Pegasus-class battlecarrier

The Pegasus-class battlecarrier was a hybrid class of carrier/cruisers used by the United Nations Space Command during the Human-Covenant War. The Pegasus-class was designed as part of a naval experiment based on experimental ship designs dating back in the 20th century, to create a class of warship that can dually function as a heavy cruiser and fully functional carrier. 
==Operational History==
By 2530 most of the Outer Colonies had been glassed by the Covenant. They had taken horrendous losses over the last five years, more than two hundred ships were lost and the Covenant showed no signs of even slowing down. It was becoming rapidly clear that they would not be able to prevent them from reaching the Inner Colonies as their stocks of older vessels were rapidly being depleted. Concept designs began as early as 2528 based on notes by Admiral Sebastian T. Shelby as a result of lessons learned from the Battle of Aldgate proposing a ship that can function in a heavy combat role and provide strong fighter support the same time. 
The original idea for the Pegasus Project was to create a carrier that mounted multiple cruiser-sized MAC cannons but this design immediately encountered problems making room for both an extensive enough hangar bay and MAC cannons so the idea was scrapped. Then the idea changed to cruiser-sized escort carriers that would allow for economic-scale production but this was also rejected by the Admiralty who decided that the design lacked sufficient firepower for front-line engagements, though this idea would be shelved for the later Aegis Project. Finally the designers settled on a heavily-armed and armored cruiser design with an elongated and expanded hull that would house extensive hangar bays for fighters and bombers without compromising space for the heavy weapons. There was significant opposition to the Pegasus-design. Several members of NAVCOM believed the idea was a waste of resources and that its dual-nature would compromise its overall effectiveness. But mounting losses made them desperate for new ships so the design went through. 
Construction on the first hull began in 2530 in the shipyards over Indus Minoris. The first ship of its line, the UNSC Pegasus, began its maiden voyage in 2531. The Pegasus was an elegant feat of engineering and a beautiful design. Superficially it resembled a large cruiser body but this semblance terminated midship into a greatly expanded and elongated hull that nearly doubled its mass and length. This section housed a series of armored hangar bays, six in total, that can hold ninety-five GA-TL1 Longswords fighters or bombers on standby. The ship sported two advanced Mark IV Heavy Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, two hundred archer missile pods, and Titanium-A armor that was more than two meters thick in some places, culminating in a formidable ship.
Only ten were made before the destruction of their shipyards at the Battle of Indus Minoris. Without their primary construction facility production of the Pegasus-class was permanently halted.
==Layout==
==Known Ships of the Line==
{| align="center" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|----- bgcolor=#006699
| Name 
| Hull Classification Symbol 
| Commissioned 
| Notes 
|-
| UNSC Pegasus
| PC-1
|
|Lead ship of the class.
|-
|UNSC Arion 
|PC-2
|
|
|-
|UNSC Buraq 
|PC-3
|
|
|-
|UNSC Haizum
|PC-4
|
|
|-
|UNSC Sleipnir 
|PC-5
|
|
|-
|UNSC Longma
|PC-6
|
|
|-
|UNSC Karkadann
|PC-7
|January 8th, 2535
|Led Strike Group Romeo during the Fall of Alluvion, destroyed during the same engagement.
|-
|UNSC Tianma
|PC-8
|
|
|-
|UNSC Chollima
|PC-9
|
|
|-
|UNSC Kelpie
|PC-10
|
|
|-
Category:Cruiser classes
Category:Carrier classes
Category:UNSC Ship Classes