Gram Class Monitor
Monitor vessels were an unusual, often antiquated, and rare class of starship, usually designed as a one-off test or modified from an existing vessel for one single operation. Monitors were designed for surface bombardment, and generally were useless or underpowered in every other capacity. It was perhaps a surprise to the world at large when the Sumnian Navy employed a number of these vessels during their ground assaults.
But Contrary to what the Dionian Corporation believed, the Gram was not designed as a monitor. Sumnia at its inception did not even possess the concept of a monitor, having never encountered one, and only being informed of the designation after the Gram's deployment.
The Gram Class began life as a solution to an as-yet unasked question. Sumnia was keen to take their ships to the limit; bigger, badder and bolder, but as the first planetcracker, the Gigantia, was being laid-down they realised that should such a vessel be captured then they had no equal to it other than another planetcracker. Such was the purpose of the Gram, essentially being designed around a single massive Phase-III tube and ammunition storage. Due to this it broke from Sumnian tradition of oblate spheroids and looked like a tube had grown warts. Its usage for surface bombardment was simply its part-time job. It was considered a waste of time by some Sumnian officers, until the fall of Invictum Perseus, where it was finally given its chance to shine.
Invictum Perseus was the seventh planetcracker to be built, but was the first of them to die. During the battle of Sigma Tarses she was crippled by a weapon to the aft, damaging her engines, whereupon she was engaged at extreme range by Dionian Destroyers. During this engagement a Dionian boarding team was able to insert themselves into the engineering compartment through the damaged engines. Once there they went about disabling the nuclear reactors and as many weapons as they could. By the time they were discovered they had been joined by several more teams and the Invictum Perseus had been lost. Captain Ortygg surrendered his vessel with all hands. Dionian forces quickly overtook the Perseus and repaired as many systems as was possible but were unable to repair her engines in time for the Sumnian counterattack. For months Sigma Tarses would remain a battleground, with the wreck of Invictum Perseus swapping hands frequently.
Eventually Sumnia's patience and willingness to waste ships to retake the vessel ran thin, and the Gram Class Monitors were deployed to end the ship once and for all. After a tortuous battle the Perseus was comprehensively destroyed, with the Gram herself firing the killing blow to the aft reactor.
The success of the Gram Class Monitor however was tied to decline of the Planetcracker, with it being more economical to produce ten such vessels than a single planetcracker. And as the superweapons it was designed to kill faded from the galaxy, monitors also fell once more into their old role of surface bombardment.
Power Generation
Mark 7 Nuclear generator, later upgraded to Mark 12
Propulsion
Nuclear Powered Xenon Motors
Weapons & Armament
One P-III Tube, 6 spare weapons
Armor and defense
3000mm of Ceramic Composite
29 point defence lasers
29 point defence lasers
Communication Tools & Systems
SPAR-Fibre Mod 1
Later upgraded to UDD-Fibre Mod 2
Later upgraded to UDD-Fibre Mod 2
Sensors
2 VIS3 IFR6 system on the bow and stern capable of 6cDD/m
Later upgraded to IFR12 with better acquisition picture
Later upgraded to IFR12 with better acquisition picture
Additional & auxiliary systems
Fire Control System 4 Mod 4
Later upgraded to FCS 5 Mod 3
Later upgraded to FCS 5 Mod 3
Manufacturer
Owning Organization
Rarity
43 ships completed
Beam
200m port to starboard
Length
700m bow to stern
Height
150m fin to keel
Weight
3,660,000 tonne displacement
Speed
5G acceleration
Complement / Crew
300 sailors
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