Freelance Traveller

Brawanee-class Corvette

designed by Ewan Quibell

This article originally appeared in the November 2014 issue.

Notes:

The Brawanee-class Corvette was the mainstay of the Federation Navy patrol and inspection ships from the outset of the Federation.

Their design was to give good long- and short-range punch in the patrolling of the Essential routes. Little thought was given to long-range missions as their intended role did not include movement far from Federation Space.

With the advent of Thruster technology the Brawanee was moved into reserve and training units, until they were finally paid off and passed to the Star Legion in 2640.

The Star Legion operated the Brawanee as given to them for two years until the design was deemed impractical for anti-piracy operations. As no ship purchases were funded, a program to refit the Brawanee with as much surplus Naval equipment as possible was undertaken.

The controls, sensors, communication, manoeuvre drive, laser weapons, sand casters, and the MFD were all replaced with TL12 equipment. All but 4 staterooms were removed and replaced with bunks.

The resulting extra space was used as an extra hanger for another Gig, better fuel refining abilities, a 2-person sickbay, and an emergency low berth, leaving an increased cargo volume of 11.5 tons.

With greater manoeuvrability, better sensors and more laser batteries, the Brawanee has simultaneously increased its offensive punch and its defensive abilities. The increased cargo space and installation of a sickbay and emergency low berths allow for extended mission time, while the additional fuel processing abilities allow for faster refueling.

While purpose-built warships would be preferred, the Brawanee refit program has not only extended its useful life, but allowed the Legion to engage corsairs on a more level footing.

The listing of 9 Ships Troops in a Star Legion vessel is misleading; all personnel are expected to perform ground combat. As such, the listed ships troops are extra crewmembers picked with a skill range appropriate to the mission. They are mainly used to increase crew rotation, enable instant crew replacement in combat situations, and provide limited ground troops when necessary.

The Star Legion normal operates the Brawanees in flights of two, enabling the four gigs on the ships to make an effective fighter flight.

It is planned to combine the hangers and replace the two gigs with four TL12 or TL13 fighters when these become available from the Federation Navy, making a flight of Brawanees effective as a task force.

For the last 50 years, and for the foreseeable future, the Brawanee is the most numerous ship of the Star Legion.