GUNBOATS  WITHIN  THE  TFN

   When the first Arachnid gunboat was spotted by Terran Federation Navy (TFN) units in the Justin System in September 2361, it came as severe shock to the humans, who had never dreamed of a small craft that could transit the destructive eddies of a standard warp point. After the initial shock the TFN began a crash course in gunboat development, fielding thousands of such craft during the Fourth Interstellar War. Unfortunately, most human admirals were not impressed by the abilities of the gunboat, probably because they had to be held on the outside of a standard warships hull and replacing important XO missiles like the EDM and ADM with their bulk. The Terran Federations' slow embrace of gunboats is a direct result of a bias against small craft within the TFN versus traditional warships and they were not adopted in a substantial way until the brutal fighting of the 2nd Arachnid War (the limited warp points available to the TFN to attack forced the deployment of many new gunboats types). As the war raged, the Federation Navy still had an aversion to the gunboat and refused to build many gunboats or gunboat tenders, but the representatives from the Reformation Group forced the issue in the Chamber of Worlds on Terra in 2451. After the fierce political fight ended, six classes of warships were built by the TFN to sustain gunboat combat: the Cormorant II (an updated BC-class tender/collier), the Asgard (a BC-class tender equipped with 15 large boat bays and twenty-five gunboats), the Huey (a DD-class tender with three large boat bays equipped to handle the large TFN gunboats), the Chu Chi-class DD (a primary escort for the TFNs’ Fleet Train), the Gearing-class DD (a battleline scout carrying two squads of  gunboats), and the Sarawak-class DD (a planetary defense vessel capable of ferrying nearly three squads of gunboats to isolated locations). 
   While the TFN regularly adopted large numbers of XOg on their battleline hulls to sustain more gunboat sorties, the planets of the Reformation Group (who faced the brunt of the fighting) fielded large numbers of planetary gunboats to defend their worlds, typically because of the low population density of the Group prohibited sustainment of large-scale warship deployments. Later after the “Insurrection” ended the newly formed Pan-Sentient Union had a different view of gunboats, a more favorable one. After new designs were fielded in the Orion and Gorm half of the PSU, with both of these powers regularly adding gunboats to their new warship construction. This lead to an imbalance of gunboat support in the PSU battleline since the Terran portion of the PSU did adopt them on a large scale. Since the creation of the Pan-Sentient Union, gunboat production (especially the Hellraiser and Bort-classes) has traditionally grown exponentially and will continue this trend for the foreseeable future. 
   Gunboat wings listed below are a few of the more famous squadrons within the Terran Federation. Each wing is listed by name as well as the world in which they are primarily drawn from or stationed upon. All standard TFN Wings equal 132 craft, or 33 ‘regular’ squadrons.

1st Gunboat Wing (Sarasota): Nicknamed “the First Ones”, the 1st Premier Wing was built during the Fourth Interstellar War and proved extremely useful for Admiral Murakama, served a total of 2,055 days in combat before the war ended. It was initially a WP-probing squadron made up of 72 gunboats that were also tasked as battleline support units. The Federation Navy had reluctantly formed  the 1st Wing to test the use of gunboats in combat. After significantly proving their worth, the Wing was expanded. However, this created some problems since the Navy had a continual shortage of gunboat pilots and Navy personnel trained to operate with the small craft. The 1st Gunboat Wing was a new kind of combat formation and was expected to be a big deal for the Navy, thus the decision to send the entire Wing into combat during Operation Pesthouse where they suffered horrific losses. The Wing won major battles in Anderson 5, Home Hive III, and Orpheus 2 and fought continually until the war ended. It was placed into reserve at the end of ISW4 and reactivated during the Second Arachnid War and the Armageddon War. The entire unit was virtually destroyed in the defense of the Centauris System when the Hre'Daak moved through the system to Terra.

5th Gunboat Wing (New Jerusalem): A veteran of both Arachnid Wars, the 5th Wing sent its’ first gunboats into action in Operation Pesthouse in March of 2363. During that conflict the Wing sent some of its’ gunboats to the rear to protect Admiral Chins’ convoy but they were slaughtered early on in that battle. Nearly the entire 5th Gunboat Wing was destroyed during Operation Pesthouse, with only 7 total gunboats surviving the return to Proxima Centauris. The Wing regrouped after Pesthouse and fought at the Centauris WP but it was badly battered and fell back to Terranova for repairs and upgrading. It was reactivated during the Second Arachnid War and fought in the Battle for New Jerusalem, also seeing major action during the Dueteronomy Raid. From early on the gunboat squadron was organized in a similar fashion to traditional TFN fighter squadrons, using ground personnel and NCOs in the same way on the ground and aboard ship, the main difference being significantly more down time to rearm a gunboat. The Wing was later equipped with pinnace support and assault shuttle backup when engaged in planetary assault. It was finally stationed in the Noah Trinary System and sustained nearly 100% fatalities at the defense of Esteel during the Armageddon War. 

9th Gunboat Wing (Terranova): The 9th Gunboat Wing was raised during the Fourth Interstellar War and it was rather hastily dispatched to Justin during a Bug raid, arriving just in time to weakly stop the offensive (properly training a new smallcraft wing generally takes about a year) and remained there for 113 days. While stationed at Anderson 5, it was upgraded with new crews and ships, becoming a unique “trilateral unit”. One portion of the Wing operated in space (primarily on floating barges built specifically for their use) as a planetary defense force; one portion was a traditional gunboat wing; and the third was composed of two space assault sections designed to land two full Marine regiments. The Wing was disbanded after ISW4 but was reactivated during the 2nd Arachnid War and received the new Hardtack-class gunboats. The 9th fought in that war successfully and was again disbanded a year after that conflict ended. The unit was rather hastily returned to service in the face of the Hre’Daak threat and was equipped with the new Hellraiser-class gunboats. Unfortunately, the 9th participated in the retreat down the Beijing Chain during the Armageddon War and was wiped out to a man at Balthasar’s World when the Hre'Daak novabombed the system. 

23rd Gunboat Wing (Novaya Omsk): Built during the Fourth Interstellar War, the 23rd Gunboat Wing was never properly organized as a Wing and never developed that unit spirit that characterized some of the other Wings during that conflict. Having its’ veteran pilots being constantly stripped for front-line use made the Wing suffer from poor leadership and low morale. Troops from the 23rd perpetrated the Bylaren Massacre. The 23rd was permanently disbanded after ISW4 and was never reformed. 

61st Gunboat Wing (Rosario): This unit has made an illustrious career for itself since its formation. Initially a TFN unit, the 61st fought valiantly during ISW4 and was placed in reserve after that conflict ended. During the Terran Insurrection, the 61st became a Reformer unit when the Terran Civil War wound down and later saw extensive service in the Second Arachnid War. It has been on continuous active duty since. Although their were some proposals to send the Wing to the Fringe, by mid-2453 the Reformation strategic reserve (forces available for immediate deployment in emergencies) was growing pretty slender, and the 61st was the best of the remaining units, so it was decided to retain the Wing in the core of the Reformation area. However, in the aftermath of the Biomechphilist Offensive, the entire Wing was sent forward to Rodessa. It took less than a month for the Wing to get from its’ base on Rosario to a combat zone in the Quantico Chain. The Wing served well in the conflict, generally as a fire brigade, going where the need was greatest, and it operated mainly from Akwaterra was well as points between. The unit was disbanded after the conflict but rapidly reactivated during the crisis in the Reformation Group that eventually sparked the Armageddon War. 

87th Gunboat Wing (Himalaya): This unit was a Corporate World Wing, funded by the neighboring moneyed worlds in the Himalaya Chain. Much more than a Wing, this unit was formed in mid-2362 and became the headquarters for nearly all TFN gunboat training. By late 2364 the 87th had more pilots assigned to it than any other gunboat Wing but more important, it had over 400 gunboats assigned. About 250 of these were first generation Hot-class gunboats, the rest were Heathen-class, and included over 50 pinnances, 80 assault shuttles, and 30 small cargo craft. The 87th remained on active duty for almost 80 years, seeing various wars and conflicts come and go and creating the gunboat pilots for those varied conflicts. This unit trained nearly twenty gunboat Wings during the Armageddon War but never saw any action of its own during that conflict. 

101st Gunboat Wing (Christophon): Built in the Fringe area of the Terran Federation during ISW4, the 101st has been one of the premier combat units of the TFN. By the end of the first year of its formation, the unit had still not received some of its heavy equipment, including 40% of its gunboats and the Wing initially suffered from the same handicaps that plagued the other gunboat Wings of the Federation, poor training and a lack of a sound cadre. Unlike some of the other TFN Wings however, some good officers succeeded in turning it into a first-class combat unit, and it proved particularly effective in the defense of the Reformation planet Justin in 2362. Extremely well trained, well led, it had very high morale during the war. The 87th actually holds the record for the longest continuous service under fire of any TFN unit ever. Towards the end of that conflict the Wing was very heavily armed, with over 200 combat gunboats under its command. Because of all these craft, the 101st was frequently split into smaller units to provide escorts of WP-clearing forces. After the war the unit was disbanded but it was continually brought back into service during the TFNs various conflicts until the Armageddon War, where nearly the entire Wing was obliterated in the Battle of Red Rocks. 

123rd Gunboat Wing (Jennings): Originally a TFN unit during the Fourth Interstellar War, the 123rd became an important element of the newly forming Reformation Group strategic defense reserve after the war ended. Although the 123rd had originally remained a TFN reserve command unit after ISW4, it sided with the rebels and served with honor during the Reformation Groups’ break away from the Terran Federation in 2438. Reformed under the Reformation Group banner, the 123rd  initially deployed as a full Wing during the Second Arachnid War but the significant drain of highly qualified pilots to other Wings (including the pressures of expanding the Reformation military and sustaining combat losses of gunboats already in action) severely reduced the available pool of gunboat-trained personnel. In 2453 more gunboats were provided, some other changes made, and the 123rd converted to a forward assault Wing by the summer of that year. Using its’ newfound mobility, the Wing operated all over the Reformation Group and down the Quantico Chain. The Wing remained on active duty and trained numerous gunboat pilots during the Second Arachnid War and finally the Armageddon War. Substantial numbers of 123rd’s  gunboats participated in the defense of the Corporate World Esteel, which was at the time a major Reformer trading partner which found itself on the front lines during the Armageddon War. 

ISW4  Loss  Rates
Year		# Built		Combat	Non-Combat	
				Losses	Losses	
2360		0		0		0		
2361		0		0		0		
2362		2,341		790		55		
2363		4,555		1,066		78		
2364		6,022		2,244		91		
2365		8,057		2,112		134		
2366		6,331		3,075		112		
2367		6,102		1,078		98		
2368		4,789		1,650		15		
2369		2,109		891		67		
2370		1,886		779				

(PLACE PICTURE HERE)

Hot-class: First designed and built at Galloway’s World in the Terran Federation, the Hot-class gunboat was a significant breakthrough in small craft engineering. Researchers and design specialists fielded the first gunboats in record time, just in time for the Battle of Third Kliean. With over 2,000 of this class was produced during the war, gunboats played an early and vital role in anti-shipping strikes and battleline defense during ISW4. The Gorm developed a mirror class of this vessel, the Bormyr-class and used them to good effect during the conflict. A Hot-class gunboat has a combat rating of 8% and weighs in at 300 tons. (GB1, 6 bbp, tac speed 9, cost 100).  

Heathen-class: A alternate weapons set-up and enhanced engine is the only marked difference between the Hot and Heathen-class, both a TFN production. Most Heathen’s were built at Galloway’s World under the Mitchell Contract of 2363. CR---12% GB1 is 300 tons (6 bbp), tac speed 9, cost 100. 

Healot-class:  CR---30% GB2 is 350 tons (7 bbp), tac speed 10, cost 120, mainly built at planet Kawasaki.

Hellion-class:  CR---33% GB2 is 350 tons (7 bbp), tac speed 10, cost 120, mainly built at planet Dahlgren and Galloway's World.

Hardtack-class: Planet-based.... CR---47% GB2 is 350 tons (7 bbp), tac speed 10, cost 120, built mainly at planet Mindanao. 
  
Hellraiser-class: Latest in class of gunboats, heavily armed, with substantial defenses....a thick jacket of super-dense armor enables. CR is 67%   GB3 is 400 tons (8 bbp), tac speed 11, cost 150, mainly built at planet Kawasaki.

*Note: Gunboats built mainly at Kawasaki, Dahlgren, Mindanoa, and Galloway’s World.

**All gunboat “Combat Ratings” are for a single gunboat squadron versus a single TL15 PSU battlecruiser. A Gunboat CR is based upon several factors: number and type of weapons carried, defensive suite, speed, and targeting capabilities. 

*Fighters are 50 tons (one bbp is 50 tons….so gunboats vary in weight). 

GUNBOAT TIMELINE
2361: First Arachnid gunboats spotted
2362: Initial TFN gunboats in service
2362: First Gorm gunboats used in combat
2363: Heathen-class GB deployed
2367: Healot-class GB built
2377: Grysmyr-class GB fielded (Khanate)
2438: Terran Civil war begins
2440: Hardtack-class GB developed
2444: Bort-class GB built (Khanate)
2452: GB waves used in Second Arachnid War
2459: Automated Biomech GB encountered (ramships)
2460: Hellraiser-class GB constructed
2464: Armageddon War begins