Thuverl Salan Class Destroyer

(Version 1.00 - Last Modified: 12/12/2003)
Background information inspired by Thuverl Salan class Heavy Cruiser by Pieter Thomassen, with Peter Walker, on the Unofficial Robotech Reference Guide.
Thuverl Salan Class Heavy Destroyer

After the Ci'Va disaster, the Tirolian Empire was in a full-scale war with the Ci'Vonian survivors and their Zentraedi allies. A huge portion of the fleet had defected and during the initial years of the war, the remaining forces were too spread out for anything but a purely defensive stance, making it extremely difficult to locate the bases used by the Disciples of Zor. Just as bad, due to the nature of the threat, the remaining Zentraedi forces had no technological advantage over their enemy. To compensate, the Robotech Elders felt that production of large numbers of improved Zentraedi ships was one of their highest priorities. The Thuverl Salan design was a direct result of this, designed with the firepower to take on most types of ships used by the Disciples of Zor. Also, the class was produced on an unprecedented scale. Its design was suited for massive production runs as well as for a long lifecycle, as volume and mass had been reserved at the outset for the inevitable updates and refits that would be carried out during the design's lifetime.

As the years went on, the Tirolian Mercantile Empire produced larger and larger numbers of the Thuverl Salan vessels, although relatively few updates were made on the basic class, another tribute to the original design teams. In action, the Thuverl Salan cruisers proved to be quite effective, completely outclassing any smaller ship, such as the Tou Redir scout ships. By the time of the First Robotech War, the Thuverl Salan ships were the backbone of the Zentraedi fleet, and they were also prominently involved in the earlier battles in the Sol system. The first encounter of the Terran forces with a Thuverl Salan was mere minutes after the initial Zentraedi defold in the solar system, when an advanced force of these cruisers took on the orbital fleet to clear the way for the main Zentraedi body and fleet train. The Zentraedi lost one Thuverl Salan and another one was severely damaged, but few ships of the orbital fleet survived the encounter, as the Zentraedi vanguard broke through their ranks with ease. Further combat in the solar system saw the destruction of nine other Thuverl Salan ships, though it must be noted that the Zentraedi were not trying to destroy the SDF-1, but to capture it relatively intact.

The Thuverl Salan class was the most numerous of the Zentraedi capital ships, in addition to one of the most modern. Designed for ease of production as well as for combat effectiveness, the class was produced in enormous numbers, only exceeded in quantity by the ubiquitous Tou Redir scout ship. The basic hull shape of the Thuverl Salan was that of a bulged wedge, with a superstructure rising from amidships and continuing to the rear. The engines were mounted in the aft sides of the hull, protruding underneath the hull proper in long blisters. In the ventral hull, between the engines and under the superstructure, is a large dual hatch leading to the auxiliary craft hangars. A large retractable sensor fin jutted backwards near the hangar and other fins were mounted on the main hull and the engines. The outer hull was formed of two halves, an upper and a lower one, and a groove between them ran most of the length of the ship.

The armament of the ship was diverse and effective. The heaviest cannons carried were three large laser cannons, mounted in three turrets on the forward incline of the superstructure. This ensured the heaviest possible salvo with the minimum exposed silhouette in standard Zentraedi combat attitudes. The more commonly used medium particle batteries were mostly concentrated forward as well, with large clusters of the retractable turrets bearing on the forward arc on and around the sensor pad, and forward of the two reaction engines. The heavy missile launchers were also forward, firing from the groove between the dorsal and ventral main hull. As usual, the defensive missile turrets were mounted for spherical coverage.

Ship Information:

Vehicle Complement:

M.D.C. by location:

Speed:

Statistical Data:

Weapon Systems:

  1. Heavy Reflex Cannon
  2. Main Laser Cannons (3)
  3. Retractable Particle Beam Cannons (12)
  4. Retractable Laser Turrets (36)
  5. Retractable Long Range Missile Turrets (70)
  6. Retractable Heavy Missile Turrets (22)

Standard Systems:

  1. Life Support System
  2. Communication Systems
  3. Sensor Systems
  4. Targeting Computer System

Combat Summary: