Palatine-class armored cruiser

The **Palatine-class** cruiser is an armored artillery warship, manufactured by Valkyrja - Maintenance & Engineering for the Civilian Defense Force.

Originally conceived as a mobile, long-range weapons-platform, designated to engage capital formations in packs, the first and only Palatine-class vessel ever built quickly took on a spearhead-role on the battlefield, following in the footsteps of the smaller but similarly designed Aventine-class destroyer.

## Introduction

As the armed conflict between the CDF and the Riders escalated into an all-out war, the CDF's leadership faced a threat for the first time that could not be overcome by the sheer number of their destroyer formations.

The Riders had access to military-grade equipment and capital ships up to battleship-size. And while cutting edge, the Aventine- and Viminal-class ships simply could not muster the firepower necessary to deal with these obstacles. In response the CDF command pushed to enroll larger ship classes, able to compete in a capital-ship battle.

Among multiple contributions of CDF-allied manufacturers, V.M.E's *Palatine*-concept received the funding, as it was based on the successful Aventine-class, which was already well known among the CDF forces. The Cutlass incident further rushed the CDF to get the new vessel deployed. And only a few days after the assault on FOB Ramstein, the first Palatine-class vessel “Warspite” rolled out and headed straight towards Winchester-shipyard, to make itself known to the Riders.

## Design details

### Hull and propulsion

As the *Palatine*-class was designed as an assault-vessel, hull and weapons-placement were shaped around the primary weapons array. In return, the *Palatine* was rather light armored - by early 2221 standards, that is.

While CDF and Riders were busy fighting each other, the uniting clans of the Khan's Enclave began to either annex or destroy resource-operations in the belt, leading to a massive shortage of rare metals, required for the manufacturing-process of heavy armor plating in the Pioneer system.

As a result, the *Palatine*-cruiser “Warspite” would be the last cruiser rolling out with a full heavy-armor shell, suddenly putting it in a position where it would be the most durable asset in the CDF-fleet for a long time to come. Due to its full heavy armor shell, the *Palatine*-class did not receive an additional armored core, and stood out from other cruisers of her generation by spreading key-components around the hull, and deliberately putting redundant systems in risky areas.

Neglecting additional protection in favor of redundancy, the *Palatine*-class maintained a rather small profile, often being confused with the small Aventine-class destroyer. Just like other ships deployed by V.M.E, the *Palatine*-class featured a comparably strong selection of Ion-Thrusters, accompanied by Hydrogen-Boosters. Also as with other vessels of the family, the Palatine-class put extra emphasis on uplift-thrusters, allowing her to operate planetside despite her additional weight.

A total of four standard military-grade KSH Spatial Drives allows the ship to quickly enter and egress a contest zone, storing enough capacity for strategic short-range jumps.

### Crew and complement

Due to the rapid expansion of the CDF fleet, the Defense Force could not keep up in staffing all their vessels with highly trained personnel. To compensate for this issue, all warships provided by V.M.E were designed to be operated by a small crew.

Relying on the CDF's tight supply network, many basic tasks are handled by AI and automated systems, negating a majority of tasks being performed by crewmen, but noticeably shortening the maintenance period which requires the vessel to return to port on a regular basis.

If long-term operations require so, the Palatine class can be staffed with a total of 64 crew, 8 flight-personnel and 18 Marines. Additionally, the cruiser can house up to 20 passengers, and has an emergency evacuation capacity of up to 920 people. However, due to her short service history, these numbers were never verified or audited. Similar to the Aventine-class Destroyer, the Palatine-class incorporates a small ventral hangar, just large enough to hold a single small craft. Technically capable of holding a fighter-craft, the hangar is usually dedicated to hold a Hrist Rapid-Insertion Dropship, being utilized for Away-Missions, Marines deployment, CAS, VIP- and general personnel transfer or supply-runs.

### Armaments

Dedicated to serve as a long-range fighting platform, the Palatine-class favors nose-authority over coverage, packing all her heavy weapons around the main battery and keeping them pointed forward almost all the time. As a result, the ship is vulnerable to flanking maneuvers and requires a capable escort when engaging in a fleet-encounter.

Despite her long-range capabilities on paper and initial success on the Warspites first deployment, the Palatine-class proved rather underwhelming as an artillery-device. Her status of being the most durable asset in a squadron, also required her to spearhead into enemy formations instead of fighting from the second line.

In this role, however, the Palatine proved rather capable. Thanks to her narrow profile, she could avoid most incoming fire while moving towards her objective, quickly dismantling smaller ships in her path. The primary array of the Palatine-class consists of a 1000mm Spinal Lance, mounted in the central hull. A dedicated camera reticle assisted the operator in guiding the projectile towards the target. A complement of four 400mm assault cannons is mounted on the dorsal, ventral, starboard and port-side hull, aligned in parallel with the main array. This setup allows the weapons operator to send a combined salvo from eight barrels towards the forward firing arc, grouped around the lance, outside the automated targeting capabilities of AI-driven turret controllers. A group of three 150mm Light Artillery turrets and a selection of 20mm Point Defense Cannons form the secondary armament and defense-screen of the cruiser. While these weapons offer a decent amount of coverage, they're not able to defend the Palatine against a similar-sized vessel. approaching her flank.

## Ship Information

### Crew:

* 3-64 Crew capacity
* 18 Marines
* 20 passengers

## Workshop Link

### *Warspite -*

* The ***Warspite*** is a Palatine-class artillery cruiser, in service with the Civilian Defense Force. Enrolled in the hot phase of the CDF/Rider war, the *Warspite* quickly made a name for herself by crippling the Rider heavy cruiser “Amunet”, by destroying its bridge with her opening salvo.

* In the following months of the conflict, the *Warspite* played a role in multiple important engagements, like the Battle of the Titans or the Joint excursion into Khan-Territory, but was unable to catch on to her initial success. Following the Downfall of the CDF, the *Warspite* was eventually presumed destroyed in battle by an Enclave-squadron.

* Being the template for the **Palatine-class** enrollment program, the *Warspite* was V.M.Es response to an increasing demand by the CDF, for an artillery cruiser, capable of providing their destroyer-squadrons with anti-capital weaponry.

* The name “*Warspite*” was chosen by CDF's Fleet Admiral Mallard, breaking with the tradition of naming the first ship after its class. *Warspites* sister-ship “Palatine” was supposed to follow shortly after, but the material-shortage for constructing heavy armored plating, disrupting these plans and the deployment of additional Palatine-class vessels was put on hold in favor of the light armored Autumn-class.

* First and only of her class, the *Warspite* would continue as a test-platform, seeing multiple minor adjustments and updates, which other ships of the line never had a chance to benefit from. However, V.M.E was known to further fund the Palatine-development program. However, it is unclear how plans to introduce a new version of the class have evolved after the collaboration with the CDF was ended by third-party intervention.

## Ships of the line

#### *Warspite -*

* Presumed destroyed in battle by an Enclave-squadron.
* Currently part of the Phoenix Coalition Navy

## Gallery

### Season 1

* S01E09.5 - "Multi Front Faction War!"
* S01E16 - "Enemy of my Enemy..."
* S01E20 - "Capital Ships Clash!"
* S01E21 - "Epilogue: Peace & War"

### Season 2

* S02E02.5 - "PVP Catastrophe"
* S02E04 - "Civilian Extract!"

### **Season 3**

* S03E05 - "The Raid of Shipyard Enfield"
* S03E12.5 - "The Red & White Fleet"