Vanquisher Class Corvette

The Vanquisher class corvette entered Terran Commonwealth Space Forces service in 2173CE. Designed for patrol and intercept duty, the Vanquisher featured a HKD 300TW protium reactor with integral fusion drive rated for 30,000mt thrust at 250,000 isp. Field-cut Ramirez-Cruz plasma afterburners provide up to 120,000mt thrust at 50,000 isp. Fully loaded with 18,500mt MSMH fuel, the 30,000mt Vanquisher had over 2,340kps delta-V, though use of R-C afterburners often reduced this performance. At cruising velocity, assume a non-refueling round trip, the Vanquisher could cross 1AU in 2.89 days, reaching Neptune orbit in less than 90 days. Refueling at the destination doubled maximum cruising velocity.

The Vanquisher was one of the first production spacecraft to feature the innovative Crew Cage, an 18 meter freely rotating sphere containing all crew stations and quarters for the 20-36 personnel onboard. The Crew Cage allowed constant “gravity” orientation while under thrust, landing on planetary surfaces, or skimming through atmospheres for refueling or braking. Artificial gravity under coast, was achieved by tumbling the vehicle end-over end, with the lower decks receive the most effective gravity.

The Vanquisher was designed for long deployments and was equipped for wilderness hydrogen refueling from atmospheres, liquid water or ice deposits. Both purification and metastabilizing equipment was integral to the vessel, with two of the six main pods normally designated as refueling intakes. The corvette was rated to 20g acceleration in any vector and 500 atmospheres pressure for gas giant and oceanic operations.

The twelve small and six large pods were designed for multi-function use and were easily interchangeable. Forward and center pods normally contained communications, sensors or weaponry, including mass drivers, point defense lasers and missile launchers. The large pods held fuel refining equipment, shuttlecraft and drone launchers.

While extremely stealthy in cruise mode, the Vanquisher provided a highly visible profile when under thrust or when operating its reactor at high power.

Of fifteen Vanquishers build before the Colonial War, seven defected to the Confederation and each side lost three corvettes during the fighting. After the war, the TCSF procured an additional dozen vehicles, and the Colonial Confederation produced eight similar vehicles at Vesta Yards though four of these feature xenon-ion drives rather than MSMH fusion/plasma engines.

The Vanquisher class corvettes remained in service until replaced by more efficient patrol craft in the 2220s.

Ships in class (pre war):

No.	Name	Launched	Colonial War Status	Fate
CR-101	Vanquisher	2173	Loyalist	Destroyed, Battle of Mars, 2181
CR-102	Conqueror	2174	Loyalist/Rebel	Captured by Rebels in 2181, crippled Battle of Amun, 2182 and scrapped, 2183
CR-103	Triumphant	2174	Rebel	Destroyed at Flora, 2181
CR-104	Peacemaker	2175	Rebel	Destroyed, Battle of Amun, 2182
CR-105	Devastator	2176	Loyalist	Destroyed near Jupiter, 2181
CR-106	Valiant	2176	Loyalist	Damaged L4 Raid, 2182 and scrapped 2183
CR-107	Harrier	2177	Rebel	Destroyed, Battle of Mars, 2181
CR-108	Victor	2177	Rebel	In Colonial service, transferred to Mars in 2206, served until scrapped, 2226
CR-109	Raider	2177	Loyalist	In TCSF service until scrapped, 2222
CR-110	Corsair	2178	Rebel	In Colonial service, transferred to Luna in 2206, served until scrapped, 2220
CR-111	Overlord	2178	Rebel	In Colonial service, transferred to NEAR in 2206, served until scrapped, 2228
CR-112	Transcendent	2178	Loyalist	In TSCF service until scrapped, 2223
CR-113	Vanguard	2179	Rebel	In Colonial service, transferred to Belt in 2206 until retired, 2226, Museum ship at Vesta, destroyed in 2346
CR-114	Intrepid	2179	Loyalist	Captured by Rebels during the Liberation of Jupiter, 2182, returned to TCSF in treaty, scrapped 2198
CR-115	Excelsior	2180	Loyalist	Destroyed, Battle of Amun, 2182