Battleship Prince Belsett Class

A Prince Belsett Class Battleship during the Third Spat

2x4 32 mm Anti-Aircraft Guns (Hettic varient)

1x2 90 mm Dual Purpose Cannons (Hettic variant)

4x1 530mm Torpedo Tubes (Bressian variant)

4x1 8mm Machine Guns (Bressian variant)

The Prince Belsett Class was a Bressian battleship developed during the second part of the 5th century.

## Conception and History

### **The early years of service**

The Prince Belsett Class warships were designed before the Third Spat. Five of these battleships were in service when the conflict started. At this time, they were the most advanced and powerful ships in the world, even if they were surpassed over the course of the war.

At the Action at Cape Great Byne, the Grand Rorigan accounted for nearly twenty five percent of total Chergarian Navy losses before taking several torpedo hits.

After the war, as naval technology, tactics and doctrine advanced and Bressia's focus shifted to long-range operations at sea, the slow and outdated Prince Belsett class ships were struck from the Imperial Navy's roster. While the Prince Belsett herself would be retained and eventually scrapped, the remaining four would be supplied to the League's allies as coastal defense ships, hoping to provide some deterrent against Commonwealth naval incursions.

### **The History of the Grand Rorigan**

As the second battleship in the class, Grand Rorigan had earned the nickname "The Middle Child". After the damage it suffered during the Action at the Cape Great Byne, and thanks to the tireless work of crew, it managed to limp home to port in Fallesdam, just in time for the signing of the Treaty of Harhaan, and the end of the war. As it, its crew and its officers remained in port for repairs, they were absent from the Harhaan Naval Review, the symbolic military unification of what would become the Sovereigns' League. With it, Grand Rorigan, its captain, and its exceptionally stalwart crew, all missed their chance to cement their careers and reputations.

### **The Grand Rorigan in the Hettic Royal Navy**

Grand Rorigan would find herself sold to Hetland, making her the sole capital ship of the primarily riverine and littoral Hettic Navy. At that time, the Kingdom of Hetland, was considering the construction of a modern naval force, as many predicted that a coming war between the Commonwealth and the League would hinge primarily

around naval action in the Kartasian sea, and that Hetland might face a naval invasion. A modernized Grand Rorigan - to be rechristened HRNS Peter Zrykosi III - was to form the centerpiece to this defensive fleet, accompanied by several other warships and frigates (notably 4 destroyers and 1 new light cruiser). Only a handful of the said warships would make it onto the Hettic Navy's Roster, in addition to some of the smaller craft, as Hetland's defense budget focused on their border with Syrvania in 520. Grand Rorigan's refit would be significantly cut back, though her anti-air battery would see a significant upgrade, swapping the handful of machine guns and two 32mm single-mounts for two quadruple 32mm turrets on top of the B and Y turrets, as well as two 90mm multipurpose guns on platforms added amidships. Her underwater torpedo tubes would also be removed. The proposed upgrades to her fire control, torpedo defense, and powerplant would be scrapped, and her original Bressian name would be retained on insistence from the King.

During the Second Leersog War, a number of arguments were made to scrap the ship and convert her armament into land-based artillery, owing to the lack of fuel and escorts to see her properly go underway. She would instead be retained for morale reasons, spending most of her life in port in Lingaen. Grand Rorigan would be sunk on her first and only combat sortie in Hettic service, after she was sent to provide offshore artillery support for an attempted counteroffensive west of Taba. Bombs from land-based aircraft destroyed her bridge and killed the command staff on board, at which point the rest of the crew abandoned ship. Most would make it ashore, and eventually join in the defense of Taba, but Grand Rorigan herself would remain under heavy attack in their absence, until a fire detonated her forward magazine.

## Characteristics

These sea monsters had a length of 174 meters and they were propelled by two steam turbines manufactured by Sill and Atherby. Their armament was made of 8 powerful 310mm guns, torpedo tubes, and several anti-aircraft cannons, however, it became obsolete shortly into the Third Spat with aviation experiencing a major boom during the war. The Grand Rorigan received modernized air-defenses when it was sold to the Hetland.

While the armor of these battleships was efficient, airstrikes were an effective way of rendering them destroyed or damaged.