SPACESHIPS of the Universal Century

At the true top of the Scaled Warefare option ladder for players of UC3K is the BattleCruiser or StarCruiser. A space warship capable of transporting battlemechs and mounting inredible artillery. One BattleCruiser should be sufficient to destroy an Earth city or Space Colony. IF there was noone there to defend it. These vessels are the most destructive and war machines ever created. Hermes antigravity drives allow them surface to orbit capability and their enormous fusion and Minovsky drives make them capable of travelling interplanetary distances in very short times.

Chivvay-class heavy cruiser

In the Universal Century, the Chivvay-class heavy cruiser was a ship developed by the Principality of Near Earth Orbitals to help protect convoys and perform miscellaneous tasks. It was often used to as a flagship in a battle group. It was equipped with two triple barreled beam turrets, multiple twin barreled anti-air batteries and several missile launchers, but originally was not designed to carry battle mechs. Its size was sufficient that its cargo bays could be, and usually were, easily converted to mech hangers. A handful of these vessels were remade into Tivvay-class heavy cruisers, and some of the Chivvay class vessels were refitted for use by NEO space attack commanders. The class proved itself useful, but in the end the NEO drive for ships with battle mech capacity resulted in the discontinuation of the class.

Chivvay class
Unit type: heavy space cruiser
Manufacturer: Principality of Near Earth Orbitals
Operator(s): Principality of Near Earth Orbitals
First commissioned: June UC 0070
Ships commissioned: ?
Class type: Heavy Cruiser
Class namesake: Unknown
Launched: June UC 0070
Preceded by: N/A
Succeeded by: Tivvay-class cruiser
Ships of the line: Unknown
General Characteristics
Displacement: 16,000 tons
Length: 235 meters
Width: 99.4 meters
Height: 113.2 meters

Armament:
3-barrel main gun turret x2,
2-barrel machine gun turret x18
missile launcher x12
Mech Hangers: None originally,Cargo Bays were refitted for use as Mech Hangers
Mech Catapults: None
Mech Capacity: 8
Powerplant: Unknown

Gwazine class battleship

The Gwazine class battleship are developed by the Principality of NEO to be flagships for the various space fleet Admirals. Although they fill a role similar to that of the Earth Federal Space Force's Magellan class battleships, the Gwazine class completely outclass the Megellan class in several ways.

The Gwazine class ships are the most powerful space warships during One Year War, even more powerful than the Federation's Pegasus class ships, and the second biggest type, second only to the Dolos-class heavy carrier ships. They are equipped with three massive double-barreled mega particle cannon turrets mounted on the topside. They also have ten smaller double-barreled mega particle cannon turrets, similar to the ones used by the Musai class light cruisers and finally the have large amount of 155mm double-barreled anti-aircraft machine guns mounted below the bow. But the biggest weapon on the Gwazine class ships are their Mech hangers. Each of these ships has room for up to twenty battle mechs, more than triple what the Federation's Pegasus-class ships can hold.

On the other hand the Gwazine class have a few drawbacks. The ships are so large that only handful would be constructed before and during the war. Also these vessels are bulky, hence maneuvering them around the battlefield takes time.

At the end of the One Year War only one Gwazine class ship was still in service.

Gwazine class
Unit type: space battleship
Manufacturer: ?
Operator: Principality of NEO
First commissioned: March UC 0076
Ships commissioned: >6

Overall length: 440 meters
Overall width: 320 meters
Overall height: 103 meters
Full weight: 108,100 metric tons

Propulsion:
rocket engine x 8

Unit complement:
Battle Mechs x 20

Armament:
2-barrel main gun turret x 3
2-barrel secondary gun turret x 10
155mm machine gun turret x many

Ships of the Line:
Blitkreig
Xavion
Kaizer
PanzerFaust
Herzog
Herzog Zwei

Magellan-class battleships

The Magellan-class battleships were authorized as part of the Year 70 Armament Reinforcement Plan, begun in response to the rapid increase in arms at Side 3. The Magellan-class was developed in conjunction with the Salamis-class cruiser, and at the time of their commissioning the Magellan-class was the most powerful warship in the Earth Federal Space Force. The first Magellans relied on shells and gunpowder to shoot projectiles, but were later refitted with beam weaponry sometime before the One Year War. All Magellan-class ships featured seven twin turret mega particle cannons in all, along with 14 anti-aircraft machineguns, which later be used to help defend the ships against Battle Mech attacks.

At the Outbreak of the One Year War the Earth Federal Space Force fleet commanders were surprised by the NEO deployment of Battle Mechs, which could out distance, out shoot, and out maneuver the Space Fleets ships. Fortunately for the Magellan-class, Federation engineers had installed several anti-aircraft guns on the battleships, but the Magellan fleet still took losses. Early in the One Year War Fleet Admiral Arcturus' flagship Ananke was lost at during the Loum War while attempting to prevent a colony drop. Admiral Tianem, commander of the EFSF 4th Fleet lost its flagship Titan while covering retreating Federal Forces after the Loum War. In September Magellan, Admiral Watkins' flagship, was scuttled at Luna II to allow The Warhammer to escape the facility.

As the One Year War entered its final leg the Federation began mass production of their first crude Battle Mechs. This was a blessing because the Federation's space fleet would now have Mechs to counter NEO Mechs; however, dedicated Mechs fighting ships such as the Pegasus-class assault carriers were few and far between.

Class type: Battleship
Class namesake: In honor of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan
Launched: October Universal Century 0070
Preceded by: N/A, First Space Force battleship class
Succeeded by: Birmingham class battleship
Ships of the line: Ananke, Nereid, Phoebe, Titan, Luzar, Hyperion, Hood, Kilimanjaro

General Characteristics
Displacement: 62,900 tons
Length: 327 meters
Width: 102 meters
Height: 96 meters

Armament:
7 2-barrel beam turrets
14 anti-aircraft machine guns
4 Internal missile launchers
Mech Hangers: None
Mech Catapults: N/A
Mech Capacity: 4-6 Mechs on outer hull
Powerplant: Minovsky-Ionesco Fusion Reactor

Salamis-class cruisers

The first Salamis-class cruisers were launched in conjunction with the Magellan-class battleships as part of the Earth Federal Space Force's Year 70 Armament Reinforcement Plan in U.C. 0070. They were armed with conventional weaponry: six main cannon turrets, six two-barrel machine gun turrets for anti-fighter (and later anti-mech) defense, and two six-cell external missile launchers. By U.C. 0079 most of the cruiser's original main cannon turrets had been upgraded with superior mega particle cannons. The original Salamis-class suffered heavy casualties during the One Year War due to the general superiority of the NEO' combination of their Musai-class light cruisers and their MS-06C Zaku II battle mechs. In particular, the nuclear-bazooka-armed C-Type Zaku II extracted a heavy toll against the Salamis-class, as their thinly armored hulls were ill-suited to withstand nuclear weaponry. For this and a combination of other reasons, the Earth Federation order the Earth Federal Space Force to recall the last remaining Salamis vessels to the asteroid base Luna II, where they remained until September U.C. 0079, until the Federation scientists finally launched their first battle mechs. The remaining ships of the Federation's fleet were redeployed into combat zones with the new RGM-79 GM battle mechs and RB-79 Ball mobile pods for protection. Unfortunately, the Salamis-class ships could only store their new mechs and mobile pods on the outer hull of the ship, due to the fact that the ships lacked any sort of hangar bay. Although the Salamis class would suffer even more causalities throughout the remainder of the war, they proved to be more effective when used in conjunction with battle mechs, which would play a role in the Salamis Kai design a few years later.

Salamis class
Unit type: space cruiser
Manufacturer: Earth Federal Forces
Operator(s): Earth Federal Forces

First commissioned: October UC 0070
Ships commissioned: >48

Overall length: 288 meters

Unit complement:
Battle Mech x 4
re-entry capsule x 1
Launch catapults: 1

Armament:
main gun turret x 5
2-barrel main gun turret x 2
secondary gun turret x 4
2-barrel secondary gun turret x 6
missile launcher x 8

Class namesake: The island of Salamis in Greece; The Battle of Salamis

Launched: October Universal Century 0070
Preceded by: N/A, First Space Force cruiser class
Succeeded by: Clop-class cruiser

Ships of the line: 0070 Salamis, Saffran, Madagascar, Cisco, Philadelphia

Displacement: Original: Unknown

Length: Original: 288 meters

Width: Original: 68.5 meters

Hieght: Original: 61.3 meters

Armament:
6 single barrel beam turrets
6 2-barrel machine gun turrets
2 6 tube external missile launchers
8 internal missile launchers
2 6 tube external missile launchers

MECHA Hangers Original: None

Mech Capacity Original: 4-6 MS on outer hull

Powerplant: Minovsky-Ionesco Fusion Reactor

Musai-Class Light Cruiser

The original Musai-Class Light Cruiser variant carried five MS-05 Zaku Is or MS-06 Zaku IIs battle mechs and supported them with a battery of three mega particle cannon turrets. This is the version seen most frequently during the One Year War. Earth Federation soldiers referred to this style of carrying as "three in the back and two under the hood." Using the Komusai pod bays to carry operational battle mechs (rather than for their initial purpose of carrying the battle mechs to the surface of the Earth) brought the mecha-carrying capacity of the Musai up almost to the same standard as the much larger EFSF Pegasus-class assault carrier. The standard Musai had three mech catapults mounted on the upper port, upper starboard and lower faces of its hexagonal mech hangar. Captian Vorstagg commanded a modified Musai I with a custom command bridge. Unfortunately, the original Musai-class ships had one major flaw: they lacked any type of Anti-Aircraft/Anti-Battle Mech defense systems. This flaw would return to haunt the NEOs in the latter half of the One Year War, when the Federal Forces deployed their own Battle Mechs.

Towards the end of the One Year War, however, the Musai had to be reorganized, and the NEO engineers remodeled the three-turret based cruisers into a two-turret model. This was due to the fact that the NEO forces were mostly now using the far more efficient battle mechs. This caused a problem though for the standard Musai model: The new mechs were far bulkier, making it impossible to fit three of the units inside the already cramped hangar. By remodeling the hangar and removing one of the mega beam cannon turrets, the hangar could hold two of the new "heavy" type Battle Mech units, while the Komusai could hold one of the "heavy" type mechs. However, the two turret models could also now hold four "standard" type Zaku IIs. Despite not being able to carry the heavy mechs, this didn't cancel the three-turret variant as they still continued service until the end of the war at Tanelorn.

Musai class
Unit type: light space cruiser
Manufacturer: ?
Operator(s): Earth Federation
First commissioned: July UC 0075
Ships commissioned: ?

Unit complement:
Battle mech x 4 (?)
Komusai shuttle x 1

Armament:
2-barrel main gun turret x 3
2-barrel secondary gun turret x 2
small missile launcher x 10
large missile launcher x 2

Class type: Light Cruiser
Class namesake: Musai
Launched: July Universal Century 0075
Preceded by: N/A, first NEO Light Cruiser class
Succeeded by: Endra-class cruiser

Ships of the line:
Camel, Falmel, Kuwamel, Swamel, Tokmel, Primus, Baromel, Remul, Brave

General Characteristics
Displacement: Original: 26,200 tons
Length: Original: 234 meters
Width: Original: 140 meters
Height: Original:62 meters

Armament:
3x 2-barrel beam turrets
2x Large missile launcher
10x small missile launcher

Mech Hangers: 1
Mech Capacity: 3-5
Other: 1x Komusai shuttle
Powerplant: Minovsky-Ionesco Fusion Reactor ?

Pegasus Class Assault Carriers

The Pegasus-Class Assault Landing Craft was the first ship of the Earth Federation to be designed around a capacity to carry Battle Mechs. These Assault Carriers are functionally equivalent to an aircraft carrier, as their primary function is to launch and recover battle mechs.

Since Pegasus-class ships carry their own Mechs with them at all times they are somewhat less dependent on their main guns and anti-aircraft guns for protection and they enjoy more freedom on the battlefield, as they do not have operate in close consort with other ships for mutual protection against enemy battle mechs. All Pegasus-class ships are also equipped with a Minovsky Hermes System which enable ships in this class to enter and exit the earth's atmosphere; additionally, the Hermes system allows for these Assault Carriers to float by Negating their susceptibility to gravity.

Unlike the other Federation ship classes of the time, the Pegasus-class is not so much a single class as a concept; rapidly advancing technology swiftly changed both the internal arrangement and external appearance of the Pegasus-class ships. Only the first two units (Pegasus SCV-69 and War Hammer SCV-70) were completed to the original plans. After the War Hammer, technology was advancing so quickly that each subsequent Pegasus-class cruiser looked significantly different, though each had the same general arrangement of a central hull with two large aft thruster blocks, two wings, and two forward mobile suit launching "legs." The overall design looked like a sphinx or a winged horse, giving the class its name.

After the One Year War, every ship was re-designated as Mech Support Carrier (MSC) whether it had survived the war or not.

To a practiced eye, no two ships of the Pegasus class are alike. The advancing technology of the war resulted in drastic changes that severely affected the external appearance of the ships. However, four distinct flights appeared:

Flight I: The base Pegasus design, repeated on War Hammer.,

Flight II: A modified Flight I design, seen on Thoroughbred, mostly similar but flatter in shape,

Flight III: New external design, included two additional catapults, a new laser propulsion system and generally improved armament.

Flight IV: Actually completed before Flight III, an improved Flight II design.

List of ships of the Pegasus-class

SCV-69 Pegasus
SCV-70 (LMSD-71) War Hammer
SCVA-72 Thoroughbred
SCVA-73 Trojan Horse
LMSD-76 Gray Phantom
MSC-07 (LMSD-78) Albion

At the outbreak of the One Year War, the Dreadnought-oriented Earth Federation Space Force was caught completely by surprise when the Principality of NEO deployed the agile Battle Mechs against their fleets. The Federation military quickly realized that they would also need battle mechs if they were to have any chance of victory, and instituted the famed Project V in order to develop a mass-production battle mech design. The EFSF also realized that their existing line of warships lacked mech transport and support capacity, and thus desperately in need of designs capable of mobile warfare. A new revolutionary warship class exclusively designed for Mecha combat and support was born — the Pegasus class.

Ship Characteristics

Displacement: Standard: 32,000 tons

Fully Loaded: 68,000 tons

Length: 262 meters

Beam: 202.5 meters

Draft: 93 meters

Wingspan: 185 meters

Armament: Dual Barrel 880mm Gun x2

Dual Barrel Mega Particle Cannon x2

Front Missile Discharge Device x24

Rear Missile Discharge Device x6

(CIWS system)

Dual Barrel Anti-Aircraft Gun x35

BattleMech Capacity 6

BattleMech Contingent:

RX-78-2 Nalfeshnee x1

RX-77-2 Artillery Mech x2

RX-75-4 Command tank x1