C2/3CV (Calibration)

# The UES Calibration

UES Calibration was a C2/3CV class fleet carrier that had a reputation as the posterchild for innovative strategies and tactics among the United Earth Administration's navies. The model above has all doors removed so that the dimensions of the hangars can more easily be felt.

UES Calibration, the same as the rest of the C2/3CV class, was the last run of fleet carriers to sport the bow hangar. This bow hangar was implemented as it was theorized that the use of a magnetic launch system would increase the operational efficacy of its deployed craft. Unfortunately, this proved to be less than ideal for a multitude of reasons.

For one, rotating a ship with such a large moment of inertia along its long axes is a massive waste of time and energy in combat. However, this becomes a further detriment when the fact that an incredibly weak section of the hull, the hangar doors, are exposed to the brunt of enemy large caliber fire for an extended period of time.

As such, the designers ended up unwittingly sacrificing key components of structural integrity traditionally accounted for in the thick armor plating sealing the front of the ship while not achieving anything meaningful. Overall, the amount of hangar space for its mass was lower than predicted owing to the concrete that needed to be filled into the connecting void between the bow and core hangars.

That didn't mean that the design was a total flop however, as there were some very nice benefits to this bow hangar of a reduced size, largely in the form of utility.

This hangar sported uncharacteristically large doors, meaning that vessels far larger than the traditionally sized craft could be transported safely inside of it. This would often times take the form of a fleet repair ship or spare craft to replenish those in the main hangars. But it was more than just a modicum of utility that made the Calibration viable as a wartime vessel.

Where it failed in one innovation, it succeeded in two.

The first of these spectacular innovations was the 'pass-through' hangar. Not particularly special in terms of carrying capacity, but it made up for it in a rather unique way, throughput. This setup was accompanied by a system of refueling and rearming craft that not only made launch and retrieval operations easier to manage, but also made them faster, safer, and easier to plan around.

By retrieving a flight of craft and having them 'land' in the 'top' hangar, maintenance crew could set to work draining fuel from the tanks and looking for damage in need of repair. Then, the craft could be moved into the central section between the two hangars, a zero-gravity area where replacing heavily damaged plates and rearming the craft with more volatile and sensitive weapons could be done with relative ease compared to an environment with gravity as a factor.

Once the vehicles are fully repaired and rearmed, they are then pulled through to the 'lower' hangar, where they are then refueled and once again launched into combat. This process, while quick, can still take up to an hour owing to how important it is to scan for damage, which is a perfect amount of time to allow flight crew to refresh themselves and prepare for their next operation.

All in all, this process is estimated to be a time save of around thirty percent, meaning that the C2/3CV class could cycle anywhere up to twice as many craft as previous generations owing to increased space to operate in an no longer requiring launches and retrievals to be carried out through the same doors.

The second innovation was the introduction of a Volumetrically Dispersed Thrust Recoil propulsion system. This method of propulsion tried something new, that being to disperse the force over several surfaces inside of the ship instead of of only on the aft end as had been done up to this point. This was achieved by accelerating gasses through two incredibly large cylinders inside the ship, travelling down its entire length, with a multitude of heat sources, magnetic accelerators, and Atmospheric Containment fields.

Naturally, this hull-spanning void created a weak point that could be exploited by ships of any size, though it was incredibly easy to defend. Simply closing the ports would be enough to deal with any stray deployable craft that got close enough, and having a dreadnought or battleship act as a wall to intercept any incoming railgun fire would prevent them from collapsing under the vibrations.

The advantage wrought from this innovation was immense, acceleration that could not be matched by a ship of equivalent mass. This system was, unfortunately, inefficient. It was a massive energy drain, as most propulsion systems tend to be, but this was exacerbated by the variety and intensity of the systems used to do so. Furthermore, it 'wasted' a lot of space. More than just the fact that those systems and the reactors to power them needed room, the fact it spanned the length of the ship meant that there were very large swaths of space that just couldn't be used for anything useful.

Ultimately, it was determined that the power-draw was more efficient in the ranges it would be running at, that being slower speeds in formation with the rest of a supporting fleet, and that the space wasn't necessary in the first place.

### Service Record and Legacy

The Callie's service record stands as one of the best on record in the time before Terran integration. In fifty years of service, her craft are credited sinking at least three capital class ships, as well as thwarting the raids of a great many Oligarchic counterattacks on her fleets.

Perhaps the most striking event on her record was the surprise assault on the Oligarchies' forces moored at Uranus.

Even though most of the credit belongs to the Noah and the accompanying Capital ships, her strike group performed a textbook flyby strike on the immobile ships, disabling and immobilizing so that the rest of the fleet could mop up the remains neatly.