UNSC 30th Fleet

The UNSC 30th Fleet was a formation of 52 warships in the UNSC Navy. A fleet is not a static unit, and can be assembled from random battlegroups. 30th Fleet, however, was formed in 2536 as the last of the Outer Colonies fell to protect the Inner Colonies, participating in the defence of a dozen colonies. It is most famously remembered for its participation in Operation: HOT GATES.

History
Originally consisting of a small number of warships, and originally called Battlegroup Ark Royal, the unit was bolstered by the addition of ships from other battlegroups. Then led by Captain Brendan Reichmouth, the battlegroups first assignment was the defence of the Megiddo colony. Engaging a trio of Covenant Destroyers as they entered the system, the battlegroup managed to destroy two of the ships, losing seven of their own in the process. The last ship managed to enter the planets atmosphere, landing its ground forces. By the time a UNSC fleet could arrive to place Marines on the colony, more than 70% of the colonists had been slaughtered by Covenant infantry or by the ships plasma torpedoes.

Deciding that a more mobile defence was required, FLEETCOM took Battlegroup Ark Royal, expanding it significantly and tasking it with the defence of a set number of colonies, and promoting Captain Reichmuth to Rear Admiral. Dividing the ships into Battlegroups of three, the newly christened 30th Battlegroup defended the Magog colony from Covenant incursion, and were called to the Tarshish colony to deal with a small Insurrectionist coup. Over the nest twenty years, the 30th Fleet would serve in six theatres of combat, including the battle for Delta Pavonis in 2549, where they engages a small Covenant taskforce, landing ground forces, and evacuating the surviving colonists, their most successful engagement.

In 2551, the entire 30th Fleet was reassigned to Operation: HOT GATES, taking place at Minorca in the abandoned Alpha Canis Minoris System. Blockading the Juno Corridor, the 30th Fleet managed to catch a Covenant fleet by total surprise, inflicting disproportional high losses against the enemy while taking scarce few. The first wave resulted in half the enemy formation destroyed and the rest fleeing into slipspace, though dropships, insertion pods and assault boats were deployed. During the next few months, 30th Fleet provided orbital support, as well as logistical aid, ferrying troops and supplies where needed. This proved crucial after the Covenant captured New London, destroying the Space Elevator that connected the ground and space efforts.

The second assault on the planet was not so easily repelled. Prowlers laid a HORNET nuclear mine among the Arius Asteroid Belt, detonating them and using the resulting debris shower to devastate the enemy. A number of ships survived, however, engaging the enemy in earnest, and inflicting significant losses. For a time, the Covenant held orbital superiority, bombarding UNSC positions from orbit. The destruction of the flagship Ark Royal, as well as Vice Admiral Reichmuth’s death, further confused UNSC attempts to regroup, and it was only after Captain Jonathan Stanley rallied the fleet that the UNSC regained orbital superiority.

In September, 2552, the fleet was pulled back to Earth to assist in the defence of the planet after the fall of Reach, and 30th Fleet was integrated into the UNSC Home Fleet. During the opening hours of the First Battle of Earth, the 30th Fleet protected several clusters of Orbital Defence Platforms, including the Cairo, Athens and Malta. The new flagship of the fleet, the UNSC Aeneas, as well as the Prowler Hunters Arrow, were caught in the slipspace wake of the fleeing Assault Carrier Bringer of Holy Light, and their current location and status are unknown.

The rest of the fleet was systematically destroyed engaging several Covenant fleets. The last remnants of it, 16th Battlegroup, had taken refuge behind Earths moon, Luna, when a Sangheili fleet entered the system, engaging the few Covenant Loyalist ships that remained in orbit, and following the rest through the New Mombasa artefact. After the official conclusion of the Human-Covenant War, the 16th Battlegroup was dispatched along with three Sangheili frigates to follow the slipspace wake of the Bringer of Holy Light, locating and rescuing the crews and passengers of the three ships.

Battlegroups

 * UNSC Ark Royal – Supercarrier (Fleet Flagship)

13th Battle Group

 * UNSC Aeneas – Carrier
 * UNSC Galadriel – Cruiser
 * UNSC Audacious – Cruiser
 * UNSC Warspite – Destroyer
 * UNSC Lacrimosa – Destroyer
 * UNSC Requiem – Destroyer
 * UNSC Sentinel – Destroyer
 * UNSC Thermopylae – Frigate
 * UNSC Sarissa – Frigate
 * UNSC Leonidas – Frigate
 * UNSC Leviathan – Supply Ship/Troop Carrier

14th Battle Group

 * UNSC Preston Cole – Carrier
 * UNSC Spirit of Anzac – Cruiser
 * UNSC Indomitable – Cruiser
 * UNSC Einherjar – Destroyer
 * UNSC Valkyrie – Destroyer
 * UNSC Agamemnon – Destroyer
 * UNSC Legacy – Destroyer
 * UNSC Ajax – Frigate
 * UNSC Achilles – Frigate
 * UNSC Hector – Frigate
 * UNSC Behemoth – Supply Ship/Troop Carrier

15th Battle Group

 * UNSC Invincible – Carrier
 * UNSC Lord Byron – Cruiser
 * UNSC T.S. Eliot– Cruiser
 * UNSC Victorious – Destroyer
 * UNSC Lancelot – Destroyer
 * UNSC Glorious – Destroyer
 * UNSC Alexander – Destroyer
 * UNSC Circe – Frigate
 * UNSC Calypso – Frigate
 * UNSC Odysseus – Frigate
 * UNSC Lotan – Supply Ship/Troop Carrier

16th Battle Group

 * UNSC Agamemnon – Carrier
 * UNSC Jormungandr – Cruiser
 * UNSC Nidhoggr – Cruiser
 * UNSC Arthur Pendragon – Destroyer
 * UNSC Triumphant – Destroyer
 * UNSC Gungnir – Destroyer
 * UNSC Griffin – Destroyer
 * UNSC Manticore – Frigate
 * UNSC Chimaera – Frigate
 * UNSC Hydra – Frigate
 * UNSC Ouroboros – Supply Ship/Troop Carrier

Additional Ships

 * UNSC Raven – Prowler
 * UNSC Loki – Prowler
 * UNSC Orion – Prowler
 * UNSC Night Hawk – Prowler
 * UNSC Muninn – Prowler
 * UNSC Huginn – Prowler
 * UNSC Hunters Arrow – Prowler
 * UNSC One-Eyed Wanderer – Prowler
 * ODP Archatlanstis - Orbital Defence Platform
 * ODP Lemuria - Orbital Defence Platform
 * ODP Archinotis - Orbital Defence Platform
 * Livingston - Stealth Corvette
 * Tharsis – Freighter
 * Aeolis – Freighter
 * Ausonia – Freighter
 * UNSC Hospital Ship Herald

Quotes

 * "They were pretty much useless during the first years as the Inner Colonies fell. A "mobile defence"? Don't make me laugh. Unless you're there, you can't defend it. It was only after Admiral Reichmuth began regular patrols of the systems, rotating the battlegroups monthly, that they actually got stuff done."
 * "Reichmuth wasn't exactly the brightest spark, but he was good at his job, and damned enthusiastic - well, he lost his family at Megiddo, first time out as Captain, didn't he? He couldn't save them as the Covenant glassed the capital city."
 * "Half of the ships are ancient buckets of bolts. Half of those cruisers? Yeah, they're the Halcyon class, and don't even deserve the designation. And their supply ships are the Behemoth class, which was dropped before the Insurrection, for gods sake! The frigates, destroyers, and carriers? They're all modern, except for the UNSC Aeneas. And the Prowlers are more advanced than the rest of the Navy. Perhaps that shows you just what an ad hoc assembly they were?"
 * "Its unusual to see a fleet with so many Prowlers. But they definitely came in handy! Still, they could have been out there looking for Covenant homeworlds, setting decoy radio trails, and so on - was their presence at Minorca worth the payoff?"
 * "Stanley? He took command after the Ark Royal fell. Best officer I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty. He acted like a Fleet Admiral, the way he rallied us together. I don't know why he wasn't - he was absolutely brilliant!"