Super-Dreadnoughts

Super-Dreadnoughts are huge maritime surface warships, usually serving as fleet flagships or major surface combatants for Modern/Post Modern Tech navies. They should not be confused with RL Super Dreadnoughts, which is the name given to advanced Battleships of the Dreadnought mould.

Design

The basic design of most super-dreadnoughts is that of an enlarged battleship or battlecarrier, with a high number of large mono-calibre main guns, heavy armour, powerful self-defence systems and (usually) a substantial aircraft compliment. They have a large range in size from an upgraded Yamatto-sized battleship (possessing a displacement of 60,000+ tons) up to a 2 kilometre long floating fortress and can displace anything from a hundred thousand to several million tons or more. They almost exclusively feature nuclear propulsion as a means of power but employ a wide variety of propulsion systems. Weapon systems generally include not only large main turreted guns (ranging from 18" to 30" in bore), but generally also carry advanced heavy missile, CIWS and ASW systems.

History

The first true Super-Dreadnoughts are generally assumed to have been first created by Doujin and because of this many times they are referred to as Doujins, or Doujin-class (or type) vessels. Although, it should be noted that Battleships over and around the displacement of 60,000 tons did exist before this in several nations’ navies. It was only after the Doujin-class that the truly gargantuan vessels that are "commonly mistaken for islands" came into service in many national arsenals.

Construction

To actually go out and construct a super dreadnought, even for a large four billion+ plus nation, is a daunting undertaking. Many nations simply percieve it as building a sufficiently sized drydock and conducting some large scale dredging, though in actuality these tasks are simply one small part of a necessarily gargantuan industrial program.

Even before construction of the main dockyard itself or planning of the ship can take place, large amounts of work need to be done in ensuring that such a program can go ahead. This means securing raw material supplies (especially if titanium alloys are to be significantly used), building up the relative support infastructure (including transport links for the workers and material, power and fuel supply), increasing domestic industrial R&D capacity to the point at which it can design and produce systems such as the engine plants and main artillery pieces, and garnering sufficient funds not just to purchase the ships themselves but also to invest in the necessary facilities for construction. It should be noted that having a nation with a large Maritime engineering tradition does alleviate to a degree some of these problems, but in turn this 'headstart' depends a lot upon the sophistication and experience of the industry itself, nations with a long history of large warship construction will have a significant advantage over their rivals.

The actual construction facility itself requires a flat drydock, as a traditional slipway would either collapse under the weight of the ship or the sheer volume of displaced water when the Super-Dreadnought enters the water

Habouring, Supply and Maintenance

Habouring facilities and maintenance are another large, cash-intensive set of programs that many nations do not consider when initially embarking on a Super Dreadnought construction path.

Deployment

Real Life Comparison

There is no real RL parallel to these vessels, as they require large amounts of manpower and monetary investment to build and operate, often beyond the capabilities of any RL Nation. In turn, many of the factors which dictated Battleship combat in Real Life has a reduced or negated effect in NS, with such considerations as the Golden Fish syndrome playing much less of a role in NationStates naval combat. This changing of emphasis has a number of causes, including new technologies that redress the balance of offensive and defensive capabilities against enemy combatants, the significant increase in the numbers and capability of escorts and the decisive requirement in NS for powerful surface combatants capable of carrying the war to a farflung opponent.

Because of the lack of real-life examples, there has created a backlash against Super Dreadnoughts from some members of the RPing community who do not recognise them as what MT/PMT nations would be capable of constructing and fielding. This is due to either realism wank on the part of the opposer, as a desire to fight in NS with technology that can only be manufactured in the Real World, or as a legitimate IGNORE of an overtly godmodded piece of military technology. It should be noted that Super-Dreadnoughts themselves are inherently wanky in NS terms due to the fact they are intended to be large, overtly powerful, nationally symbollic battlewagons, though this in itself does not render such ships as godmods.

Interestingly enough, these vessels have created a surprisingly clear example of the Knootian wank-power theorem.

Critiques

Size and Construction Issues

There is a significant and well-established opposition to many Super Dreadnought designs based on the lack of thought and understanding within a certain design. This is notably true with regard to the large numbers of Doujin-class 'knock-offs', built by smaller nations which despite liking the concept have little idea of what it takes to build

Mismanaged Capabilities

Defense

Defending against Super-Dreadnoughts is a surprisingly controversial topic, made even more difficult by the frequently exaggerated claims on both sides as to the potency of their offensive and defensive capabilities. Given that niether Super-Dreadnoughts nor the weapons brought against them actually exist in RL aside from basic theory, this leads to awkward and confusing discussions with regard to how to most effectively bring one down.