Hades-class heavy cruiser

The Hades-class heavy cruiser, formally known as the Hades-class heavy attack cruiser, was a class of heavily armed cruisers used by the United Nations Space Command during both the Insurrection and the Human-Covenant War. It was designed as a aggressively deployed attack cruiser along with the Io-class light cruiser as part of the UNSC's military rearmament program in response to the Insurrection. Replacing the earlier obsolete Victoria-class armored cruiser they saw service during the where they assisted in annihilating the Insurrectionist's makeshift fleet and during the Falkirian War for Independence. 
At the time the Hades were considered one of the most heavily armed and armored warships in the fleet bristling with weapons including two new Mark III heavy-coil Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, one-hundred forty , thirty-six point defense guns, fourteen ATAF missile turrets, and 11A2R1 eight coilgun batteries all packed within a rather compact hull that wasn't quite built to contain so many weapons. The ship was so well armed for its time that it was the subject of controversy. 
Crew accommodations aboard the Hades were famous for being cramped and uncomfortable as most of the space aboard the ship that normally would have gone to crew space had been taken up by weapon systems leaving little room for crew comfort. This along with their high maintenance requirements made the Hades-class unpopular with their crews who would nickname them "Hell-class cruisers" and the ships were stereotyped for having terrible living conditions. Eventually the Hades' armaments would become outdated and was slowly phased out by the Navy in favor of the Marathon-class and production finally ceased in 2512. 
Though somewhat aged by 2525 the class was still in service patrolling the Outer Colonies as part of reserve fleets. The Hades-class suffered horrendous losses in the early years of the Human-Covenant War. The ship's now outdated arsenal was mostly ineffective against Covenant shield technology with only their MAC cannons capable of putting a dent in their shields. Their patchy armor coverage and tightly clustered weapon systems made them dangerously vulnerable to plasma weaponry. The Hades-class became known for having the highest crew fatality rate of any cruiser during the war. 
Their high fatality rate led to proposals to scrap them but these were rejected as the UNSC could not afford to waste an entire line of cruisers when they needed all the firepower they could get. Instead, the Hades-class were put through a refit and continued to serve in the war for several more years. Many of them were attached to Admiral Cole's fleet, participating and taking heavy losses in the battles of , Midvale, , and . The last operational Hades was destroyed in 2535 rendering the class extinct.
==Known Ships of the Line==
 Name 	 Hull Classification Symbol 	 Commissioned 	 Notes 
UNSC Hades 	HA-1 	January 23, 2490 	Lead ship. Took part in the Eridanus Rebellion. Destroyed during the
UNSC Evicerator 	HA-34 	April 3, 2491 	
UNSC Ravager 	HA-44 	August 9, 2492 	
Category:Cruiser classes
Category:Add Known
Category:UNSC Ship Classes