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Garfish class Space Escort Destroyer (SDE)

Class History:

• 694 Total built
• 4 Destroyed 2^nd Robotech War 2029-2030
• 6 Destroyed Sentinels War 2023-2042
• 59 Destroyed 3^rd Robotech War 2039-2045
• 23 Destroyed Transient War 2057
• 12 Destroyed Varauta War 2064
• 554 Destroyed 4^th Robotech War 2063-2070
• 2 Missing
• 34 Scrapped
• 10 In Service 2070

Ship's complement:

• Ships' crew (50 men)
• Space Naval air group (40 men)
• Space Marine battalion (600 Men)
• Life support limits are for a full combat complement and about 800 supernumeraries (900 men total).

Note: The given numbers are approximations; the exact number and type of mecha varied somewhat due to operational realities and different ships.

Dimensions:

• Length: 184.4 meters overall
• Height: 69.9 meters overall
• Width: 59.4 meters overall
• Fuel Mass: 8,000 metric tons
• Operational mass (typical): 75,000 metric tons

Propulsion systems:

• Main power system(1): RRD Mk4 anti-matter fueled Reflex furnace.  The powerplant of the Garfish-class vessel can deliver up to 233 Terawatts of power, and can operate for ninety minutes at maximum power before overheat initiates autoshutdown.
• Maneuvering thrusters (8): Overtechnology MRT-03 Fusion-Plasma Reaction Thrusters with steerable nozzles forward and aft halfway up the main hull.
• Reaction-mass thrusters (6): 3 Rolls Royce MRE-7 Fusion-Plasma Reaction Thrusters with anti-matter energizer in the rear of the main hull and 3 more Rolls Royce MRE-7 Fusion-Plasma Reaction Thrusters with anti-matter energizer in the rear of the hangar (some early variants saw four smaller motors). Because of the relatively large number of reaction thrusters, no emergency thrusters are mounted.
• Anti-gravity System (1): 2 Europa Drive Siren anti-gravity pods.
• Sublight drive (1): Shizuma Drive GDD-4 local monopolar-induced gravitic space-time distortion drive.
• Space fold (1): RRD Mk14 spacefold drive. This system is conformal to the vessels surface. The problem with the vast majority of the previous generation of fold systems was that the fold bubble weakened the state of the structure to the extent that they needed a refit after only five years of service. As such the RDF mandated the use of conformal systems similar to the old Zentraedi systems which also allows for much higher speeds.
• Planetary capabilities: The Garfish-class has atmospheric capabilities through its reaction thrusters and anti-gravity system. The hangar has sufficient structural strength for the ship to use it as a landing foot. Note that the ground underneath should be as firm as possible. The ship will float in an ocean, but the main access ports in the hangar section will be submerged.

Note: Because of the location of the hangar, the three main hull thrusters are capable of propelling the Garfishes forward without inducing undesired attitude changes in the vessel only with great strain. For compensation, the three hangar thrusters are fired at appropriate outputs whenever the main thrusters fire. However, under no circumstances can the hangar engines compensate for their off-center location and propel the ship alone without destabilizing it.

Endurance and mobility limits:

• The dry stores endurance is two months maximum; after that, the Garfish needs to restock. Water stores are recycled almost totally, and many crews add small hydroponic plants to unused spaces, providing the crew with a smattering of fresh fruits, but this is insufficient to provide for the crew indefinitely.
• The mecha consumables supplies (mainly missiles) are limited; the Garfish is unable to sustain continuous combat operations for much more than four days. The missile magazines for the torpedo launchers are typically empty after one major space battle.
• At full power, the main propulsion systems can produce up to 3.6 Giganewtons of thrust at a minimal reaction mass efficiency profile, or as little as 70 Meganewtons of thrust at a maximum efficiency setting. At lower power levels, these thrusts are commensurately smaller.
• At full power, the Garfish-class can achieve a maximum delta-v of 620 kps at the cruising acceleration of 1.6G, a maximum delta-v of 124 kps at the battle acceleration of 3.1G, and a delta-v of at most 33.5 kps at the flank acceleration of 4.9G. At lower power levels, these ranges are commensurately smaller.
• Sublight drive acceleration is 1000 g, but the vessel's maneuverability is reduced to such a degree that only minor course corrections are possible. Typical cruising speed is .35c.
• The Mk14 fold systems are not designed to be used for folds of distances greater than approximately 1 kiloparsec, for safety reasons. If longer voyages are required, the ships must conduct multiple fold jumps.
• The maximum atmospheric speed is Mach 3. The maximum hover time on the anti-gravity systems is limited only by the anti-matter supplies and maintenance requirements.

Weapon systems:

• Europa HPC-15 triple barrel heavy particle cannon turret(1): A large, triple turret, mounted underneath the forward hull. The mount can fire all three barrels simultaneously every three seconds, and deliver 3.5 GJ of energy per salvo on a target up to 75,000 km distant.
• General Dynamics Prophet missile tubes(6): Six missile tubes are mounted in the hull above the particle beam turret. These tubes launch SSM-04 Prophet surface to surface missiles. The total magazine capacity is 40 Prophet missiles.
• Bofors PL-5 point defense turrets(8): Mounted on the sides of the main hull(6), above the hangar(1), and below the hanger(1) behind movable panels. These standard RDF weapons can fire 48 MJ of particle energy four times per second at a range of 20 km.

Electronics:

• Hughes DSP-3 pinpoint barrier defense system(1): Uses four movable disks of force field, conformal to the ship's surface, to repel light torpedo attacks, or particle beam fire.

Air group and mecha complement:

• 15 VF-11 Excalibur Veritech fighter
• 1 EC-12 Eagle Airborne warning and control aircraft
• 400 VR-066 Hurricane Veritech cyclone

Note: The given numbers are approximations; the exact number and type of mecha varied somewhat due to operational realities and different ships.

Design notes:

The Garfish cruisers, named for their main hull shape, were designed by the REF as multi-purpose vessels, with either additional sensors and long duration for long-range reconnaissance missions, a small troop contingent for commando assaults, with additional supplies to function as a tender for their sisters, or as fleet cruisers. Consequently, a Garfish's weaponry is heavy for its size, but, by compromise of design, concentrated for the most part in its heavy underbelly gun turret. Because in the first years of the class these ships were used almost exclusively for scouting missions, the first flight was designated as a Scout Cruiser.

The Garfish has a fish-like main hull with a six sided section in the middle that houses the internal mission-specific holds. The three large engines are mounted side by side in the back. A large, two-level hangar with three bay doors and the smaller thrusters is suspended from the section that houses the internal cargo holds. The main particle cannon is suspended from the main hull keel, fore of the hangar. Garfish class cruisers were built in three flights. Flights 1 and 2 were general-purpose cruisess, with flight 2 slightly larger, the additional volume and mass going into improved habitability and slightly increased armor. There were also many smaller changes to make the design more suited for mass production and fleet actions. Consequently, the Flight 2 vessels were no longer designated as Scout Cruisers, but as Light Cruisers, although the hull numbering simply went on without interruption. The infantry assault version (flight 3) of this class had a single-purpose hold with room for two full battalions of Cyclone infantry troops. Since they could no longer be reconfigured, the final flight were designated as assault transports.

After the war, the surviving members of the 2nd flight were refit with greatly enhanced anti-mecha batteries, and most of the hangar and troop space was replaced with increased anti-warship missile stores and vertical launcher banks, as well as a more robust generator for the primary turret, which, with the additional available power, was upgraded into an even more formidable weapon. The surviving 3rd flight vessels went into reserve. There were no surviving 1st flight Garfishes.

Like the Ikazuchi-class large cruiser, the Garfish-class cruiser was underpowered in the area of AAA (anti-aircraft artillery). Though the missiles and turret were more than enough to destroy any single attacking mecha, there were just not enough point defense weapons to repel a deluge by suicide runners. Again, to correct this problem after the Third Robotech War, the survivors of the Garfish-class incorporated extensive suits of dedicated point defense systems.

Following the Third Robotech War, the RDF needed a destroyer to fill the gap until the new Raptor-class was ready for production and decided to continue the production of the Garfish, first at the Robotech Navy Yard in 2048 followed by the Philadelphia Naval Yard in 2050. The new Garfish-class vessels were designated escort destroyers and had increased AAA capacity and where given a new, more powerful main cannon.  The only other major changes were the addition of a pin-point barrier system in favor of increased stores space as these ships were expected to operate closer to bases than during the previous campaigns.  The Garfish continued to be produced in large numbers until 2052 and finally ceased production eight years later in 2060.

History:

The Garfish-class cruisers were developed shortly after the REF had received the Robotech Factory Satellite and Robotech Repair Factory for their logistical needs. Far smaller than the preceding Battle class, the Garfish class embodied a new design philosophy, where the mass was minimised, but part of the displacement was invested in a large hold which could be used for supplies, troop quarters, sensor equipment, or as cargo space. In this manner, the same ship could with minimal effort change missions without growing too large or expensive. The class was mostly envisioned to perform long-duration, long-distance scouting missions, for which they could carry an advanced sensor suite. Endurance in this form was about a year and a half. The Garfish could, with less than a week in dock, be converted into a fast troop transport, a tender or into a fast armed transport vessel. This multiple-purpose character was very suited for the diverse REF missions.

As a result of the smaller size, though, the armament suite was less than that of the Battle class. However, the REF design team partially offset this by giving the Garfish class a single, but extremely powerful particle cannon turret with a large field of fire. Indeed, this turret was used nowhere else except on the very large Izumo class vessels (with the barrels enclosed there). The result was a cruiser that packed an enormous punch for its size. The disadvantage of this setup was of course the non-existant redundancy for the main armament, and the large but still limited field of fire. In addition, the Garfish could carry very few fighters, and its missile systems were limited in number and reloads as well.

A few vessels of the first flight were destroyed during the REF missions before 2031, but in that year the wars over Earth began to claim more and more cruisers of this class. The Earth Reclamation Forces, send in against the Masters, lost numerous Garfish vessels against the Tirolian fleet and in the Invid Invasion. More were lost with the first wave of the Earth Liberation Forces, with a small number stranded on Earth in safe areas, where they were not destroyed by the Invid until 2043-2044. Only their heavy use on long-distance scouting missions and subsequent long mustering period prevented most of the Garfish cruisers from sharing this early fate. Three more fell to various causes during the REF built-up, mostly in probing attacks against Invid out of the Terran System. The last two years of the Third Robotech War saw the destruction of every 1st flight Garfish during the heavy fighting.

As part of the REF build-up from 2032 onwards, flight 2 Garfish class cruisers were built in large numbers. These vessels were slightly larger and marginally more habitable than the 1st flight, and more suited for mass production. Though officially known as the Shillelagh class, this sub-class is commonly referred to as a flight 2 Garfish. Eighty cruisers were build before 2045. Of these, seven are missing with the REF flagship, thirty-four are still in service with the Terran Navy, and the remainder were all destroyed in the 3rd Robotech War or declared constructional total losses and scrapped immediately post-war.

During the final years of the REF built-up, a specialised version of the Garfish was built in a small flight known also as the Anaconda class. The Anacondas served as high-speed, armed, Cyclone infantry transports. Though they are not suited to transport their troops for a longer period of time, the Anacondas make reasonably effective transports, far better suited to deal with Invid intercepting forces than the Horizont class dropships. Of the dozen vessels built, half were still destroyed by the Invid, and the other six were mothballed and placed in reserve soon after the war.

In a pitched fleet battle, the Garfish-class cruisers' main duty devolved to seeking-out and destroy the Invid troop-carriers before they could release their mecha into the battle, a task which, owing to the agility and speed of this vessel, they were uniquely adapted. Unfortunately, the sheer numbers of Invid on Earth exceeded the expectations of all the military planners, and, through little fault of their own (except perhaps insufficient AAA), these vessels were unable to carry the day for the Mars Group attack on Invid-occupied Earth, and were hard-pressed during the subsequent Main Fleet attacks even when equipped with shadow devices. Many of these cruisers were destroyed by the Invid life-energy as it fled Earth, in an attempt to prevent the Neutron-S bombardment. Other cruisers were largely lost during diversionary strikes against secondary hives, in an attempt to keep those hives from reinforcing Reflex Point.

Though some of these vessels were lost during the Sentinels' war and the galactic-wide mop-up of the Regent's forces, most were destroyed over Earth by the Invid. Those that have survived were refitted and pressed into the RDF Space Navy. After the war, the RDF was so impressed by the performance of the vessel and realized with a few changes it could be a great vessel. So they ordered over 300 more by 2060 when the last one SDE-694 UES Gallant rolled off the lines of the Philadelphia Naval Yard.

Layout adapted from Robotech Reference Guide

Original content by Pieter Thomassen and Peter Walker

Content by Jeffrey R. Spillner
Copyright © 1998-2002 Jeffrey R. Spillner

Page Last Updated on January 21, 2002 @ 14:00 GMT