Flamberge-Class Heavy Frigate

The Flamberge is an antique design of heavy escort that dates back to the early imperial era. It is a stout and durable design built around a pair of powerful Lances. It was designed to operate alongside the Grand Cruisers common in early Imperial naval tactics and figured prominently in the Battlefleets of the Silver Armada before eventually falling out of use.

## History

The Flamberge was designed early in the Imperial Compliance campaigns and was intended to operate alongside the Navy's many Grand Cruiser squadrons, whose main battle tactic was to charge into battle lines and obliterate them with massed macro-cannon broadsides at point blank range. As such, the frigate needed to also be as tough and durable as possible to survive these brazen charges, and speed and maneuverability were rather secondary concerns.

In that purpose, the heavy frigates served admirably, proving very heavily armed and armored for their size and being a threat to both other escorts and larger capital ships. They would become a fairly common sight among Imperial Battlefleets, with each sector tailoring them slightly to better fit the conditions in their local area. It was overall a reliable design with straightforward components that were very simple for the time and therefore easily produced, though the design was delicately balanced around its mammoth twinned lances which made tolerances lesser and refit harder. This would become a problem with the class as technology and skills degraded across the Imperium.

As Grand Cruisers became progressively retired from Imperial Battlefleets following the Inter-Legionary Wars, many Flamberges followed them into mothball. Attempts to use them as heavy anti-pirate ships were mixed, as they lacked the speed or agility to pursue fleeing raiders, though they were effective at protecting convoys as they could easily break apart raiders that ventured too close and got too overconfident. By the 41st Millenium, they have become somewhat rare outside of reserve fleets, and only the Silver Armada's Battlefleet Sulfuris actively maintains large numbers of them - nearly two hundreds - in active service.

Posting to a Flamberge within the modern Imperial Navy is generally reserved for young and hot-blooded captains who are itching for a fight but are yet unproven, as the sturdy design can punch and take above its weight class, being a good fit for such aggressive officers.

## Specifications

* **Hull** - Approximately 1.8 kilometres long, 0.4 kilometres abeam at fins.
* **Mass** - Approximately 8.4 megatonnes.
* **Crew** - Approximately 24,000 crew.
* **Acceleration** - 4.2 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration.

## Design

Flamberges are built around a pair of "Sunhammer' Lances that run along the keel for almost the entire length of the ship. These weapons are capable of sundering raiders in halves and of piercing deep into large capital ships alike, allowing it to be a threat to all types of ships, though its limited firing arc and maneuverability make it somewhat unwieldy. A battery of 'Pyros' melta-cannons are fitted along the Frigate's back. The cannons can bring down the Void Shields of smaller ships to open them up to its devastating Lance strikes, but they are also dangerous in and of themselves as their melta charges are effective at starting large fires on hostile ships.

The ships are powered by a Class 8.1 Jovian plasma drive, known for its durability and redundant power lines which help maintain it operational in spite of battle damage. A Miloslav G-616.b Warp Engine with standard Gellar Field allow it to sail the Warp fairly rapidly, while its W-240 Passive Detection Arrays allow them to lay in ambush and scan from Silent Running. Flamberges built in the Corusco Cluster are often fitted with 'Repulsor' Void shields, allowing them to navigate through the many celestial phenomenon within the Cluster for more easily. Conditions for the crew are relatively good, with adequate quarters and life sustainers.

Every aspect of the Flamberge is focused on durability and damage control. In addition to its plasma drive, the bridge is also built with massive armored shutters as well as redundant command and control lines throughout the ship. Automated fire suppression systems also run along the ship's entire length from its reinforced prow to its stern, and its all-around armor is as thick as that generally seen on cruisers, making it wider and stouter in frame and giving it a distinctive appearance.