The Andromeda-class is a United Nations Cosmo Navy warship class. Initially designated as Advanced Ability Armament (AAA) ships, the class shares its name with Andromeda, the first of its kind to enter service. The class is the immediate follow-up to the space battleship Yamato, further developing wave motion energy and other technologies that were used on its predecessor. The Andromeda class represents the Earth Federation's policy of presenting a robust response to alien threats, and leads Earth's defense against the Gatlantis Empire's invasion of the solar system.
Armament and Technical Specifications
Initial Specifications
Andromeda-class ships are the most heavily armed vessels in the Cosmo Navy fleet when they enter service in 2202. Their most prominent and devastating weapon is the dual barrel wave motion gun in the ship's bow. Unlike the wave motion gun designed for Yamato years earlier, the Andromeda class's gun can be fired in a dispersion pattern at dozens of smaller targets spread across a wide volume of space, and not just single large objects ("AD 2202 - Revive, Space Battleship Yamato"). For more conventional combat, battleship types in the class are armed with a broad array of energy and projectile weapons in various sizes for offensive and defensive use. Among these are triple-barrel positron shock cannon turrets, somewhat smaller than Yamato's shock cannons but capable of firing at a much faster rate[1] ("Clash! Yamato vs. Andromeda").
A carrier variant of the Andromeda class sacrifices some conventional weaponry to accommodate up to one hundred eighty Cosmo Falcon fighters, Cosmo Tiger II fighters, or a mix of the two. Fighters are catapulted from four rows of launch and landing bays on a large flat top superstructure mounted onto the back of the bridge tower, with each row capable of launching six fighters at a time; a similar series of bays is mounted on starboard and port side bulges in the main hull. At full capacity, twenty-four fighters can be launched at one time from each side, allowing the carriers to rapidly deploy a complete fighter force[1] ("Clash! Yamato vs. Andromeda").
Defenses on Andromeda-class ships include wave motion shields. These shields are comparable to those deployed by Yamato, and are strong enough to stop and deflect objects of roughly the same size in head-on collisions ("Clash! Yamato vs. Andromeda").
Forward side view of Andromeda AAA-01.
Ships of the Andromeda class are capable of long-distance warp flights, giving them operational capability well beyond the outermost fringe of the Milky Way Galaxy ("AD 2202 - Revive, Space Battleship Yamato"). Warps can be performed inside planetary atmospheres. Flight within atmospheres is also possible, assisted by fixed wing-like structures on the forward bow. Ships can be launched vertically from ground positions on long rails ("Tension – Reach the Embassy on the Moon").
Despite being the largest vessels in the UNCN fleet and having two bridge sections, Andromeda-class ships require relatively smaller crews due to an increase in automation.[1] Equipment takes up a significant portion of the main bridge, and seats are provided for only four individuals: the commanding officer's station at the back of the bridge, the executive officer's station immediately forward beneath the window and main viewscreen, and two support stations on the port and starboard sides ("Clash! Yamato vs. Andromeda").
Modifications
Following the Battle of Saturn, new variants of the Andromeda-class were swiftly built and sent into combat. Chief among these was the Black Berserk Battalion (BBB) battleship series, operated almost entirely with automation except for a single human crew member serving as captain; life support is eliminated, forcing the crew member to wear a space suit. Additional thruster nozzles are placed around the hull to give the series dramatically increased speed and maneuverability, and the hull is painted black. The prototype of the series was the original Andromeda itself, which was heavily damaged at Saturn and mostly rebuilt according to BBB specifications, and given a new registry number. Both Andromeda and the BBB series can be further enhanced by mooring Dreadnought-class battleships to the port and starboard sides[1] ("Yamato's Despair - Once More, the Devil's Alternative", Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love chapter 6).
At least four carrier-type Andromedas were licensed to the Great Garmillas Empire and its allied fight with the Earth Federation against Gatlantis. These CCC (Crimson Camaraderie Carrier[3])-designated carriers are essentially identical to those built for the Cosmo Navy, but are equipped with Garmillan electronics and are painted red and black with Garmillan script on the hull. Instead of Cosmo Navy fighters, launch bays are reconfigured for Garmillas fighter types. Larger support craft, such as armed DBG.88 Garont planes, can be moored to the external flight deck[1] Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love chapter 6).
History
First firing of an Andromeda class' wave motion gun.
Following the near-total devastation of Earth caused by the Garmillas-Earth War, the Earth Federation recognized the need to secure its position against any potentially hostile civilizations, beyond simply upgrading its existing ship designs. The Andromeda class became the first in a new and more powerful generation of warships. By equipping the class with wave motion weaponry, Earth gained a dramatic military advantage, but at the cost of breaking the treaty with Iscandar that banned such weapons. The Andromeda (AAA-01) became the first to demonstrate this military potential, by almost completely wiping out enemy Gatlantis ships in a single blast of its dispersion wave motion gun at the Battle of the Eighth Floating Continent ("AD 2202 - Revive, Space Battleship Yamato").
On December 8, 2202, two additional battleships and two carriers were unveiled at a public ceremony ("Tension – Reach the Embassy on the Moon"). These four and Andromeda participated in a live fire exercise near Jupiter days later, alongside more than a dozen Dreadnought-class battleships. During the exercise, Andromeda was re-routed to confront the space battleship Yamato, which had been taken on a rogue mission. Yamato was able to successfully defend itself against Andromeda's intense shock cannon fire, and both vessels left unharmed after a head-on collision, protected by their wave motion shields ("Clash! Yamato vs. Andromeda")
The five Andromeda-class ships led the Cosmo Navy's initially successful defense against the Gatlantis Empire's invasion at the Battle of Saturn months later, fighting back the enemy fleet until the appearance of the empire's Ark of Destruction space fortress. The carrier Apollo Norm was sunk in an act of self-sacrifice saving the heavily damaged Andromeda ("Yamato's Despair - Once More, the Devil's Alternative"). Antares transported evacuees from Yamato to safety after the battle ("Yamato's Successor, Its Name is Galaxy"). Seeking to more heavily reinforce the Cosmo Navy and to compensate for the loss of so many of its own personnel, production of BBB-series automated Andromeda battleships and CCC-series Garmillas carriers was stepped up considerably. The fleet's factory was located inside a dimensional time fault, which allowed months of full-capacity manufacturing to take place in a much shorter span of time. Led by the repaired and modified Andromeda, the allies launched their next assault against the Ark of Destruction (Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love chapter 6).
Named Ships of the Class
Battleship types:
- Achilles (AAA-04)
- Aldebaran (AAA-02)
- Andromeda (AAA-01, later ZZZ-0001)
Carrier types:
- Antares (AAA-05)
- Apollo Norm (AAA-03)
Garmillas-controlled carriers:
- Neu Balgrey (CCC-01)
- Neu Darold (CCC-04)
- Neu Lambea (CCC-02)
- Neu Schderg (CCC-03)
Gallery
Notes and References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Official Space Battleship Yamato 2202 website data on Andromeda and Andromeda-class ships
- ↑ See this note on Migobueza armor and Yamato. The same defensive coating may have also been used on Andromeda and all subsequent UNCN ships.
- ↑ Twitter post from Assistant Director Makoto Kobayashi, February 19, 2018
Japanese language information
アンドロメダ級 Andoromeda-kyū