Taul Detrel Class Destroyer

(Version 1.00 - Last Modified: 12/11/2004)

The Taul Detrel class of destroyers is a direct descendent of the frigate classes built in the first days of the Robotech Empire as merchant escorts and general protection vessels. Those craft were designed to be maneuverable and small, yet to pack a respectable amount of weapons, as their main task was the protection of Tirol's merchant fleets. When in the late 18^th century the outside threats against the Empire reached their height and the Masters and Elders had taken up residence in the orbiting mother ships, the need for a powerful defense vessel capable of limited offensive action was keenly felt. The Taul Detrel was then designed from the Dendrasz Torkal frigate. Compared with the older vessel (of which no examples remain), the Taul Detrel was larger and packed nearly twice the armament. In fact, for a given unit of mass, the Taul Detrel boasts one of the highest cannon output ratios ever achieved in non-reflex cannon armed vessels.

In addition to the particle armament needed for their anti-ship roles, the Taul Detrel class mounted four rail guns. It had been hoped that these weapons could serve as a lightweight, yet hard hitting main weapon system; however, the system had a low range compared to other weapon systems. As a consequence, it was a given that targets could sit outside of the weapon's range and destroy the Taul Detrel before it had had a chance to lock on and fire its main armament. Unfortunately for the Tirolians, though, the fuel for the weapon could only be created through an energy-wasteful particle transmutation process, as well as requiring extremely strict storage conditions. Consequently, when it would have been most useful, over Earth, the weapon was hardly ever available in any quantity, rendering the main weapons powerless.

Though not through deliberate intent, the Taul Detrel is a ship that seems to radiate toughness and strength. Ton for ton, this impression is correct, for the Taul Detrel is among the most heavily armed small combatants yet designed. The Taul Detrel hull has three distinct sections: the narrow forward section with the four antenna-like bombardment cannons, the main section which thickens out the center of the ship, and the aft section contains the main propulsion systems, including the fold drive. The forward hull was narrow compared with the main section of the ship. It sprouts the command cupola, three forward thrusters, and the four antenna-like barrels for the two main weapon systems forward, and the two main docking ports more to the rear. The central hull is a flattened cylinder, with the curved section in the horizontal plane. The four ventral engines are housed in the lower part of this section. The tapering aft section houses the main engines. The hull itself is a still classified honeycomb of alloys, plastics and ceramics, which out-performs every armor type developed by the Invid at the time of this writing. It is remarkably robust in the face of incoming energy weapon fire or missile impacts.

Internally, there are ten deck levels running throughout the bow and central sections. The aft section is mostly filled with the engines and several fuel tanks, and does not have a deck structure as such; rather, it has several access tunnels for engine maintenance and repair. The forward upper decks house the command facilities; below this, behind the forward sensor array, are the storage chambers for the bombardment gun ammunition supply. The lower part of the forward hull houses several major stores holds. The central section has three of its upper deck levels combined into one large mecha deck. This deck is partitioned into four sections, each section of course three deck levels high. Below and above the hangar deck are the crew quarters; below the lower crew quarters are the dorsal engines and their fuel tanks. A small shuttle hangar is located behind these engines, forward of the rear engine.

As units of the Tirolian Home Fleet, these vessels were better supplied with the diminishing supplies of protoculture than many other ships. However, by 2013 only 594 remained in service, the others being drained of protoculture supplies and stored in deep-space supply depots. To date these have not yet been discovered with the exception of one depot in the Valivarre system, which was destroyed by the invading Invid forces. All of the operational vessels set out with the Robotech Masters for Earth. However, only 94 units of this class arrived with the fleet in the Sol system, the remainder having been drained and stored in a new deep space depot between 3 and 4 light-years out from Sol as well. After the heavy fighting of the Second Robotech War, only 5 Taul Detrel destroyers survived, all damaged and in Human hands. All others were destroyed. The captured vessels were placed on the surface of the moon near the Moon Base, but were destroyed when the Invid arrived in Earth orbit.

Ship Information:

• Ship Class: Destroyer
• Year Commissioned: 1786 CE
• Crew: 90
• Troops:
  • Air Group: 102
  • Troops: 30
  • Total: 132
• Total Crew and Troops: 222

Vehicle Complement:

• Bioroid Complement:

64	Blue Combat Bioroid
4	Green Combat Bioroid
2	Red Combat Leader Bioroid
2	Bioroid Scout

• Other Complement:

96	Bioroid Skysled
4	Roil Tiluvo Class Assault Corvette

M.D.C. by location:

• Reflex Electromagnetic Rail Guns (4) - 500 each
• Retractable Particle Beam Cannons (12) - 150 each
• Retractable Laser Turrets (30) - 60 each
• Retractable Weapon Hatches (42) - 100 each
• Airlock Access Hatches - 100 each
• Shuttle Bay Hatches (2) - 750 each
• Main Engines (3) - 250 each *
• Secondary Engines (7) - 900 each **
• Maneuvering Thrusters (44) - 150 each
• Hull Regions (45, Main Body) - 300 each
• Hull Regions (5, Engine Section) - 300 each
• Inner Hull Regions (45, Main Body) - 100 each
• Inner Hull Regions (5, Engine Section) - 200 each
• Main Body - 15,000 ***


M.D.C. Armor Rating - Hull Region: 9
M.D.C. Armor Rating - Inner Hull Region: 8
M.D.C. Armor Rating - Main Body: 17
Notes:

*	Destroying the main engines will severely impair the ship, forcing it to rely on its auxiliary engine. Reduce atmospheric speed by half and rate of acceleration in space by 75%.
**	If both the main and auxiliary engines are put out of commission, the ship will be floating dead in space or will crash if the damage occurs in atmosphere. if the main engines are undamaged, the loss of the auxiliary engines will not impair the ship in any way.
***	Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will shut down the entire ship, including life support, gravity control, communications, weapons, and engines. The command bridge will also be destroyed.

Speed:

• Fold Drive: Uses a Fold Drive with a maximum speed of 10 light-years per hour. The ship's navigational equipment cannot safely execute a fold jump of distances greater than 1 kiloparsec (3260 light-years) and it can only be activated once per hour.
• Sublight: Can travel at up to 20 percent of the speed of light (0.20c) and accelerate / decelerate at a rate of 0.2 percent of light (0.002 c) per melee.
• Atmospheric Propulsion: Uses an anti-gravity drive that has a maximum cruise speed is Mach 2 (1490 mph / 2400 km/h) and can enter and leave an atmosphere with Earth-like gravity.
• Maximum Range: Effectively unlimited by drive system, but onboard supplies for the crew and troops will last for 6 months before the ship needs to be restocked. Water stores were recycled almost completely.

Statistical Data:

• Height: 486' (148 m)
• Width: 331' (101 m)
• Length: 1266' (386 m)
• Weight: 26,500 tons (24,000 metric tons)
• Reactor System: Tirolian Protoculture Reactor with a life span of 35 years.
• Propulsion System: Anti-Gravity / Chemical Drive
• Gravity System: Internal
• Cargo: Limited

Weapon Systems:

1. Reflex Electromagnetic Rail Guns (4)
   At the very front of the destroyers are four large rail guns, these are the same type of weapon that would later be used on the Border Fleet's Sian Macross Class Battle Fortress. They use magnetic accelerator technology to propel a large number of small metallic slugs at incredible velocity and can sustain an extraordinarily fast rate of fire. All four guns are located in the forward part of the ship.
   • Range: 16 miles (25.7 km) underwater, 32 miles (51.5 km) through an atmosphere, and 32,000 miles (51,500 km) in space.
   • Damage: 3D4x100 M.D. per single blast.
   • M.D.C. Weapon Rating: 25
   • Rate of Fire: Each rail gun can fire eight times per melee.
   • Payload: Effectively unlimited
2. Retractable Particle Beam Cannons (12)
   Scattered across the hull of every Tirolian warship, the Particle Beam Cannons stand ready to pop out from under their sliding hatches to attack. Each turret is capable of 360 degrees of rotation with an arc of fire of 180 degrees. Two cannons are located on the top of the ship, three cannons are located on each side of the ship, two cannons are located on the bottom of the ship, and two cannons are located on the front of the ship.
   • Range: 100 miles (160.9 km) underwater, 200 miles (321.9 km) through an atmosphere, and 200,000 miles (321,869 km) in space.
   • Damage: 2D4x100 M.D. per single blast.
   • M.D.C. Weapon Rating: 24
   • Rate of Fire: Each cannon can fire twice per melee.
   • Payload: Effectively unlimited
3. Retractable Laser Turrets (30)
   The Lasers Turrets are located in batteries along the front and side of all Tirolian ships. They are not very powerful, but if fired in large numbers they can be devastating. They are primarily used against enemy fighters that are attacking the ship. Four turrets are located on the top of the ship, eight turrets are located on each side of the ship, four turrets are located on the bottom of the ship, and six turrets are on the front of the ship.
   • Range: 1584' (956.6 m) underwater, 3168' (956.6 m) through an atmosphere, and 60 miles (96.6 km) in space.
   • Damage: 2D6x10 M.D. per single blast.
   • M.D.C. Weapon Rating: 23
   • Rate of Fire: Each cannon can fire four times per melee, but they must fire in a volley of at least three cannons.
   • Payload: Effectively unlimited

Standard Systems:

1. Life Support System
   The ship has a fully operational life support system that provides fresh atmosphere throughout the ship. The life support system can sustain a maximum of 300 people indefinitely or 1200 people for a short period of time in case of an emergency.
2. Communication Systems
   The ship is equipped with four communication systems. The first is a long range laser system with a maximum range of 100,000 miles (160,934 km), the transmissions travel at the speed of light, but they rely on line of sight, so it cannot communicate with a ship that is on the other side of a solid object. The second system is a long range radio system with a maximum range of 10,000 miles (16,093 km), the transmissions travel at the speed of light, but they are easy to intercept and jam. The third system is a satellite relay system that allows the ship to boost the range of the other communication systems indefinitely by using satellites or other ships to relay the transmission. The forth system is a Hyperspace Communications Relay, which travels at a rate of one light-year every 5 seconds. Hyperspace communications can travel through planets and other obstructions unhindered, are extremely difficult to intercept, and impossible to jam. The ship's communication array can contact with up to 1000 ships simultaneously.
3. Sensor Systems
   The ship is equipped with three sensor systems. The first is the Electromagnetic Detection Equipment that detects other sensor systems at twice the maximum range of their transmitter. The second is a powerful array that uses standard radar waves, which are fairly easy to jam, but it is obvious when the radar array is being jammed. The sensor can track tiny targets at a range of up to 450,000 miles (724,205 km), small targets at a range of up to 4.5 million miles (7.2 million km), medium targets at a range of up to 9 million miles (14.5 million km), and large targets at a range of up to 13.5 million miles (21.7 million miles). The third is a Subspace Mass Sensor that uses gravity-based technology to detect target's at real time speed. The sensor can track tiny targets at a range of up to 500,000 miles (804,672 km), small targets at a range of up to 5 million miles (8 million km), medium targets at a range of up to 10 million miles (16.1 million km), and large targets at a range of up to 15 million miles (24.1 million miles). See Tirolian Ship Systems for more details on sensor systems.
4. Targeting Computer System
   Connecting the ship's sensor systems with the weapon systems is the Targeting Computer System. The system is designed to control all of the weapons currently equipped on the ship. This system can track up to 100 targets simultaneously, providing detailed information about the targets from the ships data files. All direct fire weapons receive a bonus of +2 to strike and all missile weapons receive a bonus of +2 to strike. These bonuses are in addition to any previously stated bonuses or penalties.

Combat Summary:

• Combat Actions: 4
• Strike: +2 to strike with direct fire weapons and +2 to strike with missile weapons.
• Targeting System: Can track up to 500 targets simultaneously.