Autumn-class heavy Cruiser

**Name**: Autumn Class
**Craft**: UNSC Autumn Class Heavy Cruiser
**Type**: heavy cruiser
**Scale**: capital
**Length**: 1,425 x 383 x 431 meters
**Skill**: capital ship pilot
**Crew**: 1,218; skeleton: 121/+10
**Passengers**: 1,875 troops; 95 other personnel
**Cargo Capacity**: 28,500 metric tons
**Consumables**: 5 years
**Slip Space Drive**: x6
**Nav Computer**: yes
**Maneuverability**: 1D+2
**Space**: 8
**Atmosphere**: 365; 1,050 kmh
**Hull**: 7D
**Shields**: 3D+1
**Sensors**

* Passive: 40 / 1D
* Scan: 80 / 2D
* Search: 120 / 3D
* Focus: 4 / 4D

**Weapons**

* **Heavy MAC**

Fire Arc: forward
Crew: 2
Scale: capital
Skill: capital ship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Space Range: 2-15/38/75
Atmosphere Range: 4-30/76/150km
Damage: 10D+1
* **32 M58 Archer Missile delivery systems**

Fire Arc: 16 port, 16 starboard
Crew: 2
Scale: capital
Skill: capital ship gunnery
Fire Control: 2D
Space Range: 1-12/30/60
Atmosphere Range: 2-24/60/120km
Ammo: 30 per pod
Damage: 4D+2
* **12 M910 PDGs**

Fire Arc: turrets
Crew: 0; Automated
Scale: starfighter
Skill: Automated: Starship Gunnery: 4D
Fire Control: 1D
Space Range: 1-3/8/15
Atmosphere Range: 1-300/800/1,500m
Damage: 2D+1
* **4 Mark 40 Spitfire naval coilgun batteries**

Fire Arc: turrets: 2 forward, 1 port, 1 starboard
Crew: 1
Scale: starfighter
Skill: starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Space Range: 1-10/25/50
Atmosphere Range: 10-1,000/2,500/5,000m
Damage: 5D+2
* **Shiva-class Nuclear Missile Launcher** (optional)

Fire Arc: forward
Crew: 2
Scale: capital
Skill: capital ship gunnery
Fire Control: 4D
Space Range: 1-12/30/60
Atmosphere Range: 2-24/60/120km
Damage: 9D
**Description**: *“Autumn-class vessels are heavy cruisers, but also provide escort support when needed.”*
— Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide

The Autumn-class heavy cruiser is a United Nations Space Command cruiser starship classification designed after the war and based off the unique design of the heavily upgraded Halcyon-class light cruiser UNSC Pillar of Autumn. During the Fall of Reach and the Battle of Installation 04, the Pillar of Autumn performed feats of combat unrivaled by any other vessel during the course of the war. This was largely attributed to the Autumn's many combat upgrades, and inspired the Navy to develop and adopt a new standard-issue cruiser classification in the years following the Human-Covenant war.

During the war, Halcyon-class cruisers performed relatively well against superior Covenant vessels, largely due to their complicated and costly design. The cost of the the unique Halcyon design required to construct many of these cruisers caused NAVCOM to introduce a new, more economical, standard cruiser classification early in the war: the Marathon-class heavy cruiser. While the Marathon-class was heavily armed and boasted incredibly thick armor, it became even scarcer as the ships dwindled from attrition. Due to the scarcity of the Halcyon-class and the rareness of the Marathon-class, the Navy had only a handful of heavy cruisers by the final days of the war. However, a heavily modified Halcyon-class vessel (one of the oldest of its kind), UNSC Pillar of Autumn, received a wide array of upgrades prior to Operation: RED FLAG near the end of the war. These upgrades allowed Pillar of Autumn not only to serve with distinction during the Fall of Reach and the Battle of Installation 04, but allowed it to go head-to-head against a Covenant Supercruiser and emerge victorious, something no UNSC ship could boast until that point. Though the Autumn would eventually be destroyed on Installation 04, its upgrades inspired NAVCOM to commission yet another cruiser design named the Autumn-class in its honor. The design would not be finished until after the war, at which point the cruiser role in the UNSC Navy was filled by this new heavy cruiser class. The Home Fleet, decimated during the Battle of Earth and Battle of Mare Erythraeum, possessed at least ten Autumn-class heavy cruisers by early 2558, an improvement over the eight Marathon-class heavy cruisers fielded in October 2552.

**Source**:

* Halo Wiki: Autumn-class heavy cruiser
* thedemonapostle