Atomic Battleship

The Slava-Class Atomic Battleship "Petrograd". Northern Pacific, 1973.

In game

Atomic Battleship — Vital statistics
?	Most powerful surface bombardment naval vessel.
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Movement speed
	18s	675	30	70	Rather slow	44
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
: 250; : 160	: 6; : 3	2	Shipyard	9	33	?

Overall strategy

The Atomic Battleship is the most powerful naval unit in the game. It combines an enormous amount of HP, a good armour, an outstandingly powerful attack and an excellent range, and is capable of destroying multiple enemy ships before they even get withing firing range.

However, such might comes with two major setbacks. First, the cost : the Atomic Battleship is nothing less than the most expensive unit in the game, with both high base and ramping costs, that make the building of a single one a difficult decision to take, and its loss a catastrophe with potentially terrible consequences. Then, the vulnerability : the Atomic Battleship is the king of all surface maritime warfare, but it remains a heavy ship, and is thus highly vulnerable to torpedoes and fighter-bombers attacks.

Therefore, an experienced Vidalian admiral should never field an Atomic Battleship without the proper missile cruiser escort, to fend off attacks from enemy submarines and planes. Actually, the Atomic Battleship is less an unit designed to achieve naval superiority - that will be the task of the Akula submarine, than the unit that will capitalize on this superiority.

Indeed, the Atomic Battleship will reveal its full potential when used in a land bombardment role. Like an ordinary battleship, his powerful guns will be the bane of all the enemy's buildings, but its improved range means it cans hit from a safer distance, and further into the land. In addition, unlike his smaller cousin the Advanced Battleship, the Atomic Battleship inflicts high splash damage, and is equally powerful against buildings and ground units. It is hence the perfect unit to prepare the ground for a seaborne assault, destroying all the enemy's defenses and chasing his units from the beach so that your Marines can establish a beachhead for your LV-43's.

Unit summary

• Extremely powerful and expensive battleship
• Able to knock out both buildings and land units, perfect to support a landing
• Vulnerable to submarines and fighter-bombers, must be kept well-escorted in all circumstances
• Complements the Akula-class submarine in achieving and exploiting naval superiority.

An Atomic Battleship and his escort group.

History

Since the Battle of Parnu on the 24th of october 1925, the Worker's Republic of Vidalia has always had a tradition of favoring big ships over smaller ones. Although for obvious reasons, they were not called "atomic" until the 1950's, historians can trace the story of Vidalian battleships all the way back to 1922, when Admiral Ivan Kulov was appointed at the head of the Commissariat to Navy.

Birth of the first program

Although the newly founded vidalist state was still going through difficult times, the Red Fleet quickly became his top industrial priority. As Trotsky protested against what he called "a waste of precious ressources", Comrade Vidal declared "You don't need industrial power to make a land army. Give a rifle to a worker, and you get a soldier, but give an anchor to a worker, and you don't get a battleship."

Besides such statements, the new leaders of the Vidalist state already had in mind theirs plans to march over Europe, and considered that domination over the Baltic Sea and the Denmark Straights would be a decisive asset. With most of the Kriegsmarine sunk, the Red Fleet's enemy, Admiral Kulov thought, would be the Royal Navy, and all of Vidalia's industrial might would be needed to create a fleet that could defeat this formidable foe. Having observed the teachings of the Battle of Jutland, Kulov and his staff concluded that the British weakness relied in quality rather than quantity, and decided that a handful of suficiently powerful battleships, chosing the Denmark Straights as the battlefield, could beat the Royal Navy's aging ships by outranging them.

Therefore, the program known as "Giant Battleship" was launched as the first industrial plan of the Workers' Republic of Vidalist Soviets, and enjoyed full commitment from the country's industry and engineers, until one year later, the plans were laid for the "Proyekt-1", that became the Dekabr class Giant Battleship when the Dekabr set sail in February 1925.

1925-1932 : Dekabr class - a promising start

Although the expected confrontation with the Royal Navy never happened, the Dekabr class was a key factor in ensuring the total control of the Red Fleet over the Baltic Sea, playing an especially huge part in the sinking of the Norwegian Fleet at the Battle of Parnu.

Dekabr-class battleships parading on December 1928.

Nevertheless, having been prepared in an impressively short amount of time, the Dekabr had a number of flaws, the two main being a much too elevated command deck that made the ship an easy target, and a terrible lack of engine power. All in all, it was nothing but a big dreadnought, a concept that worked well against the disorganized opponents the Red Fleet faced during its early years, but quickly showed its limits against more serious opponents.

Characteristics

• Lenght : 364m
• Speed : 15 knots
• Crew : 1400
• Main gun : 9x400mm
• Number built : 26

1932-1941 : the revolution of the Novgorod class

The Red Fleet staff was well-aware of this weaknesses : actually, the Dekabr class had not even entered service that studies were started to replace it with an entirely new project. The Workers' Republic of Vidalia being now safe and well established, engineers had all the time they needed to come up with a truly revolutionary project, that immediately set up a new world standart in ship design : the Proyekt-15, that entered history as the Novgorod class. It was both fast, well-armoured, and though its main guns were smaller than the Dekabr class ones, they had longer range and an excellent penetration rate : it often took only one salvo from the ship's four turrets to destroy any opponent.

The Novgorod class Giant Battleship "Gordost Severa" (Pride of the North). White sea, 1937.

The Novgorod class was the ship that established Vidalia as the unquestioned master of the Baltic and North Seas, and the ship that made possible the creation of the Far Expeditions Fleet. It remained in service eight years, and when it was replaced in 1940, it was still unmatched by most of the navies in the world.

Characteristics

• Lenght : 382m
• Speed : 26 knots
• Crew : 2300
• Main gun : 12x350mm
• Number built : 43

1941-1949 : The Vidal class - supremacy achieved

As it had been done before, work began to replace the Novgorod class as soon as it entered mass production. Expectations for the new ship were very high : it was supposed to be even taller, carry a much heavier weaponry, feature some of the time's last technological progresses, and be more resilient to torpedoes than the Novgorod class, who had revealed they key weakness in combat during the Salviatische Kriegsmarine. The result was once again above all hopes : the Proyekt-72, or Vidal class was not only the largest ship ever built, it also bore the biggest guns in the world at this time, had a revolutionary double underwater armoured hull designed to resist torpedoes, and was the first ship featuring a radar system to enter mass production.

The Vidal class battleship "Simferopol". Mediterranean sea, 1944.

For all the duration of its service, the Vidal class was the symbol of the domination of the Red Fleet over the seas of the globe, and became obsolete only when the Empire of the Rising Sun introduced both the first nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and the fearsome "Samuraï" dive bomber in 1948, and that the threat of the Imperial Navy grew exponentially.

Characteristics :

• Length : 433m
• Speed : 31 knots
• Crew : 3600
• Main gun : 8x450mm
• Number built : 55

1949-1951 : The Sevastopol class - a failed attempt

The successor of the Vidal class was supposed to outpower the Imperial Navy on its own ground : the Pacific Ocean. Hence, under the insistence of Admiral Kulov and the Great Leader, and despite the reluctance of Vidalian engineers claiming that the technology was still far from mastered, the new ship was ordered to be nuclear-powered. Plans for nuclear turbines had been stolen to the Empire of the Rising Sun a few months ago by the KGV, and the Commissariat to the Navy insisted that it was to be adapted on the "Proyekt-114" despite the fact that it had not been designed in that purpose. The new class was also required to carry a much better anti-aircraft weaponry, as the ship would likely be operating alone in the Pacific, without support from conventional-powered cruisers, that were unable to sail so far away.

The Sevastopol class Atomic Battleship "Niepobedimiy" (Invicible). Black Sea, 1951.

Despite a promising start when the first three ships (Sevastopol, Kerch and Krasniy Krim) intercepted and sunk a Bolivarian convoy near the shores of Cape Verde during the Second Levantine War, the Sevastopol class ended as a disaster, as the often unsupported Atomic Battleships (as they were now called) happened to be easy preys for enemy submarines ; and most of all, as the new nuclear turbines experienced a serie of catastrophic malfunctions that earned to the Sevastopol class the nickname of the "Floating Dynamite", and resulted in the immediate ending of the program, and a dramatic loss of control over the oceans by the Red Fleet. Its eternal enemies the Kriegsmarine and the Federal Navy took advantage of this withdrawal to reinforce their control over their waters, and despite its later prowesses, the days of the undisputed domination of the Red Fleet over the Atlantic were gone.

Characteristics :

• Lenght : 425m
• Speed : 37 knots
• Crew : 3500
• Main gun : 9x460mm
• Number built : 15

1954-1959 : The Novaya Moskva class - the first real Atomic Battleship

The spectacular failure of the Sevastopol class left the Red Fleet without a reliable battleship, and the years 1951 to 1954 saw the massive deployment of attack submarines as the main fighting force of the Vidalian navy, while the plans of the next Atomic Battleship were very carefully planned. Rendered nervous by the fate of the Sevastopol class designers, shot in january 1952, the engineers conducted extensive trials before the "Proyekt-185" eventually entered mass production under the name of Novaya Moskva class.

Artist view of a Novaya Moskva class Atomic Battleship. Because of secrecy surrounding the new Buria turbine, no photo was ever allowed of the actual ships.

Much to its designer's relief, the Buria nuclear turbine soon proved both safe and efficient, and the Moskva class allowed both the return of the Red Fleet in the Atlantic Ocean (though it could never achieved the same hegemony that the Vidal classe enjoyed) and its effective competition with the Imperial Navy in the northern pacific. Indeed, battle groups led by Novaya Moskva class Atomic Battleships often managed to escape detection when crossing the Bering Strait, and engaged imperial patrols around the Hawaiian archipelago.

Characteristics :

• Lenght : 480m
• Speed : 32 knots
• Crew : 4000
• Main gun : 12x450
• Number built : 54

1959-1969 : The Svoboda class - the workhorse of the the Red Fleet

Although satisfactory in every aspect, the Novaya Moskva class did not constitute a revolution when it appeared : it was a good ship, capable of fulfilling its duty, but the memory of the Sevastopol class was still fresh in the mind of naval engineers, and resulted in an efficient but unimaginative design, that could not give to the Red Fleet the decisive edge it had so far always enjoyed against its enemies. It was the main objective of the "Proyekt-248" to resume the innovative tradition of Vidalian heavy ships, or, as Admiral Kulov summed up : "once again be the first of its kind".

The new Svoboda (Freedom) class indeed opened a new era in the history of battleships : first one to exceed 500m long, first one to carry super-heavy 500mm guns, first one to be able to sail across the world without refueling, and first one to be produced to more than 100 units, this ship was also the first one to enforce the new Red Fleet operational doctrine, giving priority to attack submarines (the Strelka

The Svoboda class Atomic Battleship "Karelia". Indian Ocean, circa 1965.

class had just entered production) as a sea-to-sea combat unit, and specializing Atomic Battleships in a long-range support role, taking out enemy cruisers and land-based defenses. Hence, for exemple, his guns were issued with high-explosive shells rather than the previously used armour-piercing ones.

Characteristics

• Lenght : 502m
• Speed : 29 knots
• Crew : 4500
• Main gun : 9x500mm
• Number built : 104

1969-? : The Slava class - perhaps the finest ever built

When the old Svoboda class was eventually withdrawn from active duty after ten years of service, the Vidalian naval engineering office faced the hard challenge to design a new ship that would match its illustrious predecessor's prowesses, and renew the edge that the Red Fleet was enjoying over its opponents. Indeed, the new Hinode class Imperial battleship had proven more than a match for the Svoboda, and the Vidalian domination of the Northern Pacific was being challenged by the growing threat of Utsubo pocket submarines. Although the situation was still more than good, the Red Fleet staff felt that the need for a more modern Atomic Battleship was going to be dire within a few years, and deemed preferable to anticipate it.

Unprecedented means were allowed to the development of the new ship, who started in 1963 and was supposed to end in 1967, for the Vidalist Revolution's 50th anniversary ; even by depleting the credits of other branches of the army. Research on the People's Air Defense's new fighter jet, for exemple, was completely halted to hurry the creation of the "Proyekt-321", but even then, by 1967, the design was not ready. Showing unprecedented - and unexpected comprehension, the Great Leader granted more time to his engineers, but warned them as well, that their work ought better be as good as they promised it would be.

Layout of a Slava-II class Atomic Battleship.

Indeed, the Slava (Glory) class Atomic Battleship kept its promises, and even today, represents the successful outcome of more than 40 years of naval gigantism. Fully mastered nuclear engine, automatic radioactive waste drain system, the heaviest weapons ever built, high-explosive depleted uranium shells, a 800mm-thick armour plating, and most importantly, a continuous updating process that, along the years, had its command deck redesigned (Slava-II, 1973) and missile launchers replacing its secondary turrets (Slava-III, 1978), reactive anti-torpedo armour added under the waterline, advanced detection systems or a centimetric target acquisition radar (1972, 1974, 1777), all those elements make the Slava class Atomic Battleship the most powerful ship ever built.

Characteristics :

• Lenght : 542m
• Speed : 30 knots
• Crew : 5000
• Main gun : 9x550mm
• Number built : 124