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The Wing Commander Combat Information Center's Concordia Mini-FAQ
1. What does the word 'Concordia' mean, anyway?
The dictionary defines it as "harmony or agreement of interests or feelings" or as a "treaty establishing peaceful relations." It fits the apparent name scheme of WC2's 'Terran Confederation class', as 'Confederation' refers to a similar union. Concordia is also a popular name given to religious schools, including a Concordia University in Austin, Texas (home of Origin Systems, makers of Wing Commander).
2. How many ships in the Wing Commander Universe have been named Concordia?
Three.
3. What classes of ships were they and where do they appear?
The first TCS Concordia (historically) was the first ship of the Concordia class fleet carrier line of ships. It appears in the novel "Action Stations." Concordia #1 was comissioned in 2634 and was destroyed the same year.
The second TCS Concordia was the first ship of the Concordia class of supercruisers. It appears in the Wing Commander movie and in the novel "Pilgrim Stars." Concordia #2 was comissioned in 2648. The last mention of the Concordia SuperCruiser is a set of transfer orders in the Kilrathi Saga manual which are dated 2656. She was presumably decomissioned before 2661.
The third TCS Concordia was the second ship of the Terran Confederation class of dreadnoughts. It appears in Wing Commander II, Wing Commander III and the novels End Run and Fleet Action. Concordia #3 was comissioned in 2661 and destroyed in 2669. Her designation is CVS-65.
4. Can you provide the technical specifications for the three Concordias?
Concordia #1:
(Concordia-class Carrier)
Length: 800 meters
Max. Speed: 120 kps
Cru. Speed: 50 kps
Acceleration: 10 k/s^2
Max. Y/P/R: 5/5/5 dps
Weapons-
Dual Laser Batteries (11)
Fore Shield: 800 cm
Aft Shield: 800 cm
Fore Armor: 300 cm
Aft Armor: 300 cm
Right/Left Armor: 300 cm
"Core" Armor: 6,000 cm
Fighters: 83 Pre-War, 96 Post-War
Concordia #2:
(Concordia-class Supercruiser)
Length: 855 meters
Mass: 73,000 tonnes
Max. Speed: 100 kps
Cru. Speed: 50 kps
Weapons-
Point Defense Laser Turrets (30)
Anti-Matter Guns (4)
Torpedo Tubes (50)
Fore Shield: Meson
Aft Shield: Meson
Fore Armor: 35 cm
Aft Armor: 35 cm
Right/Left Armor: 30 cm
Fighters: 20
Concordia #3 (CVS-65):
(Terran Confederation-class Dreadnaught)
Length: 983.7 meters
Mass: 73,000 tonnes
Max. Speed: 100 kps
Cru. Speed: 50 kps
Acceleration: "Bad"
Max. Y/P/R: 1/1/1 dps
Weapons-
Flak Cannons (3)
Anti-Matter Guns (8)
Phase Transit Cannon (1)
Fore Shield: Phase
Aft Shield: Phase
Fore Armor: 500 cm
Rear Armor: 500 cm
Right/Left Armor: 400 cm
Fighters: 120
5. How many anti-matter guns does Concordia #3 really have?
There is some confusion about this, as Wing Commander 2 internally simulates only seven guns -- whereas Joan's Fighting Ships lists eight. The proper number should be eight, as she lacks guns 'in-game' for purely technical reasons.
6. Why don't we see more Terran Confederation class dreadnaughts? They're super-cool!
According to the Kilrathi Saga manual production of the Terran Confederation class ceased in 2665 when a design flaw in the Phase Transit Cannon was discovered. This is also why Angel doesn't want Tolwyn to fire the 'main gun' in Secret Ops 2 (2667) -- it might destroy the Concordia.
7. Why does Blair comment that the deck of the Lexington is similar to that of his Concordia (#3)?
Although they are different classes (the Lexington CV-44 is a Concordia class fleet carrier, Concordia #3 was a Terran Confederation class dreadnaught) they simply have similar deck layouts -- simple as that. The 'real' reason for the comment was that WCIV's script simply identifies Lexington as 'Concordia class'. The author of the novel assumed this meant it was the same class as the Concordia from WC2 and the other novels. (There were also early considerations given to using the Terran Confederation-class model for the TCS Lexington model in the development of Wing Commander IV.)
8. The WCIV novel refers to Concordia class as having two bays -- WCIV shows only one. What's up?
"Bays" refers to the areas to each side of the ship where fighters are prepped and repaired -- hence the 'Project' controlled bay is completely cut off from the normal bay. Concordia class ships also have two catapults (one for each bay).
9. Is the Victory in WC3 a Concordia class carrier? It looks exactly the same!
The 3D model is the same, but the Victory is not a Concordia class ship. The Victory is much smaller and carries less fighters. Both ships are of the same pre-war era, and so share similar designs. The Victory is a light carrier.
10. I heard that the Concordia-class fleet carrier and the Terran Confederation-class dreadnaught are really the same, minus the Phase Transit Cannon. Is that Is this true?
No. That was an elaborate and confusing pre-Action Stations theory to explain the similarities between the Concordia and the Lexington's deck plans in the WCIV novel. The revalation that WCIV's "Concordia class fleet carriers" are far older than the Terran Confederation class changed all this (it was a dumb theory, anyway -- Concordia and Terran Confederation class ships look nothing alike, and we're told in Joan's Fighting Ships that the Terran Confederation class is built around the PTC).
11. Can you provide some history behind the Phase Transit Cannon?
In 2654 the Kilrathi tested their prototype Proton Accelerator Gun (aka 'Graviton Weapon') on Warhammer XII. The weapon fires a special explosive burst (which appears similar to a Particle Cannon blast) at a target. The explosion is followed by a 137 fold increase in gravity, which completely eliminates a target. The weapon went on to form the centerline armament of the Kilrathi Sivar dreadnaught, and was field-tested with the complete destruction of Goddard Colony. The Kilrathi weapon had a single operational drawback: it took several minutes to lock and fire -- it could not effectively be used against starships. For several months between 2654 and 2655 the Confederation's Task Force Delta took part in Operation Thor's Hammer: the pursuit and destruction of the KIS Sivar. The wreckage of the Sivar was returned to human space, where it was studied by Confederation scientists. The Concordia's Phase Transit Cannon is the resulf of these studies: a Proton Accelerator Gun which trades damage potential for speed... although it cannot destroy a colony like its forerunner, it can effectively target and destroy enemy capital ships in a single blast.
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