Durango-class heavy destroyer

Durango-class Heavy Destroyer
Type	Heavy Destroyer
Primary User	Terran Confederation
Additional Users	Union of Border Worlds
General Characteristics
Spacecraft Carried	Light
Armament
Turrets
Dual-Mount Laser Turret (8)
Components
Jump Drive	Yes
Durango-class Heavy Destroyer/Carrier Target Designation, circa 2673.
Source	Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom Wing Commander: The Price of Freedom

The Durango-Class Heavy Destroyer was a class of Heavy Destroyers that once saw extensive service with the Terran Confederation. Surviving examples now serve with the Union of Border Worlds.

The Durango was originally designed as a Heavy Destroyer with the traditional purpose of providing heavy firepower for Confederation fleets against enemy warships and to serve as escorts for larger vessels. They were fairly fast and maneuverable for their size and thus could evade slower vessels easily. Their design was customized to serve other purposes, notably as fleet carriers if need be.

The Durango was a pre-Kilrathi War design that saw action against the Kilrathi during the earlier years of the Terran-Kilrathi War. In time, however, they became increasingly obsolete in the face of newer, superior warships, and by the end of 2663 had been largely phased out of Confederation service. However, several surviving Durangos were eventually acquired by the Union of Border Worlds, a close ally of the Confederation. The most notable of these was the TCS Delphi, which continued its service as the BWS Intrepid.

Even after the end of the Kilrathi War in 2669, Durangos remained active on the frontier. By 2673, several Durangos had been reconfigured as light carriers for the Union of Border Worlds, which lacked the industrial capacity to produce its own carriers. Among these vessels were the Intrepid and the BWS Tango. During the Border Worlds Conflict in 2673, the BWS Intrepid spearheaded the Union's effort to combat the Black Lance, who sought to instigate war between the Union and the Terran Confederation. It was the crew and the commanders of the Intrepid who would ultimate identify the Black Lance as the true culprit of the conflict and expose its illegal activities to the Confederation Assembly, thus preventing a potential full-scale war.

Durangos have by 2681 been long since superseded by much more modern warship models of the peacetime era, and now rarely ever see action on the frontlines.