The Black Magic Project
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Astrosynthesis Sector File		 Tirpitz Class Battleship

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MASS: 232
NPV: 972
Classification: Fleet Battleship (B)
Crew: 128; 18 Officers, 110 Enlisted
Crew Factor: 12
Hull Integrity: 48 (12/12/12/12)
Armor: 12
Main Drive Thrust: 3 (34.8 TW)
Drive Auto-Detection Range: 7.868 AU
∆V (Combat): 48.178 km/sec
∆V (Cruise): 963.569 km/sec
Thrust Points: 96 (2633 tons propellant)
Propellant Tank Hits: 6
Thrust Points per Tank: 16
FTL: Yes (Long Jump – 10 parsec range)
Auxiliary Systems: 2-MASS Hangar Bay; 4-MASS Cargo Bay; 1x Superior Sensors; 0.8 G Spin Habitat for 128
Combat Systems: 3x Fire Control
Weapons: 6x Point Defense Battery; 2x Class-1 Battery (All Arcs); 2x Class-2 Battery (All Arcs); 3x Class-4 Battery (FP/F/FS); 1x Class-5 Battery (FP/F/FS)

MV Erich Raeder (AMC-282)
MASS: 224
NPV: 645
Classification: Heavy Explorer (R)
Crew: 58; 8 Officers, 50 Ratings (plus up to 70 additional passengers)
Crew Factor: 5
Hull Integrity: 48 (12/12/12/12)
Armor: 12
Main Drive Thrust: 3 (17.4 TW)
Drive Auto-Detection Range: 5.564 AU
∆V (Combat): 24.089 km/sec
∆V (Cruise): 481.785 km/sec
Thrust Points: 48 (2633 tons propellant)
Propellant Tank Hits: 6
Thrust Points per Tank: 8
FTL: Yes (Short Jump – 3.3 parsec range)
Auxiliary Systems: 6-MASS Hangar Bay; 48-MASS Cargo Bay; 4-MASS Laboratory Bay; 1x Superior Sensors; 0.8 G Spin Habitat for 128
Combat Systems: 3x Fire Control
Weapons: 6x Point Defense Battery; 4x Class-1 Battery (All Arcs)
 Tirpitz






MV Erich Raeder (AMC-282)
post-Demilitarization
AMC-282
The Deutsches Stern Kreigsmarine (DSKM) is a reluctant yet capable component of the EU Space Defense Force centered on three battleship combat groups built around the Tirpitz Class.  Germany has always maintained a love-hate relationship with the federal superstate of the European Union, particularly so as it is dominated politically and culturally by France.  The DSKM, as a component element of the EUSDF, is technically subordinate to the political will of the EU Parliament rather than the German government itself, though as with France, the Stern Kreigsmarine is often deployed to represent the interests of Germany’s off-world colonies and assets first and the EU’s interests a distant second.

The Tirpitz is a beam-only battleship design sporting one of the largest laser batteries on a warship, a monstrous array with an effective range of 6000 kilometers.  The Tirpitz’s primary armament of three Class-4 and one Class-5 weapons is set up in the forward firing arcs, with only four secondary lasers covering the aft arcs.  To keep the battleship’s primary lasers on target, the ship has a 0.75 G AMPLAR drive, allowing it to pivot while still maintaining maneuver ability.  Six point defense lasers protect the ship against missiles and fighters.  Three ships of the Tirpitz Class were constructed between 2318 and 2324, though their authorization was hotly debtated in the Bundestag.  The ruling coalition wanted to increase Germany’s power and prestige within the EU by challenging French dominance of the combined Space Defense Force, while minority factions railed against the great expense – money that could be spent on social welfare projects instead.  A compromise was reached in 2316, whereby five ships of the class would be constructed in orbital shipyards dominated by labor unions loyal to the minority party.  Cost overruns, suspiciously timed labor strikes, and several appropriation scandals resulted in only three of the proposed quintet of battleships leaving Earth orbit by 2324, and the ruling party shelved any plans for a follow on series of warships.  

In spite of the many difficulties involved in bringing the Tirpitz to life, the battleship has demonstrated its capabilities in several actions against pirates and one confrontation with a Manchurian task force attempting to destroy a convoy of neutral shipping bound for the Russian colony of Novaya Sverdlovsk.  In the second instance, a single blast from the Scharnhorst at more than twice the effective range of the opposing Jiangwei class light cruiser’s lasers was enough to convince the Manchurians to disengage.  The Tirpitz class was replaced within the DSKM by the Helmut Kohl class in 2355, a modern battleship design following the lead of the British Royal Starfleet's Nelson class in utilizing the recently developed meson gun technology as its primary weapon.  One of the three Tirpitz class battleships constructed, the Erich Raeder, was demilitarized and sold to Schenk Logistik Gruppe, GmbH, for scrap in 2358.  In a surprising move, SLG did not scrap the battleship, but instead refitted it as an armed explorer and colony ship, and sent it into Sagittarius in late 2360 to support the colonization of Neu Bavaria, and was subsequently marooned by the Stargate crash in January of 2361.  The demilitarized Erich Raeder retained its original Class-1 mounts along with two additional Class-1 mounts in place of its Class-2 weapons.  Like many demilitarized warships converted to civilian use, the Raeder retains its military AMPLAR drive (though without a supply of expensive antimatter, the ship's Delta-Vee rating is halved), its armor belt, and the structural and power distribution elements for its heavy laser batteries should the means and the need arise to rearm the ship.  The Long Jump Stardrive system originally fitted was replaced with an SSTE Class-XIII Short Jump system upon the Raeder's refit with Schenk.  At the moment the Erich Raeder is in orbit around Neu Bavaria where negotiations between Schenk, the SDC, and (it is rumored) the Jin Xian Commonwealth are in motion to procure the former battleship and refit her as a warship.

Ships of the Class
Vessel Name
 Hull Number
 Laid Down
 Commissioned
 Status
Erich Raeder
 AMC-282
 14 July 2321
 28 September 2324
 Active with Schenk Logistik Gruppe, GmbH

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