Leamhan (ship)

Leamhan (ship)
leamhan hauling coal downriver in 2156
Operation History
Builder		Klensagradina Stahlduga, Klensagrad
Laid Down		2135
Launched		2137
Commissioned		2137
Homeport		Sys, Sahrland
Status		In Active Service as of 2200
Vessel Characteristics
Displacement		854 Tons
Length		235 m
Beam		32 m
Height		42.2 m
Draft		5 m
Propulsion		2 × MotorRioga diesel engines powering two screws and two paddlewheels
Max Speed		32 kn (16.5 m/s)
Complement		20 crew
Badge		File:Civil War medal

​ Leamhan, is a river transport ship initially built as a Blokha class destroyer for the Sahren Navy, but was cancelled and had the hull sold to Oighearflot.

(to be expanded upon)

Design and construction

the Leamhan was laid down in the Klensagradina Stahlduga as SN Leamhan (No.29) and would have been the fifth and final Blokha class destroyer. Similarly to the sister ships, Leanhan's construction was wrought with corruption and funding inadequacy and the design itself was a product of domestic missile production shortcomings. The maritime strategic situation was also rapidly evolving which left most of the Blokhas to be considered obsolete upon launch. As the last ship Leamhan was cancelled while being outfitted with weapons and sold to the highest bidder, which happened to be Oighearflot.

Conversion

Quality control of early Sahren vessels was poor resulting in Blokhas all having various different flaws. Leamhan's screws produced vibrations which threatened to tear the ship apart but possessed unusually high stability for her class. At the time of sale there were almost no weapons with only one 102mm cannon was installed in the foremost turret. Despite these shortcomings the company was still confident it could be turned into a profitable river transport.

Leamhan sailing, 2137

In charge of the conversion work was Sinead-dana Fionnghail who is notable for work on paddle ships. Accordingly, his belief for how to address the screw issues was to install paddlewheels so the screws would not need to rotate as often to achieve the same speed. These were made of 25mm thick aluminium plating and increased the beam of the vessel from 12.1 to 16.9 metres. The two spaces where the rear turrets would have been were used for smaller 37mm cannons, and magazine size was reduced for all weapons. This all gave Leamhan a strong self defence capability which was a common factor on Oighearflot ships.

Service life

Leamhan entered service in 2137 amid rising tensions in the nation. She served in the (unnamed river) transporting goods between Sys and Dugthail while fending off attacks from gangs and partisans who often tried to commandeer vessels to fund their cause. One incident of note in this period was during the 2141 Pozhar revolts when Leamhan misidentified Kralnovist forces as boarders when they were crossing the river to seize Dugthail. Leamhan rammed one small boat and sank at least 3 with the guns as she tried to retreat downstream, and in the process clipped another boat with the starboard paddlecage which crushed the boat and jammed the paddle. Miraculously nobody was killed in this incident, though severe injuries were inflicted to several crew on both sides.

Sahren Civil War

The war began with a Republican surprise attack on Sys which quickly seized the town, which was where Leamhan was docked at the time. Control was taken over by the Republican Guard to assist in river operations for the eventual capture of Dugthail, though the Dugthail Puscht rendered this operation unneccessary. For most of the rest of the war Leamhan served to transport goods and personelle between Sys and Dugthail.

In preparation for Operation Tetraethyllead Leamhan was used to transport weapons to staging grounds near the Klens Peninsula. A blockade was already in place of the city done covertly by the Phoenian Federal Navy so Leamhan's services as a warship were not desired, though she did sail in to port after the battle was over carrying demolition equipment for capals which was to be used to clear roadways in the aftermath. Her sister ships KC Midzha and SN Blokha were also present there, though Midzha had rolled over by a bomb blast after it had been sunk as a coastal emplacement and was only half submerged. This would mark the last time all surviving Blokha class destroyers were in one place, as Roiste and Myskit had been sunk and Midzha would never be refloated due to post war budget cuts.

Post war career

Post war artillery drill, 2151

Just as Blokha was being handed off to the Sahren Navy, Leamhan was given back to Oighearflot as soon as Klensagrad fell. She returned to service as a river transport, though her relevancy as an armed transport was waning due to gradual stabilization of the region under the Svobodist regime.