Manco Cápac-class cruiser

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Manco Cápac-class Auxiliary Light Cruiser

Profile view of Manco Cápac-class auxiliary light cruiser
Type	Auxiliary light cruiser
Displacement	13,892 metric tons
Length	125 metres
Beam	35 metres
Draft	6.5 metres
Powerplant	2× diesel engines 3,000 hp (2,200 kW) ea
Propulsion	1× gas turbine 25,000 hp (19,000 kW) ea
Speed	24 knots (44 km/h)
Range	6,500 nautical miles at 15 knots
Endurance	45 days
Complement	180 (15 officers, 165 enlisted)
Sensors and processing systems	ESB-NAV-14 surface search radar ESB-AIR-27 air search radar Javelin SONAR-4 hull-mounted sonar Pontecorvo integrated command system
Electronic warfare and decoys	JI-ECM-2 electronic countermeasures suite 4× chaff/flare launchers
Offensive armament	2× 76mm dual-purpose guns 8× anti-ship missile launchers 2× 30mm close-in weapon systems 4× 12.7mm machine guns
Defensive armament	1× 16-cell vertical launch system for surface-to-air missiles 2× torpedo tubes
Armour	Steel hull with limited ballistic protection
Flight / Loading deck	Aft helicopter deck (15m × 15m)
Aircraft capacity	1× Javelin H-2 Siren utility helicopter
Boats carried	2× rigid hull inflatable boats
Ships in commission	60 120 20 20 20

The Manco Cápac-class is a class of auxiliary light cruisers ordered by the Federal Navy of Nouvelle Alexandrie from the Pontecorvo Firm and ESB Armada, as part of the concerted Federal response to the threat posed by the Confederacy of the Dispossessed. Named after the first King of Nouvelle Alexandrie, these vessels represent a significant investment in naval defense capabilities while balancing cost-effectiveness and rapid deployment requirements.

Design and Specifications

The Manco Cápac-class features a conventional hull design with a distinctive superstructure that houses the bridge, combat information center, and primary sensor arrays. The vessel's profile is characterized by a raised forecastle, an integrated mast structure, and an aft helicopter deck. The ships utilize a hybrid propulsion system combining diesel engines for cruise operations and a gas turbine for high-speed maneuvers.

Emergency Shipbuilding Program

At the direction of the Department of Defense, the Pontecorvo Firm and ESB Susa were instructed to halt all ongoing work in order to refocus upon immediate naval requirements.

The initial order was for sixty ships to be built, with the work to be divided equally between Pontecorvo and the Honourable Company shipyards in Nouvelle Alexandrie, with these to be launched by the end of the year, with the fitting out of armaments, sensors, and command and control systems to be conducted by Javelin Industries and partners, utilising off-the-shelf systems available for use. Only existing technologies were to be utilised, with R&D work actively prohibited with regards to the program.

Commissariat agents from the National Ordnance and Procurement Board were duly dispatched, during the fourth month of 1719 AN, to establish a Department of Defense presence at the following shipyards:

• Pontecorvo Shipbuilding Yards (Pontecorvo, Alduria)
• Rothborne Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex (Rothborne City, Alduria)
• La Fortaleza de Melusina Yard Complex (La Fortaleza de Melusina, South Lyrica).
• Port Tablot Shipyards (Port Tablot, Isles of Caputia)
• Aldurian Shipbuilding Yards (Alkhiva, Alduria)
• ESB Armada (Alkhiva, Alduria)

Accordingly, each yard faced the obligation to lay down and launch ten hulls within the space of a year. It was a task that was met with a certain level of scepticism in the industry as details first began to be made known. These doubts began in turn to be noted by the various trade press publications. This had the inevitable result that speculation began to appear in left and liberal leaning national news coverage as to the feasibility of the programme, and moreover what sorts of trade offs would be required in order to achieve the requisite number of hulls laid down within the stipulated time.

The depth of the scandal was only realised when, during VII.1720 AN, word leaked out that, instead of sixty vessels being laid down, work had only commenced upon two, and even these were not yet launched. Moreover, as these ships took shape, it became obvious to all observers that the "cruiser" shared obvious commonalities with the Andronikos-class auxiliary cruiser of the Constancian Navy, which in turn had been built off the pattern set by the SS Andronikos, a decrepit and ancient Babkhan merchantman, now gently rusting at anchor in the fetid port of Tiegang. Some naval analysts however maintained that the troubled ships would eventually reveal themselves to be up-armed and up-armoured iterations of the Logistic Support Vessel, a design now sixty-five years old.

Ironically, a part of the delay in the shipbuilding programme had been occasioned by jurisdictional conflicts between the National Ordnance and Procurement Board under the Department of Defense and the Joint Production Accelerator Cell within the Office of Procurement, which reported directly to the Office of the President. Both entities in turn reacted against attempts by the Naval Forces Office and Military-Industrial Relations Bureau of Keltia Command to reorientate New Alexandrian shipbuilding towards launching escort corvettes capable of escorting transoceanic trade fleets, whilst fending off the continuous entreaties of Trans-Euran Command for a focus instead upon landing craft and minesweepers capable of operating within the Gulf of Zinjibar.

These delays had ironically allowed for a number of flaws in the design proposal to be identified and corrected during the build of the initial two warships, allowing for a considerable improvement upon what would initially have been little better than an armed merchantman.

In XIII.1720 AN ESB Armada was removed from the emergency shipping program and directed to focus its shipbuilding capacity upon the fulfillment of international orders for the class, which had been received from the Benacian Union, Hurmu, Normark, and the Suren Confederacy.

The controversial shipbuilding programme would be completed by 1733 AN with the delivery of the final ESB built hulls to customers in Hurmu, Normark, and the Suren Confederacy.

Ships of the class

• Federal Navy of Nouvelle Alexandrie
  • Manco Cápac (Hull No. 001, Pennant No. TBD) – work commenced on 7.IV.1719 AN at the Port Tablot Shipyards, launched 22.X.1720 AN; underwent final outfitting and sea trials, commissioning on 15.I.1721 AN;
  • Basileus Giakoumis (Hull No. 002, Pennant No. TBD) – work commenced on 8.IV.1719 AN at the Pontecorvo Shipbuilding Yards, launched 24.X.1720 AN; completed fitting out and sea trials, commissioned on 5.II.1721 AN;
  • Pontecorvo (Hull No. 003, Pennant No. TBD) – work commenced on 10.XII.1719 AN at the Aldurian Shipbuilding Yards; construction completed, launched on 16.II.1721 AN; undergoing outfitting and systems integration, anticipated commissioning in 6.IV.1722 AN;
  • Santa Melusina (Hull No. 004, Pennant No. TBD) – work commenced on 19.XI1720 AN at the Pontecorvo Shipbuilding Yards; completed construction, launched on 10.III.1721 AN; currently undergoing final outfitting and sea trials, expected commissioning in 8.V.1722 AN;
  • Edgard II (Hull No. 005, Pennant No. TBD) – work commenced on 24.XI1720 AN at the Rothborne Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex; launched on 14.IV.1721 AN; currently undergoing fitting out and systems integration, planned commissioning in 10.VI.1722 AN;
  • Nathan III (Hull No. 006, Pennant No. TBD) – work commenced on 22.XIV1720 AN at the Fortaleza de Melusina Yard Complex; construction completed, launched on 1.V.1721 AN; undergoing final outfitting and sea trials, expected commissioning in 12.VIII.1722 AN;
  • Francis Joseph IV (Hull No. 007, Pennant No. TBD) – work commenced on 22.XIV1720 AN at the Port Tablot Shipyards; launched on 30.VI.1721 AN; currently in the final stages of outfitting and systems integration, commissioning planned for 20.IX.1722 AN;
  • Edgard I (Hull No. 008, Pennant No. TBD) – work commenced on 5.IX.1721 AN at the Port Tablot Shipyards; scheduled launch on 20.VIII.1722 AN; anticipated completion of outfitting and sea trials, commissioning expected on 1.XI.1722 AN;
  • Queen Abigail (Hull No. 009, Pennant No. TBD) – work commenced on 10.IV.1722 AN at the Aldurian Shipbuilding Yards; planned launch on 6.IX.1722 AN; undergoing outfitting and systems integration, projected commissioning in 25.X.1722 AN;
  • Queen Alexandra (Hull No. 010, Pennant No. TBD) – work commenced on 15.VII.1721 AN at the Rothborne Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex; launched on 2.XI.1721 AN; currently undergoing fitting out and systems integration, expected commissioning in 30.XII.1722 AN;
  • Sinchi Roca I (Hull No. 011, Pennant No. TBD) – work commenced on 20.II.1722 AN at the Port Tablot Shipyards; scheduled launch on 15.IX.1722 AN; undergoing final outfitting and sea trials, commissioning planned for 20.I.1723 AN.
  • Mamaquilla (Hull No. 012, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Pachamama (Hull No. 013, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Mamacocha (Hull No. 014, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Urcuchillay (Hull No. 015, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Mama Sara (Hull No. 016, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Supay (Hull No. 017, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Urcaguary (Hull No. 018, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Huacas (Hull No. 019, Pennant No. TBD)
  • St. Natsanet (Hull No. 020, Pennant No. TBD)
  • St. Luis the Protector (Hull No. 021, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Our Lady of the Storms and Sorrows (Hull No. 022, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Mitra (Hull No. 023, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Oriente (Hull No. 024, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Soberano (Hull No. 025, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Santísima Trinidad (Hull No. 026, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Nuestra Señora (Hull No. 027, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Señora de la Santísima (Hull No. 028, Pennant No. TBD)
  • La Real (Hull No. 029, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Nuestra Señora del Buen Fin (Hull No. 030, Pennant No. TBD)
  • El Poderoso (Hull No. 031, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Vigilante (Hull No. 032, Pennant No. TBD)
  • San Nicolás (Hull No. 033, Pennant No. TBD)
  • San Isidro (Hull No. 034, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Salvador del Mundo (Hull No. 035, Pennant No. TBD)
  • San Ildefonso (Hull No. 036, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Conde de Regla (Hull No. 037, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Matilde (Hull No. 038, Pennant No. TBD)
  • San Fermín (Hull No. 039, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Firme (Hull No. 040, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Diana (Hull No. 041, Pennant No. TBD)
  • San Antonio (Hull No. 042, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Glorioso (Hull No. 043, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Señora de Atocha (Hull No. 044, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Atlante (Hull No. 045, Pennant No. TBD)
  • San José (Hull No. 046, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Ceres (Hull No. 047, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Asunción (Hull No. 048, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Santa Justa (Hull No. 049, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Santa Balbina (Hull No. 050, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Santa Paula (Hull No. 051, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Neptuno (Hull No. 052, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Scipion (Hull No. 053, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Rayo (Hull No. 054, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Formidable (Hull No. 055, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Mount Itni (Hull No. 056, Pennant No. TBD)
  • San Agustin (Hull No. 057, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Héros (Hull No. 058, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Bucentaure (Hull No. 059, Pennant No. TBD)
  • Redoutable (Hull No. 060, Pennant No. TBD)

•  Maritime Forces of the Benacian Union: (120 built, of which 60 received by BUDF and 40 commissioned as of 1731 AN)