NationStates Jolt Archive

Background With all but the largest command battleships in the world's navies having shied away from the massive 30 inch naval gun, the Incorporated Sarzonian Navy has seen the need for a gun of that size decrease over the course of the past few years. However, it has also seen a need to create a command battleship that can pack a considerable punch with naval ordnance and serve as a command facility for any ISN battle fleet. The Portland Iron Works has chosen to adopt the middle ground between its fleet of pocket SDs and true SD construction by creating a warship that is heavily armed and well protected with all the modern advances of the latest generation of warships. The result is the Chippewa-class Trimaran command battleship.

Armament While the Chippewa reverts to operating ETC naval guns as its primary ordnance, the ETC guns in use intend to adopt similar advances to the ETC gun employed by the Z-34 'Bonham' main battle tank. The improvements, designed to improve rate of fire, range, and accuracy, all make the fifteen 25 inch ETC naval guns employed by the Chippewa potent weapons that compare favourably to those of just about any modern warship. The concept of the Dynamic Gas Assist employed by the Bonham has been modified to serve the Chippewa in an effort to increase rangeand speed over traditional ETC guns. The Bonham's use of Successive Fire Projectile Assist provides a slightly faster rate of fire for short bursts, though truly fast rates of fire with a 25 inch gun are all but impossible. Compared to warships that employ 30 inch guns or larger, the 25 inch gun can fire faster and more accurately at longer range than its larger cousins. A simplified coil system based on the ETC gun employed by the ST-37 Mekhev main battle tank also works to increase speed and rate of fire compared to other guns of similar bore size.

Besides the big guns that draw the attention of many, the Chippewa boasts a secondary armament of 6.1 inch Mark 71 naval guns that provide outstanding naval bombardment and a deadly weapon against escorts. The tertiary 90 mm autocannons serve the Chippewa well against fast ships employed by some of Sarzonia's enemies that otherwise would have required the use of larger ordnance that would be too slow and too inaccurate to fire reliably. The Mark 136 Vertical Launch System tubes that have been developed to allow firing of Sarzonian-developed Scourge or Scorcher missiles from its own standard VLS tubes receive good use in the Chippewa with a full 768 missile tubes. Other weapons potentially fired by the new class of warship include the 1,000 mm Broadsword ultralarge torpedo from four specially constructed torpedo tubes, 36 'Rattlesnake' CIWS suites including the Yellow Jacket mini-SAM and the 35 mm Millennium Gun, and eight 35 mm supercavitating guns for last-ditch defence against torpedoes.

Protection Considering the Chippewa's profile, enabling the ship to withstand a pounding was not just a suggestion, it was a requirement. Toward that end, the Chippewa employs many of the most advanced technologies capable of increasing the ship's survivability against many possible threats. The Chippewa is heavily protected by a layer of armour ranging from 975 mm to 1,200 mm of an advanced armour composite consisting of titanium, vanadium, aluminum, amorphous steel, and ballistic ceramics along a titanium/aluminum alloyed honeycomb frame, which provides an excellent foundation for protection. The Chippewa is double-bottomed with a reinforced keel and it employs void spaces, installing KERI foam into void spaces to protect against kinetic attacks. In addition, composite rods and KE reducing ceramic tiles provide additional strength against KE attacks. With the threat of some nations that announce their intent to use nuclear weapons against superdreadnoughts, the Chippewa is EMP hardened to provide solid passive defence against NBC attacks.

Aircraft One potential weakness of the pocket SD design in comparison to the superdreadnoughts it is designed to complement is the relative lack of aircraft it is capable of launching. The Chippewa attempts to address this need by providing two full-length runways along its outriggers where it can launch and recover 126 of Sarzonia's next-generation aircraft provided by Avalon Aerospace, including 10 SZ-15 'Dragon' ASW helicopters. Aircraft requirements may change depending upon whether or not a navy chooses to employ Avalon Aerospace Corporation designs.

Propulsion The PebbleBed nuclear reactor has served ISN warships well in the designs that have used them, and the Chippewa makes use of eight reactors of this design to power its engines. Realising the powerful IR signature and high noise emissions that bedevil the PebbleBed reactors, each reactor is surrounded by extensive thermal insulation to reduce IR signature and noise. Four diesel turbines provide emergency power in the event the nuclear reactors are inoperable. Maximum speed is 36 knots in a short-ranged, all-out sprint, while the standard maximum is 30 knots and cruising speed is at 26.8 knots.

Chippewa-class command battleship (BBCN)
Length: 843 m; Beam: 176 m; Draught: 21 m
Displacement: 1.75 million tonnes fully laden
Armament: 5 x 3 635 mm ETC guns in A, B, C, X and Y positions; 12 x 155 mm Mark 71 naval guns port and starboard; 10 x 90 mm autocannons; 12 x 96 Mark 48 VLS tubes (or 8 x 96 cell Mark 136 VLS tubes); 24 x ‘Hornet’ SAM launchers; 8 x 533 mm TT (or 4 x 1,000 mm TT); 36 x ‘Rattlesnake’ CIWS systems; 8 x 35 mm supercavitating guns (underwater CIWS)
Protection: 975 mm-1,200 mm advanced armour composite (titanium, vanadium, aluminum, amorphous steel, ballistic ceramics); double bottomed, reinforced keel with void spaces along a titanium/aluminum honeycomb frame. KERI foam installed in void spaces, composite rods, and KE reducing ceramic tiles reduce effect of kinetic attacks.
Propulsion: Eight Pebblebed nuclear reactors; four internalised waterjets; 36 knots.
Aircraft: Can carry 36 SZ-20 ‘Valkyrie’ strike fighters; 36 SZ-21 ‘Coronet’ air superiority fighters; 24 SZ-23 ‘Aurora’ scout fighters; 12 SZ-24 ‘Tyr’ electronics warfare reconnaissance fighters; and 8 SZ-25 ‘Archduke’ light bombers. Space available for 10 SZ-15 ‘Dragon’ ASW helicopters.
Complement: 8,800 plus 1,600 aircrew
Electronics: AN/SLY-2 (V) Advanced Integrated Electronics Warfare System; AN/SPY-4 MFR and AN/SPN-23 navigational radars; AN/SQR-6 (B) passive towed array and AN/SQS-57 dual-mode mounted digital sonar array; A/P Mounted Sonar: AN/SQS-57 active/passive, preformed beam, digital sonar providing panoramic echo ranging and panoramic (DIMUS) passive surveillance.
Countermeasures: Decoy: AN/SLQ-25 Nixie
Price: $175 billion
Running Costs: $25 billion

The Roman Navy is interested in your command Battleship. We have seen you build many Command vessels for combat use and has been wondering since our purchase of the Vigilant Command Battleship. Is the Chippewa better than the Vigilant. If it is, we would like to purchase it.

The Roman Navy is interested in your command Battleship. We have seen you build many Command vessels for combat use and has been wondering since our purchase of the Vigilant Command Battleship. Is the Chippewa better than the Vigilant. If it is, we would like to purchase it.[OOC: "Better" may be in the eye of the beholder, but this is intended to replace my "pocket superdreadnoughts", not the Vigilant.

The Vigilant will definitely stick around in my arsenal, but this ship will be important in my Navy in its own right.]

[OOC: "Better" may be in the eye of the beholder, but this is intended to replace my "pocket superdreadnoughts", not the Vigilant.

The Vigilant will definitely stick around in my arsenal, but this ship will be important in my Navy in its own right.]

OCC: Thank you for answering my question. Could you explain to me what the hell is a pocket SD? You explain it to one person, but you confused me. In the future I may want to purchase the Chippewa.

:sniper: Our navy is always interested in superior weaponry. We would like the opportunity to purchase two to add to our fleet. Do you discount for quantity? What is the delivery time?

OOC: It's usually smaller, less armored, faster, and usually carrys about the same amount of weapons as SDs, however, they are less armored and a bit more susceptable to massed attacks or large caliber shells.

It bridges the gap between SDs and BBs while being both more, and less capable then both.

[OOC: The pocket SD is basically a concept that I came up with last year instead of trying to acquire a Doujin or a Doujin copy. The idea I had was to create a ship with fewer main guns (nine on the export version; 12 on the domestic version) that was still a fearsome ship in its own right. The original ship class was the Freedom class that Praetonia and I developed. The pocket SD evolved as a slightly smaller version of the Doujin or other true SDs. It's sort of an adaptation of the "pocket battleship" idea the Germans had with the Deutschland class.

I use the term "pocket SD" because it's smaller, lighter, and carries fewer guns than a Doujin or comparable ship (with the Vigilant being considered a Doujin-comparable ship in Sarzonian naval parlance). That doesn't mean it's tiny; it's huge in its own right and the Freedom carried its own cachet. It's just smaller than a Doujin.]

OOC:
Sarz, I was just curious as to why you picked Chippewa as a name? Is there meaning behind why you picked the name or did you just pick it off the top of your head?

We will order one of these ships, though I doubt it is as powerful as our Project ship. We shall pay upon delivery.
Optischer

OOC:
Sarz, I was just curious as to why you picked Chippewa as a name? Is there meaning behind why you picked the name or did you just pick it off the top of your head?OOC: I picked that name to honour the Battle of Chippewa (during the War of 1812; IIRC, it was one of the few decisive wins for U.S. Army regulars against the British Army... that might have been the place where British Major General Riall was alleged to say, "By God, those are regulars!" about the U.S. Army). Also, an American ship of the line that was being built during the War of 1812 was going to carry the name Chippewa.

OCC: Thank you for answering my question, Sarzonia and Silver Sky. I gained some new infomation about Pocket SDs.