Continuing the series on Building a Navy, once the Fleet Missions have been decided, the next stage is Fleet Design. Here the actual decisions are made about what the navy will use in order to accomplish them.
Defined Fleet Missions combined with the Fiscal Environment determines what the Fleet Design is.
deWulf Fleet Design
Fleet design is the nuts and bolts of a navy, the most visible part of it IE the ships themselves and how they are organized. This is the first, and most often only thing that is discussed about a navy, as this deals with the here and now and present of a fleet.
Fleet Capabilities
Much like the fleet’s Service Roles and Missions, there several mutually supporting “design archetypes” that enable the fleet to accomplish the missions that are assigned to it.
- Combat Units
- Heavy Combat Units – They are the sword and the shield of the deWulf Navy. Heavy combat units are expected to be shouldering the majority of combat engagements, both offensively and defensively. Presently this is filled by units of Heavy Cruiser mass or larger, but recent engagements are leading naval theorists to downgrade Heavy Cruisers to patrol units.
- In Service: Koneig DN, Baltic BB, Landser BB, Vladimir Shpagin CV, Alex Seidel CV, Director CA, Kommandant CA
- Patrol Units – Lighter ships no longer capable of surviving in the press of battle, but still useful for other roles. Patrol units vary from larger warships that have aged out of heavy combat operations, or purpose built lighter units to provide patrol coverage and naval presence on a reduced budget. Purpose built units and refits usually give up some combat ability for support systems such as enhanced communications and sensor systems.
- In Service: Strelets CL, S-Boat CL, FlaKboote CL, Roman Kurinnyj CVL, Sergei Preminin CVL, Nicolai Savkin CVL, Orkan CVL, Watchman FG, University FG
- Defensive Units – A somewhat catch-all classification used both for fixed defensive units such as orbital bases and convoy defense units. Mobile defensive units generally trade off combat capability for improved strategic mobility.
- In Service: Zitadelle BS4, Brain BS2, Sentry 2T BS2, Donets BS2, Lviv CA
- Planetary Assault Units – Specialized units designed to project power from space onto planets. They either are dedicated orbital bombardment units or ships designed to support and manage planetary invasion operations.
- In Service: Sieg Assault DN, Nee Holland BC
- Heavy Combat Units – They are the sword and the shield of the deWulf Navy. Heavy combat units are expected to be shouldering the majority of combat engagements, both offensively and defensively. Presently this is filled by units of Heavy Cruiser mass or larger, but recent engagements are leading naval theorists to downgrade Heavy Cruisers to patrol units.
- Support and Logistic Units
- Transport Units – Fleets require substantial logistical support. This includes transport of dry goods, munitions, tanker support (for power generation and life support).
- In Service: Tannsfells AE, Provider AK, Longstop AP
- Repair and Maintenance Units – Deployed units often cannot pull back for repairs or refits. Fixed units have to be built and repaired on-site. Mobile machine shops and shipyards make this possible
- In Service: Lürssen ARH, Stülcken ARH, Granit AR, Protze AR, Longshoreman CL (Tug), Labourer ARL
- Transport Units – Fleets require substantial logistical support. This includes transport of dry goods, munitions, tanker support (for power generation and life support).
- Survey and Reconnaissance Units
- Survey Units – Conducting planetary and stellar surveys and updating survey maps requires specialized equipment and trained crews.
- In Service: Magellan CT, Eyeball EX
- Reconnaissance Units – Long range sensor systems are substantially sized installations, and ships have to make considerable sacrifices in order to fit the sensors and associated processing equipment.
- In Service: Hare CL
- Survey Units – Conducting planetary and stellar surveys and updating survey maps requires specialized equipment and trained crews.
Fleet Size
At present the deWulf Navy is undergoing a significant reevaluation in its current size. While the Corporate Navy would like to say “more” it is not immune to financial constraints as a result. Notably, there are several designs that are better than what is currently in service (such as the Lürssen and Stülcken ARH class mobile shipyard and machine shops) that are at present too expensive to replace currently in-service units. As well, fixed defensive units are not considered “fleet” units, and while they are mentioned as combat units, they are not considered to be part of the fleet’s target size.
- Heavy Combat Units
- 15 Landser-class Battleships
- 5 Baltic-class Battleships
- 2 Vladimir Shpagin-class Fleet Carriers
- 6 Alex Seidel-Class Fleet Carriers
- 2 Koenig-Class Dreadnoughts
- 12 Director-Class Heavy Cruisers
- 4 Kommandant-Class Heavy Cruisers
- Patrol Units
- 18 Roman Kurinnyj-Class Light Carriers
- 3 Nicolai Savkin-Class Light Carriers
- 3 Sergei Preminin-Class Light Carriers
- 24 Watchman-Class Frigates
- 12 University-Class Frigates
- Planetary Assault Units
- 8 Sieg-Class Assault Dreadnoughts
- 4 Nee Holland-Class Troopships
- Survey & Reconnaissance Units
- 8 Hare-Class Surveillance Light Cruisers
- 125 Eyeball-Class Survey Boats
- 10 Magellan-Class Survey Corvettes
- Support & Logistics Units
- 4 Granit-Class Mobile Shipyards
- 4 Protze-Class Mobile Machine Shops
- 8 Tannsfells-Class Munitions Ships
- 4 Longshoreman-Class Tugboats
- Defensive Units
- 4 Lviv-Class Escort Cruisers
Fleet Mix
The biggest shift is that at present it is dealing with a “top heavy” fleet makeup as a result of hostile combat operations against the Elysian Sovergenty. It is planned to leverage this by sending the larger units that have less peacetime usage into controlled storage for later refit and reactivation in a combat situation. Many units mentioned above are only now entering bidding and construction, and will not be fully in service for several months if not a full year.
The classes that are most sorely missed are the various patrol units. While they have considerable peacetime value, in wartime they are not capable of surviving in the press of a major fleet action, something that became painfully clear after several fleet engagements with the Elysian Stellar Navy.
Fleet Laydown
If it wasn’t for the lopsided fleet composition, the change in fleet laydown would have been the biggest shift in the post-Elysian War deWulf Navy. Before and during the war the deWulf navy operated in scratch task forces that were assembled from available units and then deployed into combat. What this lead to was a barely coherent mob of ships that could only execute simple combat evolutions without significant training and practice.
- First Fleet (Homeport: Fenris, capital world)
- Battle Fleet
- First Battleship Squadron (mothballed)
- 3x Landser-Class BB
- 1x Baltic-Class BB
- Second Battleship Squadron (mothballed)
- As Above
- Third Battleship Squadron (mothballed)
- As Above
- Fourth Battleship Squadron (mothballed)
- As Above
- Fifth Battleship Squadron (mothballed)
- As Above
- First Carrier Squadron (mothballed)
- 1x Vladimir Shpagin-Class CV
- 3x Alex Seidel-Class CV
- Second Carrier Squadron (mothballed)
- As Above
- Command Squadron (mothballed)
- 2x Koenig-Class DN
- First Cruiser Squadron
- 3x Director-Class CA
- 1x Kommandant-Class CA
- First Battleship Squadron (mothballed)
- Patrol Fleet
- First Light Carrier Squadron (mothballed)
- 6x Roman Kurinnyj-Class CVL
- 1x Nicolai Savkin-Class CVL
- 1x Sergei Preminin-Class CVL
- First Frigate Squadron
- 4x Watchman-Class FG
- 2x University-Class FG
- First Light Carrier Squadron (mothballed)
- Support Squadrons
- First Reconnaissance Squadron
- 2x Hare-Class Surveillance CL
- 2x Longshoreman-Class Tugs
- 4x Tannsfells-Class AK (Mothballed)
- First Reconnaissance Squadron
- Planetary Assault Units (Mothballed)
- 8x Sieg-Class Assault DN
- 4x Nee Holland-Class Troopships
- Battle Fleet
- Second Fleet (Homeport: Dave’s World)
- Battle Fleet
- Second Cruiser Squadron
- 3x Director-Class CA
- 1x Kommandant-Class CA
- Third Cruiser Squadron
- As Above
- Second Cruiser Squadron
- Patrol Fleet
- Patrol Fleet
- Second Light Carrier Squadron
- 6x Roman Kurinnyj-Class CVL
- 1x Nicolai Savkin-Class CVL
- 1x Sergei Preminin-Class CVL
- Second Frigate Squadron
- 4x Watchman-Class FG
- 2x University-Class FG
- Second Light Carrier Squadron
- Support Squadrons
- Second Reconnaissance Squadron
- 2x Hare-Class Surveillance CL
- 2x Longshoreman-Class Tugs
- 2x Tannsfells-Class AK
- Second Reconnaissance Squadron
- Patrol Fleet
- Battle Fleet
- Third Fleet (Homeport: Rhinehold)
- Battle Fleet
- Third Cruiser Squadron
- 3x Director-Class CA
- 1x Kommandant-Class CA
- Third Cruiser Squadron
- Patrol Fleet
- Third Light Carrier Squadron
- 6x Roman Kurinnyj-Class CVL
- 1x Nicolai Savkin-Class CVL
- 1x Sergei Preminin-Class CVL
- Third Frigate Squadron
- 4x Watchman-Class FG
- 2x University-Class FG
- Fourth Frigate Squadron
- 4x Watchman-Class FG
- 2x University-Class FG
- Fifth Frigate Squadron
- 4x Watchman-Class FG
- 2x University-Class FG
- Third Light Carrier Squadron
- Support Squadrons
- Third Reconnaissance Squadron
- 2x Hare-Class Surveillance CL
- First Escort Squadron
- 4x Lviv-Class Escort CA
- 2x Tannsfells-Class AK
- Third Reconnaissance Squadron
- Battle Fleet
- Fourth Fleet (Homeport: Sintilla)
- Patrol Fleet
- Sixth Frigate Squadron
- 4x Watchman-Class FG
- 2x University-Class FG
- Sixth Frigate Squadron
- Support Squadrons
- Fourth Reconnaissance Squadron
- 2x Hare-Class Surveillance CL
- Fourth Reconnaissance Squadron
- Patrol Fleet
- Survey Command (Homeport: Fenris, capital world)
- Survey Squadron One
- 25x Eyeball-Class Survey Boat
- 2x Magellan-Class Survey Corvette
- Survey Squadron Two
- 25x Eyeball-Class Survey Boat
- 2x Magellan-Class Survey Corvette
- Survey Squadron Three
- 25x Eyeball-Class Survey Boat
- 2x Magellan-Class Survey Corvette
- Survey Squadron Four
- 25x Eyeball-Class Survey Boat
- 2x Magellan-Class Survey Corvette
- Survey Squadron Five
- 25x Eyeball-Class Survey Boat
- 2x Magellan-Class Survey Corvette
- Survey Squadron One
Dollarton Proxima Shipyards 