Bearing Yttrium-class Frigate
The Bearing Yttrium is the oldest class of frigate still in service in the Stellar Alliance Interstellar Navy. Even the youngest Bearing Yttrium in service passed its second COH/SLEP* update while many of its crew members were still in literal diapers, and many are older than even their captains.
Nearly twenty-eight thousand of the forty thousand built over the class’s twenty-seven year construction period remain in service, most with nondescript two- and three-word phrases as their names. Crews typically give their ships unofficial nicknames, which over time become the ship’s semi-official communications call sign.
Armament
The Bearing Yttrium class was originally designed as a "heavy" frigate with a gun-centric main armament supported by a light missile load. Due to being outpaced by new developments in energy weapons technology, this has been inverted across successive FRAM* refits such that the modern configuration of these ships is predominantly missile based.
All Bearing Yttrium class frigates still in active service are configured with four gun mounts in a ring near the nose, two eight-pack external missile launchers replacing what was originally a second gun ring near the tail, and two thirty-six bay missile launchers in the broadsides. Fire control consists of individual gun directors for each turret, a single long-range missile guidance director for each external launcher, and three short-range missile guidance directors for each broadside launcher.
A notable drawback of the class’ compact size is that only the external "box" launchers carry all-up capital missiles and these lack reloads. The broadside launchers are limited to corvette-weight missiles with a modest two reloads per tube. On the other hand, short-range corvette missiles are extremely powerful for their size, allowing for these modest salvos to devastate enemy ships once in range.
- Service Life Extension Program / Comprehensive Overhaul
- Fleet Rehabilitation and Maintenance
Ship Zones
Like most smaller and older vessels, the Bearing Yttrium class is laid out as a vertical stack with decks running perpendicular to the direction of motion. Note that in spacefaring terms, a "deck" refers to a sealed pressure-bearing compartment, which may be subdivided into multiple floors by permanent or temporary dividers.
Level 01 (Deckhouse)
The forward-most (or top-most) compartment of the ship stack, Level 01 houses the forward sensors, bridge, and the Captain's day cabin. This minimalistic space is traditionally counted as a "level" rather than a deck, and is colloquially known as the "Deckhouse".
Deck A (Alpha)
Alpha deck is the forward-most "proper" deck of the ship, housing the sickbay and most of the the ship's operational infrastructure, including life support, navigational equipment, and a small hydroponics bay.
Deck B (Bravo)
Built as officer country, Bravo Deck has the closest thing a Bearing Yttrium-class frigate has to amenities. At the center of the deck are the galley and messes, along with a multipurpose space that can be configured as a briefing room/movie theater, gaming hub, or fitness center (it's not quite large enough to be considered a true gym). Ringing this on two sublevels are officers' quarters. Those on the lower level tend to complain of poor sleep and hearing injury due to the 24-7 use of the nearby communal spaces. Many times the captain of the ship will notionally claim one of the less desirable cabins and use their day cabin as their normal sleeping space, but some captains aren't that considerate and will force their least-loved officers to take those spaces.
Orlop Deck 1
A half-height machinery deck between Deck Bravo and Deck Charlie, Orlop Deck 1 corresponds to the "gun ring" on the exterior of the ship's hull and contains all of the internal systems that support the main energy weapons, as well as targeting sensor bars and mooring field generators. This deck is not permanently crewed (the local control stations for the weapons are on Deck Charlie) but has numerous crawlspaces for access and repairs.
Deck C (Charlie)
Charlie Deck is the largest compartment on the frigate, running nearly three-fifths of the ship's total length. It is nonetheless rather cramped, as the majority of the crew below the grade of E-5 has to find places to hang hammocks among the primary load of C-Deck, namely missiles, missile launchers, and missile loading tracks.
Orlop Deck 2
A second half-height machinery deck between Deck Charlie and the Engineering Module, Orlop Deck 2 originally contained the aft energy weapons but was refitted with the support hardware for long range capital missiles. The actual launchers are located between the pressure hull and the outer hull, however.
Orlop Deck 2 is primarily accessed only for repairs and maintenance, but has to be manned during action due to the local control stations for the missile launchers. The cramped nature of the refitted deck means that these are universally considered the worst action stations on the ship.
Engineering Module
By longstanding ISN tradition, the entire aft engineering section of the ship is referred to as a "module". This section of the ship houses the main reactor, fuel tankage, primary propulsion, and FTL drive.
NSV Louche Growler
Builders: Terra Nova ShipyardsCrew Nickname: "The Louie Louie"
Complement: 150 (20 officers, 130 enlisted)
Aspects: Clean, Classic Lines; Command and Control; One Lucky Hit...
An example of the oldest run of Bearing Yttrium class ships, the NSV Louche Growler was originally commissioned in Common Standard Year 502 and is now fifty-two standards old. She was refitted under FRAM 18 and FRAM 24, then recieved her midlife SLEP/COH refit in CY 538.
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