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The Amazon class light cruiser, termed by the designs bureau as the project 0324, was first fielded around 20 years prior to the point of the main story line, and as such was hardly an old vessel. The whole design was based around the central fighter bay, capable of carrying 1 fighter, 1 fighter/bomber and 1 bomber squadron in its hold. The design is much heavier and bulkier than the smaller classes of ships that have been fielded, owing the the heavier armour plating and support equipment needed for the fighter bays, of which few smaller vessels are capable of carrying.

The primary armament of the Amazon class is the forward mounted 6" twin plasma stream cannon, a beam configured turret capable of a refire rate of a 1 second burst ever 4 seconds. This provides the punch to take on other cruisers and some slow moving destroyers, as well as small space stations. She also carries 4 5.5" plasma stream cannons each with a refire rate of a 1 second burst every 3 seconds; a single 4" plasma pulse cannon capable of a 1 shot per second refire rate. Finally, her anti-fighter armament consists of 13 single light pulse fire laser turrets, with a refire rate of 5 shots per second.

The Amazon's drive array, unlike most ships, is situated toward the forward area of the hull, making her a very stable ship in turbulent environments. Her maneuverability has unfortunately been compromised by this; she is somewhat more cumbersome than the other comparable ships of other races, but her durable, stable and bulky design makes her much more resilient.

There are over 200 of these ships in operation at the current time, some of the most notable being the flagship Endurance of the 175th defense fleet, and the Ticonderoga of the 10th general flotilla, as well as the original starship Amazon.

Nice, man. You're really putting some work into these, for sure.

Why Thankyou. I think I went a tad overboard on the armament, it is a tad heavy...then again, when i put up a heavy cruiser, its guns will have a larger calibre barrel. So its all good

I need a little help with fighter and bomber designs though, as i have no idea what to do with them.

Depends. Do they have or need atmospheric capability? If so, then they should be more aerodynamic than a pure space fighter or bomber. What's the range for the heavy bombers? They'd need extra crew for increased endurance. And, etc.

Atmospheric capability would be a bonus. I suppose the standard fighters could be non-atmospheric, while the heavy fighters and the bombers could be.

Could be useful if their opponents have sensor jamming capability, or other means of avoiding orbital slagging.

True. The light fighters wouldn't have much point in atmospheric combat, their weapons aren't configured for ground combat, and heavy fighters are just as capable in air-superiority.

Not bad.

It's a tad weird for me to see something designated "light cruiser" built around carrier-borne fighters, but it's your fictional uni, after all. I do like the idea of heavy armor and top-rank, if smaller caliber, armament to support that role, though. I agree with you about the light v/ heavy fighters needing atmospheric capability, and the bombers absolutely do - tactical, rather than strategic, bombing would require it.

Aye it is a bit unusual I will admit, but this was designed to be as practical as possible. light cruisers are the big guns on border duty, you wont ever see anything heavier than this on the borders. So it needs to pack the biggest punch she can. Fighters add a flexibility to the design that a carrier or other vessel simply can't offer. The fighter compliment is technically far lesser than a carrier. Big carriers, can have up to 200 auxiliary craft, literally dwarfing battleships.

I didn't say I disliked it or disagreed with the rationale; just that it's the first usage of signifcant numbers of embarked craft I've seen on something termed "light cruiser."

In all seriousness, it's somewhat a cross over. The designs bureau was unsure as to what to classify her, because of her nature. She has the armament of a cruiser, but possesses attributes that would be indicative of a carrier. It was decided to classify her as a cruiser, as her fighter armament is relatively small for a carrier's standards.

Sort of like an escort carrier?

Almost, but an escort carrier has higher fighter capacity. And this thing is has far better armament than a escort carrier.

I don't think it can be compared to an Earth ship - it's more in the mold of the ISD. The closest comparison I can think of would be to the Ise class battlecarriers, although obviously much lighter comparatively.