Imperial Dreadnought Class


 * "I maintain that the effectiveness of the Dreadnoughts stems from not only their massive firepower, but from their size. When our enemies look at a Dreadnought and then compare it to the vessels which might be mustered to attack it, they have a tendency to dismiss such a notion as suicidal rather than approach the problem tactically."
 * -Javert Kannan

The Imperial Dreadnought is a class of advanced ironclad warship in use by the Imperial Navy as its foremost warship. The Dreadnought Class was conceived during the Osean Continental War and the Dreadnought, the lead ship of Dreadnought Class, was commissioned in the waning years of the Osean Continental War. The ship was eventually completed in 2067 and served valiantly in the War of the West. The Imperial Navy currently possesses three Dreadnought Class vessels with plans to construct 5 more.

Despite the armour and firepower of the Dreadnought Class it has seen limited use outside the roles of flagship due to the Venator Class  Class being far more cost effective while still proving effective. The continued production of the Dreadnought Class stems mostly from the psychological impact the massive ships have on their enemies, rather then their actual combat effectiveness.

Characteristics
The primary advantage of the Imperial Dreadnought Class was its thick iron hulls, which are virtually inpregnable to modern armaments. The ship is also propelled by a twin-cylinder steam engine with ten boilers that allowed the Dreadnoughts a maximum speed 8 knots, notably slower than most of its contemporaries. Its exclusively steam propultion does however allow it to sail regardless of the winds direction or force. The Dreadnought Class's armament consists of 30 32 pounders on its gundeck, 30 24 pounders on its middle gundeck, and 30 12 pounders on its upper gundeck.

Ships
The Imperial Navy currently possesses 3 Dreadnought Class vessels with 5 more under construction.
 * The INV Dreadnought, the lead ship of the Dreadnought Class.
 * The INV Imperial
 * The INV Black Prince