The Formidable Class Battlecruiser

The Formidable Class Battlecruiser

First Commissioned:  2227

Length: 540 meters

Mass: 840,000 metric tons

Crew Complement: 150

Maximum Number of Personnel Ship

Can Support: 700

Duration Before Resupply: 3 years

Jumps Possible Before Overhaul: 25 Atmosphere Capability: no maneuverability, very limited atmospheric flight.  Landing Capability: any with moderate to no atmosphere on surfaces up to 1 G.

History: 

Born late in the Delta Sector War. It was introduced during the T.T.F.N.'s nadir in the campaign.  Morale had sunk to miserable levels, supplies were stretched thin and ships were long overdue for overhaul. Politicians in the Federation Parliament insisted that the Navy win the war and eliminate the rebels once and for all, and yet they cut Navy funding by a third. 

Nearly all capital ship construction halted as the Navy high commanded debated how to maintain effective fighting force out and still have its patrols and defense forces in place within Federation space. A compromise was made in the S.S. Formidable, a heavy beam battery ship with fighter capability. The hope was to replaced worn out dreadnoughts and carriers much lighter and much cheaper, Formidable class battlecruisers.

The Admiralty hated them believing they were cheap substitutes for real capital ships. On the other hand, crews on board the Formidable and its sister ships loved their vessels.  They found that the combination of beam weaponry, fighters, shielding, and sensors were the perfect mix for the kind of mission that the newly reformed 7th Fleet would face.

The battlecruisers were incredibly popular with the merchant marines and the crews of navy supply vessels whose convoys were escorted by Formidable BCs. Privateer strikes against T.T.F. convoys dropped to almost none when the Formidables were deployed. Privateers did not want to face both H.P.B.s and fighters.

source:  Terran & Avarian Fleet Book