Post by Daniel Gage on Sept 8, 2014 2:39:36 GMT
Class: Antietam
Unit type: Escort Carrier
Manufacturer: Earth Federal Space Forces
Operators: Earth Federal Space Forces, Anti-Earth Union Group
First deployment: UC 0082
Dimensions: Length 145 meters, maximum beam 110 meters
Displacement: 6830 metric tons fully loaded
Equipment and design features:
Fixed armaments:
Anti-Ship:
4 X Missile Tubes, (Capital), mounted in bow
Anti-Air:
8 X Twin machine cannon turrets, mounted in 4 batteries of 2 (Assault)
Mobile suits: 12
Launch catapults: 2
Description:
As the Federation's Mobile Suit Corps expanded and grew exponentially during the One Year War, they were faced with the challenge of locating enough carrier vessels. While the Pegasus-class assault carriers were perfect for that role, they were expensive and resource intensive to produce new capital ships. The Federation thus took a number of their Columbus-class transports were consequently modified them into carriers for their new GM mobile suits, and christened them the new Antietam-class.
After the One Year War, the Antietams were slowly retired as more Pegasus-class BVs, and later Alexandria and Lombardia-class CAs were brought online. The handful remianing have been relegated to the training role, maintaining the barest of self-protection armaments in addition to their full squadron of mobile suits. The AEUG has begun using several of them as training vessels for prospective pilots given their lack of cruiser decks to train large groups of pilots. The Geronimo is one such training carrier, currently home to the Sixth Replenishment Squadron...