Halcyon-class light cruiser: Difference between revisions
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== Background == | == Background == | ||
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 Missile]] pods and a single [[MAC]] gun. | At 1.17(again, an obvious relation to Master Chief's number[117]) 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 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> The durability of the design was demonstrated by the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} when she survived a crash-landing on [[Alpha Halo]].<ref>[[The_Maw_(Level)|The Maw]] (level)</ref> | 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> The durability of the design was demonstrated by the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} when she survived a crash-landing on [[Alpha Halo]].<ref>[[The_Maw_(Level)|The Maw]] (level)</ref> | ||