Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The Dauntless Class Armored Pursuit Ship




The Dauntless Class Armored Pursuit Ship
First Commissioned: 2230
Length: 240 meters
Mass: 120,000 metric tons
Crew Complement: 25
Maximum Number of Personnel Ship Can Support: 150
Duration Before Resupply: 2 years
Jumps Possible Before Overhaul: 10
Atmosphere Capability: limited maneuverability, full atmospheric flight
Landing Capability: any, including atmosphere, on surfaces up to 2 Gs

History: 
The Dauntless class was the first armored pursuit ship in the Federation Navy. It was commissioned fairly early in the Delta Sector War, when it was discovered that the Navy did not have adequate point defense support for its task forces.  The admiralty grossly underestimated  the number of space station based fighters available to the rebel worlds when the Navy sent in its assault forces against them. Despite their numerous fighter carriers the Terrans could not compete with the hundreds of defense fighters each individual star system could muster.

When the Dauntless was commissioned it was believed that the new ship type would be capable of hunter-killer missions against fighters.  Unfortunately, the Dauntlesses were not able to keep pace with the fighters, which flew wide arcs around the light warships, avoiding their LPBs.  The APSs did restore the hopes of the Navy when they were used as close escorts for capital ships. For the price of two of the cheapest warships in existence a super galactic dreadnought could double its point defense capabilities.

The Dauntless is the oldest ship in the Terran Trans-solar Federation Navy with continuous front-line service.  The S.S. Dauntless has accomplished 65 missions, fought 24 engagements, and been damaged 13 times. Many believe that the Dauntless only remains in service for public relations purposes, but the crew is quite proud of their antique ship. It recently has gone through complete systems overhaul and a Service Life-Extension Program (SLEP) to keep it in service for at least another decade.


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