The Firebird-class war cruiser was a mainline warship of the Golden Empire and the most widely-produced ship in the Armada. It formed the backbone of the Royal Navy and helped define the Empire's military strategy of a multitude of smaller capital ships.
Design and function[]
Dimensions[]
At 500 meters long, the Firebird-class was less than a third the size of an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer. It was 85 meters in height and 120 meters wide at the widest point of its main body; the 75-meter "wings" on either side of the vessel brought its widest point to 270 meters.
The Firebird-class had five main drive engines; three grouped at the center of the ship's aft, and one on each side.
Armament[]
The Firebird-class featured 10 heavy turbolaser batteries, with four firing forward and three on each wing. The two on the wing tips could rotate to fire broadside shots, while the other eight were dedicated forward batteries. 20 standard batteries around the ship added additional firepower, including two designed to fire aft of the ship.
In addition to its turbolasers, the Firebird-class carried six ion cannons and six concussion missile launchers, each of which was equipped with thirty missiles. The Firebird-class was intended to strike hard when aimed directly at a target, with enough firepower on broadsides to defend itself.
Crew and complement[]
The Firebird-class required a crew of 2,000, plus 100 gunners, to operate at peak efficiency. Given the space aboard dedicated to weapons, it carried only two squadrons of starfighters, for 24 total. Firebird-class cruisers also carried ground complements for system invasion.
Service[]
Relatively inexpensive to produce and requiring less than 6% of the crew of the massive Imperial Star Destroyer, the Firebird-class quickly became the mainstay of the Royal fleet after its initial development and testing. Though larger classes of uniquely Royal ships were later designed, the Firebird-class remained the most common vessel of the Royal Navy. The military academies and officer training institutes in the Empire stressed the tactical use of small capital ships against larger enemy vessels, rather than relying on a doctrine of overwhelming firepower (except by numbers).
Though it was the mainline Royal ship, the Firebird-class paled in comparison to the larger Imperial and Chiss Star Destroyers, Samnis and Keltrayu heavy cruisers, and the Resolute-class destroyer, making it an unpopular choice for the flagship of fleets and battle groups when the Legate in question had another choice. A notable exception was Breek Zagrev, who used the Firebird-class Valkyrie as her personal command ship in the Ssi-ruuvi Incursion and the Nightmare War, despite having larger ships in her fleets.