Nemesis Carrier Sub

**Key Features** | »Holding bay for single Kestral seaplane»Reserves of surface torpedos (for seaplane)»*Porcupine* Anti-Submarine Projector»Streamlined central tower»Storage Compartments (for scrap)

## Tactical Analysis

* **El Barco:** One of the few submarines in the employ of the Combine, Nemesis Submarines are redesigned pre-WW2 subs meant for long range offensive support and harassment abilities. With underwater capabilities as well as ability to notify a Commander when enemy subs are near, they are at home in a fleet or as an independent.

* **Carrion Gull:** The primary purpose of the Nemesis is to act as a sub-based aircraft carrier, housing a single seaplane equipped with bouncing bombs that excel against ships, defenses, and to an extent lighter ground vehicles. The sub must remain surfaced for the entirety of the bombing run, but the long range of the plane allows it to hit targets well out of retaliation range.

* **Prickly Greeting:** With the number of enemy submarines in enemy forces, Nemesis crews are beginning to pull double-duty as supportive sub hunters. Porcupine Anti-Submarine Projectors are nigh-useless as offensive weapons against surface ships, but they can crack submarines above or below the water and require less time to fire than the Kestral.

## Background

*"Salvage rights!"*

-Nemesis captain, preparing an assault on a spotted Bishop Ironclad
Though the Allied Nations are an increasingly interconnected and unified (some would say too unified) group of nations, it is only recently that this has been the case. Even though Allied diplomats may try to smooth over past differences and histories in the name of international cooperation, it is still true that less than forty years ago the European powers that would later join the Allies were preparing for another possible war between themselves...the most prepared perhaps being Germany. Embittered by both the restrictions put upon them by the Treaty of Versailles and their resultant economic collapse, the Germans did their best to circumvent the restrictions of the Treaty and clandestinely develop new designs of war. One such design, created in the mid 30s, was the Type VIII Tyrant-class Unterseeboot. Designed in anticipation of the need to disrupt trans-Atlantic and northern sea commerce in possible future wars with western European nations, the Type VIII U-boat was derived from earlier German submarines and modified for extended range and sustained operations away from port, outfitted with a scouting seaplane for finding enemy ships and then kitted with torpedoes and a deck gun to ambush them. At the time, German naval officers envisioned grand fleets of Tyrants, spread out all over the world to deliver modern firepower to any that threatened the reclaimed glory of the Fatherland.

But when war broke out, it was the invasion of Germany rather than the other way around, and the very nations that had counter-tactics made against them were friends rather than foes. The Type VIIIs that would have dominated European navies in the 1940s were woefully obsolete against the advanced Soviet submarines and naval tactics of the 1950s, and were largely port-side for the greater part of the war. Aside from a few early battles (in which almost all Tyrants were sunk by faster and nimbler Typhoon Attack Subs), the only real contribution of the Type VIII to the war was as an early reference for the unpopular GSV-53 Razor Sub. After the war, the design fared no better: with submarines an unpopular subject amongst the Allies and even the modernized Razor Subs being quietly destroyed, the obsolete Tyrants were either destroyed or sold off to smaller nations. One such nation was Venezuela, then just beginning to see some economic expansion from its oil reserves. At the time President Jiménez was trying to keep power in the hands of the Venezuelan government rather than the increasingly powerful Standard Oil, and so rather than being used for military purposes, the Tyrants were used for economical ones. Stripped of their weapons, the Type VIIIs ended up not as victorious conquerors and raiders, but as salvage vessels.

But they were still around when Technocracy came to Venezuela. Their crews, themselves embittered against their better-equipped Syndicate rivals, were all too happy to join the Party and take up arms when the Syndicate decided to put down the Venezuelan change in government. Though obsolete, the Tyrants still put up a fight in the skirmishes and raids to follow in 1961, outfitting their observation planes with crude bombs and restoring ancient deck guns to working status. And when a ceasefire had been reached, and the young Technate began to search for a navy, they found they still had plenty of Tyrants available for use.

The **Nemesis class Submarine** is thus a direct descendant of the Tyrant, with many being completely overhauled older Type VIIIs and others being completely new ships entirely. Rather than try to play to the old tactics of the Tyrant the way Razors did, Nemesis subs instead were designed to play to the strengths observed in skirmishes with the Syndicate. Almost all guns and weapons from the Tyrant have been taken out, the space instead used to construct an enclosed and partially embedded hangar for the large (relatively speaking) Kestral Seaplane in the aft section of the ship. Storage once used for torpedoes is instead used to pack bombs for the seaplane, and where the deck gun once stood a Anti-Submarine Projector is now placed for usage against other subs. The hull is streamlined to provide better speed and maneuverability underwater, and the central tower shorter and more swept forward than normal. Rather than attack directly where their lack of armour and offensive power would prove disastrous against enemy ships, the Nemesis instead acts as an unseen raider, lurking invisibly underwater until a fresh target is spotted. Rising to the surface, the Nemesis stabilizes and opens its hangar doors, Kestral rising into the air and ready to attack a target that likely has no idea there's anyone else in the area. As many crews of Nemesis convoys served aboard Type VIIIs as deep-sea salvage and repair crews themselves, they take pride and even a kind of vicious glee when carrying out their orders: having seen their ships transformed from forgotten cast-offs to gleaming raider subs, said crews are eager to show their new found power and on occasion have been reprimanded for prematurely ordering bombing runs on much larger and powerful ships.

### Behind the Scenes

The Nemesis Sub is visually based on a combination of a Type IX U-Boat and Bohn retro-future ship designs.