The Yamato class battleship was one of the backbones of the Human Alliance Forces Navy and have served with distinction in many battles. Unfortunately, the weapon systems are not as powerful as those mounted in the newer C.A.F. Protector class battleship. The chiefs of the fleet realized that this would also be problem if they had to fight the Kreeghor so it was planned to replace the battleship with smaller battlecruisers. The main problem was simply a matter of cost. For twenty years, these ships have been in need of heavy upgrading or of replacement. The HAFS Thunderer enter a shipyard in preparation for an overhaul and basic refit. At the same time, several incidents occurred. First, New Coventry captured a Kurganov class cruiser from pirates and upgraded the ship to virtually modern standards. The second, which has been only whispered about, is a nervousness that the C.C.W. may collapse within forty years as a political entity due to internal strife. Suddenly, the need for new or refitted ships become very important so that there will be protection against the Trans-Galactic Empire. The Thunderer was chosen as the first ship of the Yamato class to be refitted. Further Yamato battleships to be refitted will come from the reserves. As a result of the possible situation, refitting on all ship class have been refitted. The Thunderer has just come from the Shipyard and while still minor work is being done, the ship has been fully commissioned. It has been used in a tactical work up exercise against a CAF Protector, the CNS Knight, and actually beat the Protector due to the much improved point defense.

In firepower, this ship now is almost the equal of the later C.A.F. Protector. This is because much of the battery has been pulled from surplus weapons from refitting the Protector class with Grazers in place of laser. The ship now carries the same main batteries as an unmodified Protector class battleship. The secondary energy weapon have been reduced to allow for four heavy rail guns that can be used against capital ships. The missile batteries were replaced by newer and larger capacity missile batteries. The point defense weaponry has been ungraded and replaced by a battery similar to what is carried on New Coventry ships. The final item has actually been kept secret from the CAF. The Human Alliance has stolen a master tactical data link system and has installed one on this ship. It is planned that future support ships will carry the secondary tactical data net system as well. It is likely that this will cause some hostility from the CAF when they find out about this. About the only weakness in the new class is that the engines, shields, and armor have not been modified.

Further automation has allowed the reduction of about ten percent of the ships crew. As well, marines and ground assault vehicles have been drastically reduced. This has allowed a minor increase in the number of fighters and the addition of more point defense weaponry.

This starship design uses modified starship speed and ranges. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World for more details.

Model Type: SB-43 (FRAM I)
Vehicle Type: Battleship
Crew: 1,440
Troops: 1,200

Vehicles:
Power Armors & Robots:

	60	Silver Hawk Power Armors
	100	Ground Pounder Power Armors

Fighter Compliment:

	24	SF-69 CAF Scorpion Star Interceptor
	12	SF-101LR Black Eagle medium fighter
	12	SF-101I-LR Storm Eagle medium interceptor
	12	BIF-67 Katana fighter ship
	6	CAF LRF-25 Proctor Long Range Star Fighters

Assault Shuttles:

2

CAF Assault Shuttles

Tanks & Other Vehicles:

	20	Phalanx Main Battle Tanks
	30	Maniple IFV

M.D.C By Location:

	102 cm Main Laser Batteries (2 - Each has 2 cannons):	5,000 each
	Secondary Laser Cannons (2):	1,200 each
	Heavy Laser Cannons (4):	750 each
	G-Cannon Turrets (4):	800 each
	GR-1000 Gravity Rail Gun Turrets (16):	200 each
	Point Defense Particle Beam Cannons (16):	150 each
	Tachyon Scatterguns (8):	200 each
	Cruise Missile Batteries (4):	1,000 each
	Long-Range Missile Batteries (8):	600 each
	Medium Range Missile Launchers (8):	500 each
	Outer Hull (40 ft/ 12.2 m Area):	200
	Inner Hull (40 ft/ 12.2 m Area):	120
	[1] Bridge:	50,000
	[1] Auxiliary Bridge:	50,000
	Hanger Bay:	60,000
	[2] Main Engines (4):	25,000 each
	[3] Main Body:	200,000
	[4] Variable Force Field:	12,000 a side (72,000 Total)

Notes:
[1] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon to hit the bridge through the ships armor. This ship also has an auxiliary bridge. Even if both bridges are taken out, the ship can still be piloted from engineering but ship is -3 to dodge and all weapon systems will be at local control. Weapon hits near the bridge that do not penetrate the ships integrity can injure crew members on or near the bridge.
[2] Destroying the main engines means that ship FTL systems are destroyed and maximum sublight speed is reduced by half.
[3] Depleting the MDC of the main body will put the battleship out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
[4] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (3600 MDC) per melee

Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 60 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 0.75 percent of light per melee.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum speed is 350 mph (563 kph), can enter an atmosphere and can leave but is not designed for atmospheric flight
Stardrive: Uses a Gravitonic Drive system that allows the ship to reach a maximum of 3.5 lightyears per hour.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by either Drive system. Carries about four years worth of supplies on board.

Statistical Data:
Length: 3,600 feet (1,097 meters)
Height: 550 feet (167.6 meters)
Width: 850 feet (259.1 meters)
Weight: 14 Million Tons (12.7 million Metric Tons)
Power System: Anti-Matter with a 25 year life span
Cargo: Cargo holds are scattered about the ship that allows for carrying up to 250,000 tons of Cargo in addition to standard compliment of supplies and ammunition.
Market Cost: An unmodified Yamato would cost about 40 billion credits to manufacture in present time in the Three Galaxies. Upgrades cost 18 billion credits and if the ship was constructed new it would cost about 45 billion credits

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. Main Laser Batteries (2): Two 102 cm laser cannons are in each battery (four guns total). Each battery can fire at two different targets or combine both attacks in a devastating double blast that will take out most ships. By firing combined blasts, they can core a planetoid with a few shots. They cannot be used faster than the speed of light. Weapon has standard penalties to hit fighters and small targets for a large gun.
   Mega-Damage: 2D6x1,000 for a single blast, or 4D6x1,000 for a double blast (both guns in the battery engaging the same target).
   Effective Range: 100,000 miles (160,000 km) in space, 100 miles (160 km) in an atmosphere.
   Rate of Fire: Each cannon can fire up to two times per melee round (Battleship has 4 cannons so ship can fire a total of 8 single shots from the main battery
   Payload: Effectively unlimited.
2. Secondary Laser Batteries (2): Slightly smaller cannons used against cruisers and frigates. They cannot be used faster than the speed of light. Weapon has standard penalties to hit fighters and small targets for a large gun.
   Mega-Damage: 1D6x1,000 M.D. per single blast or 2D6x1,000 M.D. per double blast.
   Rate of Fire: Two double blasts or two single blasts each (4 total).
   Effective Range: 100,000 miles (160,000 km) in space or 100 miles (160 km) in an atmosphere.
   Payload: Effectively unlimited.
3. Four (4) 12 cm Heavy Laser cannons: Laser cannons are used against frigates and as against heavily reinforced targets. Two are located on either side of ship. Weapon has standard minuses to hit fighters and small targets. The barrels can be can be rotated 180 degrees in all directions. Only two can be fired as one volley.
   Range: 16 miles (25.8 km) through atmosphere and 16,000 miles (25,800 km) in space.
   Mega Damage: 2D6x100 MDC each or 4D6x100 for Two.
   Rate of fire: Maximum of Two (2) times per melee each laser cannon.
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
4. Four (4) 8 cm Heavy Rail Guns: Used as one of the ships secondary batteries. They are used against targets that are impervious to energy as well. System can be operated by a gunner or a gunner program (+2 to strike, 3 Attacks per melee) and can rotate 180 degrees.. Unclear by Palladium Books writeup is the weapons speed. In order to make weapon useful, Rail gun projectile speed should be considered to be close to the speed of light.
   Range: 10,000 miles (16,100 km), range is 10 miles (16.1 km) in an atmosphere
   Mega Damage: 1D4x100 MDC per 80 round burst each.
   Rate of fire: Equal to gunners hand to hand (Usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: 32,000 rounds each (400 bursts).
5. Sixteen (16) GR1000 Large Rail Guns: Used as an anti-Starfighter and missile weapon and against targets that are impervious to energy. Each Rail Gun is in a Turret that can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire. Projectiles come out of launchers at close to the speed of light. Cannon uses a 30 mm projectile.
   Range: 16 miles (26 km) through atmosphere and 1,600 miles (2,575 km) in space.
   Mega-Damage: 40 round burst does 4D6x10 M.D.
   Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the Gunner (usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: 10,000 Rounds (500 Bursts) each cannon.
6. Sixteen (16) Point Defense Particle Beams: These weapons are used for anti-missile, anti-power armor, and anti-star fighter defense. Each Particle Beam is in a Turret that can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire.
   Range: 600 miles (960 km) in space and range is 6 miles (9.6 km) in atmosphere.
   Mega Damage: 3D6x10 MDC each.
   Rate of fire: Equal to gunners hand to hand (Usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
7. Eight (8) Tachyon Scatter Guns: The weapon systems main purpose is anti missile point defense.. Fires a wide blast that effects all targets in a cone 6.2 miles long and 3.1 miles wide in an atmosphere (Quadrupled in space). They CAN be used faster than the speed of light because Tachyons travel faster than the speed of light.
   Range: 24.8 miles (40 km) with a width of 12.4 miles (20 km), range and width is one quarter in atmosphere.
   Mega Damage: 2D4x10 MDC each.
   Rate of fire: Maximum of four (4) times per melee each.
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
8. Four (4) Cruise Missile Batteries: Missile has a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship). Since star ships will no longer engage at rock throwing distances, whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launching starship, and missile. When drive goes dead, missile will still cruise unless preset to self destruct or receives a destruct code but has very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missile when dead at -25% to detect.) See Modified starship rules for more details, Cruise missiles have minuses to hit small targets but are all considered smart missiles. This launcher is a standard CAF launcher. Launchers can launch on multiple targets each.
   Range: Missile range is 8000 miles (12,875 km) in an atmosphere and 4,000,000 miles (6,437,376 km/ 21.5 light seconds) in space
   Mega-Damage & Properties: See Phase World Missiles (Anti-Matter does 4D6x100 MDC).
   Rate of fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2, 8, 16, or 32 per launcher, per melee round, for a maximum of 128 missiles per melee. Launchers are reloaded on the same melee and can be fired again on the next.
   Payload: 128 total, 32 cruise missiles per launcher. Ship has 16 reload of missiles (2048 cruise missile reloads total).
9. Eight (8) Long Range Missile Batteries: Missile has a top speed of Mach 20 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 8% of light per turn (faster than any starship). Since star ships will no longer engage at rock throwing distances, whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launcher, and missile. When drive goes dead, missile will still cruise unless set to self destruct but has very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missile when dead at -25% to detect.) Long range missiles do not have minuses to hit small targets unlike cruise missiles and are all considered smart missiles. Launchers can launch on multiple targets each.
   Range: Missile range is 3400 miles (5470 km) in an atmosphere and 1,800,000 miles (2,89700 km/9.7 light seconds) in space.
   Mega-Damage & Properties: See Phase World Missiles (Fusion does 2D4x100 MDC).
   Rate of fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2, 8, 16, or 32 per launcher, per melee attack.
   Payload: 1920 total, 240 long range missiles per launcher.
10. Eight (8) Medium Range Missile Batteries: Weapon system is used for hitting enemy robots, fighters, and against incoming cruise missiles. Like other Phase world systems, weapon system range and speed has been greatly increased compared to Rifts Earth systems. Missile has a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 6% of light per turn. Each Battery can launch on multiple targets.
    Mega-Damage: varies with medium range missile type (See Phase World Missiles).
    Range: 160 miles (257.5 km) in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles (128,750 km/0.43 light seconds) in space
    Rate of fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of 2, 4, 8, or 16 missiles per launcher.
    Payload: 320 per launcher for a total of 2480 medium range missiles.

Other Systems:

• Battlelink Main Control System: The Main Battlelink computer provides the Archer with the ability to share targeting data with other capital ships in the area, which provides all ships participating in the link with improved targeting solutions and hit chances, both for their point defense, as well as their capital weapon systems. For more information regarding the Battlelink, go to Phase World Battle Link.

[ Phase World TM, Naruni TM, Kreeghor TM, and CAF TM are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.]

By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune ).

Copyright © 1999, Kitsune. All rights reserved.