SDV-class heavy corvette
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| SDV-class heavy corvette | |
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Class: |
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Role: |
Advance reconnaissance, ship-to-ship warfare, ground assault, aerial support |
| Technical specifications | |
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Length: |
956 meters (3,140 ft)[1] |
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Width: |
399 meters (1,310 ft)[1] |
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Height: |
175.01 meters (574.2 ft)[2] |
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Engine(s): |
Four repulsor engines |
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Slipspace drive: |
Equipped |
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Hull: |
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Armament: |
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Complement: |
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| Chronological and affiliation | |
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Era: |
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Affiliation: |
Covenant |
The SDV-class heavy corvette is a warship classification in the Covenant fleet.[5][6]
Specifications
Design details
Larger than UNSC frigates but relatively weak compared to other Covenant ships, corvettes are usually sent in advance of larger fleets.[5][7][6] They are streamlined, with a smooth oblong hull shape. The selvage rim, a contoured extension of the hull for additive protection and deployment of combat carapaces, is unique among Covenant military vessels. The selvage rim is visually reminiscent of Suban's qoerith slugs. Corvettes are also different from most known Covenant vessels in that the bridge is located at the front of the ship[6] instead of in the ship's center.[8] Corvettes are propelled by four engines at the rear of the ship.[5][7][6][9] Red and blue lights are used to distinguish the port and starboard sides of the ship.[6] At the Corvette's midsection is the ministerial cloister, an elevated access point and common terrace for dignitaries and commanders.[10]
Unlike larger Covenant vessels, SDV-class heavy corvettes have no energy shields.[note 1] This leaves them vulnerable to smaller UNSC weapons such as point-defense guns and surface-to-air missiles. A lack of energy shielding also puts them at risk of being boarded, as in the case of Ardent Prayer during Operation: UPPER CUT.[5][6][9] However, the SDV-class heavy corvette Mayhem was equipped with shields in the post-war era,[11] suggesting that Mayhem was upgraded or that certain ships of the class were built with differing capabilities, a relatively common practice with Covenant starships thanks to their advanced manufacturing methods.[4]
Armament
The Covenant corvette is armed with multiple weapons. On either side of the ship are three plasma turrets which are used primarily for engaging larger ships. Located in four slots, two on each side, with two in each, are eight smaller plasma turrets for use against single ships such as fighters. Corvettes are also armed with an unknown number of cannons designed for bombarding surface targets.[3] On the underside of the corvette is a launch bay that can hold at least ten Type-27 Banshee interceptors for use in combat. The hangar bay also carries six Type 31 Seraph starfighters, with additional room to carry one or more Phantom gunboats for additional combat support. The dorsal landing pad can carry additional fighters. The "runner" ringing the underside of the ship is capable of launching orbital insertion pods.[6] The "S" (for "Salvation") in the cruiser's three-letter classification code indicates that the corvette is a dedicated warship equipped with an energy projector.[4]
Operational history
At least three SDV-class heavy corvettes were present during the Covenant attack on Corbulo Academy of Military Science on Circinius IV in 2526. At some point they entered the lower atmosphere and one of them fired on the school's space elevator, causing it to collapse.[12]
Several SDV-class heavy corvettes were present during the Fall of Reach. On July 26, 2552, a corvette attacked the Office of Naval Intelligence's Sword Base, but retreated when its forces were driven off. As it left, the corvette was struck amidships by a round from an orbital defense platform's Magnetic Accelerator Cannon and sank in a nearby lake.[5] At least four corvettes were present in the Covenant staging area in the Viery Territory.[7] These corvettes and the supercarrier Long Night of Solace were part of the Fleet of Valiant Prudence sent to Reach in advance of the Fleet of Particular Justice.[13]
At least one corvette, Ardent Prayer, was in the planet's orbit when Operation: UPPER CUT commenced. As the vessel's communications were being jammed by the UNSC, it was engaged by UNSC Savannah, which was assisted by several YSS-1000 Sabre fighters, including one piloted by SPARTAN-B312 and Jorge-052. The pilots hijacked the corvette in order to use it as a sort of Trojan Horse to destroy the Long Night of Solace. The corvette was destroyed by Savannah's slipspace drive, which was used as a makeshift bomb, also destroying Long Night of Solace, though Jorge-052 was killed in the slipspace rift.[6] The loss of the Ardent Prayer and the Long Night of Solace effectively destroyed the Fleet of Valiant Prudence, forcing the remnants of the task force to link up with the incoming Covenant invasion fleet.
Other SDV-class heavy corvettes took part in the ground battles on Reach. At least three corvettes were present during the siege of New Alexandria. One took up position over the city's starport, preventing civilian evacuation transports from escaping. When one took off in desperation, the corvette shot it down. As the situation grew dire for the transports, SPARTAN-312 reactivated a missile battery which he used to fire on the corvette. The corvette was badly damaged and retreated, allowing the remaining civilian transports with thousands of people on board to escape. The corvette was last seen descending at a steep angle, indicating it may have crashed from the damage it sustained. [9]
In the post-war years, SDV-class heavy corvettes continued their service with surviving remnants of the former Covenant; as of 2558, Sangheili Shipmaster Vata 'Gajat was using an SDV-class corvette as his flagship during the Oth Lodon incident.[14] Jul 'Mdama's Covenant had several SDV-class corvettes in its fleet.[4] A Kig-Yar pirate queen operating on Ven III used an SDV-class corvette as her personal flagship.[15]
Ships of the line
- Ardent Prayer – Destroyed during the Fall of Reach.
- Elegy's Lament – Captured by the Banished.
- Mayhem – Heavily damaged during Operation: FAR STORM.[16]
Halo: Fleet Battles
Line formationThis element features two SDV-class heavy corvettes.
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Oblique formationThis element features two SDV-class heavy corvettes.
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Tri formationThis element features three SDV-class heavy corvettes.
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Trivia
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Browse more images in this article's gallery page. |
- The Halo: Reach campaign level Long Night of Solace, the Firefight map Corvette, and the multiplayer map Zealot all take place on the corvette Ardent Prayer.
- The design of the SDV-class corvette for Halo: Fleet Battles was achieved without using the Halo: Reach model for reference. The ORS-class heavy cruiser (which was designed for the game) features a "runner" amidships in reference to the corvette.[17]
Gallery
- Concept - Corvette design layout.jpg
Concept art of the Covenant corvette for Halo: Reach
An overview of the Covenant corvette
A comparison between the corvette and the YSS-1000 Sabre.
A rough comparison between the corvette and UNSC Savannah. Note that this may not be up to scale.
A Corvette's gravity lift and Type-27 XMF ventral launch-bay
Type-31 Seraphs docked within the corvette.
Close up of Type-27 XMF launch-bay
Close-up of the Banshee storage area in the corvette's hangar bay
View of the corvette's dorsal landing pad
View inside a corvette's hangar bay, with Seraph-class starfighters hanging from the ceiling.
The bridge of a Covenant corvette, staffed by Special Operations Sangheili, Unggoy Ultras and a Sangheili General.
A corvette in battle
Three corvettes hold position over the city of New Alexandria.
An SDV corvette firing its plasma cannons towards Reach's surface.
An SDV-class corvette destroyed by a MAC round.
Three corvettes over the Corbulo Academy in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
Size comparison between the CRS-class cruiser and the SDV-class heavy corvette
An SDV-class corvette in the background of the Halo 4 multiplayer map Landfall
Another SDV-class corvette in the background of Landfall
Vata 'Gajat's SDV-class corvette docked at Oth Lodon station in 2558 in Halo: Escalation.
An SDV-class corvette over Ven III's landscape
An SDV-class corvette scaled against the larger CCS-class and ORS-class cruisers.
- HFB-SDVtri.png
SDV-class heavy corvettes in Halo: Fleet Battles
- HM-Covenantfleet.png
SDV-class corvettes aid a CPV-class heavy destroyer.
Profile of the SDV-class heavy corvette
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List of appearances
- Halo: The Fall of Reach (First mentioned)
- Halo: Reach (First appearance)
- Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
- Halo 4
- Halo: Escalation
- Halo: Hunters in the Dark
- Halo: Fleet Battles
- Halo Mythos
- Halo: Tales from Slipspace
Note
- ^ In Long Night of Solace, the player's Sabre is able to destroy a corvette's engines and light anti-fighter turrets, with no resistance from shields. A corvette in Exodus is also crippled with a single missile barrage, again without any prior attack to shields. This stands in contrast to the CCS-class battlecruiser in the final level, whose shields render it immune to damage until it exposes a weak point.
Sources
- ^ a b c Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 13
- ^ 3D Model Data
- ^ a b Halo: Reach Legendary Edition Guide, page 440
- ^ a b c d Halo Waypoint: Canon Fodder: Have S'moa
- ^ a b c d e Halo: Reach, campaign level, ONI: Sword Base
- ^ a b c d e f g h Halo: Reach, campaign level, Long Night of Solace
- ^ a b c Halo: Reach, campaign level, Nightfall
- ^ Halo: The Flood, page 5
- ^ a b c Halo: Reach, campaign level, Exodus
- ^ Halo Mythos, page 154
- ^ Halo: Hunters in the Dark, pages 142-149
- ^ Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, part 3
- ^ Halo: Reach, campaign level, Tip of the Spear
- ^ Halo: Escalation, Issue #5
- ^ Halo: Escalation, Issue #12
- ^ Halo Waypoint: Canon Fodder - Annual Achievements
- ^ Halo Waypoint: Canon Fodder: In the Loop
