Dawn of Winter Class BB

The Dawn of Winter Class Battleships were the largest warships constructed by the Freethinker Commonwealth before the Second Moonstone War and were among the most powerful surface combatants of their day. Four ships were built, each vessel named after one of the seasons, and all were assigned to the Freethinker Home Fleet, acting as rotating flagships. Two of these ships, FRNS Dawn of Winter and FRNS Dawn of Summer, were destroyed in the Third Battle of Navarre, despite a valiant escape attempt by the former vessel whilst under heavy fire. The FRNS Dawn of Spring was also badly damaged in the same attack, and was eventually scrapped by the occupying Midlonians as she was considered too expensive to repair. The fourth ship, FRNS Dawn of Autumn, was captured intact and put into the service of the Midlonian Navy.

Statistics

Dimensions

Length

330.1 Metres

Beam

45.3 Metres

Draft

13.8 Metres

Displacement

145,000 Tons Fully Loaded

Crew Complement

3,130

Armament

Main Guns

12 x 18"/52 Guns in four triple mountings.

Secondary

24 x 6"/38 D/P Guns in dual mountings.

Self Defence

48 x 40mm in dual mountings, 138 x 20 mm in dual/single mountings

ASW & Torpedoes

2 x Quadruple 21" Torpedo Tubes

Electronics

Radar systems

Thompson Electronics Mk 4 2D Surface Search

Propulsion

Engines

8 x Oil-heated Steam Turbines, 260,000 shp to four five-blade propellors.

Top Speed

29 kts

Cruising Speed

16 kts

Maximum Range

8,000 Miles at 16 kts

Armour

Basic Composition

High-quality homogenous face-hardened steel with lightweight steel spall-liner. Armor comprised of a centralised, single thickness scheme with additional reinforcement for vital areas.

Production

Program

Designed as an ultimate expression of Freethinker naval power, these massive Battleships were commissioned by the Admiralty as an expression of Freethinker superiority in terms of the design and manufacture of warships. Nearly twice as large as the previous Commonwealth class in terms of raw tonnage, the new ships were designed around a brand new 18" gun design built to penetrate any armour scheme even being envisioned at that point in time.

Manufacture

Other Users

Other nations which use this design:

Midlonia (1 Ship, the captured FRNS Dawn of Autumn)

Other nations which use a modified version of this design:

None