Shiro

(Copied straight from .XML 'backup' file, needs formatting and corrections. ZM User (talk) 20:15, 22 April 2024 (PDT))

Shiro Class Frigate

The name Shiro translates as Castle in Japanese, and is a Frigate derived from the Castle corvette. Loosely based on the design of the Castle class corvette, The four point defense gatlings have been replaced with two twin mount auto cannons of the same type as on the F105 Star Arrow. These are set for point defense mode as well, but since they are firing shells with twice the mass at the same velocity as the older auto cannon, and they are twinned, for potentially twice the hits, they are capable of seriously damaging most light Swarm ships. The ships are named after Japanese and other Asian castles and fortresses.

Manning

• Crew Officers: 8
• Enlisted: 48
• Embarked Marines: 0
• Concubines carried: 1 per officer, 1 per 3 crew, Used only for scut work

Special notes: First deployed month 66

Performance

In system acceleration is 40 Gs with only 10% felt due to the compensators. 50 Gs are available in an emergency. This is nearly twice the acceleration of the older ships. Capable of a hyperspace speed of 25 light years per day, or 30 per day in an emergency, it has third generation drives (Newly designed by Humans with AI support to give higher performances with slightly higher risk factors) Speeds Normal Space (in G's)
Standard sustained acceleration 40
Emergency maximum acceleration 50
Gravitic compensation (% felt) 10%
Drive Generation Number 3rd gen

Hyper space (in light years per day)
Cruise Speed 25
Emergency Speed 30

Weapons

• 2x Plasma Torpedo (Fwd)
• 2x Light Particle Beam turrets
• 2x Point-Defense Railgun (PDR), mounted port up and starboard down, just forward of the engines.
• 2x Point-Defense Laser (PDL), mounted port down and starboard up, just forward of the engines.

The Castles' two Light Particle Accelerators were replaced with heavier medium particle accelerators. Instead of being mounted near the bow, they are spread further to the sides and can cover approximately a hemisphere apiece. The earlier Castles occasionally needed to fire to the rear and could not.

Specials =

Has transporters (1 nexus). One transporter Nexus was installed in the engineering department. There are several mobile, linked Loci that can be used as long as the Nexus remains powered and the AI is functional. The nexus is designed so as to be thoroughly destroyed in a fusion plant melt down if the ship is captured or destroyed. Embarked Small Craft: Lifeboats and one shuttlecraft. (Where would they go? -ZM)

Hull Listing

• DE-201 Azuchi-jo
• DE-202 Edo-jo
• DE-203 Osaka-jo
• DE-204 Tsumaya-jo
• DE-205 Chihaya-jo
• DE-206 Akasaka-jo
• DE-207 Fushimi-jo
• DE-208 Nagoya-jo
• DE-209 Simon-jo
• DE-210 Odawara-jo
• DE-211 Goryokaku-jo
• DE-212 Matsumoto-jo
• DE-213 Hiroshima-jo
• DE-214 Kumamoto-jo
• DE-215 Nijo-jo
• DE-216 Utsunomiya-jo
• DE-217 Hemeji-jo
• DE-218 Sunpu-jo
• DE-219 Fukuoka-jo
• DE-220 Hirosaki-jo
• DE-221 Hirada-jo
• DE-222 Takamatsu-jo
• DE-223 Imabari-jo
• DE-224 Nakatsu-jo
• DE-225 Akashi-jo - Assigned to Tukelat OPF -ZM
• DE-226 Aoba-jo
• DE-227 Aja-jo
• DE-228 Tsuraga-jo
• DE-229 Echizen Ono-jo
• DE-230 Bitchu Matsuyama-jo

Story Usage

A textual analysis of the story repository, current as of 2018 and performed on 2019-09-06 identified the following usage counts for Shiro:

• Ending This Mess by Zen Master 42 instances.
• Genesis of a Family by Justin Radically 6 instances.
• Independent Command by Zen Master 58 instances.
• Pyrrhic Victory by akarge 2 instances.
• We Few, We Happy Few, We Band of Brothers by LughIldanach 6 instances.

Timeline Appearances

Canon timeline indicates Shiro appears at Month 66
Keyword appearances in stories with identified timeline placement

• Month 72 in Independent Command
• Month 162 in Pyrrhic Victory
• Month 164 in Ending This Mess

Improved Shiro Class

   Several colonies took the Shiro class as a basis for an "Improved Shiro" class.  These ships were variously referred to as 'Shiro-II", "Improved Shiro", "I-Shiro", and even "iShiro".  A typical I-Shiro would have the same armament as an original with the pair of Light Particle Beam turrets upgraded to Medium PB turrets, and an additional heavy anti-ship weapon in the nose.  Often the nose weapon would be a Particle Disintegrator as that was a devastating if short-ranged weapon.  Another common nose weapon was a "Baby Hero" gun, a railgun on a pivot which launched a 50Kg slug at 100Kps as this weapon had a much longer range.

See Also

• Warships
• Castle
• Ainsworth

(Someday this will be a navigation template.  It will provide a bar across the bottom of each article with useful navigation links.  Until then, this is just a placeholder to get rid of all the red "broken link" indicators. -ZM User (talk) 10:00, 3 May 2024 (PDT))