Devana-class battlecruiser

The Devana-class battlecruiser (hull classification symbol: CB) was a class of early MAC-armed capital ships employed by the UNSC Navy in the Cold War, Insurrection, and early Great War. Designed to destroy the next generation of CMA cruisers, the Devana-class was a counter to what would become the Hades-class heavy cruiser. Fast enough to catch cruisers, and with a MAC that was one of the most advanced of the time, the gun had the power and range to deal with all but the heaviest of spatial combatants. The Devana-class would first enter service in 2484 with initial plans calling for the construction of 48 ships. Its first decade of service would be marred by technical issues and cost overruns leading to the UNSC only commissioning half of the initially planned ships. The class would undergo numerous refits to solve these technical issues, with the 2505 refit finally ending them.

The class would not see much action during the Insurrection despite heavy deployments throughout the Outer Colonies. As a dedicated spatial combatant it lacked a large troop complement, although it did prove effective in the rare space battle. However, by the late 2510s the ship was an aging platform, combined with little need for a ship of its type, the decision was made to decommission the class rather than having it undergo a lengthy and costly modernization program. The ships would begin being decommissioned and transferred to the Reserve Fleet. The outbreak of the Great War would halt these plans, and the class would be reactivated.

The UNSC would approve a modernization plan for the Devana-class that would bring the class up to modern standards. Although a few of the ships would remain in frontline service during the Second Battle of Harvest where they provided valuable combat data for the refits. The class would see extenstive service in the early war but the high operational tempo began to wear down the ships, and despite successes the class would be relegated to more defensive deployments. With last stand at Chi Rho seeing all but three of the class destroyed, after which they would be decommissioned and later scrapped

Specifications
The 2470s saw the rapid creation and production of many new technologies from MACs to Titanium-A1 battleplate, causing cruisers to take on a new role as capital ships. This lead to a paradigm shift of large and heavily armed cruisers becoming the mainstay capital ships rather than carriers or arsenal ships. The Devana was envisioned as a direct counter to this new generation of cruisers, in which it would have the speed to hunt and catch enemy cruisers, with a main gun that would outrange them.

Armament
The Mark II Heavy Coil 80AK4A/MAC was an impressive piece of hardware for its time, able to fire faster and with a higher velocity than any contemporary weapon. Albeit at a smaller caliber than would be expected of a ship of its size. The ship was able to do this though the innovative use of secondary reactor, initially meant to power secondary fusion drives, it was also able to provide extra charge to the MAC's capacitors in combat. Decreasing charge times significantly. However, what gave the gun its real power and range was the density of its coils. One of the ways to increase the exit velocity of a coilgun is to increase the number of coils turns per coil length. The Devana would not be matched regarding coil density until the Mark III series of heavy MACs that the Marathon-class was built with. However, the increased density caused the coils to generate a lot of heat, more than the system could compensate for under combat conditions. This strain degraded the coils quickly, necessitating constant maintenance and checks to ensure they could properly conduct charge and discharge when firing. The problems would be mitigated as experience and technology improved before finally being fixed in the 2505 refit that saw redesigned coils fitted that were better able to handle the heat generation, along with cooling systems that increased overall endurance.

Its missile armament is interesting. The ship was built as part of the first generation of MAC-armed warships, it was expected to work in concert with the previous generation, in which missile boats and arsenal ships had dominated, the Devana would be built with very few short-range missile systems like Archers. Rather the focus was on longer range cruise missiles used by the previous generation, and then later very expensive fuison missiles. Archers would only be fitted out later during the Insurrection as most cruise missile stocks had been depleted and the threat of a close-in Insurrectionist ambush became very real.

The class was fitted with six single-mount Mark 6 Armstrong coilguns for defense against frigates and destroyers, which were installed in broadside batteries with only the fore guns able to fire to either side. The idea was that MAC was primarily to be used against capital ships, and the secondaries and missiles should deal with any escorts that got close. As such the MAC could remain trained on enemy capital ships while the secondaries would be free to deal with any escorting ships that got too close. Although considered sufficient for the time, the slow introduction of armor aboard screening ships made the Armstrong increasingly inferior at the anti-shipping role it was designed for. With a fast tracking mount, it did make for a somewhat decent heavy anti-air and anti-corvette weapon, especially as it took time for quick-firing naval autocannons to enter service. The 2505 refit would see the secondary mounts totally reworked to be able to use the M621 Castle naval autocannon which was more effective against light warships.

The point defense network, like its secondaries, was small, the expected advantage the MAC gave made it so that all but the longest ranged anti-ship missiles could hope to outrange the Devana. As such the initial configuration contained only sixteen M810 Helix defense guns and six M800 Ramparts for anti-fighter duties. Experience would show that this setup was insufficient, and refits during the Insurrection would both update and expand the point defense network, with the final configuration containing twenty-four M710 Bulwarks and twelve M870 Ramparts.

Power and Propulsion
The Devana-class would be powered by an innovative dual reactor setup. During development initial proposals saw the Devana-class outfitted with a single massive reactor. Technically easier to produce and maintain, it was dropped in favor of the more complicated dual setup early on. First was that the dual setup was somewhat more compact, shaving off a noticeable amount weight which somewhat made up for the decrease in raw power output. Second was that the dual reactor setup let for power to be shifted more easily between systems, especially important in combat where the Devana-class was expected to maneuver after shooting. The setup allowed for the class to easily fire and maneuver, shifting power from weapons to engines and vice versa with extreme rapidity.

The reactors powered the Devana-class’s massive triple fusion drives. As a cruiser-killer class, they needed to not able keep up with cruiser squadrons but to catch them. The three main fusion drives gave the Devana-class an impressive thrust-to-weight ratio and acceleration. Allowing them to easily intercept the cruisers of the day, and even remained competitive into the early Great War. The dual reactor setup also saw the UNSC experiment with maneuvering fusion rockets, giving the class unparalleled maneuverability for a ship of its size. The experimental nature of this, however, meant that the number of fusion rockets varied between ships.

A relic of the ship’s age, however, is the lack of an engine shrouds. Shrouds were just being introduced as standard when the Devana-class was being designed and while most would be built with shrouds, the first seven ships of the class would be built without it and would be refitted with them.

Development
The idea of a long-range sniper was a fairly natural development as MAC technology proliferated, along with the up-armoring of ships with Ti-A1 battleplate, having a ship that could outrange and destroy others became an attractive option. Although the UNSC would not pursue the design of a battlecruiser until word of a new CMA capital ship class became known to them. This new class was expected to be both heavily armed and armored, outgunning most other ships on the field at the time. With early UNSC reports classifying this ship as a battlecruiser. What would become known as the Hades class cruiser spurred the UNSC into the development of cruiser-killer design that would become the Devana-class.

The centerpiece of the Devana would be its gun. Based on experimental designs for a high-velocity cruiser MAC, the cannon would be lengthened to take advantage of the larger frame and expected power output. Although to maintain high velocity, and thus range, along with a reasonable charging time the cannon had to have a relatively small caliber. The gun would also suffer from signifanct heat generation and capacitor degradation problems, both issues taking years to overcome.

Because of the CMA's perceived threat, the UNSC would push for 3 ships to be laid at the same time. These ships however, would suffer the most from the classes' technical issues and gained a poor reputation for reliability. The rushed nature also meant that ships were forced to undergone exceptionally long trials and designs were often changed as experience with the class grew and issues ironed out. This caused costs to continually rise, eventually seeing the planned 48 Devanas be cut down to only 24. Especially as the unrest grew in the Outer Colonies the UNSC shifted to counterinsurgency over fleet engagments with the CMA.

Ships of the Line
UNSC Devana (CB-31) - Lead ship of class, comissioned 2484, scrapped 2524

UNSC Mixcoatl (CB-32) – Commissioned 2485, scrapped 2525

UNSC Arawn (CB-33) – Commissioned 2485, destroyed as a target ship 2526