Empire had originally planned two prototype Midspace ships, but poor project management and hefty cost over-runs caused
construction delays and the second ship, HMS Iowa, was delayed by several years. When the Swiftsure proved far more
successful and reliable in service than expected, the need for the Iowa was largely negated - yet the government had spent
so much on her already that it was loathe to simply cancel the construction. For several years the ship lay in dock, half completed,
whilst various government committees debated what to do with it. As the practicality of the Swiftsure testbed became more and more
clear, it was decided to complete the Iowa as a warship.
The basic design of the Swiftsure was kept intact, but various modifications were made to accomodate weaponry and implement
some of the lessons learned. The "open" hull of the swiftsure was clad in an armoured hull; the fuel tanks were moved from
the forward hull to the aft one, and expanded in size to increase endurance. The connecting strut was thickened and
strengthened and the field regulator was redesigned. The forward hull was modified to remove the sail ship and add weapons
and other military equipment.
The armament was conventional; six heavy gamma ray laser cannon were mounted, as were four medium cannon. Thirteen point
defence missile launches were mounted around the hull, carrying 156 missiles. The offensive missile silo held 48 heavy Kantha
missiles and 240 light Alvin-2 models. The weapons were "off the shelf" models, identical to those in use with the fleet at the time.
In service, the Iowa was effective, if flawed. Although classed as a battleship, her armament was not on a par with existing
Theramel class which had more laser cannon and missiles. This was highly controversial given the gigantic cost of the ship, and led to
her being dubbed the "costly cruiser" by critics. She continued to suffer problems with cracking in the connecting strut despite
the reinforcement, and so was never able to maneuver as well as the engines allowed for. Sensor performance was never
satisfactory, and various other problems cropped up, all of which would have likely have been mitigated or eliminated if a
pure warship had been intended from day one.
But she proved undeniably effective. While there are scenarios in which simple firepower is a major factor, Iowa's Midspace
drive allowed the ship the flexibility to completely dictate the terms of any engagement with a sail ship. Put simply, the Iowa
could decide where and when to engage, how long to fight for, when to withdraw, and when to return. A series of wargames
held after the ship was commissioned shocked Navy to it's core - Iowa literally ran rings around a fleet formation, slipping
in at will and engaging the lighter, more defenceless ships one after another.
Although critics pointed out that the ship never scored a kill on a heavy ship of the line, the Admiral commanding the
defensive fleet later commented "It's true I was left with my battleships and battlecruisers - for all the good they did me.
With no frigates and destroyers left to me, with no tankers and support ships surviving, the capital ships are next to
useless as a viable military force. Let us be completely clear on this point - the Iowa defeated my force, and did so easily.
In a real conflict the only thing I could have done with my big guns is retreat."
/b] 968.75 m (3,178 feet 3.3 inches)