GTCv Diomedes

The following information has not been confirmed by Volition and is therefore not canon for the FreeSpace universe.

For the original ship, see GTMf Sparta.

For the canonical Deimos-class corvette that appeared in The Sicilian Defense, see the FreeSpace 2 Terran Ship Database

The original GTCv Diomedes, a modified GTMf Sparta, as shown in War in Heaven.

The new GTCv Diomedes by Aesaar.

Description:

Blue Planet: War in Heaven Tech Description

Conceptualized early in the Threat Exigency Initiative warship program, the Diomedes-class strike corvette was shaped by the necessities of two worlds: the tactical realities of the post-Capella battlefield and the political turmoil of a Fleet in crisis.

GTVA designers conceived the Chimera and Bellerophon-class corvettes hand in hand with new doctrines of of massive force application. These designs were intentionally overspecialized to neutralize Shivan destroyers and juggernauts with beam alpha strikes. Strike craft support, aggressive subspace maneuvering, and sheer shock would, it was argued, allow the Chimera and Bellerophon to outrun their own design weaknesses.

But more conservative factions of the GTVA military agitated for a less specialized next-generation design, a successor to and improvement upon the still-young Deimos corvette. Politically, they needed a warship that would fit the operational profile of line as well as elite units, but they also offered compelling tactical reasoning. Agile, aggressive combatants lacked the staying power for prolonged defensive operations at hardpoints, nodes, or convoys. A cheaper, more all-round design could supplement Deimos production with a powerful corvette leader or a supporting element to cover the flanks of destroyers or sister corvettes. Other camps in the Fleet added their own requirements: the addition of a fighterbay would open up possibilities as an SOC platform, or in the independent strike role through organic escorts or bombers. Missile launchers and magazines would allow for selectable munition loads.

The notional Diomedes became a rallying point for design schools who had been pushed out of the main thrust of Threat Exigency Initiative work. The design went forward, but these competing requirements should have produced a catastrophic compromise.

Instead, GTVA designers produced a fascinating warship, one whose weaknesses are addressed by carefully counterpointed strengths. Armed with four Bull Frost next-generation anti-warship beams in a pair of twinned lateral batteries, the Diomedes relies on its startling agility to bring its firepower to bear. Designed to engage targets abeam, the class rewards flanking tactics and circling engagements against larger hostiles and aggressive action against multiple lighter opponents. Considerable sacrifices were made to operationalize the ship's fighterbay, but the potency of an on-board interceptor or bomber unit justified the cost, particularly in the areas of point defense and counter-air.

Even as the GTVA has cracked down on its own patronage system, dissolving the lines of influence that connected warship designers and commanders to particular schools, the Diomedes has acquired a reputation for scrappy flexibility and solitary pluck. Neglected by formal doctrine on the eve of the UEF-GTVA conflict except as a general 'flank escort' and 'fast response expedient', Diomedes captains drilled their own tactics and built a quiet professional community.

The ongoing conflict has found the Diomedes thrown into the fire, often alone, often undersupported, acting on sketchy intelligence to provide decisive force at key moments. Casualties among the Diomedes class exceed that of any other next-generation warship, but GTVA commanders have taken note of the design's successes, and of the discipline and capability of her crews. Once seen as the ugly duckling of the TEI warship line, the Diomedes now finds itself in strategic and tactical demand.

Developer Notes

N/A

Name Origin

In Greek mythology, Diomedes (Διομήδης) was a hero of the Trojan War. The nephew of Herakles and considered the second-best warrior amongst the Achaeans (behind Ajax), Diomedes eventually became king of Argos.

Credits

• Original model by Stratcomm
• New model by Aesaar

Performance:

Statistics

Name	GTCv Diomedes
Type	Strike Corvette
Yaw, Pitch, Roll	48.0, 52.0, 42.0 s
Max Velocity	25 ms-1
Hitpoints	85 000 pts
Length	1162 m
Fighter Complement	12 - 16

Armaments

• Turrets

Default Statistics		Aesaar's Upgrade
Turret Type	Amount	Turret Type	Amount
TerSlashBlue	4	TerSlashBlue	4
STerPulse	5	STerPulse	5
AAAf	4	AAAf	5
Terran Turret 2	4	Terran Turret 2	5
Piranha	2	Piranha	2

Veteran Comments

Please read the Veteran Comments policy before editing this section.

The Diomedes' primary armament, consisting of four TerSlashBlues, is placed on the port and starboard bow of the vessel. This makes the corvette good at attacking to the flanks, but it has trouble engaging targets directly forward or aft.

As with the older Deimos vessels, being around a Diomedes engagement is dicey business, not only do you need to worry about anti-fighter defenses, but the slash beams tend to slash right through fighters. The point defenses of the Diomedes aren't up to the same standards as the Chimera or even the Deimos. Try to be on the other side of the warship this thing is firing at. The slash beams also mean, in Blue Planet canon that beam countermeasures that disrupt beam targeting will not prevent slash beams from continuing to engage.

This ship has great potential, but suffers from a major, glaring flaw: a huge sparsity of turrets on large sections of the ship. The wings/fins, in particular, feature a single AAA beam that shares most of its coverage with another AAA beam on the sloped sides of the radar tower. Given that the Diomedes has a major advantage in point-defenses over other corvettes (in the form of a dedicated fighter bay), this flaw is also rather unnecessary. The Diomedes is also completely lacking in forward armament, and its rear-facing armament isn't all that great, either. Where the Deimos corvette achieves much of its success from having turrets all over its surfaces and excellent field of fire, the Diomedes is jarringly barren in the turret department. Approach from the rear and you'll avoid most of the point-defenses; as a capship, approaching from forward, behind, and directly below will also put you out of range of the slash beams, as well.

It's basically a pocket destroyer and is usually deployed on its own as an independent strike corvette. It actually can fire its four TerSlashBlues on a single target if it is directly on top of it, because of the angle of the dishes. This gives it 25% more DPS than a Chimera, and on par with the Bellerophon, when only taking beams into account (1698 DPS for the Chimera, 2152 for the Dio, 2232 for the Bellerophon). With the thick point defenses and the fighterbay, you basically have the scariest corvette-sized warship of the BP universe right here. So, it is no wonder they are often deployed alone. Some say this ship is equivalent to the UEFg Karuna, but in most circumstances it is superior by a significant margin.

About its comparison with the Chimera in the post above, it's very important to note that it's very difficult to get a target within the narrow angle above the Diomedes in order to use all four of its beams on the same target. Even then, because of the angle involved, the accuracy won't be as good as it normally is, either. Factor in how slash beams rarely do full damage (although the TerSlashBlue is much better than others in that regard), and the damage output of this ship on a single target can become much smaller than a Chimera under some circumstances. The Diomedes is also noticeably larger than a Chimera, although that is easily explained by the presence of the fighterbay to begin with.

Related Links:

• Release thread:
  • Warships of the TEI | Hard Light forums