Dawn of Mechanization

Chapter 2

January 1st, 1900
Marnesse, United Provinces of Sartoma

Marnesse was the biggest city along the United Province's eastern coast. Serving as the largest trade hub with it's overseas partners. Commercial merchant vessels would come in and out, exporting and importing various goods across the world.

This would normally be the case, but today the harbor was rather more quiet than it typically was. Oddly enough, no foreign merchant vessels were steaming into port on a natural basis. Neither were any contracted vessels coming in on schedule which was starting to worry the harbor master who ran the entire port.

However, then came reports of an unknown disturbance that resulted in the cease of ships preparing to leave their harbor, and for all at sea vessels to return immediately.

In response to this, the Navy was called up to assist and help locate any lost ships still yet to return. Several vessels scheduled for dry dock were rescheduled at another date to remain active a while longer before they could under go maintenance. One fully operational fleet was currently active along the coast consisting of a single aircraft carrier, two battleships, four heavy cruisers, two light carriers, four light cruisers, and six destroyers.

The United Provinces Navy was prideful of itself, having been established as the largest navy of Kephsie. In total, the entire armada consisted of twenty two aircraft carriers, forty eight battleships, four super battleships, sixty three large cruisers, eighty heavy cruisers, forty light carriers, one hundred light cruisers, five hundred destroyers, two hundred submarines, and thousands of amphibious, auxiliary, and support ships in active service, while a reserve fleet of older ships were mothballed and available for reactivation in the event the navy needed more ships in a time frame they couldn't have enough built. Tangling with a fully armed fleet was considered suicide by all their allies and adversaries.

The Hauffe class carriers were the most important part of the navy. No fleet was ever complete without one. Coming in at a length of over three hundred meters, a beam of forty meters, a draft of ten meters, and a displacement of forty thousand tons, this massive flat decked vessel was powered by eight naval diesel engines capable of providing a total of two hundred and forty thousand horsepower through four propellers to achieve a top speed of thirty five knots. The ship was armed with sixteen quadruple 40mm AA guns and forty six double 20mm AA guns for self defense against aircraft. For launching aircraft, the carrier relied on three steam catapults with one being set up on a diagonal runway facing port and the other two facing the fore on the bow.

The Jemcaster class battleship was a staple in the navy's dominance over the seas and other navies across the world. A true projection of power and gun boat diplomacy. Coming in at a length of over two hundred and eighty meters, a beam of forty meters, a draft of ten meters, and a displacement of sixty thousand tons, the ship relied on the same powerplant used by the Hauffe class carrier powering four propellers to achieve a top speed of thirty five knots. The primary armament consisted of four triple 432mm guns, with a secondary armament of fourteen twin 152mm guns. Air defenses consisted of twenty quad 40mm AA guns and thirty twin 20mm AA guns. At the aft of the ship was two rotating catapult systems used for launching seaplanes for scouting.

The Venator class large cruiser was designed as a reliable packing a lot of firepower. When battleships were unavailable, this large cruiser could still get the job done. Coming in at a length of two hundred and fifty meters, a beam of thirty meters, a draft of nine meters, and a displacement of thirty thousand tons, the ship was powered by six naval diesel engines providing a total of one hundred and eighty thousand horsepower through four propellers to achieve a top speed of thirty five knots. The primary armament consisted of five triple 254mm guns, with a secondary armament of ten twin 152mm guns. Air defenses consisted of sixteen quad 40mm AA guns and eighteen twin 20mm AA guns.