Talk:AFOH/@comment-14850713-20170612080128

IC:

When the Devastation-class battleship carrier Porthau fired her salvo of Hyperion missiles during the Second Battle of Southern Africa, her crew knew that whatever happens their ship will live on. In an unprecedented move, the High Command has decided that the new class of battleship carriers, the first ships to be produced in the new AFOH home planet of Zeus, will be named ship-for-ship after the long-serving Devastations, the last of the Fleet's first generation of flying vessels. As the 41st of the class, Porthau and 19 of her sister-ships in Task Force 1.1 are the last of the older generation, with their replacements (and namesakes) already being given the finishing touches.

The new Devastations, although almost twice as large as their predecessors, embark the same number of planes (84 Curtanas/Vautours), 46cm guns (10), rotary missile launchers (6) and AA weaponry. The size difference is mainly due to the OB-1 plasma railgun in the bow, and 4 240cm Mk 16 railguns (in 2 twin turrets) in the foredeck, giving them the ability to stand in the battle line or undertake orbital bombardments. The Devastations are seen as smaller but more versatile versions of the Dominator heavy battleship carriers (and are starting to be called "Little D"s to the latter's "Big D"), and effectively making them, ton-for-ton, some of the most powerful vessels in the Fleet.

The new class does not just embark better weaponry, but more advanced sensors as well. Unlike the old model, it has the Tiger Arc/Dragon Eye system, which is mounted in an armored superstructure placed to the rear to give all the guns better firing arcs (a problem experienced by the secondaries of Richelieu, with her center superstructure). This is a big improvement from the bow-mounted radar/detection system of the previous generation which was supplemented by that class' distinctive tethered antenna.