8/8/2019 James Fighting Ship
6/8
HML BEAGLE When the Royal Sky Fleet
suffered its humiliating (if remarkably bloodless) defeatover
the waters of the Baltic,the Admiralty launched aseries of
investigationsinto what could bedone to prevent suchan incident
fromoccurring again. Theresult was the D-ClassMod. 22 destroyer, of
whichfour were built before the extracost per vessel was deemed
outof line with performance gains.
The Mod. 22s major differencefrom the existing D-Class is
themounting of a Perkins mainlineairscrew, which propels the
Beagle and her sisters throughthe air up to 20 percent
fasterthan their more venerablebrethren.
Lieutenant Commander SirChester Montgomery isthe current
commanderof the Beagle, theonly knighted officerbelow the rank of
Admiral in the Sky
Fleet. In Montgomerys case,the honorific exists by dint of
hisbirth, a hereditary title passeddown through the family. Thishas
not stopped the brash youngofficer from using the title tolord it
over his classmates at
Whale Island, and now his crew.
D -class Destroyer
Dimensions 155 ft. x 33ft. x 40 ft. (excludingfunnels &
masts)
Complement: 53
Weight: 910 tonsEngines: Turbines for
25,500 SHP (max 49knots)
Fuel: oil, 100 tons
Armament: 4-4, 6-3 QF
HML COURSER With the deployment of the
French Libert -class cruisers,the Royal Sky Fleet realized
the
venerable County-class would soon be outdated.Faster, better
armed andstill as well protected asthe Countys, the Libert s
would become the baneof Sky Fleet tacticians. While conventional
British wisdom dictated simply addingmore guns and armour to
modifiedCounty-class vessels, VickersShipyards proposed their own
in-house solution: the Destrier-classcruiser. As fast as the Libert
s,but armoured only slightly betterthan a D-class, the
Destrier-class
would maneuver into theLibert srear quarter, avoiding the deadly
torpedo banks, while opening up
with its massive twin 7.5 inchers.
The Destrier -class is largely seen as an experiment in
shipdesign, and so far Vickers has
only received fundingfor three vessels. Thefirst of these, the
HMLCourser , is an exercisein compromise. Rather
than a Sky Fleet officercommanding the vessel, a Vickers
representativeis the Ships Master, with tacticalcontrol going to
the Sky Fleetexecutive officer, Sky CaptainNeville Miller. Mr.
ScottMichaels of Vickers is a formerRoyal Navy officer, and so
hassome understanding of tactics,but the tight leash placed on
himby his civilian masters means heinevitably finds himself
clashing with the taciturn Miller on all butthe smallest
issues.
Destrier -classLight Cruiser
Dimensions: 301 ft. x 55ft. x 60 ft. (excludingfunnels &
masts)
Complement: 210Weight: 5,100 tons
Engines: Turbines, for22,000 SHP (max 46knots)
Fuel: oil, 400 tons
Armament: 2-7.5, 4-3QF
MONTPELLIERThere are times we do
things simply to confound ourfoes, were the words at thesurprise
christening of the Montpellier in 1904.
The Fleet de Volehad ordered her hulllaid in secret in a new
construction facility located somewhere in centralFrance. The
British ForeignService had not known that theship was under
constructionuntil she arrived at La Borgetfor her christening
ceremony.
This sudden appearance shook the intelligence services of
several governments.
The Montpellier is a fastdestroyer packing a powerful
wallop in the form of a 138mmforward turret, putting heron a par
with many cruisers.
Unlike many Frenchdestroyers, she lacksthe traditional
torpedolaunching tubes, buther heavy punch of firepower more
than
makes up for it.Under the command of
Capitaine Francois Baston, sheis usually assigned to
squadronsalong the German border and,more recently, in a stint
alongthe Channel coast. Rumorsabound that the Montpellier willbe
attached to a new squadronin North Africa, but these have
yet to be confirmed.
Grenouille -classDestroyer
Dimensions: 185 ft. x 32ft. x 40 ft. (excludingfunnels &
masts)
Complement: 70
Weight: 785 tons
Engines: Turbines, for12,000 SHP (max 42knots)
Fuel: oil, 120 tons
Armament: 2-138mm,2-65mm
ARDENT The Ardent (or Ardent
Faucon, as she is often referredto) is the third hull laid
downof the Faucon-class.She represents theFrench penchant
forcustomization to a hullconfiguration. The Ardent is armed witha
formidable 100mm forwardturret and bristles with 75mmbroadside
capabilities, and hasremoved the torpedo tubes infavor of more
blunt firepower.
The Ardent has been postedto patrol the Mediterraneanunder the
command of Capitaine Gustav Trelene.
Trelene, known as the one-
eyed-wonder, was woundedby a piece of shrapnel from askirmish
with the British. S ince
assuming command,he has been consideredsomewhat recklessin his
willingness toconfront ships fromother countries. This
aggressiveness has put the Ardent in harms way on
severaloccasions and has ear ned Trelenea great deal of distinction
in theFleet de Vole. The reputationof the ship is such that
whenother vessels spot the Ardent ,they are known to preparefor
battle, whether or not thesituation merits it.
Faucon -classLight Cruiser
Dimensions 250 ft. x 72ft. x 80 ft. (excludingfunnels &
masts)
Complement: 297
Weight: 4,850 tons
Engines: Triple expansionfor 14850 SHP, maxspeed 38 knots
Fuel: coal, normal 400,max 495
Armament: 2-100mm,6-75mm, 4-47mm
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