South Dakota (Battleship)

==Description==
The South Dakota-Class Battleship is a WarShip produced in the JA Baker's Outer Colonies AU. Primary combatant constructed in in 31st Century by the Colonies starting in 3067.
Fluff below will list both the original fluff for the South Dakota for BA Baker's Outer Colonies for the ship.
===Overview of the South Dakota Class Battleship===
The 3067 Strategic Defense Review sited several glaring problems with the
Outer Colonies Defense Force, mainly its reliance on equipment that was
hundreds of years old. With the cost of updating everything to modern
standards prohibitive, the derision was made to come up with entirely new
designs to compliment the existing order of battle.
Based on the venerable Star League era Texas, the South Dakota class was
created to counter the large number of Battleship's in the Clan fleets, and
can cripple a ship of similar mass with one or two well placed broadsides.
==Armament and Equipment==
Taking the base frame of the Texas and extending it slightly, the team
behind the South Dakota came up with a much more powerful design intended to
engage other Battleships in fleet actions, with or without the support of
screening units. Much faster then many comparative designs, the South Dakota
is also light on docking collars, a move driven by financial considerations on
a project that was already over budget.
With an armament built around Heavy Particle Projection Cannons and large
caliber Lasers, the South Dakota can operate for a prolonged period of time
away from support elements. Backing these up are a large number of capital
scale autocannons and missile launchers, we well as a number of smaller
weapons intended for anti-fighter and point-defense. A thick amour belt, much
improved over that of the Texas, should, in theory, allow the South Dakota to
take more damage then its predecessor. It also has a re-enforced internal
structure, making it much more resilient to even penetrating hits, with
computer simulations showing the vessel still capable of moving under its own
power with up to 80% armor loss.
==Cargo==
* Bay 1 - Small Craft (10) - 2 Doors 
* Bay 2 - Fighters (36) - 6 Doors
* Bay 3 - Cargo (27,000 Tons) - 2 Doors
==Notable Ships==
===Outer Colonies Alternate Universe===
Notable Vessels & Crews
SLS South Dakota (Under Construction)
SLS Ohio (Under Construction)
SLS Indiana (Under Construction)
SLS Massachusetts (Under Construction)
SLS Alabama (Under Construction)
SLS North Carolina (Under Construction)
SLS Washington (Planned)
SLS Iowa (Planned)
SLS Wyoming (Planned)
SLS Florida (Planned)
SLS Montana (Planned)
SLS Maine (Planned)
==Notes==
*Missing Information - The original program used to make the South Dakota was Heavy Metal Aero. The program while largely obsolete and no longer updated, which itself has issues. Its unclear if the Battle Value listed here is correct.
*Wiki Note - No HMA file was provided, the additional Bay was added due to it being illegal to have fighters and small craft in same bay. The fighters and small craft are listed separately.
*Image Note - Image used for this article is a substitute image. There has not been any actual art work made for this ship. The ship fluff indicate its based on the canon Texas Battleship, thus this ship using a fan created/funded variation of the Texas.
==Bibliography==
==External Links==
*Original Post of the Ship, on OutBattletech.com forums.
==References==
Category:Large WarShips
Category:Works by JA Baker
Category:Outer Colonies AU
Category:WarShipsCustom