Halsey-class

"The Halsey Class is one of the more toughest ships of the Alliance Fleet due to its heavy armor and close in defense weapons. Therefore a large mobile suit squad equipped properly with D Type Equipment are able to take these ships down."

- ZAFT Mobile Suit Instructor "The Halsey Class Tactical Destroyer is one of the more advanced ships ever produced, these ships would be the tip of the spear for any Fleet."

- Vulcan Shipyards Spokesperson, at the dedication ceremony of the first ten Halsey Class ships



General and Technical Data
Weight: unknown
 * Class: Halsey Class
 * Ships of the line: Halsey, Kimmel, King, Ingram, Hewitt, Kinkaid, Turner, McCain, Towers, Ramsey, Moreell, Sherman, Carney, Fletcher, McCormick, Duncan, Stump, Oliver, Oswald, Henderson, Sample, May, Madden, Leach, Keyes, Tirpitz, Donitz, Raeder, Wolfgang, Wegener, Zenker, Bart, De Gaulle, Active, Acasta, Ardent, Arrow, Anthony, Acheron, Skeena, Keith, Basilisk, Beagle, Blanche, Boreas, Brazen, Brilliant, Bulldog, Comet, Crusader, Crescent, Cossack, Duncan, Diamond, Diana, Duchess, Daring, Delight, Electra, Echo, Encounter, Express, Fame, Firedrake, Fearless, Fortune, Fury, Foresight, Gallant, Garland, Grafton, Greyhound, Griffin, Hardy, Hasty, Havock, Hotspur, Hunter, Icarus, Imogen, Intrepid, Isis, Ivanhoe, Jervis, Jackal, Jaguar, Juno, Janus, Javelin, Kelly, Kashmir, Kelvin, Kingston, Kipling, Napier, Nestor, Nizam, Nerissa, Lance, Larne, Lively, Legion, Lookout, Mahratta, Musketeer, Myrmidon, Marne, Martin, Meteor, Mohawk, Nubian, Onslow, Onslaught, Observer, Obedient, Opportune, Paladin, Pathfinder, Panther, Quail, Quality, Quickmatch, Quadrant, Racehorse, Raider, Rapid, Redoubt, Rocket, Savage, Scorpion, Shark, Swift, Success, Tuscan, Tyrian, Tumult, Ulster, Undaunted, Undine, Ursa, Urchin, Venus, Virago, Vixen, Vigilant, Volage, Wager, Wakefield, Wakeful, Whelp, Whirlwind, Wrangler, Zebra, Zest, Zodiac, Zealous
 * Unit type: Tactical Destroyer
 * Classification: DDT
 * Manufacturer: Earth Alliance – Vulcan Shipyards
 * Operator(s): Earth Alliance – Combined Orbital Fleet, Peacekeeper Alliance, Black Knights Anti-Terrorist Taskforce
 * First deployment: November 17, CE67
 * Dimensions: 165 Meters Long
 * Wingspan: 55 meters
 * Propulsion: 1 x Simms-Minovsky Mark IV Thermonuclear Propulsion Engine, 2 x Ionesco Secondary Plasma Engines
 * Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown; 2 x Anti-Beam Depth Charge Launchers; 1 x Flare Launcher; 2 x Recovery Deck Crane Arms, able to help in recovery of Mobile Armor or Mobile Suits
 * Fixed armaments: 4 x Mark III 95mm compact high energy beam cannons; 1 x Type 50 Heavy Linear Canon, bow mounted, fixed; 8 x Type IV 45mm CIW Vulcan Canons; 6 x ship-to-ship missile launchers, with three launchers in a single pod; 2 x Mark XX Space Torpedo Tubes
 * Mobile weapons: 4 Mobile Armors or 2 Mobile Suits
 * Launch catapults: None, but sports a pair of dedicated recovery decks on either side of the ship’s engine block

Technical and Historical Notes
When the Earth Alliance Orbital Fleet was being built up from early CE69 to about January 17, CE70 some new ship designs where built so the Alliance fleet could have the same TO&E, though two ships classes from the larger Federal Space Forces of the Atlantic Federation, where added to the fleet along with the newer Drake Class Missile Frigates and Agamemnon Class Command Carriers. One of these two older designs was the Nelson Class Cruiser which was the spiritual successor to the old Ford Class Heavy Cruiser. The second was the Halsey Class Tactical Destroyer loosely based on the older Nike Class Cruiser. However unlike the Nelson the Halsey Class was built only a year before the Earth Alliance was formed.

While in the Earth Alliance Orbital Fleet, the Halsey Class ships served as the “gunboat” counterpart to the Drake class's “missile boat” and as supporting the Atlas Class Battleships and Nelson Class Cruisers. It was armed with four new high energy beam canons, which where pretty new at the time the ship was built along with eight light CIWS Vulcan Canons supporting them. However the main weapon of the Tactical Destroyer was the Type 50 Heavy Linear Canon which is a smaller version of the Ford Class's Type 45 Linear Canon. It was by far the most powerful weapon on the ship. Rounding up the ship's arsenal were the six ship-to-ship missile launchers located in a pair of three-tube pods on either side of the ship and just above the side beam cannons, and a pair of heavy torpedo tubes that flanked either side of the main gun. The Halsey is toted by many inside the Alliance Fleet as a Light Cruiser not a Destroyer due to these heavy armaments that it sports.

Unlike the Drake Class Frigates the Halsey Class has a small hanger located in the rear of the ship in front of the ship's engines, similar to the Nelson Class hanger. However unlike the larger battleship when the destroyers where being refitted to carry Mobile Suits it was found that the ship could only carry two mobile suits, for the ship's hanger was quite small in size. This was taken care with the introduction of the Avenger Class Pocket Carrier which replaced the large linear cannon, the torpedo launchers and the ammo for both with a dedicated mobile suit hanger. Though there would be another variant Halsey class which would put two linear catapults on the side of the ship. Like it's counterparts it was designated by a Kai modifier on the end of the class name. However these refits wouldn’t last long, instead the Alliance would introduce the superior Spruance Class Destroyer which kept the forward hanger of the Avenger Class and replaced the Type 50 with a pair of lighter Type 60 Linear Cannons that replaced the side beam cannons.

While the Halsey Class Destroyer, like the rest of Alliance Fleet faired poorly against a dedicated mobile suit assault it however this was only a dedicated mobile suit assault of three or more mobile suits. This is thanks to the varied weapons and heavy armor of the ship easily able to handle a single or two mobile suits. This was far better then many of the other ships of the Alliance Fleet, with only the Archangel Class Mobile Assault Ship superior to the Halsey. This would allow the Halsey Class to become the main anti-ship opponent of the ZAFT Fleet using the lethal combination of its main guns and beam cannons.

The first to do this was ironically the Halsey herself, when it destroyed the ZAFT Laurasia Class Frigate Von Braun with a concentrated attack from the ship's Type 50 Linear Canon at the Battle of Yggdrasil. Later on during the First Battle of Jachin Due, it along with two other Halsey destroyers along with two supporting Drake Class Frigates managed to destroy three enemy ships. Before being stopped by ZAFT pilot Brian Carter, when he broke through the enemy Mobile Armor screen and destroyed one of the Halsey Destroyers before crippling the other, along with heavily damaging the Halsey itself. Carter would than brutally attacked the supporting Drake Escorts and destroyed both, though with some help from other GINNs of his team. Though the ship was eventually repaired it went on to do this three more times in the two following battles. Even though it was not properly supported it still managed to sink three more ZAFT ships. The Halsey would later be know as the Bull Halsey for this action and it would received two battle stars which was quite rare during the early battles of the war.

All in all the Halsey Class Tactical Destroyer proved itself as an excellent warship against the enemy Laurasia and later Nazca Class ships. Many of the ZAFT ship losses at the Battle of Yggdrasil, First Battle of Jachin Due, and Battle of Nova where thanks to Halsey Class ships attacking them.

Miscellaneous Information

 * Variants: 4
 * Avenger Class Pocket Carrier – This class replaces the Linear Cannon, torpedo tubes, and their ammo storage with a dedicated mobile suit hanger, twenty-four built. These would become the first true mobile suit carriers of the Alliance Fleet. Several would still be in service during the second war.
 * Spruance Class Advanced Destroyer – A new variant of the design introduced after the end of the war, and the reorganization of the Alliance Fleet. Keeps forward hanger of the Avenger and adds a pair of new linear cannons, and heavier missile launchers.
 * Patton Class Heavy Destroyer – A class that replaces the older linear canon with a newer Valiant type Linear gun, twelve where built and paired with Grant Class Gun Destroyers would make up dedicated bombardment groups.
 * Grant Class Gun Destroyer – A new class that replaces the linear gun with a fixed light Positron Blast Cannon, smaller then one equipped to the famed Archangel Class.
 * Notes: The Halsey Class ships had by far the most variants of any other ship type in the Earth Alliance, the reason behind this was that it was found pretty easy to take out the ships linear canon and replace it with something else.
 * Design Notes: The Halsey Class is based heavily on the Federation Cruiser seen briefly in the Gundam AGE Second Generation which where escorting the Mars Colonization Plan.