Ship study: Red Hessians

[Soban]

Log Report 2
Mac Donagan
Position: Livadia Administrator and Phoenix Fleet Engineer
Topic: Study of Red Hessian ship designs

After a few months of work, we have made solid progress and completed roughly half of the initial objectives. Thanks to Captains Bululuman and Martz, we have gained valuable insight into the handling, combat use, maintenance requirements, and internal design of both vessels.

I will give the Rheinlanders this much: they knew what they were doing. With the materials and industrial means available to them, they still turned out remarkably capable ships. Neither hull is flawless, but both show the sort of practical thinking and battlefield sense that deserves a bit of respect.

1. ☑ Select and train crews to test, pilot, and employ the ships in combat drills for one month. Goal: give crews practical familiarity with handling while allowing engineers to acquire baseline knowledge for maintenance and field repairs.
   
2. ☑ Dismantle both ships and configure Engineering to produce components specific to these designs, or identify Zoner-built alternatives where feasible.
   
3. ☒ Crucial phase: attempt full scratch-builds. Grendel first, followed by Hel.
   
4. ☐ Conduct a one-week final validation period, then forward each hull to Vogtland Base for final inspection.
   

Final assessment

Both vessels are worth keeping in service and studying further.

1. Grendel-class frigate

The Grendel is a compact and reliable frigate, well suited for escort work, hazardous trading, and limited exploration duties. Its cargo capacity and missing weapon mount are noticeable weaknesses, but these are offset by good maneuverability, a solid power core, respectable armor, and a promising scanner array. It is not the best in every category, but it is balanced, resilient, and more useful than its modest frame first suggests.

In plain terms, it is the sort of ship that earns its keep. It handles rough environments well, takes punishment better than one might expect, and offers enough flexibility to justify further acquisitions if hulls can be found.

2. Hel-class cruiser

The Hel fills a more specialized but highly valuable role as an attack cruiser. It offers strong offensive potential, good anti-missile coverage, and notable flexibility thanks to its docking module and rapid turret-swapping system. Its blind spots and awkward fit in our current drydocks are real drawbacks, but they do not outweigh its combat value. Where many of our own designs remain defensive by doctrine, the Hel demonstrates the value of a ship built to seize initiative rather than merely endure.

That, I think, is the more important lesson here. We know how to build ships that hold the line. The Hel reminds us that sometimes it is better to break the enemy’s rhythm first and leave them no room to dictate the pace.



For now, our position is clear. We can repair and reproduce specific components for both classes reliably as well as adapting some systems for local support
But we cannot construct full hulls from scratch.

At present, we remain unable to construct either vessel from scratch. As a result, we will have to rely on intermediaries if we wish to acquire additional hulls. That said, we are fully capable of repairing and refitting both classes, provided the superstructure remains largely intact.

In the end, I consider the ability to build them ourselves unnecessary. Livadia’s workload is already stretched to full capacity, and the addition of new production modules solely for these ships seems both unjustified and expensive. We have enough on our plate without reshaping half the yard for a pair of foreign hulls.

I will contact the Red Hessians to secure additional hulls, whether directly from them or through a third party. That seems the more sensible path.

Still, even with that limitation, these two ships have already taught us a fair bit. And for ships we did not design, from people we do not always agree with, that is worth more than I first expected.