Halcyon-class light cruiser: Difference between revisions

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The '''Halcyon-class Cruiser''' (Pronounced 'hal-see-on') (known as '''Human Attack Ship class C-II'''<ref>[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]], page 4</ref> by the [[Covenant]]) was a [[United Nations Space Command]] cruiser starship classification designed by [[Dr. Robert McLees]] in [[2510]]. Their service lives were short due to a unique hull design that was costly both to construct and to maintain, lack of speed, and concerns about their tactical viability. They were subsequently replaced by the {{~~ShipClass~~|Marathon|Cruiser|}} ~~cruisers~~.

The '''Halcyon-class Cruiser''' (Pronounced 'hal-see-on') (known as '''Human Attack Ship class C-II'''<ref>[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]], page 4</ref> by the [[Covenant]]) was a [[United Nations Space Command]] cruiser starship classification designed by [[Dr. Robert McLees]] in [[2510]]. Their service lives were short due to a unique hull design that was costly both to construct and to maintain, lack of speed, and concerns about their tactical viability. They were subsequently replaced by the {{Class|Marathon|Cruiser}}.

== Features ==

At 1.17 kilometers in length and one-third the tonnage of the succeeding ''Marathon''-class ~~cruisers~~, the ''Halcyon''s were the smallest vessels to be designated as cruisers. Compared to later ships, the original ''Halcyon''s were sorely underpowered and under gunned: their Mark II fusion engines provided but a tenth of the output of modern reactors and their armament consisted of a mere six [[Archer Missiles|Archer Missile]] pods and a single [[MAC]] gun.

At 1.17 kilometers in length and one-third the tonnage of the succeeding ''Marathon''-class, the ''Halcyon''s were the smallest vessels to be designated as cruisers. Compared to later ships, the original ''Halcyon''s were sorely underpowered and under gunned: their Mark II fusion engines provided but a tenth of the output of modern reactors and their armament consisted of a mere six [[Archer Missiles|Archer Missile]] pods and a single [[MAC]] gun.

As the ship was designed and manufactured well before the Human-Covenant War, it was probably meant to suppress possible rebellions on outer colonies which might have had reasonable ground militia but scarce planetary defenses, making the ship ideal to take out small defending frigates or fighters and capable of landing an able ground force to restore order on the planet. The most noteworthy design feature was a series of internal cross bracings and honeycombs that made the ships surprisingly resistant to battle damage; ships of the class were able to remain operational despite sustaining breaches to all compartments and losing 90% of their armor.<ref>[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]], page 238</ref> As seen in [[Halo: Combat Evolved]], this superstructure made the ship capable of crash-landing relatively safely on a planet, though it would probably never fly again.

Halcyon-class light cruiser: Difference between revisions

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 |affiliation=[[United Nations Space Command]]
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-The '''Halcyon-class Cruiser''' (Pronounced 'hal-see-on') (known as '''Human Attack Ship class C-II'''<ref>[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]], page 4</ref> by the [[Covenant]]) was a [[United Nations Space Command]] cruiser starship classification designed by [[Dr. Robert McLees]] in [[2510]]. Their service lives were short due to a unique hull design that was costly both to construct and to maintain, lack of speed, and concerns about their tactical viability. They were subsequently replaced by the {{ShipClass|Marathon|Cruiser|}} cruisers.
+The '''Halcyon-class Cruiser''' (Pronounced 'hal-see-on') (known as '''Human Attack Ship class C-II'''<ref>[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]], page 4</ref> by the [[Covenant]]) was a [[United Nations Space Command]] cruiser starship classification designed by [[Dr. Robert McLees]] in [[2510]]. Their service lives were short due to a unique hull design that was costly both to construct and to maintain, lack of speed, and concerns about their tactical viability. They were subsequently replaced by the {{Class|Marathon|Cruiser}}.
 == Features ==
-At 1.17 kilometers in length and one-third the tonnage of the succeeding ''Marathon''-class cruisers, the ''Halcyon''s were the smallest vessels to be designated as cruisers. Compared to later ships, the original ''Halcyon''s were sorely underpowered and under gunned: their Mark II fusion engines provided but a tenth of the output of modern reactors and their armament consisted of a mere six [[Archer Missiles|Archer Missile]] pods and a single [[MAC]] gun.
+At 1.17 kilometers in length and one-third the tonnage of the succeeding ''Marathon''-class, the ''Halcyon''s were the smallest vessels to be designated as cruisers. Compared to later ships, the original ''Halcyon''s were sorely underpowered and under gunned: their Mark II fusion engines provided but a tenth of the output of modern reactors and their armament consisted of a mere six [[Archer Missiles|Archer Missile]] pods and a single [[MAC]] gun.
 As the ship was designed and manufactured well before the Human-Covenant War, it was probably meant to suppress possible rebellions on outer colonies which might have had reasonable ground militia but scarce planetary defenses, making the ship ideal to take out small defending frigates or fighters and capable of landing an able ground force to restore order on the planet. The most noteworthy design feature was a series of internal cross bracings and honeycombs that made the ships surprisingly resistant to battle damage; ships of the class were able to remain operational despite sustaining breaches to all compartments and losing 90% of their armor.<ref>[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]], page 238</ref> As seen in [[Halo: Combat Evolved]], this superstructure made the ship capable of crash-landing relatively safely on a planet, though it would probably never fly again.