Final Fantasy VIII Fanfiction FAQ
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Midgar-Class Aircraft Carrier (C)
The Midgar-Class Aircraft Carrier offers Esthar a movable battle platform that gives their military a global presence. Each carrier is equipped to operate independently of outside support, and has a complement of up to 21 surface ships travelling with it at any given time, including frigates and destroyers for protection, as well as bunker ships carrying fuel for extended missions.
Each carrier in the fleet has its own air wing, with any number of fighters and anti-submarine planes, among others. Carrier air wings are made up of 24 fighters each, of any type or size. Any carrier may house up to three complete air wings.
Aircraft are housed below decks until they are deployed. The aircraft are raised from belowdecks via a hydraulic elevator system. Once in position, they are launched via another hydraulic device, the catapult, which speeds them across the deck and slings them off the bow of the ship. When landing the planes use a tailhook to catch an arresting cable in order to halt the plane. There are three such cables, spaced two hundred feet apart on the deck. If a pilot misses these cables, a large net is used to cradle the plane as a last resort.
Each carrier is almost like a self-contained city on the sea, with mess halls, exercise areas, shopping, movie theaters, and other crew comforts. These crew areas are located below the hangar, though no common area is placed below the waterline.
The huge boat is driven by a set of four plasma reactors, which drive three copper screws. The boat can run effectively on two screws, but performance suffers greatly if two of the three propellers are damaged.
Atop the flight deck is a centrally-located island on which the tower rests. In this island is the Central Information Center, from which the ship is run. All communication and operations control is located here. The tower has eight levels. On the roof rests a THX 900 radar, which serves a dual role in detecting incoming aircraft and surface contacts.Contractor: Nellison Corporation
Power Plant: Four LXP-21 Plasma Reactors, three shafts, 280,000 total shaft
horsepowerLength: 1,141 feet
Flight Deck Width: 274 feet
Beam: 130 feet
Displacement: 97,000 tons (fully loaded)
Speed: 37 knots
Aircraft: Maximum of 94
Crew: 3,519 (Air Wing: 2,312)
Armament: 6 Edwin Land Attack Cruise Missile Launchers (10 missiles each), 4
Defender Surface-to-Air missiles launchers (20 missiles each), 5 20mm gunsENAC Cloud Strife If Hope Dies
ENAC Barret Wallace If Hope Dies
ENAC Sephiroth If Hope DiesJunon-Class Frigate
The primary duty of Estharian frigates is to attack both land- and sea-based targets with missiles. Their primary armament is the Vertical Launching System (VLS) employs both the long range surface-to-surface Edwin Cruise Missile and the Defender Surface-to-Air Missile. These powerful cruisers can maintain operations in any combination of Anti-Air, Anti-Submarine, Anti-Surface, and offensive warfare capabilities. They function in several roles, primarily carrier battle group deployment, concerted attack, and escort.
The Junon-Class frigates and destroyers are outfitted with the Advanced Surface/Air Combat System (ASACS), the most advanced radar in the world. The heart of the ASACS is the Superba Radar, which detects and tracks air contacts to beyond 200 miles and surface contacts at up to 75 miles. The ASACS is engineered to locate air contacts and incoming missiles at so early a time that they can be effectively dealt with. By finding surface contacts at so great a range, the ASACS can be used to coordinate airstrikes against attacking ships.
By using its Edwin Cruise Missiles, in conjunction with the ASACS System and an underwater GG-6 sonar array, the Junon-Class Frigates become fearsome fighting machines, capable of delivering their weapons effectively to targets on both land and sea.
These frigates also utilize a pair of R-27 Chocobo Helicopters, which can be used to locate undersea targets during anti-submarines operations.
The frigates measure 661 feet from bow to stern. Their beam is 58 feet, and displacement is 10,600 tons. A set of plasma reactors drive the ships to speeds greater than 40 knots, and two controllable-reversible pitch propellers offer rapid acceleration and maneuverability.
The ships are constructed in seven parts, called mods, which are then moved to the drydock, where they are connected and welded together one at a time. The wheelhouse is lifted to the top of the deck by a crane.
Contractor: Wells Ironworks
Power Plant: 2 LTR Plasma Reactors driving two controllable-reversible pitch propellers
Output: 75,000 horsepower
Overall Length: 661 feet
Waterline Length: 545 feet
Beam: 58 feet
Full Displacement: 10,600 tons
Speed: 43 knots
Aircraft: Two R-27 Chocobo Helicopters
Armament: 14 Torpedo Tubes for 24 SpearHead Anti-Submarine/Surface Ship torpedoes; 6 5" Guns; Mounts for Close-In Weapons Systems (4 50-caliber machine guns or 4 IGNO Rail Guns); fore and aft launchers for 100 Edwin Surface-to-Surface Cruise Missiles; fore and aft launchers for 44 Defender Surface-to-Air Missile
ENV Meliadoul
ENV ThunderGodKalm-Class Attack Submarine (C)
The primary attack sub of the Estharian Navy, the Kalm-class submarine is 340 feet long and weighs 6,500 tons, with a crew of 110. Powered by an ultra-quiet plasma reactor, these subs can remain submerged for periods of up to 120 days, until they must resupply. The subs are almost invisible to enemy sonar, and are fitted with superior equipment for finding rival boats. The sub has atmosphere control, which replenished oxygen used by the crew and removes carbon dioxide and other contaminants. A distilling plant converts salt water to fresh water for drinking and other shipboard uses. Internal problems can be repaired using spare parts carried on board. The attack submarines carry 28 SpearHead Anti-Submarine/Surface Ship torpedoes, 16 Edwin Land-Attack Cruise Missiles, and a variety of mines. The sub has a top speed of 38 knots submerged, and can dive to more than 2,200 feet.
After Compartment: Engine Room: Entire rear half of the submarine, this large room houses all the propulsion machinery and the plasma reactor. Forward Compartment: Control Room/Attack Center: Located in the center of the ship, navigation, weapons control, the sonar room and observation are controlled here; Mess Decks, Berthing, and Wardroom: The crew’s living area is in the middle level of the forward compartment; Torpedo Room: The lower level of the forward compartment is the central weapons storage area, holding torpedoes, mines, and cruise missiles; Sonar: The GG-6 Sonar array occupies the entire nose of the vessel. If Hope Dies
Contractor: Kiril Submersibles
Power Plant: One LTR Plasma Generator with two steam turbines driving two shafts
Output: 57,000 hp
Length: 340 feet
Beam: 24 feet
Surface Displacement: 6,500 tons
Submerged Displacement: 6,798 tons
Speed: 38 knots submerged, 44 knots surfaced
Operating Depth: 2,200 feet (Actual), 1,800 feet (Official)
Armament: 4 torpedo tubes for 28 SpearHead Anti-Submarine/Surface Ship torpedoes; 16 Edwin Land-Attack Cruise Missiles, and a variety of mines
Sonar: GG-6 Bow, GGi-9 Navigation, GK-4 Active
Crew: 13 Officers, 121 Enlisted
EAS Branford (Captain Nassa Issinovich) If Hope Dies
EAS Cole (Captain Irina Endqvuist)
EAS ChereMideel-Class Plasma Missile Submarine (C)
The gigantic Mideel-Class Plasma Missile Submarines are virtually undetectable as they move through the seas. Built as first-strike weapons to stem any Galbadian ballistic threat, they now function to deter attacks instead. They are capable of positioning themselves on an enemy coast to launch their entire weapons load quickly and without warning.
Mideel-Class subs can remain on deterrence patrols for up to three months, with a three-week turnaround for resupply. To speed resupply, the boats are equipped with five large hatches each on the starboard and port sides, allowing crews to move large equipment modules and machinery repair components into the sub. During these three weeks, the sub is turned over to a new crew (crews are designated Blue and Red, and work on revolving cycles), munitions replenishment, and maintenance. Subs are recalled every eight years for overhaul, and remain out of service for up to two years.
The larger hull sizes of the Mideel-Class accommodate weapons that its predecessors, the smaller and recently retired Corels, could not have held. The Mideels carry 20 plasma missiles and 12 nuclear missiles, an upgrade from the 24 nuclear missiles employed by the Corels. Mideels carry their weapons forward of the sail, and the front half of the ship has a flattened deck with launch tube hatches for each of its 32 missiles. The Mideels are also markedly quieter, and can run to greater depths at higher speeds. Mideels also boast improved guidance systems and better sonar equipment.The rounded, streamlined sail rises twenty feet above the superstructure of the boat, and is equipped with the latest in communications and surveillance equipment. Below, circular frames support an adamantium cylindrical hull structure with hemispherical ends. A second inner-pressure hull offers extra protection, and insulators fill the space between, offering a new level of noise reduction while giving the submarine another layer of armor to absorb torpedo impact. This interior hull provides the space for the crew, weapons, and equipment, as well as the plasma reactor, the heart of the ship.
The pressure hull provides an enclosure large enough for weapons, crew, and equipment with enough strength to enable the ship to operate deep enough to avoid easy detection.
Mideel-Class Plasma Missile Submarines are driven by a single propeller and powered by a plasma reactor, which generates no harmful radiation, yet produces great amounts of heat. The reactor heats water, which becomes steam and drives three turbines in the rear of the ship, silently turning the screw.
The top speed for the submarine is 28 knots at a depth of 1,200 feet, 31 knots on the surface.
After Compartment: Engine Room: Rear quarter of the submarine, this large room houses all the propulsion machinery and the plasma reactor. Forward Compartment: Control Room/Attack Center: Located in the center of the ship below the sail, navigation, weapons control, sonar control and observation are located here; Missile Deck: Flattened area of the hull forward of the sail, the vast missile deck occupies the front half of the boat and houses all the ballistic missiles on board; Mess Decks, Berthing, and Wardroom: The crew’s living area is in the lower level of the middle compartment; Torpedo Room: The after area of the forward compartment is the central weapons storage and launch center; Sonar: The GG-7 sonar array is housed here. If Hope Dies
Contractor: Helios Dynamics
Power Plant: One LTR Plasma Generator with three steam turbines driving one shaft
Output: 82,000 hp
Length: 495 feet
Beam: 38 feet
Surface Displacement: 15,103 tons
Submerged Displacement: 16,980 tons
Speed: 28 knots submerged, 31 knots surfaced
Operating Depth: 1,400 feet (Actual), 900 feet (Official)
Armament: 20 PK-112 SunBurst Plasma Missiles, 12 NK-309 StarRunner Nuclear Missiles; 6 torpedo tubes for 40 SpearHead Anti-Submarine/Surface Ship torpedoes
Sonar: GG-7 Bow, GGi-9 Navigation, GK-4 Active
Crew: 16 Officers, 121 Enlisted
ESSP Pravoka
ESSP Onrac
ESSP Lefein
ESSP Melmond