Panther class Experimental Frigate

To mark the year 1100, the Imperial Navy challenged naval architects across the Imperium to come up with innovative new design concepts. RINA (Rhylanor Interstellar Navy Architects), a small design house specialising in unusual requirements, came up with a concept ship they named the Panther. The idea was for the smallest, and thus cheapest, ship capable of carrying a 100 dton meson gun while keeping up with standard fleet units (ie. Jump-4 and 6G).

RINA’s design used two tricks to achieve this. First, rather than carry a power plant capable of meeting all energy requirements for the duration of a cruise (28 days), two power plants were installed: one for 28 days of normal use, and another for 30 hours of combat activities. Second, the main weapon could only fire at half the normal rate: energy had to be built up in the ship’s jump drive capacitors. This later trick effectively halved the EPs/turn required by such a weapon. For defence, the Panther relied solely on moderately high agility.

In the end, only an initial run of 4 Panthers were built (unimaginatively named Panther-1, Panther-2, Panther-3, and Panther-4). Panther-2 was destroyed in early trials, but the remaining three still function together as a squadron.

Tonnage:1,000 dtons standard, 14,000 cubic meters, close structure configuration.
Crew:Command=1, Bridge=6, Engineering=10, Gunnery=1, Medical=1
Engineering:Jump-4, 6G Maneuver, Power plant (main)-6, 60 EP, Power plant (combat)-9, 90 EP, Agility 4
Avionics:1 bridge, with Model 4/Fib computer
Hardpoints:100-ton bay x1
Armament:100-ton meson gun bay
Defences:None
Craft:None
Fuel:464 dtons fuel (jump-4 and 28 days endurance, and 30 hours combat endurance)
Other:Crew in double occupancy staterooms

HG

Ship:         Panther
Type:         Frigate (experimental)
Architect:    RINA
Construction: General Shipyards
Owner:        Imperial Navy
Tech Level:   F

USP: FZ-A446XD2-000000-00090-0 MCr916 1000tons
Batt Bear                 1    Crew 19
Batt                      1    TL 15
Cargo=0  Fuel=464  Agility=4  No fuel treatment
(X=6or9)
Component List
Jump drive (J4)50 dtons
Jump drive fuel (1 jump)400 dtons
Manoeuvre drive (6G)170 dtons
Main power plant (PP6)60 dtons
Main power plant fuel (4 weeks)60 dtons
Weapon bay100 dtons
Weapon power plant90 dtons
Weapon power plant fuel (1 day)4 dtons
Bridge20 dtons
Computer (4/fib)8 dtons
Staterooms (double occupancy)38 dtons
1000 dtons

The jump drive has 20 dtons of capacitors, which can hold up to 720 EPs.

Ship Registry
tail nonameownercaptainstatusnotes
9536Panther-1INIn Service
9537Panther-2INDestroyed
9538Panther-3INIn Service
9539Panther-4INIn Service

Hemdian’s Notebook