Eraser class Frigate
| Eraser class Frigate | |
|---|---|
 High tech alien raider | |
| Type: EF Frigate | |
| Category | ACS |
| Size | 700 Tons |
| Hull Configuration | Saucer Hull |
| Streamlining | Streamlined Hull |
| Tech Level | TL–17 |
| Engineering | |
| Computer | Model/1 with extra processing power |
| Jump | J-10 |
| Maneuver | 8 G |
| Fuel Treatment | Purifier |
| Armaments | |
| Hardpoints | 7 |
| Offensive | large particle beam bay, 2 triple turrets with beam laser & 2 plasma guns |
| Accommodations | |
| Staterooms | 5 |
| Personnel | |
| Crew | 5 |
| Officers | 1 |
| Enlisted | 4 |
| High/Mid Passengers | |
| Payload | |
| Cargo | 8.25 Tons |
| Fuel tank | 143 Tons |
| Carried craft | none |
| Construction | |
| Origin | beyond Charted Space |
| Price | |
| Cost | MCr545.375 |
| Maintenance cost | Cr47,635 |
| Statistics | |
| Quick Ship Profile | EF-GS8A |
| Universal Ship Profile | EF-H78A8S-AE |
| Images | |
| Blueprint | Yes |
| Illustration | No |
| Source | |
| Canon | Unpublished, fan design |
| Designer | Adrian Tymes |
| Design System | Mongoose 2nd |
| Era | Third Imperium |
| Reference | Fan: Adrian Tymes |
The Eraser class Frigate is a TL–17 Frigate from beyond Charted Space.
This article reflects a reconstructed design that should be considered hypothetical. It is not known if standard templates to manufacture this design still exist. All known examples are Artifact ships, as their makers were apparently exterminated long ago and it is not possible to recreate these ships with presently available technology. Further, all known surviving examples are disabled to some degree (those few that have been reconstructed to be anything more than scrap, have necessarily been rebuilt with lesser technology). This article reflects the estimated performance when these ships were operational. At least one aspect greatly exceeds known possible limits (in the Third Imperium as of 1105), so either the information is incorrect or this design incorporates much greater technology than is presently known. In order to avoid speculation that might degrade this article's utility to future historians, this article assumes the latter.
Description
A brutally effective raider design, this was a basic sphere hull equipped with a massive weapon bay - not quite a true spinal weapon as this ship was far too small for that, but the principle was similar. It jumped into a system under hostile control, sought out contacts and fired from beyond range of most possible reprisals. Once out of viable targets or once it detected significant hostile naval forces incoming, it retreated and jumped out.
Aside from the primary weapon and the enhanced jump drive, the advanced technology of the design shows in the significant degree of automation, reducing crew support needs to what limited non-weapon volume the hull provided. All pilot and gunner tasks appear to have been entrusted to software. Sensor operator duties could be as well, though it appears that in practice this was often manually performed, perhaps by the astrogator or captain when not otherwise engaged.
The hull shape straddles the line between a flattened Sphere Hull and a thick Saucer Hull. What their naval architects were going for with this might never be known, but the design was able to enter planetary atmospheres and engage in wilderness refueling. It was distinct enough that Erasers (and everyone else) could generally identify other Erasers by shape, which appears to often have been among the few sensor details available at the extreme ranges Erasers engaged at.
General Description & Deck Plans
- Deck Plans for this vessel.
Basic Ship Characteristics
Following the Imperial Navy and IISS Universal Ship Profile and data, additional information is presented in the format shown here [1]
| Basic Ship Characteristics [2] | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Category | Remarks |
| 1. | Tonnage / Hull | Tonnage: 700 tons (standard). 9800 cubic meters. Streamlined Saucer Hull.
|
| 2. | Crew | Crew: crew: 1 Captain, 1 Astrogator, 2 Engineers, 1 Mechanic. Pilots, Gunners, and Sensor Operator provided by software. |
| 3. | Performance | Acceleration: 8-G maneuver drive installed.
|
| 4. | Electronics | Model/1 with extra processing power. |
| 5. | Hardpoints | 7 hardpoints, all used. |
| 6. | Armament | 1 particle beam weapon bay. |
| 7. | Defenses | 2 triple-mount turrets, each with 1 beam laser and 2 plasma guns. |
| 8. | Craft | None. Vacc suits required for most EVA (extra-vehicle activity). Rescue Balls for crew escape not carried, as the operators (apparently correctly) expected the ships would only be destroyed in hostile territory, where they preferred death to capture. |
| 9. | Fuel Treatment | It is typically equipped with a fuel purification plant and fuel scoops. |
| 10. | Cost | MCr545.375. MCr490.8375 in quantity. These prices are speculative, since the capability to manufacture the ship has been destroyed. Architect's fee was presumably paid by the force that operated this class. |
| 11. | Construction Time | 7 months standard, 5 in quantity. These times are speculative (see above notes on cost). |
| 12. | Remarks | A alien raider and harasser, striking from long range then jumping away. |
History & Background
These were encountered during the Yaskoydri Technocracy's Fourth Doctrinal War (249-255). Invaders from coreward of Charted Space arrived with intention to completely exterminate the Technocracy. Erasers were among the vanguard, probing Technocracy defenses and wreaking havoc where they could.
Missiles proved to be the only real counter to Erasers. Fortunately, missiles were something the Technocracy could supply. This tended to result in massive overkill, so in every recorded encounter with an Eraser, either it was reduced to unsalvageable scrap or it managed to escape. Even after the invaders' giant mothership was finally defeated, the surviving Erasers fought on as long as they could, apparently seeing it their duty to inflict as much damage as possible.
After the war, salvage crews attempted to reverse engineer what wrecks they could find. The only identifiable remains were scraps of armor, at first assumed to be an advanced form of superdense but attempts to derive it from superdense universally failed. Salvage efforts tailed off within several decades, though now and then rumors of another Eraser wreck have popped up, usually sparking a treasure hunt. Around 1050 there were rumors the Tijian Khaganate had some sort of "inside track" - a database including last known locations of the invaders' entire Eraser fleet - but nothing seems to have come of it even if this rumor was true.
Class Naming Practice/s & Peculiarities
Ship Interior Details (Peculiarities): What details have been reconstructed suggest the Eraser was, despite being a military vessel, rather lightly constructed, without even bulkheads separating the bridge. As might be expected for a vessel like this, the rest of the ship was wrapped around its central weapon. The drive space and fuel use are consistent with jump-1 performance, but historical records have Erasers operating up to 10 parsecs from known bases, and otherwise suggest that jump-10 was somehow possible.
Class Naming Practice/s: The moniker "Eraser" is a loose translation from the language of this class's makers. Records of the actual class name in its native language are unavailable. Its makers termed it a "destroyer" in the sense of "that which destroys"; Imperial naval parlance places it as more of a frigate, so that is what this article reflects. It is unknown what its makers designated individual ships, whether there was a naming scheme or just registration numbers, though given its military purpose it is easy to suppose the latter.
Selected Variant Types & Classes
4 Representative Frigate (EF) Classes
References
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This ship was designed using Mongoose 2nd ship design rules.
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- Author: Adrian Tymes
- ↑ Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.
- ↑ Timothy B. Brown. Fighting Ships (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 10.