This article describes the ship class depicted in Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love. For its counterparts in Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato and in Space Battleship Yamato 2 and its sequels, see EDF Battleship and the EDF Dreadnought.
The Dreadnought-class Vanguard Starship, formally the Mass-produced High-capacity Armed Operation System D1 Vanguard Starship Dreadnought, also called simply the Class D, is a battleship class in service in the Earth Federation Cosmo Navy. Smaller and less heavily armed than the Andromeda-class that entered service at nearly the same time but able to be manufactured in greater numbers, the Dreadnought class exemplifies a new and aggressive military doctrine on the part of the Earth Federation.
Armament and Technical Specifications[]
The Dreadnought's Wave-motion Shield in action at the Battle of Saturn
The Dreadnought-class starship possesses a wave-motion gun muzzle in its bow section, which is bifurcated by an energy jet splitter rectifier plate.[7] The Dreadnought's DWMIE differs from the one adopted by prievious warship classes, and is characterized by two chambers arranged in series. When the weapon is fired in convergeant mode, only one of the two chambers emits dextrorotatory Hawkings radiation. When firing in dispersion mode, one chamber emits levorotatory radiation and the other dextrorotatory radiation, which is then spreaded by the splitter.[7] Three convergent compresion-type shock cannon turrets are mounted along the upper deck, two of them positioned in front of the bridge tower and one behind. Like the Andromeda class and its predecessor, the space battleship Yamato, the dorsal towers of Dreadnought class ships are built with two bridges.[8] The standard variant of the class utilizes wave motion-shields as part of its defenses[9]
The Dreadnought-class is designed as a labour-serving vessel, much like the Andromeda-class, meaning it can be operated by a small crew of only 150 members. The first bridge only has seats for the captain, the tactical officer (in front of the command seat), and for two operators on both sides of the tactical seat.[7]
A group of Mars Defense Front and Earth Defense Front Dreadnoughts
One specially designated Dreadnought, the Laboratory Prometheus, is modified to use its warp engine systems to protect occupants from the dangers of accelerated time inside a time fault on Earth. As an added precaution against the time fault, its windows are blocked and replaced with video screens. The main bridge of Laboratory Prometheus is larger than normal for its class.[6][9]
In preparation for the Decisive Battle off Mars, additional Dreadnoughts with upgraded specifications were built as boosters to be mounted onto new Andromeda class vessels, including the BBB line's autonomous Andromeda vessels, for increasing maneuvers.[6][10] They could also be used to supply additional fire-power to the ship they were attached to, or to provide movement while the ship fired its wave-motion gun. They had the same armaments as the standard Dreadnought class, but lacked any type of aircraft and were controlled by command AIs instead of a crew.[7]
Names[]
Outside of its standard designation, the Dreadnought-class Vanguard Starship[11] is known by many other names: its official designation is "Mass-produced High-capacity Armed Operation System D1 Vanguard Starship Dreadnought",[12] and it is often referred to simply as the Class D.[1] Capital Battleship Dreadnought Class[6][11] and the achronim U.N.C.F. D-1[13][3] are also used to refer to the class.
History[]
Multiple Dreadnoughts in construction in the time fault in December 2202
The Dreadnought-class was developed by the United Nations Cosmo Navy as part of the Wave-motion Gun fleet plan, from the basis of the Garmillan Gaiderol-class Astro Battleship, which had been retrieved and studied during the Great Garmillas War.[12] The class is considered the equivalent of a mass-produced Yamato-class battleship, and according to a theory, the first concept design and simulation for the Dreadnought were carried out on board the Yamato during its journey to Iscandar. However, even if the theory is correct, it's unknown how much these simulations would have impacted the final design.[7] Like the Andromeda-class built after it,[7] Dreadnought-class battleships were armed with wave-motion weaponry in violation of the Earth's treaty with Iscandar, and were built in secret. With the clandestine assistance of the Greater Garmillan Empire, the Earth Federation was able to take advantage of a hidden zone of time distortion for its production facility; inside this time fault, time flowed much faster than in the outside world, allowing a factory to build Dreadnought-class and other ships for Earth and for Garmillas in the span of only a couple of years.[1] The class was named in honor of a 20th century battleship of the same name.[7] By the end of 2202, fourteen Dreadnought vessels left the assembly line and participated in a fleet exercise over Jupiter, easily blasting away rocky space debris with shock cannon fire.[1] The Dreadnought-class rapidly became the backbone of the new Earth Federation Cosmo Fleet.[12]
A Dreadnought in action at Saturn.
With the threat of invasion by the Gatlantis Empire looming, production of Dreadnought vessels inside the time fault was stepped up; unlike the first run of the class, these ships were not named and were given only registry numbers and letters. Dozens of them were ready to engage waves of increasingly powerful Gatlantis attackers at the Battle of Saturn, and assisted other ships of the Cosmo Navy fleet to fight back the invaders with their firepower and their sheer numbers. Near the end of the battle, though, the Gatlanteans transported the planet-sized White Comet fortress to Saturn, which proved able to withstand the combined blasts of the fleet's wave motion guns. Gravitational distortions created by the mechanisms of the White Comet sent many of the surviving Dreadnoughts tumbling out of control, allowing Gatlantis to pick them off at will.[5]
Laboratory Prometheus inside the time fault.
During this period, the Laboratory Prometheus, under the command of Saki Todo and with a crew that included several veterans of Yamato, oversaw construction of new warships inside the time fault to be used in the Earth Federation's next assault on Gatlantis.[9]
Hyuga, a modiefied Dreadnought-class battle carrier
After the abandonment of the time fault, the Wave-motion Gun fleet plan was suspended and the Earth Federation Cosmo Force changed its policy to “optimizing military equipment to match the scale of Earth". Some leftover unmanned Dreadnoughts were redesigned and completed as the new manned variants. Two of these ships, supply carrier Asuka (DAOE-01) and battlecarrier Hyuga (DCV-01), formed the 65th Escort Corps together with Yamato, others were turned into migratory vessels and gifted to Garmillas.[14][15] With the scrapping of the Wave-motion Gun fleet plan, the already produced Dreadnoughts stopped using their formal dress paintjob, which had been meant to showcase the grandeur of the plan and included multiple large marks as well as decorative color strips on the ship's rear and on its gun barrels, which were then removed.[16]
By 2207, a Dreadnought-class ship painted in Mars Camouflage was part of the 28th Escort Corps. It took part in the interception operation for the Dezariam space fortress Ground Reverse with its fleet, shooting its dispersion Wave-motion Gun alongside the Andromeda-class Aldebaran and the Hyuga. However, their attack was unsuccessful.[17]
Named ships of the class[]
Manned standard type[]
- Dreadnought (U.N.C.F. D-0001-2202)[3]
- Devastation (U.N.C.F. D-0002-2202)[18][3]
- Duncan (U.N.C.F. D-0003-2202)[18][3]
- Dominion (U.N.C.F. D-0004-2202)[18][3]
- Diadem (U.N.C.F. D-0005-2202)[18][3]
- Drake (U.N.C.F. D-0006-2202)[18][3]
- Devonshire (U.N.C.F. D-0007-2202)[18][3]
- Dartmouth (U.N.C.F. D-0008-2202)[3]
- Diana (U.N.C.F. D-0009-2202)[18][3]
- Danae (U.N.C.F. D-0010-2202)[3]
- Dido (U.N.C.F. D-0011-2202)[3]
- Doris (U.N.C.F. D-0012-2202)[3]
- Dublin (U.N.C.F. D-0013-2202)[3]
- Diamond (U.N.C.F. D-0014-2202)[3]
- E23[19]
- E24[20]
Time fault control ships[]
- Laboratory Prometheus (U.N.C.F. LP-0001-2202)[6]
- Laboratory Epimetheus[21]
Unmanned ships[]
Supply carrier type[]
Battleship-Carrier type[]
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- The term 宇宙 (uchū) in the Dreadnought-class's designation is usually translated as "Cosmo" or "Space", however the official English designation for the Andromeda-class present in the Space battleship Yamato 2202 Complete Works translates 宇宙艦 (uchū-kan) with "starship".[22]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Clash! Yamato vs. Andromeda"
- ↑ Trajectory of YAMATO official 2024 calendar
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 3.32 3.33 3.34 3.35 Bandai 1/1000 Earth Federation Dreadnought Battleship plastic model
- ↑ Yamato 2205 Mecha data
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Battle off the Coast of Saturn - Gather the Wave Motion Gun Fleet!"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Official Space Battleship Yamato 2202 website ship data on variants of the Dreadnought-class
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 UNCF Mecha taken from Hachette Collections Japan magazine
- ↑ "Departure to the Unknown!"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Yamato in Crisis - The Devil's Alternative Once More"
- ↑ "Escape from the Nightmare!"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Complete Works Vol.1 p.092
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Complete Works Vol.1 p.10
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 1/1000 U.N.C.F. D-1 Mars Absolute Defense Line Set
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Galactic War is About to Begin! Assemble the Yamato Fleet!!"
- ↑ starblazers-yamato.net MECHANIC Space Battleship Yamato 2205: A New Journey
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2205 Complete Works p.6
- ↑ "Begin The Secret Operation! Head for the New Yamato!"
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 Name visible on ship hull in "Clash! Yamato Vs Andromeda"
- ↑ "Battle off the Coast of Saturn - Gather the Wave Motion Gun Fleet!
- ↑ "Battle off the Coast of Saturn - Gather the Wave Motion Gun Fleet!
- ↑ "Earth, Yamato is...
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Complete Works Vol.1 p.86
Japanese language information[]
- ドレッドノート級前衛航宙艦 Doreddonōto-kyū zen'ei kōchū-kan (Dreadnought-class vanguard starship)
- 量産型高能力武装運用システムD1 前衛航宙艦 ドレッドノート Ryōsan-gata-kō nōryoku busō un'yō shisutemu D 1 zen'ei kōchū-kan doreddonōto (Mass-produced high-capacity armed operation system D1 vanguard starship dreadnought)
- クラスD Kurasu D (Class D)
- 主力戦艦ドレッドノート級 Shuryoku senkan doreddonōto-kyū (Capital battleship dreadnought class)