Drake class escort ship
From Free net encyclopedia
| Drake-class escort ship | |
|---|---|
| Image:130 metre class escort ship (gundam).jpg | |
| Image:Drake refit.jpg | |
| Fast Facts | |
| Ship Type | escort ship |
| Class: | Drake |
| Manufacturer: | Earth Alliance |
| Operator: | Earth Alliance |
| Ships of Class: | Drake, Bernard, Law, Antigonos, Xerxes, Seleukos, Belgrano |
| General Characteristics | |
| Length: | 130 meters |
| Armament: | "Igelstellung" 75mm Vulcan gun x3 VLS missile launcher x4 |
| Mobile Suit Complement: |
(C.E. 71) TS-MA2 Moebius or GAT-01 Strike Dagger x2 (C.E. 73 refit) |
| Linear Catapults: | 2 (C.E. 73 refit) |
| Designer: | Kimitoshi Yamane |
During the Bloody Valentine War (in Gundam SEED), the Drake-class escort ship is a light space warship employed by the Earth Alliance primarily for combat against fighters and mobile suits. The escort ships themselves have no mobile suit/mobile armour carrying capacity, instead concentrating on weapons that can fight against mobile weapons. Late in the war, the Drake-class ships are used to deliver nuclear arms and GAT-01 Strike Dagger mobile suits, the latter going into combat lashed to the ships' hulls.
Two years after the first war the Drake-class ships are still in service, but like the other Alliance ships they undergo some modifications. Two linear catapults have been added between the missile pods, allowing them to carry and launch mobile suits into battle. Unlike the Nelson-class battleships, where the mobile suits simply float into the catapult for launch, the Drake class have an arm that places the suit on the catapult for launch. Unfortunately, due to the restricted space the suits cannot be equipped with any mission packs. In CE 74, some Drake-class vessels were further upgraded with a large positron reflector shield, which was mounted on a spar attached to the bow.
The Drake class is named for 16th-century English naval hero Vice Admiral Sir Francis Drake. The Antigonos is named for the Hellenistic king in the 4th century BC. He was one of the generals of Alexander the Great, and in 333 BC he was appointed governor of Phrygia. The Xerxes is named for the two Persian kings of the Achaemenid dynasty: Xerxes I, reigned 485–465 BC and Xerxes II, reigned 424 BC. The Seleukos is named for Seleukos I Nikator, who was part of the military aristocracy that contributed to the rise of Macedonian power under Philip II and Alexander the Great. The Belgrano is named for Manuel Belgrano, an Argentine politician and military leader.