Lance-Class Gunboat
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Lance-Class Gunboat “Gunboat: A small military ship with large guns, used especially in areas near the coast” Cambridge Dictionary 2010 (Standard) “Gunboat: A small non interstellar capable military spacecraft with heavy armament used to defend and patrol territorial space.” Cambridge Dictionary 2210 (Standard) Type: Gunboat Class: Lance Country: United Kingdom Service Date: 2202 to 2248 Displacement: 300 tonnes Drive: Fusion Plasma Reaction Drive Thrust: 12 hours maximum duration at 3G Complement: 14 Armament: Primary: 1x 50 tonne Particle Beam Spinal Mount Secondary: 1x Railgun Barbette Light: Triple turret (various) Defenses: Sandcaster Armor: Crystaliron Ships in class: HMS Bolt HMS Brandistock HMS Dory HMS Fauchard HMS Glaive HMS Javelin HMS Kontos HMS Lance HMS Ngao HMS Pike HMS Podao HMS Sarissa HMS Spear HMS Spetum HMS Woldo HMS XystonPREVIEW Class Notes: Non‐Zimm capable gunboat used by the Royal Navy during the early half of the twenty‐ third century for escort, patrol and system defense. It was replaced in service by the Sharpshooter‐class System Defence Boat. From Wendy's Fighting Ships of Earth Subsector 2200 ‐ 2300 9 Lance-Class Gunboat Background and development Almost from the moment off world Lance‐class revived the concept of a gunboat that colonies were established throughout the Earth could provide a more serious threat to larger system, Earth’s national navies deployed small warships, changing the typical patrol boat’s role of naval vessels to protect shipping lanes against patrol and security into something entirely piracy, protect their commercial and merchant different. Further, the Lance‐class was also the fleets and provide security around colonies and first to include the new crystaliron armor which outposts. provided improved protection against kinetic kill Typically displacing between two hundred projectiles and high energy weapons. and three hundred tonnes, patrol boats were an A purpose constructed interstellar economical purchase (many large national navies capable gunboat carrier, the Maidstone‐class, on sold older class patrol boats), were armed allowed the Royal Navy to deploy up to six Lance‐ enough to be able to deal with most security class gunboats to any system the United Kingdom threats, certainly enough for a typical pirate vessel had a colony or outpost. This allowed for which was most always a converted merchant enormous flexibility and was a novel concept at a vessel. They were also capable of much higher time where carriers were beginning to be acceleration and so able to chase down any vessel considered by some navies to be an obsolete engaged in illegal acts such as smuggling or piracy. concept in space. A typical patrol boat was armed with one Both China and the United States to two multiple mount turrets fitted with light introduced similar designs not long after the first defensive and offensive weapons. A heavy turret Lance‐class squadrons entered service in an effort (barbette) was usually installed to provide the to counter the Royal Navy’s newfound gunboat patrol boat with a much heavier “punch”. Enough dominance. The Chinese Shantou‐class was bigger reaction mass was carried for the boats powerful at four hundred tonnes and was armed with twin fusion drive to enable it to chase down targeted dorsal mounted railgun bay weapons but had a vessels and remain longer within its patrol area. lower maximum thrust rating than the Lance. For many nations, these small vessels Never a success, its operational career only lasted provided the backbone of their space navy as they ten years with all six of the gunboats being moved were both inexpensive to construct and operate. to off world colonies to be added to those This was equally pertinent to those national navies colonies’ defenses. with bigger and heavier tonnage fleets as it made The United States Space Navy’s response little sense to use corvettes or sloop sized vessels to the Lance‐class was the Asheville‐class. The to undertake security and anti‐piracy patrols. Asheville was armed with a twin particle beam Indeed, the even distribution and close barbette main armament and displaced three cooperation of multiple navy patrol boat fleets hundred tonnes. With a smaller but still powerful operating in the various territorial regionsd ensure main armament allowing more reaction mass the that within the inner Earth system, piracy had Asheville was able to maintain higher thrust for been effectively been eliminatedPREVIEW by the end of the longer periods, a distinct advantage when running 22nd century. down more distant prey. The ten gunboats of the The advent of the first interstellar war class remained in service until being replaced by a between India and China and the incident new gravitic drive system defense boat design. involving warships of the United States and China The Royal Navy initially ordered twenty‐ firmly influenced design of the Royal Navy’s last four of the new design in 2202 but cancelled the reaction drive patrol craft. The design took the final eight hulls in 2230 as it was apparent that patrol boat concept further, adding a fifty tonne reaction drive technology was about to be particle beam bay in a linear or spinal mounting. replaced by breakthrough gravitic drive With the addition of a powerful bay weapon the technology pioneered by the Chinese. The era of 10 Lance-Class Gunboat PREVIEW 19 Lance-Class Gunboat Maidstone-class Gunboat Carrier Type: Carrier Support Vessel Class: Maidstone Country: United Kingdom Service Date: 2209 to 2246 Tech Level: 10 Displacement: 2000 tonnes unloaded/3800 tonnes loaded Drive: Fusion Plasma Reaction Drive Thrust: 12.3/6.5 hours maximum duration at 2G Complement: 151 Armament: Primary: Nil Secondary: Nil Light: Triple turret (various) Craft Carried: 6x Lance‐class Gunboats Defenses: Triple Sandcaster, Point Defense Node Array Armor: Titanium Steel Ships in class: HMS Maidstone HMS Forth HMS Monchelsea (cancelled) Class Notes: Zimm capable gunboat carrier and support vessel used by the Royal Navy during the early half of the twenty third century to transport, deploy and support the Lance‐class Gunboat. It was not replaced in service. HMS Maidstone was paid off in 2246 and was sold (along with her gunboat complement) to the Antiochian Union. The second in the class, HMS Forth, was assigned to the Clement Sector Fleet in 2248 where to date it remains in orbit around Wellington as a receiving ship. A third ship, HMS Monchelsea, was never constructed. From Wendy's Fighting Ships of Earth Subsector 2200 ‐ 2300 PREVIEW 22 .