Mesan Alignment Navy

The Mesan Alignment Navy, or MAN, was the primary military force of the Mesan Alignment.
It appeared for the first time in 1922 PD during Operation Oyster Bay. As the Alignment was a covert organization, the official navy of Mesa was the Mesan Space Navy.
== History ==
The MAN was the secret branch of the Alignment military, whose existence was unknown to anyone in the Galaxy save the population of the Darius System where the Navy's ships were designed and built, MAN personnel, and the leadership of the Alignment. Until the execution of Operation Oyster Bay, its existence was unsuspected by anyone else. It was completely separate and independent from the Mesan Space Navy, a relatively small conventionally armed and publicly known force. (, )
== Implemented Inventions ==
It was not entirely clear whether the Mesan Alignment technology was manifestly superior to that of the Star Empire of Manticore. However, the MAN developed and implemented several drives and weapons technologies that the Manticorans not only did not have but in many instances were not even aware of. The nature of these innovations profoundly affected the MAN's strategy and tactics:
* new drives, like:
** the spider drive – enabled slow, but effectively undetectable, large vessels, but requiring significantly different warship construction,
** the streak drive – produced dispatch boatsAnd possibly other ship types. that were about 45% faster than their Manticoran counterparts,
* technologies concerning the covert attack, like:
** the stealth missile pod – enabled distant standoff launch and long ballistic travel with relatively slow velocity, as well as anti-particle protection for the missiles,
** well-developed stealth technology, resulting with stealth scout ship,
* modified missiles, like:
** the graser torpedo – a spider drive powered, and so effectively undetectable, missile supporting a novel application of the graser energy weapon; in its first implementation, it contained a very substantial computer capability, allowing for very long runs to target from distant launch points,
** the Cataphract DDM missiles – large constructions based on Solarian League Navy shipkiller missiles supplemented with an additional anti-missile drive but armed with a weaker laser headCarrying only half as many lasing rods as a standard one..
These inventions were ultimately used to introduce a brand new covert attack doctrine, similar in nature to the introduction of the U-boat in the days of the pre-Diaspora wet navy. (, )
== Organization ==
Benjamin Detweiler, director of military affairs, was in charge of the Mesan Alignment Navy. ()
=== Covert Navy ===
Naval forces directly controlled by the Mesan Alignment, built and generally stationed in the Darius System. Scout ships and their carriers before Operation Oyster Bay were stationed in the Mesa System.
For Operation Oyster Bay, available forces were assigned to Task Force 1 and Task Force 2.
=== Supplementary Navies ===
Naval forces belonged to the star nations constituting the Mesan Alignment:
* Mannerheim System-Defense Force – the strongest one, operating dreadnoughts
* 10 other system navies
:See also: Mesan Naval Affairs
== Personnel ==
* Mesan Alignment Navy officers were clones and originated from Mesan alpha, beta and gamma lines. ()
* Mesan Alignment Navy enlisted personnel were very likely members of slave lines settled in the the Darius System, where MAN was based ()
== Service record ==
The first operation of the MAN was Operation Oyster Bay in early 1922 PD, a covert attack against Manticoran Alliance shipyards in the Manticore and Yeltsin's Star System. ()
== Platforms ==
As of August 1921 PD, the Mesan Alignment Navy consisted of a handful of carefully hidden destroyers and light cruisers, but with stronger firepower than the whole Mesan Space NavyWith its 25 battlecruisers.. Additionally, in late 1921 PD, the MAN possessed frigate-size scout ships and battleship-size pod-laying training strike ships like those used in Operation Oyster Bay. Four million ton, freighter scout carriers held under a false flag existed as well and were used to transport the frigate-size scout shipsE.g. MANS Wallaby.. (,,)
Known MAN classes included:
* Ghost-class – frigate-size scout ship
* a destroyer class
* a light cruiser class
* fast battlecruiser class
* Shark-class – battleship-size training pod-laying strike ship
* Leonard Detweiler-class – superdreadnought-size pod-laying strike ship (under construction in 1922 PD)
== References ==
Category:Mesa
Category:Mesan Alignment Navy
Category:Mesan Alignment Components