Viviantia-class logistic support vessel
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| Type: | Logistic Support Vessel |
| Place of origin: | Shireroth |
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| In service: | 1647.6455 AN.ASC |
| Production commenced | 1640.6238 AN.ASC |
| Used by: | |
| Laid Down | 50 |
| Commissioned: | 6 |
| Retired: | 44 |
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| Designed: | 1639.6235 AN.ASC |
| Manufacturer: | ESB-Jörmungandr Group Boat Yards of Amity |
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| Displacement: | 7,800 tons 10,902 tons full load |
| Length: | 512.3 ft (156.1 m) overall |
| Beam: | 65.2 ft (19.9 m) |
| Extreme width: | 108.1 ft (32.9 m) |
| Draft: | 22.5 ft (6.9 m) |
| Propulsion: | Two (2) five-cylinder reciprocating Uniflow steam engines Four (4) × 285 psi (1,970 kPa) boilers, 2 shafts, 9,000 shp (6,700 kW) |
| Speed: | 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Range: | 10,240 nmi (18,960 km; 11,780 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement: | Ship's Company: 1,200 |
| Armament: |
1 × 5-inch/38 calibre gun |
| Aircraft carried: | 28 |
Originally proposed as an aircraft carrier, the Viviantia Class Logistic Support Vessel (LSV) entered service with the Shirerithian Supplies Service as an auxiliary vessel capable of carrying passengers and cargo or of ferrying up to 28 light aircraft or helicopters.
Imperial Navy refusal & lobbying
In 1639 the directors of the ESB owned Boat Yards of Amity, concerned that no new orders had been placed by the Imperial Navy since the completion of the Poltroon Class Submarine programme, approached the Ministry of Military Affairs with a proposal that proposed building a fleet of 50 small carriers in less than two years.
The proposal was forwarded to the Board of Admiralty for evaluation. Although the proposal was judged to be technically feasible - the slow speed, short flight deck and second rate armaments package outlined in the design resulted in the proposal being rejected outright.
Undeterred, the directors turned to the Chairman of the ESB, Thorgils Tarjeisson, who was also the Minister of Military Affairs and lobbied for a second chance. Sufficiently mindful, as MoMA, of the perils of fobbing himself off with inferior pieces of equipment, Thorgils did however envisage the need for a platform capable of delivering supplies into a hostile or underdeveloped environment. Accordingly, after prevailing upon the directors to pay for a months worth of hospitality for his retinue and camp followers encamped before Azeroth, Thorgils authorised the commencement of a programme to provide the Shirerithian Supplies Service's Directorate of Logistics with an auxiliary fleet.
Name
The class was named for Viviantia who is the goddess of life in the pantheon of the Cedrist religion.
Operational History
In 1647, the Viviantia Class LSV were distributed amongst the banner groups of the Western and Eastern Armada to provide fleet logistical support, crew berths and platforms for amphibious operations in the War of Jingdaoese Immolation. The Imperial Navy, finally appreciating the necessity of amphibious operations platforms, had taken over control of the moribund procurement programme from the Shirerithian Supplies Service and rushed it to a completion. As a consequence the Viviantia Class was reviled amongst those obliged to spend any length of time aboard for its cramped conditions and frequent mechanical breakdowns.
On 1.I.1710 AN the last six ships of this class ended their service with the Benacian Union Defence Force having conveyed the garrison that would take possession of the Warring Islands from Hurmu. The vessels were decommissioned, their crews paid off, and left at anchor in Hempton Bay to serve as a series of floating barracks and a storage depot.
As of 1732 AN, two of these ships found their way into the Arboreal Guard, the demesnal defence force of the Principality of Arboria of Natopia.
