Moltke-class destroyers leading the way for a TOG battleship squadron. Miniatures sculpted by Martin Evans and painted by Richard White.
Overview[]
In 6731, the Moltke-class destroyer was commissioned for full production at the Gilmen Shipyards on Trios in the Potsdam Grand Dukedom. These ships have since found their way throughout TOG space. Gilmen has 20 facilities producing the vessel, with a new yard currently under construction on Beck in Keserdal County of the Alaric Grand Dukedom.
Many observers compare the Moltke-class destroyer to the Serpens, a similar class. Both have earned solid reputations and are widely deployed throughout the Empire.
Like the Serpens, the Moltke operates equally well in conjunction with ground forces or a naval squadron. The ship performs orbital bombardment, fighter suppression, or Thor-satellite placement in support of ground forces.
That is where most comparisons end, however. The Moltke does not have a strong fighter launch-and-recovery system, and it carries only six fighters. A variant, the Moltke-A, replaces the fighter bay with a bay of 10-gun 15/30 Diamond Star forward-facing lasers. Only 20 Moltke-A-class vessels are in use.
Many naval officers had a lukewarm reaction to the original Moltke, an opinion that did not begin to shift until the Battle of Pas in Keserdal County in 6806. Not only did the ship prove it had the stamina to sustain prolonged combat, but Admiral Udall Fistor commanded the rout of the 12001st Renegade Squadron aboard the Moltke-class Fire Reaver. Since then, more senior officers are requesting the vessel as a replacement for damaged destroyers.
Capabilities[]
The heart and soul of this ship is the Westing Yor Excelor Stardrive. With its multi-phase tuning, the equipment is an engineer's dream. Westing Yor's domination of the ship-engine market means that replacement parts are plentiful and can even be salvaged from many commercial ships using similar drives. This has been useful to many TOG task forces conducting raids into Commonwealth-controlled space.
It is the FTL drive that is a problem. Without constant preventive maintenance, the Flavius Max 354 system is easily knocked out of synchronization. This has caused almost 8 percent more navigation errors than for any other TOG naval vessel. Fortunately, none of these ships has been destroyed, even though they emerged from T-space significantly off-course. Maintenance on these drives must be scheduled at twice the standard rate.
The Moltke uses the Jankowski Type A spinal mount as its main gun. Again, there have been major problems. The charge coils used to clear obstructional matter from the firing tube are not as effective as expected, leaving dust and other particles in the firing tube at the time of launch. These particles are also accelerated, and with time, begin to erode the inner surface of the tube. This, in turn, can damage a fighter's armor upon launch. A total of 125 Moltkes have shown this type of damage and required almost three weeks in a dockyard for repairs.
The fighter launch-and-recovery bays are in the forward end of the vessel, directly under the Combat Information Center. The few fighters are equipped for ground-support operations, with Arcus or Onagri-class fighters typical of those carried.
Moltke-class destroyers have 29,000 tons of cargo space, most of it dedicated to fighter and other standard mission supplies. Some also goes to Thor-satellite placement. At the aft end of the vessel is a separate cargo bay able to carry up to eight of the deadly Thor satellites.. These are deployed in orbit with a small launch mechanism. A Moltke destroyer can enter low orbit and deploy eight satellites in just ten minutes, a tactic that has been valuable in ground-support operations in Yoventrov County.
The Moltke is streamlined for atmospheric landings but still considered somewhat cumbersome for such operations. In an emergency landing on Ruse during the initial assault into Yoventrov County, in early 6807, the Moltke-class IWS Star Crusher lost control and crashed into the starport. All hands were lost, as well as nearly 800 personnel on the ground.
Deployment[]
Moltke destroyers are concentrated in well-secured regions of TOG space. Only 20 percent of those still in service are assigned to front-line squadrons. With the recent losses in Yoventrov, Rift, and Shannedam Counties, more Moltkes are being sent into combat.
At least 112 of these destroyers have disappeared in suspected defections and are believed to be operating within the Commonwealth. Thus far, TOG has identified only four defector ships as among the Renegade Legions, however.