GFS Ark Royal 2.0

Request for completed, and about time. A long while back, after my initial design of the Ark, he asked me to modify the design further, bringing the ship closer to his description that he had given me the first time, as well as incorporate some new features. Thus what you see here, Ark Royal version 2.0.

Lets start with what I should have done the first time. With version 1.0, I assumed the height would be more or less the same as the Dogosse Gier, given that was the basis of this design. With the lower height of 125 metres, I 'flattened' the ship down to reflect that (plus he did want something that was kinda reminiscent of the Macross Cannon with the 'tiny' bridge and all). I rearranged the beam cannons to a configuration more akin to the Girty Lue, especially given this ship is supposed to be capable of bombarding death on its enemies below. The initial wings were rather short in the first version to incorporate the Birmingham class concept of its nacelles. On the other hand, the ship was supposed to have more pronounced wings, thus the change.

Next, the changes that got included during the design process. While I was trying to figure out how to design 2.0, WZA asked to incorporate some elements from the Gray Phantom, the Girty Lue, and the Diva. Most specifically, he wanted the bridge to be changed to look more like the Gray Phantom, as well as the option to include more catapults on the nacelle area (the first very definitive, the second kinda optional). The sensors used is supposed to be more akin to the Dominion as opposed to the White Base, so the old 'ears' got replaced. From the Girty Lue, the rear of the ship was now to have thrusters arranged in a four-by-four block and given a 'tail' in between said blocks. Thus this ship now has an elongated 'tail' sticking out, and rather thick given that I made its rear end relatively wide. Finally, the main catapults themselves have been changed, and this part is based on the Diva. This change was made to not only show the fact said catapults were linear, but also to incorporate underside catapults as the same time. Thus the hanger doors have been extended forward, thus little to no external tracks. Everything else is just cosmetics.

So, while it took me a long time to figure out how to make this ship just right (and it looks rather deformed to me based on my lack of skill in drawing ships), I do happen to like this version more just by the fact it doesn't look so fat on the top.

At any rate, while parts of this information will be changed, here are the stats of the Midway class (and by extension, the Ark Royal):

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Class: Midway
Ships of the Line: GFS Midway (CV-1), GFS Yorktown (CV-2), GFS Akagi (CV-3), GFS Enterprise (CV-4), GFS Lexington (CV-5), GFS Soryu (CV-6), GFS Hiryu (CV-7), GFS Hornet (CV-8), GFS Essex (CV-9), GFS Kaga (CV-10), GFS Saratoga (CV-11), GFS Hermes (CV-12), GFS Ark Royal (CV-13), GFS Indomitable (CV-14)
Unit type: fleet carrier
Manufacturer: Utopia Planitia Shipyards
Operator: Galactic Federation Star Force; Titans
First deployment: Unknown
Dimensions: overall length 700.5 meters; overall width 200.4 meters; overall height 120.5 meters
Armor materials: Refined Neo Titanium alloy
Powerplant: 2 x Antares AME-X Fusion Reactor, output rating unknown
Propulsion: 4 x NX00 Particle Engine; 12 x Virago CX11 Particle Engine
Equipment and design features:
Ticonderoga Inc. ERN-1013N Multi-Sensor Transceiver, operational range unknown;
Millennium Mk. X Hyperdrive System;
Fixed armaments:
8 x Cygnus Mark XXXI Mega Beam Cannon, mounted midships;
40 x Cygnus Mark XXIII Beam Cannon, mounted throughout hull;
40 x Raytheon Mark XXXII Missile Launcher, twenty four on bow and twelve on stern;
Mobile Suit Compliment: 48+
Technical and Historical Notes:
With the emergence of mobile suits as the dominant weapons in both space and planetary warfare, the Galactic Federation wished to create a ship that was dedicated to the deployment and recovery of mobile suits throughout battles. Thus, Federation High Command contracted the Utopia Planitia Shipyards, which was the manufacturer of the Trafalgar-class dreadnought, to create such a vessel. The end result was a ship that was loosely based on the Trafalgar, but revamped for this new mission profile, the Midway-class fleet carrier.

As far as warships went, the Midway was true to its intended role and then some. While it was scaled down from the Trafalgar in size (barely over half that of the dreadnought) as well as weapons to make room for several launch catapult decks for the deployment of mobile suits, the Midway-class was nonetheless a fleet in one, carrying enough firepower to hold off entire enemy forces singlehandedly. However, the true power of Midway-class was hidden in the ship's cavernous hangar bays: the class was capable of carrying a standard load of forty eight mobile suits (four squadrons), the largest concentration of mobile suits on any craft short of dedicated space fortresses, the Trafalgar, and the Zeon Empire's Bismarck-class super dreadnought. And to direct these mobile suits, the Midway-class' immense bridge tower was expanded to make room for an enhanced Combat Information Center (CIC) to direct and coordinate the MS squadrons. For these reasons, the Zeon would nickname to ships of the Midway-class as "Trojan Horses".

By the time the war had begun, only twelve Midway-class ships had been produced and commissioned by the Galactic Federation. These ships usually served as power centers and flagships for their assigned fleets, where despite the ineffectiveness of their Guncannon series mobile suits against Imperial Zakus, the fleet carriers' sheer firepower and ability to coordinate MS attacks made them extremely successful in engagements. As such, the Zeon have made it a point to target these fleet carriers, which in turn made the Federal Forces all the more adamant of protecting them, creating sizeable taskforces whose sole purposes were to escort and defend these carriers. As the war went on, only four Midways would remain: the Yorktown, Enterprise, Soryu and Hiryu.

However, in GC 378, the Galactic Federation would produce a thirteenth Midway, the Ark Royal. At first it was no different than any of its sister ships, having served fleet support roles in numerous battles including the Battle of Arcturus, in which the Ark Royal was almost destroyed. Upon its refurbishment from that battle, the Ark Royal would be assigned to newly promoted Captain Bright Noa after the death of her previous commander, and would be sent on a top secret mission to the distant space colony Shangri-La in the Durga System on the Outer Rim, which also served as secret proving grounds for new Federation weapons. The mission was to retrieve three top secret mobile suit prototypes and return them to Earth. This would mark the beginning of the Ark Royal's change in legacy, as upon retrieving the mobile suits it would hounded upon by a cruiser taskforce led by Captain Char Aznable, forcing it to go into combat without a support fleet. From then on, the Zeon would take special interest in the fleet carrier, as well as the three prototype Gundam mobile suits that she was carrying. The Federation would exploit this as a distraction against the Zeon Empire while they mustered their power to regain the offensive.

All the way to the war's end in GC 383, the Ark Royal would participate in multiple major battles, often times serving as the Federation's trump card against enemy forces. These included the invasion of the Zeon industrial sector of Odessa in Operation Odessa, the defense of the Earth against Zeon invasion forces in the Battle of Earth, the Battle of Solomon and finally the assault on Zeon itself in Operation Star One. By no small effort it would be from the diligence of her crew and mobile suit force, and the skills of Captain Noa that would allow the Ark Royal to survive these battles, as well as attain an "unbeatable" reputation much like that of the Trafalgar. Unfortunately though, the Ark Royal would end up being disabled and destroyed in a concentrated Zeon attack during Operation Star One, but not before most of her crew were able to evacuate to safety. From then on, the ship would become a legend for generations after the war.

Toward the end of the war, a fourteenth Midway-class would also be produced, the Indomitable. Rather than be deployed amongst the regular forces however, command of the Indomitable would be taken over by the Titans, Star Force's elite independent special forces group, who would repaint the ship in dark colors to symbolize her new affiliation. As well, Admiral Basque Ohm, commander of the Titans, would take command of the Indomitable personally and use it as his flagship throughout the rest of the war. As with all things pertaining to the Titans' operations, the Indomitable's combat record was highly classified.

Fittingly, Midway-class fleet carriers were named after the Battle of Midway from World War II, as well as various aircraft carriers that participated in that war. Five ships after the pathfinder were named after American carriers, four after Japanese carriers, and three after British carriers.
Captain(s): Bright Noa (Ark Royal), Hekken Bekkener (Enterprise), Otto Midas (Yorktown), Basque Ohm (Indomitable)

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And here is Version 1.0 for comparison:


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