Royal Manticoran Navy
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The Royal Manticoran Navy (abbreviated RMN) is a fictional space navy in the Honorverse, a long-running series of novels and stories written by David Weber and published by Baen Books.
The RMN is the navy of the small but wealthy commercial power, the Star Kingdom of Manticore, an interstellar power with striking resemblances to the United Kingdom. The RMN itself is a thinly-disguised copy of the United Kingdom's Age of Sail-era Royal Navy. Many parallels can be drawn from Honor Harrington to CS Forester's Horatio Hornblower series.
The Royal Manticoran Navy traces its origins to the early days of the Manticore Colony. The original colonists had left a considerable amount of money on Earth to guard its interests before they arrived at Manticore (a voyage that took seven centuries). Amongst other things, with the invention of safe hyper travel (which reduced the journey time to months rather than centuries) the Manticore Colony Trust used this money and the accrued interest to acquire four small frigates which were dispatched to protect the system from claim jumpers; when the colony ship Jason arrived these formed the start of the Manticorian Navy. For the next decades the Manticoran System Navy remained a small system defense fleet. Under the command of Commodore Edward Saganami, the RMN became a force to be reckoned with, and the following discovery of the Manticore Wormhole Junction changed the RMN, as the fleet expanded to protect Manticore's growing merchant marine. As the threat of the People's Republic of Haven loomed, King Roger III and Prime Minister Allen Summervale began a naval buildup program which placed the RMN as one of the largest fleets in human space.
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[edit] Command Structure
The King or Queen of Manticore is the Commander-in-Chief of the Manticoran armed forces.
- First Lord of the Admiralty - The civilian head of the Royal Manticoran Navy is known as the First Lord of Admiralty, who handles the overall coordination of naval policy as directed by the Cabinet.
- Second Lord of the Admiralty - Another civilian official, the Second Lord of Admiralty, is responsible for the budgetary and fiscal management of the RMN.
- Third Lord of the Admiralty - The Third Lord of Admiralty is concerned with health and manpower.
Below the Lords of Admiralty are the Space Lords, the senior uniformed officers in the RMN. Each Space Lord handles a specific branch, or bureau, of the RMN:
- First Space Lord: The senior active-duty officer in the Royal Manticoran Navy, responsible for overall strategic direction, force structure management and deployment.
- Second Space Lord: Handles operational and tactical planning and is the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Heads the Bureau of Planning (BuPlan)
- Third Space Lord: Oversees construction and maintenance of warships in accordance with directions from the Second Lord of Admiralty. Heads the Bureau of Ships (BuShips)
- Fourth Space Lord: Responsible for research and development of new systems for the Navy. Heads the Bureau of Weapons (BuWeaps)
- Fifth Space Lord: Manages recruitment and manpower, and oversees transfers and placement of naval personnel. Heads the Bureau of Personnel (BuPers)
- Sixth Space Lord: Responsible for the training and education of Manticoran naval personnel in accordance with the Third Lord of Admiralty and the Fifth Space Lord. Heads the Bureau of Training (BuTrain)
- Seventh Space Lord: In charge of the health and medical treatment of all Fleet personnel, and administers Naval Hospitals. Heads the Medical Bureau (BuMed)
[edit] Ranks
Flag Officers
| Rank Code | Rank | Sleeve Insignia | Collar Insignia |
|---|---|---|---|
| OF-10 | Admiral of the Fleet |  |
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| OF-10 | Fleet Admiral |  |
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| OF-9 | Admiral (of the Green) |  |
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| OF-8 | Vice Admiral (of the Red) |  |
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| OF-7 | Rear Admiral (of the Green) |  |
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| OF-6 | Commodore |  |
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Flag officers of Rear Admiral or higher are "of the Red" or "of the Green" (for example, "Rear Admiral of the Red Mark Sarnow" or "Admiral of the Green Hamish Alexander"), indicating seniority. Being a flag officer of the Red indicates recent promotion to the rank, while the Green is the senior division. The rank of Commodore is excluded from this system.
Historically the RMN was divided into 'Manticore' (Green) and 'Gryphon' (Red) squadrons. This is retained in that the senior half of each flag rank is in the Green division and flies a green flag. The junior half flies a red flag. Commodores have black broad pennants (swallowtailed) as they are not properly flag officers. Fleet Admirals and the Admiral of the Fleet are not split in this way either.
Commissioned Officers
| Rank Code | Rank | Sleeve Insignia | Collar Insignia |
|---|---|---|---|
| OF-5 | Captain (Senior Grade) |  |
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| OF-5 | Captain (Junior Grade) | |
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| OF-4 | Commander |  |
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| OF-3 | Lieutenant Commander |  |
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| OF-2 | Lieutenant (Senior Grade) |  |
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| OF-1 | Lieutenant (Junior Grade) |  |
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| OF-1 | Ensign |  |
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The rank of Captain (Senior Grade) is also known as "Captain of the List", as they are on the official Captain's List, a list of every serving officer who has reached the rank of captain (SG), ranked in order of seniority which is determined by the date that an officer reaches the rank of Captain (SG). Once a Captain of the List, an officer is guaranteed promotion to the rank of Admiral as they gain seniority.
Warrant Officers
| Rank Code | Rank | Sleeve Insignia | Collar Insignia |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO-5 | Master Chief Warrant Officer (Artificer) |  |
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| WO-4 | Senior Chief Warrant Officer (Electrician) |  |
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| WO-3 | Chief Warrant Officer (Machinist) |  |
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| WO-2 | Warrant Officer 1st Class (Damage Control Specialist) |  |
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| WO-1 | Warrant Officer 2nd Class (Legal Specialist) |  |
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Non-commissioned Officers
| Rank Code | Rank | Sleeve Insignia |
|---|---|---|
| OR-9 | Senior Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy |  |
| OR-9 | Senior Master Chief Petty Officer (Boatswain's Mate) |  |
| OR-9 | Master Chief Petty Officer (Builder) |  |
| OR-8 | Senior Chief Petty Officer (Communications Technician) |  |
| OR-7 | Chief Petty Officer (Legal Specialist) |  |
| OR-6 | Petty Officer First Class (Missile Technician) |  |
| OR-5 | Petty Officer Second Class (Navy Counselor) |  |
| OR-4 | Petty Officer Third Class (Operations Specialist) |  |
Enlisted Personnel
| Rank Code | Rank | Sleeve Insignia |
|---|---|---|
| OR-3 | First Class |  |
| OR-2 | Second Class |  |
| OR-1 | Third Class |  |
(The NATO standard ranking system has been applied as used in the Military Rank articles. OF=Officer, OR=Other Ranks.)
The RMN has "Warrant Officers"; these are non-commissioned officers who have been promoted but not given a commission. In terms of seniority their ranks are equivalent from Lieutenant (JG) to Commander, but they are not in the chain of command. A Warrant Officer would then occupy a specialist position normally held by an officer, such as in engineering.
Midshipmen follow the Royal Navy pattern, to a point. They do not fill the role of Ensign; otherwise they are nearly identical, to the point of being some form of Warrant Officer.
Historical Basis
This rank structure is clearly based on the old Royal Navy. The distinction between senior and junior-grade Captains is similar to RN captains historically wearing one epaulette if they had less than three years' seniority. Promotion to flag rank was on the basis of seniority on the Captain's List. The RN also split flag ranks into Blue, White and Red divisions (in ascending order) on the basis of seniority. See Admiral for an article dealing with this.
This is only based on history, and there are some differences, especially in the seniority rules. For example, in the RN of the day, Commodore was an appointment rather than a rank, and was conferred on Captains lacking the seniority for promotion to flag rank. In the RMN, Commodore is a substantive rank, and the promotion any Captain of the List is guaranteed if they live long enough. Alice Truman was jumped directly from Captain of the List to Rear Admiral, while Honor Harrington was promoted from Commodore to full Admiral in the RMN.
[edit] Technology
Like all navies in the Honorverse, the RMN uses starships which are designed remarkably like Age of Sail men-of-war, with a moderate "chase" armament mounted in the bow and stern of the ship, and the main firepower of the ship concentrated in its broadsides. A typical broadside for a 300,000-ton light cruiser might contain several laser or graser (a gamma-ray laser lensed by artificial gravity) cannon and seven to ten missile tubes; a typical broadside for an 8,000,000-ton superdreadnought might have a dozen or more times as many weapons in raw numbers, each individual weapon mount also being much more powerful than the light cruiser's battery. Because of the nature of Honorverse propulsion, "fighters" are presumed to be unworkable; the smallest possible effective warship is the light attack craft (LAC), massing 20,000-30,000 tons (LACs cannot travel through hyperspace, however, they must be towed through it by tenders or carried in aircraft carrier-like ships called CLACs), and the smallest effective unit capable of interstellar travel is the destroyer, generally massing 150,000-200,000 tons.
There are also two major schools of tactical thought as regards technology in the RMN: the Traditionalists, led by Admiral of the Green Hamish Alexander, and the Jeune Ecole, led by Admiral of the Green Lady Sonja Hemphill. The principle difference seems to be that the Traditionalists are skeptical of the effect new technology can have on warfare (whose strategies have been basically stagnant for centuries as of the beginning of the series), while the Jeune Ecole tend to be excessively optimistic about the possibilities of new technology, often neglecting old methods of doing things simply bacause they are "outdated", without considering the reasons behind those methods. For example, in the events of On Basilisk Station, Admiral Hemphill put a Grav Lance (a short-ranged weapon capable of destroying a large part of a warship's passive defences) onboard the light cruiser HMS Fearless, while stripping it of virtually all of its offensive weaponry to make room for the massive weapon. When Fearless was later forced into combat unsupported, this lack of traditional offensive weaponry resulted in far higher damage to the ship than it would have suffered had it been traditionally equipped, due to its inability to fight effectively at anything but point-blank range. However, a large number of technologies championed by Hemphill have drastically altered the way wars are fought, most notably multi-drive missiles, pod-laying ships, improved electronic-warfare capabilities, and modernized LACs and LAC carriers.
Consistent with the Napoleonic-era theme, there are a number of modern technologies and innovations which are not present. On at least one occasion it is stated that the RMN build ships with only one radio room, thus making them excessively vulnerable to communications damage. Computer technology also seems antiquated, as on many occasions the only link between Control A and Equipment B is severed; indicating the RMN is unfamiliar with packet-switching technology or has chosen not to use it for some unexplained reason. Judging from how easily they are damaged, the radar sets fitted to RMN ships do not appear to be phased-array sets, which could be spread out over the entire hull and hence relatively invulnerable to anything but the most severe damage. Nuclear bombs and nuclear bomb-pumped lasers are never used in any application other than missiles and mines, despite many potential other applications. Naval task forces do not appear to routinely include significant numbers of fleet-tender vessels, which is common practice today, and thus can often run short of ammunition far more easily than would generally be desirable (for example, a SD(P) only has enough missile pods for roughly 40 minutes of full-fledged combat). It is possible that many of these gaps are due to the limits inherent in a fictional series (for example, it is possible that some of the aforementioned technologies *do* exist but have merely not been shown yet), however these differences between what would seem to be possible even with currently existent real-world technology and the technology of a massively advanced culture 2000 years in the future are surprising nonetheless. Further to this, there often seems a substantial gap between what the characters say is possible and what technology would imply is possible. An analogy could be made with pre-tank trench warfare, or pre-Pearl Harbor naval warfare. There were no fundamental rules that prevented the existence of the tank, or shallow water torpedo, but no one had built one yet. The author seems aware of this gap, and has on at least one occasion exploited it as a plot device.
At the same point, however, the fact that munition ships and colliers have not been explicitly mentioned in most of the novels does not imply that they are not there. In Shadow of Saganami, at the climax of the novel, a RMN munitions ship helps augment the firepower of the task force. It is most likely that such supply fleets are set up at uninhabited stars as covert supply dumps that the main fleet hyperspaces to when they are beginning to run low on supplies and munitions. As well, several battles that are featured in the novel are either lighting raids which hit a system and then run, or occur in systems that one side (frequently the RMN) already have some in-system installations, thus oblivating the need for a supply ship to be stationed. Even in such lightning raids, a collier can be left behind in deep space at a pre-designated rendezvous point while the combat ships carry on the last few light years to target. It also seems possible that the prevailance of stand-off weapons, such as the bomb-pumped laser warheads, and their rather indiscriminant targets, could make the presence of unarmed and unarmoured support ships to be detremental to fleet engagements. Lastly, the absence of supply ships may also be explained by the fact that the author, and thus the reader, may feel they do not bring enough interest to the story in most circumstances, and are thus omitted unless they are needed as a plot device.
[edit] Paradigm Shift
Prior to the Havanite Wars, the RMN's primary relied upon vessels with decent firepower (with their effectiveness increased by superior technology), large crews (better for redundancy and damage control), and large marine complements. However, as the Havanite wars went on, the fact that the Star Kingdom had a much smaller population base than the (People's) Republic of Haven did, they faced a severe bottleneck of manpower. As such, as the First Havenite War was coming to a close, they began to launch several new ship classes and types which made increased use of automation, reducing crew sizes by up to 85%, and making use of the new LAC's (light attack craft) for system defence instead of the more crew intensive destroyers.
[edit] RMN space ship classes and ships
The RMN has a "List of Honor". Ships whose crews distinguish themselves in combat may be placed on this list; the ship's name is then kept on active duty in perpetuity. Any time a ship with a name from that list is destroyed in combat or scrapped (due to obsolescence or damage too expensive to repair), a new vessel is commissioned with the same name. Ships on the List of Honor include HMS Nike, HMS Troubadour, and HMS Fearless.
Superdreadnoughts
- King William class - This class was sent to the breakers as part of the High Ridge government's naval cutbacks. Considering that the Samothrace-class HMS Hercules was still in service after this decision, it stands to reason that the King William's were and older class.
- HMS King William
- HMS King Roger
- HMS King Michael
- HMS Queen Caitrin
- Samothrace class - In service for over 50 T-years prior to the Second Havanite War. Considered obsolete and antiquated.
- HMS Samothrace
- HMS Hercules
- Manticore class
- HMS Manticore
- Sphinx class
- HMS Sphinx
- Gryphon class - The most powerful class of superdreadnaughts in use by the RMN prior to the First Havanite War. Armed with 54 Grasers, 46 X-Ray lasers, 12 energy torpedo launchers, and many missile launchers.
- HMS Gryphon
- Medusa class (formerly known as the Harrington class)- The Harrington class is a series of ships with the same design as the Medusa but deployed by Grayson. When it was believed that Honor Harrington was dead, as a sign of respect Manticore -following the lead of Grayson- decided to call their ships the Harrington class. When Honor Harrington was discovered to be alive, Manticore changed the class name back to Medusa. Manticore never deployed an HMS Honor Harrington. It should also be noted that Grayson never changed the class name back to Medusa, citing religious and managerial issues.
- HMS Medusa
- HMS Belisarius
- HMS Troubadour
- HMS Thunderer
- HMS Trevor's Star
- HMS Yeltsin's Star
- HMS Barnett
- HMS Hancock
- HMS King Roger III
- HMS Elizabeth I
- HMS Revenge
- HMS Regulus
- HMS Bellona
- HMS Marduk
- HMS Victorious
- HMS Warrior
- HMS Ellen D'Orville
- Invictus class - The Invictus-class SD(P)'s took the Pod-laying abilities of the Medusa/Harrington-class to the next level by effectively stripping out the entire broadside missile bays in favour of additional Missile pods and a larger energy battery.
- HMS Invictus
- HMS Intolerant
- HMS Intransigent
- HMS Imperator
- HMS Incomparable
- HMS Second Yeltsin
- Medusa-B class - The Medusa-B is, despite its name, a completely different ship than the original Medusa/Harrington-class vessel. Based on the same hull (and proposed as a modification of the existing Medusa-class in order to get the High Ridge government to approve it), it makes use of the most modern equipment in the RMN. It retains a token broadside missile capacity using off-bore missile capacity as opposed to the Invictus' complete removal. What makes it different is that its pod bay runs over 70% of its length as opposed to only 30% in previous SD(P)'s, sacrificing hull strength for increased firepower.
- Unidentified class — these ships were mentioned in a post by David Weber as forming part of Honor Harrington's fleet during the Second Battle of Marsh, see [1]
- HMS Horatius
- HMS Minerva
- HMS Romulus
- HMS Starcrest
- HMS Highlander
- HMS Prince Charles
- HMS Admiral D'Orville
- HMS Yawata
- HMS Winton
- HMS Duke of New Madrid
- HMS Prince Malachai
- HMS Duke Winter Mount
- HMS Prince Royal
- HMS Harrier
- HMS Conquest
- HMS Nicator
- HMS Kathryn Howard
- HMS Challenger
- HMS Revenge
- HMS Ibrahim
- HMS Defender
- HMS Morning Star
- HMS Excalibur
- HMS Macedonian
Dreadnoughts
- Majestic class
- HMS Majestic
- Bellerophon class
- HMS Bellerophon
- Unidentified class — these ships were mentioned in a post by David Weber as forming part of Honor Harrington's fleet during the Second Battle of Marsh, see [2]
- HMS Grendelsbane
- HMS Prince Nicholas
- HMS Scepter
- HMS Matador
- HMS Earl Sydon
- HMS Baroness Bellisle
LAC Carriers
- Minotaur class
- HMS Minotaur
- HMS Chimera
- HMS Cockatrice
- HMS Werewolf
- HMS Centaur
- HMS Incubus
- HMS Hydra
Battlecruisers
- Redoubtable class
- HMS Defiant
- HMS Invincible
- HMS Intolerant
- HMS Onslaught
- Homer class
- HMS Achilles
- HMS Agamemnon
- HMS Cassandra
- Reliant class
- HMS Alcibiades
- HMS Amphitrite
- HMS Achilles
- HMS Dauntless
- HMS Halsey
- HMS Indomitable
- HMS Ishtar
- HMS Lysander
- HMS Nike (BC-413 - Renamed Hancock Station)
- HMS Nelson
- HMS Reliant
- HMS Retaliation
- HMS Royalist
- HMS Truculent
- HMS Venom
- HMS Victory
- HMS Viper
- HMS Warspite
- HMS Xerxes
- Agamemnon class - The RMN's first BC(P) design, the Agamemnon's are designed as low-endurance strike ships. Because of the hollow-core needed to hold the missile pods, it is even more fragile than other ships in its weight class and it lacks the internal volume to stand up to any ship larger than itself for any length of time (though its first volly would be devestating).
- HMS Achilles
- HMS Agamemnon
- HMS Ajax
- HMS Hector
- HMS Patrocles
- HMS Priam
- Nike class - A class of "large" battle cruisers armed with no lasers, 32 grasers (8 as chase weapons), 50 missile tubes (all in the broadsides). Designed to be "generalist" vessels, these vessels are heavily armoured to stand up to the modern missiles in use at the time of their launching. While its crew size has been lowered (via automation), its marine complement remains at standard pre-automation Battle Cruiser strength.
- HMS Nike (BC-562)
- Unidentified class — these ships were mentioned in a post by David Weber as forming part of Honor Harrington's fleet during the Second Battle of Marsh, see [3], or have been named in published Honorverse works but not identified by class.
- HMS Repulse
- HMS Athena
- HMS Atropos
- HMS Victorious
- HMS Vengeance
- HMS Valiant
- HMS Relentless
- HMS Mars
- HMS Shiva
- HMS Triumphant
- HMS Glory
- HMS Furious
- HMS Dresden
- HMS Ishtar
- HMS Hecate
- HMS Implacable
- HMS Champion
- HMS Hector
- HMS Braveheart
Heavy Cruisers
- Crusader class
- HMS Alexius
- HMS Crusader
- HMS Eleanor
- HMS Frederick
- HMS Iberiana
- HMS LaFroye
- HMS Philip
- HMS Richard
- HMS Tancred
- Prince Consort class
- HMS Prince Adrian
- HMS Prince Justin
- HMS Prince Michael
- HMS Prince Roger
- HMS Prince Stephen
- HMS Prince Harold
- HMS Princess Adrienne
- HMS Princess Angelique
- HMS Princess Aoriana
- HMS Princess Caitrin
- HMS Princess Joanna
- HMS Princess Michelle
- HMS Princess Samantha
- HMS Princess Solange
- Star Knight class
- HMS Alchemist
- HMS Cantrip
- HMS Circe
- HMS Conjurer
- HMS Druidess
- HMS Enchanter (Destroyed)
- HMS Fearless (CA-218)
- HMS Magician
- HMS Magus
- HMS Merlin
- HMS Necromancer
- HMS Oracle
- HMS Runebearer
- HMS Santander
- HMS Seeress
- HMS Shaman
- HMS Sorcerer
- HMS Star Knight (Destroyed)
- HMS Star Ranger (Destroyed)
- HMS Thaumaturge
- HMS Warlock (Scrapped)
- HMS Vigilant
- Edward Saganami class
- HMS Edward Saganami
- HMS Jessica Epps
- Edward Saganami B class
- HMS Gauntlet
- Edward Saganami C class
- HMS Hexapuma
Light Cruisers
- Courageous class (obsolete)
- HMS Audacious
- HMS Courageous
- HMS Defiant
- HMS Fearless (CL-56 - Scrapped)
- HMS Gallant
- HMS Intransigent
- HMS Resolute
- HMS Valiant
- Apollo class
- HMS Apollo
- HMS Agni
- HMS Amaterasu
- HMS Anubis
- HMS Aphordite
- HMS Apollo
- HMS Ares
- HMS Adonai
- HMS Arethusa
- HMS Athena
- HMS Chiron
- HMS Hera
- HMS Hermes
- HMS Isis
- HMS Leto
- HMS Perseus
- HMS Poseidon
- HMS Thetis
- HMS Xanthus
- Avalon class - The most advanced and newest Light Cruiser class in service by the RMN. Equipped with the newest missile launchers, allowing off-bore firing (ie: can fire both broadsides at targets in front of it simultaneously).
- HMS Aegis
Destroyers
- Falcon class (obsolete)
- HMS Condor
- HMS Falcon
- HMS Goshawk
- HMS Harrier
- HMS Hawk
- HMS Hawkwing
- HMS Kestrel
- HMS Kingfisher
- HMS Kite
- HMS Linnet
- HMS Merlin
- HMS Nighthawk
- HMS Peregrine
- HMS Shrike
- Linnet class
- HMS Linnet
- Chanson class
- HMS Aria
- HMS Balladeer
- HMS Bard
- HMS Canticle
- HMS Chanson
- HMS Choralist
- HMS Glorioso
- HMS Madrigal
- HMS Minstrel
- HMS Nightengale
- HMS Oracle
- HMS Plain Song
- HMS Rondeau
- HMS Seranader
- HMS Troubadour
- HMS Vixen
- HMS Windsong
- HMS Rondeau
- Roland class - Designed during the First Havanite War, the Roland was the winner of two classes proposed to the High Ridge government (the other being a standard, old-style destroyer). Using the new off-bore missiles as the Avalon- and Saganami-C-class vessels, the Roland out masses many Light Cruiser (being twice the mass of the older Chanson-class DD).
- HMS Roland
- Unknown class destroyers
- HMS Arrowhead (class unknown)
Royal Yachts
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- HMS Queen Adrianne
- HMS Duke of Cromarty
Museum Ships
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- HMS Unconquered
[edit] RMN space ship classes and ships released as part of the Saganami Island Tactical Simulator
In addition to the cannon ships of the RMN, the SITS game will soon release statistics for several other ship classes which have not been mentioned in the novels:
Heavy Cruisers
- Broadsword-class
Light Cruiser
- Illustrious-class
Destroyers
- Culverin-class
- Havoc-class
Light Attack Craft (pre-1904 PD)
- Highlander-class
