>>>>Omega-class destroyers, developed after the Earth-Minbari War
>>>>and based somewhat on the older Nova-class dreadnaught.
>>>
>>>Obviously, "destroyer" means something different to JMS... :)
>>
>>Yes, a 'destroyer' in B5 appears to be a heavy warship instead of the
>>usual 'tin cans' that appear in other series.
>>
>>Patrick Chester
>>"...could you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?"
>
>Yeah, but it's better than what has happened to the term "Frigate"...
>
>(For those of you who don't understand, the USS Constitution was
>classified as a Frigate when she was built, and the closest modern
>equivalent would, IIRC, be a Battlecruiser...)

More accurate than you might know, actually.

In the British Navy, 'sloops' and 'frigates' roughly corresponded to light and heavy cruisers, where ships of the line were the battleships of the age. The American-constructed frigates, however, carried substantially more guns that a British frigate of similar tonnage, giving the American ship a decided throw-weight advantage.

As a suggested division of warship class designations for UF (considering there's a -lot- of overlap):

Starfighter (ex. X-Wing, VF-1A)
Gunboat (ex. Centurion, YT-1300 modified)
Corvette (ex. CR-90, Broadway)
Destroyer (ex. CEC Gunship, Plymouth-III)
*Guncruiser (ex. Liberator, Plymouth-V)
Light cruiser (ex. Miranda, Lancer)
*Frigate (ex. Nebulon B)
Heavy cruiser (ex. Constitution)
Battlecruiser (ex. Plymouth-IV)
Battleship (ex. Iowa, Galaxy, Katana)
Dreadnaught (ex. Star Destroyer)
*Star Fortress (SDF-17, SDF-23)
Battlestation (any orbital fixed military station, also AT&T)

* = designation is rare or unique to one particular ship class

The differences between classes is determined by a combination of ship's size, armor, shields, engine power, weapons load, and crew compliment. The largest determinant, however, seems to be what the ship's designers -say- it is, and ship architects' visions often diverge radically from reality- as any experienced ship's engineer will tell you. }:-{D

Finally, dedicated starfighter carriers are generally separate from this list, ranked as 'pocket' (4 squadrons or fewer), 'carrier,' (4-8 squadrons), and 'heavy' (more than 8 squadrons).

All of this should demonstrate just how damn confusing the subject actually -is.- }:-{D

Redneck

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