Template:Ship-Current The Battle Dragon is the premier capital warship employed by the Royal Hapan Navy. The unique double saucer design has become a symbol of the Hapes Consortium and the impressive firepower of the vessels have earned the Hapans a position among the galaxy's most prominent naval powers.
They replaced the Nova Battle Cruiser as the most powerful Hapan vessel in 4030 after years of testing the prototype HRS Starfyre and bringing the Consortium's shipyards up to date.
History
HRS Starfyre Prototype
King Andrew had seen the rapid development of new ships and vessels during his childhood on Charubah during the Hapan civil war. After the conflict ended and the introduction of the Nova Battle Cruiser, the Hapes Consortium put the development of newer and more powerful naval vessels on hold due to the power and superiority of the Novas. Following the death of Grand Admiral Canler in 4014 at the hands of pirates, it became apparent that the technology available in the outside galaxy was starting to catch up to Hapan standards.
The King, along with the newly appointed naval commander, Admiral James, began discussing the idea for having a new warship designed that could stand against the aggression of pirates or even foreign powers. One of the difficulties facing the project was the lack of co-operation between the remnants of the older shipyard companies, such as Olanji/Charubah and Hapan Consortium. Alpha Ship Construction and Zion Tech had previously been contracted to help fill orders on Nova Battle Cruisers, but lacked the expertise to design and produce ships of the magnitude that the King envisioned. In the end, the monarch forced Olanji/Charubah, Hapan Consortium, Alpha Ship Construction and Zion Tech in to an uneasy corporate alliance he called Olanji Corporation and tasked them with working together to design a new warship.
Due to old rivalries, differences of opinion and the lack of suitable R&D facilities, the project took nearly ten years to complete and the finished designs of the Battle Dragon were not presented to King Andrew until 4024. After reviewing the plans with then Grand Admiral-Prince James, the ship was ordered in early 4025. It took over a year to finish and was finally launched on May 2 4026 with the name HRS Starfyre. After completing tests and sorting out initial bugs, the ship was staffed with a test crew in April of 4027 and was subject to a number of tests and experiments for the following eighteen months. In the end, the hull design was found to be seriously flawed and the prototype was scrapped in late 4028, a year after King Andrew's abdication.
Re-Designed
Dortan Amethius and a team of experts from the Royal Hapan Support Corps were tasked with making appropriate changes to the design of the Battle Dragon in Operation Dragon. Some modifications were made to the hull and design, such as removing the saucer rotation struts which connected the two saucers along the rims. Instead the main connecting superstructure was reinforced. The overall size of the ship was also increased.
King James was so pleased with Amethius' progress that he ordered a number of ships before the designs were even completed and had the shipyards begin basic construction of the ships' superstructures in 4029. The finished designs were transferred to the shipyards in 4030 and four Battle Dragons were completed shortly thereafter.
Service
The launching of the Battle Dragons was announced through news-channels across the Hapes Cluster on October 3 4030 as King James showed off the new mainstay vessels to his close friends Lord Antaria and Viceroy Esco of the Trade Federation.
"The Battle Dragon forms the corner stone of any Hapan fleet. With its strong arsenal and hefty protection it is a worthy adversary for most ships out there" - Commodore Baynos on the Battle Dragon
The various shipyards of the Hapes Consortium were bought up by the government and merged in to the Olanji Corporation in 4031 in order to make mass production of the vessels easier. Since then, more and more Battle Dragons have entered service in the Royal Hapan Navy, putting the Nova Battle Cruiser at the spot of second-best. To now, the only major operation they have participated in was the Dellalt Conflict in 4031.
Ship Statistics
"An outstanding vessel all around, good firepower against both capitals and fighters, as well as a enough cargo room to hold its own fighter screen. Rarely is something as beautiful and deadly as the Battle Dragon."- Admiral Lord Firecam on the Battle Dragon
Design & Hull
The double saucer design is quite unique, not only in the Hapes Consortium, but also the galaxy. It was inspired by vessels from the Militaristic Era which had a single saucer with a command tower. The rotating saucers have proved to be extremely useful when engaging a single target, but leaves the ship at a disadvantage if involved in large scale battles.
The HRS Starfyre and some of the first Battle Dragons had saucer rotation struts which connected the two saucer sections, but these were removed from the later versions as they were viewed as a weakness and also dangerous for launching and landing support craft and starfighters. One example was a Miy'til Interceptor that crash-landed after colliding with a support strut on the HRS Admiral Scheer. Instead, engineers enforced the connecting superstructure and developed and more powerful rotating mechanism.
The actual hull strength of the vessel is considered adequate for a ship of its size.
Armament
The Battle Dragons are heavily armed, capable of taking on a variety of vessels ranging from capital cruisers to starfighters.
The 40 turbolaser batteries attached to the two saucer sections is what gives the ship the most of its bite. The saucers rotate in order to bring a freshly charged turbolaser in to position to fire on an enemy vessel, which results in a constant barrage of fire coming from the Battle Dragon.
In addition, it has 2 dorsal and ventral triple ion cannon which are used to bring down the shields of larger targets or disable systems onboard enemy vessels. The prototype HRS Starfyre featured more ion cannons which were dropped in the re-design in favour of anti-starfighter defence.
The Battle Dragons have been equipped with 90 laser cannons which are attached along the saucers and connecting superstructure, intended for heavy anti-starfighter defense. The lasers make sure that the Battle Dragons is not an easy target if left without starfighter support and renders it capable of taking on freighters if needed.
In addition, the ship has 10 proton-torpedo launchers and 1 tractor beam projector used for bringing in disable craft.
Shielding
For a ship of its size and volume, the Battle Dragon has a significant amount of shielding which makes it vastly superior to most other ships of similar size and strength. The only vessels that come close to matching or surpassing the Battle Dragon in terms of shielding are the Imperial Star Destroyer and flagship vessels of the galaxy's major naval powers. This is thanks to additional shield generators added to protect the somewhat vulnerable superstructure.
Power & Engines
The HRS Starfyre prototype was plagued by power failures, mostly due to the amount of ion cannons on the ship. The removal of the cannons and introduction of smaller anti-starfighter laser cannons have eliminated the problem of power surges on the Battle Dragon.
The Battle Dragons come equipped with a Froond-class hyperdrive which powers the two powerful OC Dragon Wing engines, giving it a hyperspeed rating of 3. This means that the ships can swiftly deploy across the Hapes Cluster in a matter of hours.
It has four O/C III-class sublight engines which gives it a sublight cruising speed of 20, regarded as average compared to other vessels of the same size.
Cargo & Carrier Capacity
A standard Battle Dragon can carry somewhere around 40 to 50 starfighters, varying somewhat on the weight and volume of the different starfighters. The standard distribution is usually one Miy'til Interceptor squadron and one squadron of Hetrinar Assault Bombers with some room to spare for landing craft and crew shuttles.
Crew & Passenger Capacity
The Battle Dragons have a significant crew complement, most of which are vital to make the ships run smoothly. However, the crew requirement has been significantly reduced compared to that needed onboard a Nova Battle Cruiser. This is because the Battle Dragon employs different targeting systems. A number of senior and junior officer delegate orders, while a large amount of the crew is devoted to maintenance and hangar related duties:
- 310 senior & junior officers.
- 830 maintenance staff.
- 295 hangar & docking bay support crew.
- 285 gunners & gunner support crew.
- 180 security officers.
Famous Battle Dragons
See Also
References
External Links
| Preceded by: Nova Battle Cruiser |
Royal Hapan Navy Mainstay 4030–present |
Succeeded by:<br./>Incumbent |
