Guide:Graynet
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| Graynet | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | support corvette |
| Operational | 2261 - 2284 |
| Constructed | 18 (built: 2260-2262) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 117.3 m |
| Beam | 52.8 m |
| Height | 14.6 m |
| Mass | 50,000 mt |
| Performance | |
| Cruise Speed | w 5.0 |
| Max Speed | w 7.0 |
| Endurance | 10 months |
| Complement | |
| Officers | 8 |
| Enlisted | 32 |
| Troops | 32
|
| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons |
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| Missile Weapons | 1x light fwd torpedo tube (w/ 20 torps) (ventral bow) |
| Shields |
|
| Transporters | 2x GP (6-pad); Mk III |
| Auxiliary Craft | 5x boarding shuttles |
| Historical | |
| Ships of Note |
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| Canonicity | |
| Design | Daniel Biringer |
| Name | Daniel Biringer |
| History | Timo
|
Background: Hobbyist's Guide
VXT Interstellar’s failure at the 2251 corvette competition prompted the company to search for a more capable warp engine to go with the original design. In order to grab a share of the lucrative escort market, VXT would have to match the PB-35E in performance, yet the 90,000 ton coil mass of that engine was prohibitive for the application. On the other hand, traffic control and planetary defense duties would be hampered by even the 70,000 ton combined mass of the two PB-37 engines that had originally cost VXT the corvette sale. The company kept looking for lighter and cheaper alternatives, but had to mind the requirement for warp 5 cruise speed that would enable the escort sales.
Yet technology was advancing rapidly in the aftermath of the Great Awakening, branching off to an increasing number of user groups. In the end, it was Federation Customs Service that approached the company with a requirement for traffic control vessels—and an engine to propel them with. While this order for Masterson class police cutters ultimately went elsewhere, negotiations on the use of the PB-40 engine culminated in the introduction of the Graynet class, a heavy cutter that was everything VXT had hoped for.
The first heavy cutter was launched within six months of signing, thanks to the compact and modular plug-in nature of the propulsion system. The two warp engines dangling on short, straight pylons on both sides of the legacy spaceframe were not exactly of PB-40 type, but of the PB-40B variant lengthened by one-third, all of it effective coil mass. Performance was hiked up to warp 7 flank speed, while cruise remained at the desired warp 5. The lightweight hull could barely take the stresses of sustained cruise, and would probably have torn apart at warp 7 maneuvers. This concerned the designers relatively little, as FCS was ready to settle for far lower performance figures, and Defense Command in turn was in desperate enough a jam to buy almost anything with warp 5 written in the specs.
The systems aboard the Graynet catered for both customers. Atop the bow, the bridge superstructure was configured for 10 command crew, but also had an adjoining telescoping airlock and docking berth for ease of boarding action. The next, full-length deck featured five holds accessible through dorsal doors, each theoretically capable of housing a light assault or boarding craft, even though there were no maintenance or refueling facilities available. Forward of these lay a holding compartment with five separate detention cells to starboard, an armory and supply room to port, and an extensive forensics laboratory to the bows. A rather superfluous turboshaft system ran at the centerline, connecting the various decks.
Deck 3 was of full width as well as length, and housed the officers in eight luxuriously sized cabins. Ahead of the ship’s main armament of two phaser IV banks, the bow was dedicated to a mess hall for the entire crew. At centerline was the main computer, with a six-pad transporter platform at the forward and a three-bed sickbay at the aft end. Aft, beneath the holds, was a staging area for Marines, put to storage or recreation use when assault missions were not on the schedule; the rest of the stern was dedicated to machinery.
Deck 4 accommodated the Marines as well as the crew, in up to 20 cabins with three to six bunks each. The layout of the cabins was flexible, though, and as few as six could be shipped if there was a need to use the remaining space for carrying of cargo, or for other purposes. At the center, two 10-pad assault transporters remained the one immutable element in the layout. Astern lay main engineering, terminating in a four-nozzle Scarbak KKS impulse engine, while at the other end of the ship, a broad TaT "Danel" deflector emitter curved around the bow.
Deck 5 housed tankage and support services, but VXT had made sure to leave room for a lightweight torpedo launcher as well. Although few of the ships ever came to carry this weapon, its installation in place of the bow disposal chute would have been a matter of mere days. A third phaser IV emitter was always carried at the aft end of the lowest deck, and an all-important tractor beam was located near the bow.
The flexibility of the design was a welcome change from the affordable austerity of the Mustang. The two types ended serving side by side on some Star Fleet assignments, but generally the eighteen Graynets completed for Star Fleet needs were dedicated to sedate escort runs while the Mustangs guarded star systems. The division of labor was natural for several reasons, perhaps leading among them that despite the limited mass and streamlined body, the Graynet did not behave well within atmospheres. The Marine platoon was rarely shipped; the vessels instead often carried vital spares and supplies for the convoys they escorted, earning a "support corvette" designation. This was also fitting for their role when acting in concert with Mustang vessels. The larger but more lightly armed Graynets provided many types of assistance, ranging from transrep of spares and consumables to reception of casualties or prisoners.
A mutually complementing working relationship with the Mustangs continued till the late 2270s, but ultimately the Graynets, too, had to give way to heavy corvettes. There was never a good opportunity to test the Graynet planetary assault or boarding capabilities against a powerful military opponent, although many a boarding action successfully enforced Federation law during the 2260s and 2270s.
Gallery
Notes
- Changed the corvette competition to 2251 (from 2252), as the earlier Mustang article said it was set that year.
- I arbitrarily decided on the construction years for this class.
- This is not stated anywhere in Timo, but the time frame for the Graynet class means that these ships would have been originally commissioned with service ship letters in their registrations. Starting in 2271, they would be re-registered with standard NCCs.
References
Alt Sources