Herald-Class Colonial Support Ship

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The Herald-Class Assault Carrier is a warship classification in the United Nations Space Command Defence Force Navy Fleet, and is one of the oldest ships still in service. Originally commissioned in 2411 as a series of colony ships to replace the aging Odyssey-Class Colony Ships, the Herald-class served as the UNSC's primary colonisation transport for over sixty years, until the introduction of the superior Phoenix-class. Rendered obsolete by then-modern technology, the majority of the class were decommissioned for scrap, or converted into civilian luxury transports. The remaining ships were converted into troop transports by the UNSC Navy, and later into Assault Carriers.

=History=

Construction
One of seven designs submitted by the Reyes-McLees Martian Naval Shipyards for the Future Colonial Transport Replacement Program (FCTRP), the Herald-class was chosen because it was the least expensive of the proposals to manufacture and because it incorporated huge innovations in slipspace navigation and hull plating. The design was given the approval of the Navy, and construction began in 2403. During the eight-year build cycle, more than thirty Herald-class ships were produced, with the hulls of another sixteen already laid down. The first ship of its class, the Tanngrisner was launched in 2411, and in 2414 began its first colonisation mission, transporting 3000 civilian colonists to Mu Arae to colonise the system.

There were some problems with the design that were only made apparent during the construction process. The ships mid-section was noticably inverted, and bracing struts were erected to ensure that the ships didn't simply shear in two during high-stress operations. The engines were also inefficient, a deliberate oversight by the designers to cut costs, and although it lowered the construction costs of the ships, it drastically raised maintenance requirements. Overall, however, the design

The Human-Covenant War
=Design=

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