Canon

UNSC carrier

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Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series screenshot
UNSC Atlas, a UNSC heavy carrier near the yellow dwarf star Lambda Serpentis.

Carrier is a capital warship classification used by the UNSC Navy.[1] It is used for transport and deployment of fighters and ground troops and command and control[1]

Overview

UNSC carriers range from light warships to among the largest ships in service. The smallest light carriers can be lower than a kilometer from stem to stern, smaller than a cruiser,[2] while the largest carriers are multiple kilometers long.[3] Most carriers are crewed by hundreds to thousands and can carry numerous space, air, and ground vehicles.[3][4] Befitting their role, their primary asset is a large number of space fighters or dropships.[4]

Armament

Despite their size, UNSC carriers depend on their fighter wings for offense, though the heavy carriers are often equipped with at least one Magnetic Accelerator Cannon. Carriers also mount numerous point-defense guns, such as the M910 Rampart point defense network used by the Epoch-class, as well as several nuclear missiles of various types.[1]

Classes

The Navy operates several carrier classes.[Note 1]

Light carriers
  • Poseidon-class light carrier – Sleek, elongated, and somewhat cylindrical in general shape. Its structure comprises two main sections covered with white plating; in the fore section, the plating mostly covers the vessel's dorsal surface.
Heavy carriers
  • Epoch-class heavy carrier – The heaviest variety of carrier in service behind only the immense supercarriers, the Epoch class' tonnage exceeds that of both the Poseidon and the Orion classes. Often forming the core of most UNSC fleets, the heavy carrier is capable of taking extreme damage in combat.
Assault carriers
  • Orion-class assault carrier – Considered state-of-the-art when it was introduced, the Orion-class assault carrier incorporated the miniaturized and reconfigurable automated factories and chemical processors that were commonly found in colony support vessels, allowing the carriers to produce fuel, spare parts, and rarely even complete combat vehicles without outside assistane.
Supercarriers
Other
  • Phoenix-class support vessel – A colony ship classification used by the Unified Earth Government. At least one Phoenix, the UNSC Spirit of Fire, was modified for wartime use by the United Nations Space Command and redesignated a Phoenix-class support vessel.

Unidentified classes

There is also an unidentified model of UNSC carrier, which has a length of 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) and have a beam of 120 meters (390 ft).[3] They are armed with one Magnetic Accelerator Cannon. Secondary armament is provided by 300 Archer missiles, while tertiary armament includes two fusion rockets.[3] They carry approximately 2,100 and a large number of GA-TL1 Longsword interceptors or Pelican dropships.[3] The UNSC Magellan is part of this class.

There is another unspecified model of UNSC carrier, in which UNSC Musashi belonged to prior to its destruction during the space engagements over Reach.

Service history

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Ships of the line

Class Fleet or last known tactical grouping Ship Name Hull classification symbol Last known captain Notes
Epoch-class heavy carrier Unknown UNSC Epoch Lead ship
UNSC Atlas
Infinity-class supercarrier Expeditionary Strike Group 1 UNSC Infinity INF-101 Thomas Lasky Lead ship. Missing over Installation 07.
Unknown UNSC Eternity Not Completed
Orion-class assault carrier Unknown UNSC Fifth Winter
UNSC Orion Lead ship
Phoenix-class carrier Third Fleet UNSC Spirit of Fire CFV-88 James Cutter Active but officially listed as lost with all hands.
Poseidon-class light carrier Unknown UNSC Milwaukee
UNSC Poseidon Lead ship
Punic-class supercarrier Unknown UNSC Punic Lead ship
Epsilon Eridani Fleet UNSC Trafalgar Flagship of Epsilon Eridani Fleet. Destroyed over Reach
Unknown UNSC Home Fleet UNSC Stalingrad Carl Patterson
UNSC Witness
Third Fleet UNSC Totem Lake CVA-92
Unknown UNSC All Under Heaven
UNSC Magellan
UNSC Musashi

List of appearances

Notes

  1. ^ The Atlas as seen in Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp and the Musashi as seen in Fall of Reach - Invasion do not appear to belong to any of the established carrier classes. The former shares design features with the Phoenix-class colony ship and the Epoch-class carrier while the latter vaguely resembles the Halberd-class light destroyer. The Atlas was later depicted in Halo: The Fall of Reach with a completely different design reminiscent of the Punic-class supercarrier; while the newer depiction is presumably the ship's canonical appearance, the prior incarnation may nonetheless represent a canonically distinct class.

Sources