Rodney Type: Medium Cruiser Builder: Universal Air, Delevan, Federated Suns In Class: 79 at their peak Introduction: 2560 Mass: 760,000 Sail Integrity: 4 Thrust: 3/5 Fuel: 2000 tons Structural Integrity: 80 Armor: 1216 tons of standard armor (486, 87+8 fwd, 75+8 aft, 81+8 others) Docking Collars: 6 Fighters: 18 Small Craft: 5 Crew: 256 Lifeboats: 8 Escape Pods: 8 Grav Decks: 1 80 meter Cargo: 136,055 Bay 1: Fighters (18) 2 doors Bay 2: Cargo (136,055) 2 doors Bay 3: Small Craft (5) 1 door Weapons: Fwd 2 Naval Autocannon 30 5 Naval Laser 45s 1 Killer Whale FL/FR 2 Naval Autocannon 30 1 White Shark LBS/ RBS 2 Naval Autocannon 10 1 Naval Autocannon 30 2 Autocannon 10 2 LRM 20 AL/AR 2 Naval Autocannon 10 1 Naval Autocannon 30 2 Autocannon 10 2 LRM 20 Aft 2 Naval Autocannon 30 Ammo Load: 60 tons of Naval AC 10 ammunition 260 tons of Naval AC 20 ammunition 40 tons of AC 10 ammunition 40 tons of LRM 20 ammunition Variants The last nineteen ships in the class were built with ferro aluminium armor and more powerful engines, this increases forward armor to 125+8, and all other facings 121+8. Thrust is increased to 4/6 and cargo capacity is 90,455. Overview: The Rodney is a ship that almost did not exist. Originally developed by Challenge systems as a frigate, the as yet unnamed design was the center of an ugly three year legal battle between the Federated Suns and the shipbuilding firm Dekirk Aerospace. In the suit, the Federated Suns claimed that Dekirk had stolen the designs for the frigate from Challenge Systems and copied most of it for their Congress class vessel. Though neither Dekirk nor their Hegemony patrons admitted to stealing the design, in the end the matter was settled outside of the courtroom. Dekirk agreed to accept Challenge systems as a partner in the construction of the Congress, and the Federated Suns recieved a generous bargain on the purchase of a number of the new ship. With the Congress in hand, the need for the original Challenge Systems frigate was no longer felt, and the project was cancelled. Challenge systems kept the design schematics stored away for a decade before selling them to Universal Air of Delevan. Universal Air modified the design extensively, adding provisions for additional weapons, more armor, and a reinforced hull. The end result of all of this work was a powerful and fast cruiser, easily a match for her contemporaries, such as the Hegemony's Avatar. Twelve heavy naval autocannons make up the ship's principle armament, supported by eight lighter naval cannons and a battery of naval lasers. Anti fighter defenses are supplied by eight large LRM racks, eight autocannons, and three naval missile launchers. A wing of eighteen fighters and docking collars for six assault dropships fill out the ship's offensive capabilities, and twelve hundred tons of armor provides adequate protection from enemy attacks. Because Davion naval doctrine dictated that each warship opperate along with a force of assault dropships and fighters, and because the Davion fleet was largely considered to be little more than an escort force for the army, the designers made sure that the Rodney had a massive cargo capacity, allowing it to fulfil a secondary role as a transport for ground forces, and to support smaller ships. The ship can carry eighty thousand tons of war supplies, in addition to its own normal stores. First Prince Alexander Davion was pleased with the new design, deciding to adopt it as the Federated Sun's principle cruiser class ship (gradually replacing three seperate older designs) despite its high price tag. Universal Air began construction of the ship in 2560, and constructed one Rodney class cruiser per year for the next hundred years. However, the first fifteen of these ships were turned over to the SLDF, along with twenty two Davion class destroyers in the year 2575, in accordance with First Lord Ian Cameron's Directive 22, which called for each member state to contribute ships and troops to the SLDF in preparation for the Reunification War. Ironically enough, this Davion designed cruiser would see more use during the war by the SLDF than by the nation that produced it, and neither of the two Davion Rodneys that saw action during the war, the Gordon and Albermarle, survived. Both were destroyed by the Taurian navy in 2577 during a disastrous naval campaign. Despite it inauspicious start, Alexander Davion and his successors were still quite fond of the ship, and construction continued. By 2657 there were sixty Rodney class ships in service with the Davion fleet, however the design had begun to show its age, no longer the better ship when compared to its competitors (most unnerving of all for some was that the old Aegis class cruisers the star league had refited during the Reunification war were proving to outmatch the Rodneys, which were nearly two centuries younger than the Aegis). As a consequence of this, Universal Air set to work on a modernization scheme for the Rodney, emphasizing improved armor protection and speed. Unfortunately they soon discovered that the existing Rodney class ships simply weren't suited for modernization. Power distribution problems plagued all attempts at updating the systems, while problems with hull stress foiled attempts to install more powerful engines. Construction of the cruiser was suspended for four years while Universal Air worked out the problems. The end result of their work was the so called "Improved Rodney", of which nineteen were built before the high command ordered a final halt to production. On the surface the newer version is only a minor upgrade of the Rodney, with superior armor protection and speed. However, the designers learned their lesson with the original well, and the improved class was designed using techniques similar to the "smart modularity" of the Vincent class corvette. The ships were designed to be easily modified and upgraded as the situation required, which meant that their service life would be greatly enhanced. Despite these improvements, the new ships did not have the same following among the high command and first prince that the originals had enjoyed (actually, apathy was starting to sap the life out of the entire davion military establishment, something that would hurt them greatly during the War of Davion Succession) and construction was stopped prematurely. Like all warships, the fall of the star league and the first succession war nearly wiped out the Rodney. Unlike many, however, three of this class have survived to present day. These three ships, the Duncan, Howe, and Cromwell, were originally transfered to the SLDF in 2575, and as a consequence were spared the ravages of the first succesion war which claimed their sister ships, and pure luck carried them through the Amaris Coup relatively untouched. The three ships went with the SLDF on the Exodus, where their massive cargo space was a great asset in transporting supplies for the fleet. However their age and the difficulty involved in upgrading them led to their being mothballed when the fleet arrived at the Pentagon worlds. The ships remain in mothballs, though a number of clans, including the Ghost Bears, Jade Falcons, and Snow Ravens are each contemplating making a grab for them. The Bears and Falcons in particular are interested in the ships. Both clans control numerous worlds in the inner sphere, and with the increased proliferation of warships in the hands of inner sphere powers, having enough ships to match them is considered to be important to maintaining their security.