Reference: two versions...one designed by Wade Racine, one printed in the 2300AD Resource. Naturally, I'm biased. :)
Fleets of Service: America
Apparent Naming Convention: Only one ship, so no convention just yet.
Known ships of this class: Columbia
Analysis: Well, I've said my piece on this one, largely. The ship in the Resource is a good one, but just doesn't seem of battleship stature to me. Like I said, I think my design has a better chance of lasting 120+ Star Cruiser game rounds (1 round=1 minute) than the one in the Resource (in Invasion, page 54, "...Columbia engaged in a titanic single-ship duel with the stronger of the two Kafer Delta-class ships...After a battle lasting for over two hours, the two behemoths had pounded each other to the very brink of destruction...). Hmmm...rereading that, it calls the Columbia a behemoth. Maybe even my design is too small! :)
Reference: Star Cruiser Rules, page 18
Fleets of Service: America, Australia
Apparent Naming Convention: US Presidents (dead ones, anyway)
Known ships of this class: Adams, Eisenhower, F. Roosevelt, Isaacs, Jackson, Jefferson, Kennedy, Kostek, L. Johnson, Lincoln, Olson, Rawlings, Reagan, Rice, Sanchez, T. Roosevelt, Truman, Washington, Wilson (can you pick out which presidents came after the Twilight War?). The Sanchez was lost in action against a Kafer Improved Alpha class battleship in January, 2299, at the First Battle of Arcturus.
Analysis: Give me a fleet of just these and I'll have the Kafers on their knees in no time. This is *the* best warship in the human arsenal. She can outrun any missile, and can still stay within range to keep throwing her own vast complement of them until she wins or needs to go away to resupply. No armor, no screens, but who needs 'em when nothing can touch you?
Reference: Challenge magazine # 32, page 32
Fleets of Service: America
Apparent Naming Convention: Native American tribes/nations
Known ships of this class: Apache, Arapaho, Blackfeet, Cayuga, Comanche, Dakota, Erie, Iriquois, Navajo, Pueblo, Seminole, Sioux, Spokane. Apache was destroyed by the "Bavarians" in 2298, during a confrontation between an American escorted convoy and a "Bavarian" blockade. However, since that was *after* the War of German Reunification, I suspect it is a typo, and probably happened during the WGR. Pueblo was destroyed in 2299 by the Kafers at an unknown location in the French Arm.
Analysis: A very strange Ship Status Sheet for these guys...but anyway, not a bad destroyer, except it has NO armor! Not to mention that it is slow. These things have got to be getting phased out, I imagine, by the Hamptons
Reference: designed by Wade Racine
Fleets of Service: America
Apparent Naming Convention: Patriotic theme
Known ships of this class: Appamattox, Eagle, Freedom, Gettysburg, Independence, Liberty, Monticello, Representative, Revolution, Senate, Vicksburg, Yorktown
Analysis: Oldest ship in the American fleet. Not bad, but not great. I designed this when I knew the Cayuga existed, but before the Hampton packet was published by SGS. The Cayuga and Hampton are destroyer *escorts* though, not full destroyers like the Eagle. I imagine the Americans would be replacing these with a new design, soon...possibly a guided missile destroyer, not unlike a scaled down Kennedy. See the 2300 web page for stats. Wow, I just remembered where I got the name for this...in the Cayuga article, it says the Eagle was the losing design for the destroyer escort bid. I guess the folks who made the Eagle went back, redesigned, and presented her as a regular destroyer, which was accepted. So I imagine the Hamptons were meant to augment and eventually replace the Cayugas, but that plan was dropped when the Kafers were noticed. This would explain the plethora of American destroyers and destroyer-escorts.
Reference: USS Hampton supplement, published by SGS in 1991
Fleets of Service: America
Apparent Naming Convetion: Small US cities
Known ships of this class: Aberdeen, Ashland, Bellevue, Bloomfield, Catskill, Ellsworth, Hampton, Hartford, Lynchburg, Paxton, Redfield, Stockton, Sundance. These are just as of 1 June 2301. Seven more are planned between August of 2301 and February of 2302 (whoa! those shipyards must be cranking them right out!)
Analysis: Again, no armor, but I suppose that isn't a consideration for destroyer escorts. These ships are likely going to be dogmeat against the Kafers (and they are in the Hampton supplement, with 10 of the total 20 ever produced getting sputched between September 2301 and June 2303). I guess they need *somebody* to escort the merchies, though. So, where to put the Hamptons? Well, the book indicates that they travel in groups of four (at the beginning of the war, anyway)...and there are 13 of them. Let's say that one is at Earth, finishing her trial runs, the latest one built...that would be the Lynchburg. The three groups are likely going to be along the American Arm, doing escort things.
Reference: designed by Wade Racine
Fleets of Service: America
Apparent Naming Convention: I used a thesaurus, given the names in Invasion (Spitfire and Temptress). I guess they named them after the personalities of some women...or something...I don't know.
Known ships of this class: Arrogant, Berserker, Contemptuous, Crusader, Cyclone, Cynical, Delinquent, Demolition, Demon, Dervish, Devilish, Excess, Fanatic, Fury, Hurricane, Imp, Incorrigible, Maelstrom, Pride, Rage, Spiteful, Spitfire, Sprite, Surly, Tempest, Temptress
Analysis: I built these as sort of an early "fast-missile ship" philosophy. I figured the Americans likely discovered the philosopher's stone Kennedys through an earlier design, and this is it. Star Cruiser experience showed they can survive very well in a fleet action, and are a nice and natural complement to the Kennedys. See the web page for more details.
Reference: Star Cruiser Rules, page 17
Fleets of Service: America
Number of Ships in service: Unknown...likely a bunch, though...68
Analysis: If you could rig a missile to this sucker, she'd be a thousand times better than an Aconit. Very fast, apparently streamlined, and really good armor. A little weak in the targeting computer department, but other than that a solid ship. The 2300 Resource has an article on her, and she is listed as an old fighter design...well, if this is old, I can't wait to see what new design the Americans will come up with.