Oberon Battleship

Imperium Portal Imperial Navy

An Oberon Class Battleship illustration^[2]

The Oberon Class Battleship is the Imperial Navy's "jack of all trades". It is able to perform in all the roles of a battleship-sized vessel, but excels in none of them.

Overview

The Oberon was an early variant of Emperor Class Battleship designed to be able to deal with any threat, and therefore does not need to be escorted by a squadron of frigates. It lacks the swarming effect of the Emperor Class Battleship's attack craft, or the sheer amount of firepower that the Retribution or Apocalypse Class Battleships can deliver. The Oberon can, however, deliver a combined attack of ordnance, lances and weapons batteries, that the others cannot.^[1]

The Oberon is now rarely used in major fleet engagements, the more specialised ships being preferred by many Imperial Admirals. It is used instead for patrolling dangerous areas, where its ability to multi-task comes into its own. It can be a base for patrolling squadrons of attack craft, then taking the fight directly to the encountered enemy. It's also equipped with a superior long range sensor probe which allows it to detect and analyze threat long before being detected by enemy, granting it a significant tactical advantage in such circumstances. Due to this, it can patrol large areas with only a small, or no escort, freeing those ships for other duties.^[1]

The armament of the Oberon is greatly varied, having lances, weapons batteries and its waves of attack craft. The ship's array of weapons batteries is enough to be able to cause damage at long range, and with the aid of the lances, could probably cripple a cruiser-sized ship in short order. The attack craft meanwhile could either close in for the kill, protect the Oberon itself, or engage other targets.^[1]

The Oberon class is also used by the Adeptus Mechanicus Fleet.^[4]

Notable Oberon Class Vessels

• Colossus — Fought in the War of the Beast.^[1]
• Covenant of Truth - Word Bearers (Heresy-era).^[6]
• Fall of Horst
• Green Lake
• Justus Dominus^[2]
• Precept Magnificat^[5]

Images

• 

  An Oberon Class Battleship cross view^[7]

• 

  An Oberon Class Battleship side view^[7]

Sources

• 1: Battlefleet Gothic Armada, pg. 13
• 2: Battlefleet Gothic Resources: Ships of the Gothic Sector, pg. 123 (accessed 2010.12.20)
• 3: The Emperor Expects (Novel), Chapter 1
• 4: Fanatic Online #92 - Vessels of Mars: Ships of the Adeptus Mechanicus, by Nate Montes, Robert Henderson, and Ray Bell.
• 5: White Dwarf February 2020, pg. 57
• 6: Sons of Selenar (Novella), Chapter 1
• 7: Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II