Federal-Class Dropship

T.A.S. Freeedom
Capable of carrying twelve Battlemechs and two Aerospace fighters directly into the heat of battle from system jump-point, the Federal dropship is the predecessor to the most famous vessel types in the Inner Sphere-the Union-Class of dropship. The Federals were built in three main sections--featuring a number of corridors ringing the double-occupancy quarters, a comfortable lounge, roomy mess facilities, and ample storage space for personal equipment. The last of the produced designs featured four 'mech drop chutes but were unable to incorporate the reinforced bulkheads around the weapon and ammunition bays that were standard on the later Unions. Nevertheless, some wealthy operators have been able to refit the ship to the modern design--hampered only by lack of parts and the extreme age of most of the operating vessels. This particular ship was built in the mid 2200's by the Terran Alliance for patrols along the quickly-expanding human sphere. It was stationed with the SLDF forces on Murchison and upgraded over the years as budgets allowed. The ship fell into the hands of the local government after Kerensky's Exodus, eventually being used as an escape vessel for slaves fleeing one of the planetary factions in 2876. The ship was used as a military base and governmental offices for the next century and a half until being stolen by the Northwind Irregulars in January of 3028. 






Owner: Northwind Irregulars
Ship Name: T.A.S. Freedom
Color Scheme: Dingy white and grey

Tonnage: 3500
Weight Class: Medium Spheroid
Crew: 16
Mech Compliment: 12
Fighter Compliment: 2

Cruise Speed: 3 (540 kph in atmosphere)
Overthrust Speed: 5 (900 kph in atmosphere)
Airframe Structural Integrity: 11
Flight Acceleration: 7.36 m/sec2
Maximum Acceleration: 32.7 m/sec2
Fuel sufficient for 74.1 burn-days

Maximum Heat Build-up: 148 units/10 sec
Standard Heat Dissipation: 90 units/10 sec
Maximim Heat Dissipation (submerged): 96 units/10 sec

Weapons Load-out:

  Type         Location
----------------------------
PPC               Nose
AC/5              Nose
AC/5              Nose
LRM-20            Nose
LRM-20            Nose
M Laser           Nose
M Laser           Nose
PPC               L Side
AC/5              L Side
AC/5              L Side
LRM-20            L Side
LRM-20            L Side
L Laser           L Side
M Laser           L Side
M Laser           L Side
PPC               R Side
AC/5              R Side
AC/5              R Side
LRM-20            R Side
LRM-20            R Side
L Laser           R Side
M Laser           R Side
M Laser           R Side
L Laser           L Rear Side
M Laser           L Rear Side
M Laser           L Rear Side
L Laser           R Rear Side
M Laser           R Rear Side
M Laser           R Rear Side
L Laser           Aft
M Laser           Aft
M Laser           Aft



Ammunition on-board:
---------------------
9 tons LRM-20  (54 launches, 1080 missiles total)
12 tons AC/5  (240 shots total)




Armor and Structure Layout: (40 tons armor)
--------------------------------------------

              External 

Nose            140
L/R Sides       140 
Fuselage        160
Engine           60

Source: ComStar Intelligence Summary FB-60 (c. 3027)
External view, Union-Class Dropship
Source: ComStar Operations Manual 1619 (Dropships and Jumpships)
Internal view, Union-Class Dropship

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Last Updated: 12/8/00
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