60 gunners, 40 bay personnel, 25 Marines, and 42 passengers) would be supplied for at least a year as well. An additional 738 tons of heat sinks, exchangers, and power generators were installed to handle the anticipated load from the revamped weapon systems.
For added anti-fighter defense, a total of ninety-six Kolibri Series Delta Large Pulse Lasers were installed in twenty-four quadruple turrets spaced evenly across the ship's outer hull. These weapons served as tertiary anti-ship weapons as well, albeit at closer ranges than most ship commanders preferred to engage the enemy.
The bow twin NL-55 Naval Lasers were augmented by adding two more NL-55s, doubling the forward damage output. In addition, Raven engineers were able to reconfigure the nose armor to add two launch tubes for the Gamma Series SM-25 Killer Whale Capital Missiles, along with a central magazine containing one hundred missiles. The Scorpion requirement for this exact weapon system caught the Ravens by surprise as the original
Lola III did not mount this class of missile, and in terms of penetrating capital armor and generating internal critical hits on vital systems, the White Shark was normally deemed a better choice. While for anti-fighter work, the lighter Barracuda was preferred. Some cynical members of the Raven Scientist and Warrior castes voiced concern that the Scorpions might well have insisted upon the Killer Whale tubes for its capacity to fire nuclear-tipped ordnance . . . which the Scorpion liaisons derided. The White Shark already had that capacity, they insisted. The Clan only wanted the heavier Killer Whale for the increased
conventional yield.
Although not completely convinced of Scorpion sincerity in the matter, the Ravens did install the Killer Whale tubes and related magazine.
One additional NL-55 was then added to the fore-quarters, bringing those two batteries up to four-gun bays. The old White Shark launcher was removed and replaced with a pair of Delta Series SM-17 Barracuda Capital Missile Launchers, each pair having a magazine containing one hundred missiles.
The quad Luxor-10 NAC-10 Naval Autocannon bays on the broadsides and stern-quarters were retained . . . a move that surprised the Ravens who had expected the weapons to replaced with a harder-hitting triple NAC-20 mount. However, the Scorpions wished to keep the four-gun theme of their Naval Lasers and Naval Autocannons consistent, citing the ability to use bracket fire mode to the maximum extent to enhance accuracy at the expense of pure damage. Magazine space was increased to 50 bursts per gun (200 per quad battery) as well. However, the single mount NL-45 Naval Lasers formerly located in these areas were removed.
The stern-quarters saw the installation of a pair of Delta Series SM-22 White Shark Capital Missile Launchers, with two magazines (port and starboard) each containing one hundred missiles.
The stern quad NL-55 battery was retained intact and a second Delta Series SM-17 Barracuda Capital Missile Launcher installed. As with the other capital missile systems, a magazine with one hundred missiles was also incorporated.
To pay for all of these improvements, cargo space was reduced from 107,725.5 tons to just 68,066 tons. Still, the
Lola IV had a full 10% of her mass devoted to cargo and spare parts, not including internal fuel stores, life support, provisions, and water supplies.
The end result was a capable and fast vessel able to detect threats long before hostile forces could even begin to track the new
Lolas. Although not as heavily armored or armed as the lighter
Essex IIIs, the high-thrust, good armor, good armament, and excellent sensor capabilities of the
Lola IV held great promise in increasing the effectiveness and combat capabilities of the Scorpion Touman.