Sylvester said:
Would this be an effective replacement for the Ranger Class?
Um.... not a realistic one, no.
Sylvester said:
Bogue Class Light Carrier
Length: 600 meters
Mass: 28,500 Tonnes
The Tiger's Claw was 80,000 tonnes, and carried 104 fighters. The Concordia was 7000 tonnes lighter and carried about the same number of craft. The Victory carried 40 fighters, and was about this mass, but was pre-War technology, and horribly underpowered and undershielded compared to 'modern' fleet carriers of that era.
For a design with what specifications you list below, this is incredibly lightweight, for just about any era of WC technology.
Sylvester said:
Velocity: 90/140
Shields: Phase
Armor: 1400/1400/1600/1600
Armament: (10) Dual Laser Turrets (1) Torpedo Tube (1x2) IR Missile Launcher
Fighters: (70) Total
Yaw/Pitch/Roll: 15/15/13
This thing's almost as well-armored as the Midway, and yet manages to be faster AND has a YPR exceeding any capship save a WC3-era Kilrathi Light or Heavy Destroyer, far better than anything Confed has fielded, even in the WCP era. How do you reconcile that the light mass with armor enough to fit a Midway-style megacarrier whose tonnage is about 8 times greater? You've also got to have SPACE for the support equipment and fighters, and the Tiger's Claw, the only comparable craft to this, had 100 extra meters and 4 times the mass to support all those craft in terms of equipment that could be considered integral to the flight deck.
It's incredibly well-armed for a carrier, which is not supposed to be withing SIGHTING distance of an enemy warship, much less being in combat radius - not to mention torpedo-launching range. That's a job for escorts or fighters.
Sylvester said:
Jump Capable: Yes
Crew: (135) Officers (700) Enlisted (100) Air Wing (935) Total
The Tiger's Claw had a crew of 700, and was around 100m longer than this craft. The Hades, in comparison, has a crew of 150, though whether this includes the support staff for the 30 fighters is not determined. Midway's crew figures carry 6000 crew for 232 fighters, the carrier itself, the science staff, and 1500 marines... at 1830 meters long, and a lot more overall volume.
This is a David Borton Design, minus the supergun and Strategic Readiness Agency logo and blacksuits.
(Edit: It's 'logo')