Gazelle

191px
Gazelle
Production information
Manufacturer	Deller-Bingham-Fouts New Syrtis Shipyards
Use	Troop carrier
Type	Military Aerodyne
Tech Base	Inner Sphere
Technical specifications
Mass	1,903 tons
Structural Integrity
Length	79 meters
Width	meters
Height	meters
Drive System	Star League V95
Safe Thrust
Max Thrust
Fuel (tons)
Fuel (days)
Armament	2 x PPCs 1 x LRM-20 1 x AC/5 2 x SRM-6s 1 x Large Laser 10 x Medium Lasers
Armor	29 Standard
Crew	10
Heat Sinks	70
BV (1.0)	2,399
BV (2.0)	???

Description

One of the smaller armor transport DropShips in use, the Gazelle-class generally operates alongside the Fury and Leopard and is capable of carrying a complete 15 vehicle company of armored fighting vehicles.

When it was first designed, the Gazelle was intended to operate with smaller and lighter combat vehicles designed prior to the Succession Wars, which resulted in the vehicle hold located in the craft's nose being enlarged to cope. However these modifications came at the cost of the crew quarters and cargo capacity, greatly reducing comfort and inhibiting the design's endurance on longer missions.

Armament

Like many troop transports, the Gazelle features a relatively limited defensive array of weaponry. Twin Medium Lasers, an Autocannon/5 and LRM-20 fill the nose bays, while a PPC, SRM-6 and a trio of medium lasers are fitted in forward facing mounts in each wing. To discourage pursuit, a single Large Laser and a further pair of mediums are carried directly aft. A single ton of autocannon rounds, four tons of long range and two tons of short range missile reloads are generally enough for the shorter duration missions the decreased cargo load enforces.

Cargo

The Gazelle's 950 ton primary cargo bay, 60 meters by 12, is accessible via a single ramp in the craft's nose. The single ramp and very cramped bay hinder vehicle unloading, to the point that the majority of Gazelles lost during the Succession Wars were destroyed not in flight but on the ground while unloading in hostile landing zones.

Variants

• Original - The original Gazelle was designer to accommodate only lighter vehicles, but boasted somewhat more comfortable crew quarters and a larger cargo capacity.
• Upgrade - Introduced by New Syrtis Shipyards in 3055, the upgraded Gazelle weighs in at 2,400 tons, increase of 500 tons. The increase goes toward modified cargo capacity, now split between carrying a company of heavy tanks in nose, and short lance of lighter vehicles further back, reducing the bottle neck of the standard model. The weapon array received minor modern touches, switching the PPCs and large laser for extended range variants adding Artemis IV FCS to enhance the missile racks, with reduced number of Double Heat Sinks still boost heat dissipation. BV (1.0) = 2,539

References

• DropShips and JumpShips - pg 28-29
• Technical Readout: 3057 - pg 20-21
• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised - pg 18-19