Marathon-class heavy cruiser

Marathon-class heavy cruiser
Production information
Class:	Cruiser
Role:	Attack, command, defense
Technical specifications
Length:	1,192 meters (3,910 ft)
Width:	293 meters (960 ft)
Height:	375 meters (1,230 ft)
Mass:	100,000 tons
Engine(s):	Fusion drives
Slipspace drive:	Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine
Hull:	191 cm of Titanium-A battle plate
Armament:	Two Magnetic Accelerator Cannons 1,800 Archer missiles Point-defense guns Five fusion rockets
Complement:	Orbital Drop Shock Troopers 24 GA-TL1 Longswords At least two D77-TC Pelicans
Chronological and affiliation
Era:	Human-Covenant War
Affiliation:	UNSC Navy

The Marathon-class heavy cruiser is a cruiser classification in service with the UNSC Navy. Ships of the Marathon class are designated with a hull classification symbol of CA, indicating that vessels of the class are heavy cruisers. Marathon-class heavy cruisers are commonly reserved for use as command ships due to their durability and firepower, and are often given attack and defense roles. Rarely, these cruisers are deployed to assist forces of the United Nations Space Command in planetary invasion operations.

Built as a replacement for the aging Halcyon-class light cruiser, the Marathon class is nearly 1.2 kilometers in length, making it one of the largest warships used by the UNSC and often served as the backbone of a fleet. Due to their limited numbers, Marathon-class heavy cruisers are typically commanded by officers of the rear admiral rate or higher.

Specifications

Superstructure and hull

UNSC Leviathan, Michael Stanforth's flagship

At 1,192 meters (3,910 ft) long, Marathon-class heavy cruisers are approximately three times the length of a typical frigate. Cruisers of the Marathon class were large vessels within the UNSC fleet, though they were dwarfed by their Covenant counterparts. At 100,000 tons, ships of the Marathon class have approximately three times the tonnage of their predecessors—the Halcyon-class light cruisers. Marathon-class heavy cruisers have a similar profile to most cruisers within the UNSC Navy. Unlike the Halcyon class, the ventral surfaces of a Marathon class are concave rather than flat. Marathons have 191 centimeter-thick layers of Titanium-A armor, allowing them to sustain far greater damage than any frigate or destroyer. Vessels of the Marathon class are renowned for their durability and extraordinary resilience. Their ability to withstand massive amounts of damage, even from numerous blasts from plasma weaponry, made the Marathon class popular among UNSC officers. By 2552, Marathons were considered to be the most powerful warship ever built by humanity.

Crew and complement

Marathon-class heavy cruisers feature a standard complement of one thousand personnel. Due to their durability and firepower, ships of the Marathon class are often reserved for admirals to use as command ships. Although, they are occasionally commanded by a captain or a rear admiral. Vessels of the class can also carry large UNSC Marine complements.

Cruisers of the Marathon class are fitted with at least two hangar bays. A large deployment bay containing numerous Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicles, referred to by Orbital Drop Shock Troopers as "Hell's waiting room", is located amidships. Marathons can carry two dozen GA-TL1 Longswords; space aboard a Marathon is optimized to maximize the amount of heavy weapons and armor equipped on each ship, preventing the cruisers from carrying more space fighters. In addition, Marathon-class heavy cruisers can carry several D77-TC Pelican dropships and other ground and air vehicles.

Armaments

Marathon-class heavy cruisers are equipped with two heavy Magnetic Accelerator Cannons as the primary armament of the class. In addition to the class' MAC weaponry, these heavy cruisers are armed with a variety of other weapons that were once considered to outmatch the armaments of any other ship in service with the UNSC Navy. The secondary armament of a Marathon-class heavy cruiser is its missile delivery system which consists of 1,800 Archer missiles, as well as five fusion rockets. The tertiary armament of the heavy cruiser class is a network of point-defense guns. The Marathon class' vastly superior and larger armaments allowed it to outclass the Halcyon class in every way in terms of weaponry.

Operational history

File:Outcome of Second Battle of Harvest.png

Several Marathon-class heavy cruisers engaging the super-destroyer at Harvest

The Marathon-class heavy cruiser was commissioned and built as a replacement for the Halcyon-class light cruiser, a smaller and lighter armed cruiser with excessive production costs. After a brief era of service, most ships of the Halcyon class were decommissioned, which led to the Marathon class rising to prominence. By 2525, the Marathon class was the most popular line of cruiser in service with the Navy. Several Marathon-class heavy cruisers served in Battle Group X-Ray under Vice Admiral Preston Cole during the Battle of Harvest. Throughout the early years of the Human-Covenant War, Cole continued to command Marathons as part of his Third Fleet. Several Marathons from the fleet, including UNSC Prophecy, participated in the Harvest campaign. At least one Marathon-class heavy cruiser, UNSC Dresden, participated in the Battle of Biko, where it was destroyed by the Covenant.

Numerous Marathons hold position over Earth

As their numbers were diminished by the onslaught of the Covenant, many Marathons were reassigned to the defense of the Inner Colonies and Earth during the later years of the Human-Covenant War. Marathons were present at the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV in July 2552, including Vice Admiral Michael Stanforth's flagship Leviathan, which was severely damaged during the battle. Numerous Marathon-class heavy cruisers participated in the Fall of Reach, many of which were destroyed.

At least eight Marathon-class cruisers—including UNSC Canberra and Say My Name—assigned to the Fifth Fleet, a part of the UNSC Home Fleet, were present at the onset of the Battle of Earth. Led by Fleet Admiral J. Harper aboard Canberra and supported by sixty-seven Stalwart-class light frigates, these ships formed a defensive perimeter around the orbital defense platform cluster over the Mediterranean to prevent the Fleet of Sacred Consecration from reaching Earth's surface. Admiral Carl Patterson's battle group, drawn from the Home Fleet, contained one Marathon-class heavy cruiser that participated at the Battle of Onyx, where it was destroyed with the rest of its battle group. Several Marathon-class cruisers of the Home Fleet were supposedly destroyed over the course of the battle for Earth, particularly after the final wave of Covenant reinforcements arrived.

Most remaining Marathon-class heavy cruisers were decommissioned after the Autumn-class heavy cruiser was introduced, with only a handful staying in service. The Autumn class became slated to serve as the core of the reconstituted UNSC Navy's fleet, a role that the Marathon class had previously fulfilled.

Ships of the line

• UNSC Canberra – Fleet Admiral J. Harper's flagship; led the Fifth Fleet against the Covenant during the Battle of Earth on October 20, 2552.
• UNSC Dresden – Equipped with a saddle box drive. Destroyed during the Battle of Biko in 2526.
• UNSC Feeling Lucky – Part of the Fifth Fleet; destroyed during the Battle of Earth on October 20, 2552.
• UNSC Hannibal – Destroyed during the Fall of Reach.
• UNSC Leviathan – Vice Admiral Michael Stanforth's flagship. Severely damaged during the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV in July 2552 and destroyed during the Fall of Reach.
• UNSC Marathon – The lead ship of the class.
• UNSC Prophecy – Destroyed during the Harvest campaign in February 2531.
• UNSC Say My Name – Deployed ODSTs to board Solemn Penance during the Battle of Mombasa on October 20, 2552.

Halo: Fleet Battles

UNSC Marathon Heavy Cruiser Cost: 95 points Movement: 8" Damage Track: 6 • 6 • 3 Build rating: 2 Hangars: 2 Boarding Craft: 2 Security detail: 3 System loadouts: Hard Burn (2") Missile barrage Point defense (4) Titanium armor (3) Primary weapon: Heavy MAC Range: 16/32" Weapon loadouts: MAC (2) Firing arc: Forward Dice: 8 Secondary Weapon: Missile batteries Range: 12/24" Weapon loadouts: Missiles Firing arc: Forward or Port+Starboard Dice: 7

UNSC Supported Marathon Heavy Cruiser Cost: 110 points Movement: 8" Damage Track: 7 • 6 • 3 Build rating: 3 Hangars: 2 Boarding Craft: 2 Security detail: 4 System loadouts: Hard Burn (2") Missile barrage Point defense (4) Titanium armor (4) Primary weapon: Heavy MAC Range: 16/32" Weapon loadouts: MAC (2) Firing arc: Forward Dice: 10 Secondary Weapon: Missile batteries Range: 12/24" Weapon loadouts: Missiles Firing arc: Forward or Port+Starboard Dice: 8

UNSC Reinforced Marathon Heavy Cruiser

• Cost: 120 points
• Movement: 8"
• Damage Track: 8 • 7 • 4
• Build rating: 4
• Hangars: 2
• Boarding Craft: 2
• Security detail: 4
• System loadouts:
  • Hard Burn (2")
  • Missile barrage
  • Point defense (5)
  • Titanium armor (5)
• Primary weapon: Heavy MAC
  • Range: 15/30"
  • Weapon loadouts: MAC (3)
  • Firing arc: Forward
  • Dice: 12
• Secondary Weapon: Missile batteries
  • Range: 12/24"
  • Weapon loadouts: Missiles
  • Firing arc: Forward or Port+Starboard
  • Dice: 10

UNSC Paired Marathon Heavy Cruisers

• Cost: 220 points
• Movement: 8"
• Damage Track: 10 • 10 • 5
• Build rating: 6
• Hangars: 4
• Boarding Craft: 4
• Security detail: 6
• System loadouts:
  • Hard Burn (2")
  • Missile barrage
  • Point defense (8)
  • Titanium armor (6)
• Primary weapon: Heavy MAC
  • Range: 15/30"
  • Weapon loadouts: MAC (4)
  • Firing arc: Forward
  • Dice: 18
• Secondary Weapon: Missile batteries
  • Range: 12/24"
  • Weapon loadouts: Missiles
  • Firing arc: Forward or Port+Starboard
  • Dice: 14

Trivia

Browse more images in this article's gallery page.

• Though in-universe the class is likely named for the Battle of Marathon, in reality its name is a reference to Bungie's Marathon trilogy and its eponymous ship, the UESC Marathon.
• The Marathon class is featured in Halo: Fleet Battles; although the Halcyon-class light cruiser was originally intended to appear instead, it was decided that the latter's appearance would not be canonically possible. The design for the Marathon class in the game was noted to have been difficult to sculpt, although the models created by Blur Studio for Halo 2: Anniversary aided in the process.

Gallery

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  A Marathon-class heavy cruiser orbiting Earth

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  Marathon-class heavy cruisers on a video display of the Home Fleet

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  The starboard profile of a Marathon-class heavy cruiser

• UNSC Prophecy.png

  UNSC Prophecy

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  The SOEIV drop bay aboard a Marathon; the SOEIV deployment rings can be seen above

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  ODSTs gathered around a holo-table inside a Marathon-class cruiser

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  UNSC Leviathan

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  A Marathon class is destroyed in the Halo: The Master Chief Collection announcement trailer

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  The back of a Marathon-class heavy cruiser

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  A Marathon glides past Cairo Station, flanked by squads of Longswords

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  A Marathon hull being pierced by a CAS-class assault carrier's energy projector

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  The Marathon's scale compared to that of the Epoch class and the Paris class

List of appearances

Halo: The Fall of Reach (First appearance) Halo: First Strike Tug o' War Halo 2 Halo Graphic Novel Second Sunrise Over New Mombasa Halo: Ghosts of Onyx Halo: Landfall Arms Race Halo Wars: Genesis Halo Wars (Mentioned only)

Halo 3: ODST Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole Halo: Fall of Reach Boot Camp Covenant Invasion Halo: Escalation Halo 2: Anniversary Halo: Fleet Battles Halo: Last Light