Hartfordia II Class Heavy Cruiser

The Hartfordia II Class Heavy Cruiser is a class of Space-based, Heavy Cruiser designed and operated by the Atreus Aerospace Command, and in use with the Federal Republic of Fortis, Illishira, and the Confederacy of Veiid.

Hartfordia II Class Hartfordia II Class Heavy Cruiser
Heavy Cruiser
AASC Hartfordia II on sea trials in Low Kerbin Orbit (LKO) c. 2199
National Origin		Confederacy of Atreus
Production History
Designed
2192 - 2195
Produced
2196 - 2198
Designer		Odyssey Aerospace Astronautical Design Office
Unit Cost		182,667(√)
Number Built		6
Service History
In Service
2199 - N/A
Used By		Confederacy of Atreus Confederacy of Veiid Federal Republic of Fortis
Spacecraft Characteristics
Launch Mass		353,900 kg
Dry Mass		177,900 kg
Length		35.4 m
Width		10.3 m
Height		10.2 m
Propulsion		2 RE-M3 "Mainsail" Chemical Rockets 2 RE-I5 "Skipper" Chemical Rockets 4 LV-T45 "Swivel" Chemical Rockets
Maximum Thrust		5160 kN
Specific Impulse		314 seconds (2118 m/s)
Complement		40 total, 8 officers, 6 Senior NCOs, 26 Enlisted Personnel
Armament		Mark IV Heavy Magnetic Accelerator Cannon 36 Small/Medium Missile Cells 8 Large Missile Cells
Spacecraft Carried		4 Unmanned Multirole Fighters

Design

Designed as the mainstay of the majority of the Atreus Aerospace Command's various Task Units and Fleets. The Hartfordia II straddles the line between a Battlecruiser, Heavy Cruiser, and a Fast Battleship. The primary objective of the Hartfordia II is to provide smaller AASC formations with the capability of a Capital Ship but retaining the flexibility to act as a Flagship as well as a element in a "battle line" in formation with larger fleets.

To achieve this, the design of the Hartfordia II class was based around survivability if it was to act as a flagship or on a battle line as planned. In support of this, she features reaction wheels instead of RCS Thrusters to prevent Asymmetrical application, and to remove extra fuel lines which might ignite in a impact from a hostile munition. Furthermore, the Hartfordia II centralizes the majority of its critical systems and fluid tanks, such as O2 tanks, behind a "citadel" of extra armor near the keel of the ship to provide extra protection.

Development

Contrary to the majority of Blue and Black-water Naval vessels, the Hartfordia II was designed in the early 2190's, relatively long after the conclusion of the Belkan Civil War.

Unfortunately, due to the length of the Belkan Civil War, the majority of engineers and scientists familiar with Black-water vessels were unavailable when the contract was made available for a new black-water Heavy Cruiser in 2192. However, while its competitor Northwind was busy establishing itself a as a major Aerospace corporation for the Atreian Air Force, Odyssey Aerospace saw the opportunity to secure the favor of the fledgling AASC.

Announcing their proposal for the Heavy Cruiser contract bid in 2194, Odyssey's proposal quickly came out above the quickly-made concepts of their rivals with its emphasis of survivability, and flexibility in role. with some minor revisions throughout 2195, the class name of "Hartfordia II" chosen in honor of the Belkan Navy's Hartfordia Class Blue-Water heavy cruiser and the former territory of Hartfordia.

A testament to their passion for survivability, the Odyssey proposal included in the design an array of various chemical rockets to increase the Thrust-to-Weight ratio (TWR) of the Hartfordia II. This unique feature provides her with unusually high TWR for a ship of her weight and size.

Service History

All four current Hartfordia II Class Heavy Cruisers were completed and commissioned in late 2198, taking nearly two years to be completed due to the unfamiliarity with New Comberth Shipyard workers struggling with the complex structure and design of the new Heavy Cruiser.

Despite delays, all of the Hartfordia II's were launched without incident, undergoing "sea trials" between Low Munar and Low Kerbin Orbits. On these trials, reports indicated that crews enjoyed the modern Command-and-Control systems as well as the comforts it provided but remarked that the size of the ship made it sometimes disorienting to maneuver inside of with no outside reference.

Ships of the Line

Name	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned	Status	Operator	Hull Code
AASC Hartfordia II	March 13th, 2196	September 27th, 2198	October 10th, 2198	Active	Atreus Aerospace Command	CA-01
AASC Dreadful Dreamer	March 10th, 2196	September 29th, 2198	October 11th, 2198	Active	Atreus Aerospace Command	CA-02
AASC Deal Me In	March 21st, 2196	October 5th, 2198	October 19th, 2198	Active	Atreus Aerospace Command	CA-03
AASC Ultimatum	March 23rd, 2196	October 8th, 2199	October 21st, 2198	Active	Atreus Aerospace Command	CA-04
FROS Stronghold	April 3rd, 2197	October 25th, 2199	December 5th, 2199	Active	Fortis Orbital Command	BNHC.1
FROS Sweetwater	January 1st, 2197	July 7th, 2199	December 5th, 2199	Active	Fortis Orbital Command	BNHC.2