Riga II
Riga II | |
Production information | |
Manufacturer | Terran Hegemony |
Introduced | 2747[1] |
Production Year | 2747[1] |
Use | Carrier/Escort[1] |
Tech Base | Inner Sphere[1] |
Technical specifications | |
Mass | 600,000[1] |
Length | 630m[1] |
Sail Diameter | 1,180m[1] |
Fuel | 9,000 tons[1] |
Burn Rate | 39.52[1] |
Safe Thrust | 2 g[1] |
Top Thrust | 3 g[1] |
Sail Integrity | 4[1] |
KF Drive Integrity | 32[1] |
LF Battery | Yes[1] |
Armament | 4x Medium NPPC 2x NAC/40 4x NAC/30 12x NL35 12x NL45[1] |
Armor | 604 tons of Lamellor ferro-carbide armor[1] |
DropShip Capacity | 2[1] |
Crew | 40 - officers 158 - enlisted/non-rated 42 – gunners 97 - bay personnel[1] |
Grav Decks | 1x 140m, 1x 65m diameter[1] |
Escape Pods/Life Boats | 20/30[1] |
Heat Sinks | 581 (double)[1] |
Structural Integrity | 60[1] |
BV (2.0) | 73,035[1] |
Contents
Description
The Riga II-class destroyer and fighter carrier entered service in 2747, and was a product of the growing use of lithium-fusion batteries in the Star League Defense Force navy. When first introduced in the 2500s, LF batteries had given cruisers a new lease of life, only for the cruiser class to be rendered obsolete once again in the 2600s as McKenna-class battleships became more common, often deploying singly in situations that had previously required the deployment of a pair of cruisers. The McKenna originally relied on DropShips to act as escorts, but as the battleships deployed more and more often the need for a heavy escort for them grew.[1]
The Riga II was conceived to fill that capability gap; equipped with docking collars, heavy armour and LF batteries the new class was an anomaly compared to previous Star League destroyer classes, which had tended to be cheap, expendable and numerous. The first Riga IIs were rushed into service after the death of First Lord Simon Cameron, and the sixtieth ship entered service by Christmas 2766, on the eve of the Amaris Coup. The Riga IIs were a high-value asset within the SLDF fleet, somewhat akin to a high-value Great House navy within the SLDF fleet, and were considered more valuable than such contemporaries like the Essex and Lola III.[1]
Of the sixty ships manufacturered, two were serving in the First Fleet and were destroyed by the Reagan SDS network while attacking surface targets near Geneva. The remaining fifty-eight Riga IIs were deployed in the Periphery at the time, and had been heavily involved in the various battles of the Periphery Uprising; it was most common to see them deploying as first response ships alongside either a McKenna or a cruiser. As the various navies of the Territorial States were unable to engage the SLDF navy head-on and preferred to instead strike by ambushing exposed targets, the Riga II deployments alongside other ships kept them relatively safe.[1]
In contrast to the battles seen in the Periphery Uprising, the Hegemony Campaign saw the more advanced classes in the SLDF fleet deploying in the vanguard of many offensives. This caused heavy losses on these newer ships - ships such as the Luxor-class heavy cruiser, the McKenna and the Riga II. Half of the Riga IIs were destroyed although this casualty rate was lower than the ninety percent losses inflicted on the Lola III and Essex fleets. Twenty-six Riga IIs survived the campaign, but four of those were badly damaged enough that they were stripped and scuttled; the remaining twenty-two ships departed on the Exodus.[1]
During the Exodus the Riga II served as the fleet's primary patrol ships, and the majority of the fleet was kept in service after the Star League-in-Exile settled on the Pentagon Worlds. When the Pentagon Worlds erupted in their own civil war, the remaining Riga IIs were in the center of the fratricidal conflict. When Nicholas Kerensky brought the Pentagon Worlds under his control through Operation KLONDIKE the last two active Pentagon Riga IIs were destroyed, leaving just six surviving ships of the class. Those six ships served the Clans for several centuries before being reworked via a series of extensive refits, evolving into the York class of destroyers.[1]
Weapons and Capacities
The Riga II was protected by just over six hundred tons of Lamellor ferro-carbide armor and transported thirty-six fighters distributed across two bays. Each ship could also transport a pair of DropShips, and there were bays for four small craft in the main cargo bay. The Riga II mounted a pair of NL45s and NL35s in the fore and aft left andright arcs, with four more of each mounted in the stern; each broadside was equipped with a pair of NAC/30s, whilst mounted in the nose of the destroyer were four Medium Naval PPVs and two NAC/40s in single bays.[1]
Cargo
- Bay 1: 18 Fighters - 4 Doors[1]
- Bay 2: 18 Fighters - 4 Doors[1]
- Bay 3: 70,496 tons of Cargo, 5 Small Craft - 1 Door[1]
See Also
Notes
The Record Sheet for the Riga II-class destroyer is found in Field Report 2765: Periphery.