Blake class Heavy Cruiser

Blake class Heavy Cruiser
Unpublished, non-canon fan design.
Type: CA Heavy Cruiser
Size	65,000 Tons
Hull Configuration	[[{{{hull}}}]]
Tech Level	TL–15
Engineering
Computer	No information yet available.
Jump	J-4
Maneuver	5 G
Armaments
Hardpoints	650
Accommodations
Staterooms	0
Personnel
Crew	632 (including 100 Marines)
Officers	54
Enlisted	468
Marines	100
High/Mid Passengers	0
Payload
Cargo	17 Tons
Fuel tank	0 Tons
Construction
Origin	Third Imperium
Year Operational	No information yet available.
Price
Cost	MCr44,423.934 (base) MCr35,539.147 (qty)
Architect fee	MCrRonald B. Kline, Jr.
Source
Canon	Unpublished, fan design
Starships are designed with the Classic Traveller format, using High Guard Shipyard v1.13 written by Andrea Vallance.

The Blake class Heavy Cruiser is a warship.

• It is a military ship and a Cruiser.

Description (Specifications)

The Blake class Heavy Cruiser was designed for service with the Fleets of the Domain of Sylea. The primary weapon is the large Meson Gun spinal mount, giving the vessel a powerful punch. In order to deal with potential critical damage stemming from its lack of hull armor, it carries multiple spare and secondary systems, including a backup Model/9fib computer and an extra nuclear damper and meson screen. The design process was strongly influenced by the former Duke of Oreo Subsector, in Massilia Sector, a keen amateur naval architect and an influential figure in the Imperial court. In compliance with the "Oreo Settlement" the ship carries an Alfred class Gunboat. It also has a pair of 20-Ton Gigs for use in Marine operations.

Basic Ship Characteristics

Following the Imperial Navy and IISS Universal Ship Profile and data, additional information is presented in the format shown here. The small craft factor indicates the number of squadrons (of ten craft) carried on the ship. Tonnage on the universal ship profile is shown in kilotons (thousands of tons) where necessary.

Basic Ship Characteristics

No.	Category	Remarks
1.	Tonnage	The Blake class is constructed using a 65,000 Ton hull built in a Close Structure configuration. The hull is partially streamlined, giving a relatively limited atmospheric performance that is reliant on its onboard gravitic systems. There are multiple airlocks located around the vessel. The cargo hold is accessed by large doors. The vessel has hardened and contoured ventral surfaces, allowing surface landings.
2.	Crew	632 personnel, including 100 Marines. 54 Officers, plus 5 Marine Officers. 478 Enlisted. Accommodations There are 316 Staterooms. All quarters are double occupancy. Accessible areas of the hull are fitted with grav plates and inertial compensators and have full life support and environmental systems. There are internal monitoring and security systems throughout the vessel. Individual sections of the hull can be sealed off. There are multiple emergency lockers.
3.	Performance	The vessel mounts a Jump-4 drive, a Maneuver-5 drive, and a Power Plant-10, giving performance of Jump-4 and 5-G acceleration. The ship has an agility rating of 4 and an emergency agility of 5. The internal fuel tankage is sufficient for one Jump-4 and gives the power plant 4 weeks duration. The engineering section has a main control room. Ladders, gantries and platforms give access to the machinery. The jump drive utilizes a lanthanum hull grid. The jump drive is fitted with a jump governor.
4.	Electronics	Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/9fib computer: the vessel has a backup Model/9fib computer. There are multiple workstations and control points throughout the vessel. The vessel is fitted with communications equipment, an advanced sensor array, and has an avionics suite. It is fitted with backup commo and sensor systems. It has a transponder unit that can be deactivated on command. It is equipped with a sophisticated ECM package.
5.	Hardpoints	650 hardpoints. The listed battery groupings are standard configurations for the class. Alternative battery groupings may be designated for specific missions.
6.	Armament	The normal weapons fit-out for a Blake class is: 1 Type T spinal Meson Gun. 100 triple Beam Laser turrets, typically grouped into ten batteries of 10 linked turrets. 100 dual Fusion Gun turrets, typically grouped into ten batteries of 10 linked turrets. 8 100-Ton bays, mounting Particle Accelerators. 10 50-Ton bays, mounting Heavy Missile Launchers.
7.	Defenses	The hull is unarmored. 100 triple Sandcaster turrets, typically grouped into 10 batteries of 10 linked turrets. The vessel is fitted with a nuclear damper unit. The vessel is fitted with a meson screen generator. It carries a backup nuclear damper and meson screen. 10 100-Ton bays, mounting Repulsors.
8.	Craft	Flight Section x2 20-Ton Gigs x5 90-Ton Alfred class Gunboats. The subcraft are housed in a dedicated hanger: the hanger can be sealed and has a total volume of 637 Tons. Drop Capsules There are 20 Drop Capsule tubes and their associated loading equipment. There is dedicated holding space containing an additional 80 Drop Capsules.
9.	Fuel Treatment	The vessel has internal fuel tankage of 32,500 Tons. The hull is fitted with fuel scoops. The vessel is equipped with a fuel purification plant that can refine all onboard fuel in a few hours: the plant is operated and maintained by the engineering crew.
10.	Cost	The basic cost of the vessel is MCr44,423.934 Architects Fee: MCr444.239
11.	Construction Time	194 weeks (45 months) as standard. Build times can be reduced by mass production and the efficiencies such processes generate, by increased financing, and by allotting additional yard resources and facilities to the construction contract.
12.	Comments	Standard cargo capacity amounts to 17 Tons. The cargo hold can be sealed and has independent life support and environmental systems.

History & Background (Dossier)

The Blake class Heavy Cruiser sees service in Fleets across the Domain of Sylea and beyond. It was designed to be produced in shipyards across the Domain and was intended for general Imperial service, and as such it bore no particular cultural or political influences within its architecture. However, the influential 14th Duke of Oreo Subsector, an enthusiastic student of naval architecture, became involved in the project and began making demands.

The 14th Duke was a direct descendant of the aristocratic Halls families, the pre-Imperial rulers of Oreo Subsector. When the Oreo Worlds, the proto-polity they controlled, was absorbed into the expanding Third Imperium they gained a privilege known as the "Oreo Settlement". This mandated that any vessels that were to serve with the 146th Fleet – the designation given to the former Oreo Worlds flotilla and considered by the 14th Duke to be his "personal Fleet" – must be locally designed and manufactured. The privilege had been granted by Cleon I himself and the Duke insisted that it must be honored. The Blake class had been selected for service with the Fleet's Heavy CruRons and as such became a target of the 14th Duke's meddling.

"Oreo Pattern" hulls – unarmored hulls built at lower tech levels and fitted out as TL-15 vessels – were already widely employed in warships across the Domain. The Navy proposed using hulls specifically built within Oreo Subsector as a potential compromise, but emphasized that but constructing an entire modern Imperial fleet within the confines of the Subsector was just not possible. The 146th was an Imperial Fleet, despite what the Duke chose to believe, and had to be able to serve the needs of the Imperium wherever required. Locally produced designs simply could not meet such demanding technological and strategic criteria.

The intransigence of the Duke eventually resulted in the direct intervention of the Archduke of the Domain – all vessels of the Blake class, no matter where they served, were to carry an Alfred class Gunboat, the personal design of the 14th Duke himself. The current Duke has maintained his father's policy and many classes of warship operating within the Domain carry at least one Alfred. Some naval officers resent the ongoing Noble influence on naval architecture: others see the broader financial and material benefits that such indulgences bring.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This article has metadata.

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller, Frank Chadwick, John Harshman. High Guard (Game Designers Workshop, 1980), 20-37. (Design Sequence Used)
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis), Captain, and Lead Naval Architect Ronald B. Kline, Jr. of the Imperial Navy
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science