Editing Able-class heavy destroyer

|name            = Heavy destroyer

|image          =  

|class identification =  

|class operator      = [[UNSC Navy]]{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

|class manufacturer  =  

|class in service    = Prior to [[2499]]{{Ref/Note|Id=Hilly|{{UNSCShip|Gorgon}} is identified in ''The Impossible Life and Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'' as the "''first heavy-destroyer-class vessel armed with a magnetic accelerator cannon''". The {{Class|Hillsborough|heavy destroyer}} entered into [[CMA Navy|CMA naval]] service equipped with a MAC in 2499, meaning that this destroyer class must have been in service prior.}} - at least around [[2535]]{{Ref/Note|''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' (2010 edition), chapter 15, mentions that [[William Lovell]] joined up in the UNSC Navy shortly following the [[Harvest campaign]] in [[2531]], before proceeding to serve aboard the ''Gorgon'' for four years.}}

|type            = [[UNSC destroyer|Heavy destroyer]]{{Ref/Anthology|Id=Cole5|Evo|The Impossible Life and Possible Death of Preston J. Cole|Section=5}}

|length          =  

|mass            =  

|slipspace drive = [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]]

*[[UNSC Navy]] personnel

|troops          =  

*[[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]]{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

|aircraft        = At least [[seven]] [[Pelican]] dropships{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

|air facilities  =  

This '''unnamed heavy destroyer''' is a classification of [[UNSC destroyer|heavy destroyer]] in the service of the [[UNSC Navy]].{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

The heavy destroyer's [[bridge]] is designed with a raised platform in the centre, housing a padded chair for the ship's captain to sit in. The bridge crew stations surround this platform. The ship is capable of supporting an on-board [[artificial intelligence]].{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

The unnamed heavy destroyer class stocks at least eight [[Archer missile]] silos, alongside a complement of [[M810 Helix point defense gun|Helix]] point-defence guns for close-in defence. Perhaps the most notable feature on the ship is the introduction of the [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]]: while various classes of [[UNSC carrier|carrier]] had carried shipborne MACs since at least the 2470s,{{Ref/Book|Enc22|Page=127}} with [[cruiser]]s and [[UNSC corvette|corvettes]] employing them at least by the 2490s,{{Ref/Book|Enc22|Page=118}}{{Ref/Book|Enc22|Page=128}} these ships were the first heavy destroyers to begin employing the weapons. {{UNSCShip|Gorgon}} became the first heavy destroyer to mount a MAC system during the 2490s,{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}} with the [[CMA Navy]] counterpart {{Class|Hillsborough|heavy destroyer}}s later coming in [[2499]].{{Ref/Book|Enc22|Page=125}}

The MAC on the ''Gorgon'' had an extremely limited ammunition pool, when compared to later vessels. The ''Gorgon''{{'}}s cannon was only capable of stocking and firing three MAC shells,{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}} possibly indicating the MAC to be an "outrigger" MAC system similar to those found on the {{Class|Diligence|light destroyer}} refits. Alternatively, the ''Gorgon'' was noted to have engaged in two battles in the prior seventy-two hours, meaning the ship may have simply been requiring a resupply at the time of its engagement with the ''Bellicose''.

*{{UNSCShip|Gorgon}}

These heavy destroyers entered service some time prior to [[2499]],{{Ref/NoteReuse|Hilly}} and became the first heavy destroyer classification to be equipped with a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon - beginning with {{UNSCShip|Gorgon}}, captained by [[Captain (NAVCOM)|Captain]] [[Preston Cole]]. Cole took up captainship of the ''Gorgon'' in around 2499, after five years of captaining a [[UNSC corvette|corvette]] following the [[Callisto Incident|''Callisto'' Incident]] in [[2494]]. While commanding the vessel, Cole led a mostly-successful counterinsurgency campaign against the [[Insurrection]], with the notable exception of the ''[[Bellicose]]'' - a stolen [[UNSC frigate]] which came into conflict with the ''Gorgon'' and was able to escape numerous times. By [[2503]], Cole was removed from command of the ''Gorgon'' due to the unveiling of his relationship with [[Lyrenne Castilla]] - an [[Insurrectionist]] leader and captain of the ''Bellicose'' who had used her relationship with the Captain to feed information to the rebellion, including details on the ''Gorgon''{{'}}s MAC. On [[2504#January|January 2, 2504]], [[Battle Group Tango]], comprised of four heavy destroyers, were believed to successfully hunt down and destroy the ''Bellicose'' - albeit at the cost of heavy damage to two vessels of the [[battle group]].{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

Ships of the heavy destroyer class remained active well into the [[Human-Covenant War]]. The ''Gorgon'' was one of many vessels retained under the command of now-[[Vice Admiral]] Cole following his victory in the [[Harvest campaign]] in [[2531]]. For at least five years throughout the 2530s, the ''Gorgon'' accompanied Cole's fleet during the [[Massacre of the Outer Colonies]] successfully.{{Ref/Novel|HTFoR|Chapter=15}}

 

[[Category:Destroyer classes|Heavy destroyer]]

[[Category:UNSC ship classes|Heavy destroyer]]