Devastation-class battleship

The ***Devastation***-class is one of the newest ships of the Forsaken Navy, intended to go toe-to-toe with Human and Dwarven ironclad warships. First drafted in 622KY after the first clashes between Forsaken corpse-hulks and Alliance ironclad steamers off the coast of Northrend, the *Devastation*-class is one of the most unusual warships in the world in that it has entirely divorced with the use of sails in favour of all-steam propulsion. They remain, fortunately for the Alliance navies, a rare sight and have been encountered in battle only twice: Once off the coast of Tol Barad, and once in the Great Sea.

## Design History

The *Devastation*-class has a troubled history despite its young age. With the Forsaken Navy dominated by veteran sailors of Lordaeron and Kul Tiras, the idea of abandoning sail propulsion entirely was a hard sell for Eugene Bowman. An engineer in life working with a Dwarven manufacturing concern, Bowman first conceived of the idea for the *Devastation* prior to the fall of Lordaeron. Unable to find interested parties for the design, it sat on a shelf for several years prior to his death. Returned to existence as a part of the Scourge, still possessing some lingering conscience and missing his right arm, Bowman found himself esconced in the Scourge's rotting 'navy' of transport ships. Remaining there through the Forsaken revolt and eventually shaking off the Lich King's control himself, Bowman swiftly enlisted in the Dark Queen's new Office of Naval Warfare, campaigning for the *Devastation* to finally be built.

Only after the first wave of the invasion of Northrend was Bowman's constant campaigning taken seriously. With the undeniable effectiveness of steam-powered ironclads demonstrated yet again by the Alliance navies and the increasing inability of the Forsaken's recovered fleet to stand toe-to-toe with Alliance and third-party ships, doctrinal changes necessitated the development of new ship classes. Bowman was first in line with the *Devastation-*class's blueprints, painstakingly revised to incorporate the latest developments: Screw-propellors rather than paddle wheels, turreted guns rather than conventional broadsides, and above all, an *oil*-powered engine rather than the coal being used to fuel the bulk of steamers at that time.

Granted royal patronage, Bowman began work on the *Devastator I* testbed. This work did not proceed smoothly, however. Fuel shortages, problems with the temper of the steel made available, and the fundamental resistance of the Department of Enumeration combined to slow and limit construction. The draft of labourers into the infantry to press the Greymane Wall further depleted Bowman's labour pool, and only after the Great Cataclysm of 623 saw the fall of Gilneas was he able to finish the frame of the prototype using Gilnean slave labour.

## Ships of the Class

So far, only two ships of the *Devastation-class* have been constructed. The *Devastator*, the prototype and testbed for the design, and the refined *Devastator II*, the first production model. Three more ships of the class are planned for construction by 635KY, with the tentative designations of *Menethil***s Demise*,* Banshee's Fury *and* Eternal Dignity*.***

* *Devastator I*: Laid down 623KY, launched 625KY.
* *Devastator II*: Laid down 625KY, launched 627KY.
* *Menethil's Demise*: Laid down 627KY.
* *Banshee's Fury:* Scheduled to be laid down 629KY.
* *Eternal Dignity*: Scheduled to be laid down 631KY.

### *Devastator II*

Drawing on the many lessons of the first *Devastator*, the second ship of the class is a larger vessel with increased armament and engine size, forming the pattern for all ships of the class to come. Unlike the conventional layout of the *Banshee*-class cruisers and the hybrid armament of the *Devastator I,* the *Devastator II* carries its armament entirely in three large turret batteries. Eschewing the conventional naval doctrines of more guns of lower calibers, she carries only six main guns and a handful of smaller anti-personnel light cannon (mounted along her sides, on the deck).

#### Armament

Built to capitalize on the development of heavier cannon during the post-War against the Lich period, the main armament of the *Devastator II* are six impressive and devastating ten-inch smoothbore muzzle loaders, firing shells weighing some five hundred pounds a piece for distances of up to four thousand yards. While similar armaments in use by Dwarven and Goblin forces utilize steam-powered lifting platforms, the *Devastation*-class ships utilize Abominations for the heavy lifting.