Infinite Sky: Units
Pre-Dreadnought
The decades following the widespread introduction of the Luftum Torus were heady times in the field of naval innovation. Nobody had any idea what they were doing or where ship design would end up next. The proliferation of explosive shells had made war both on land and in the sky a deadly serious business and military shipwrights responded with rapid escalation in size and protection. After half a century of experimentation, counter-experimentation and outright lunacy, the most advanced continental navies reached a consensus of design. These ships were the main fleet combat unit of the first half of the Continental War and large numbers survive in service today, up to half a century after they were first commissioned.
The pre-dreadnought battleship is the traditional arm of decision in naval battles – a matter settled by robustness of armour and weight of broadside. In contrast to the preceding era of transitional ironclads, even the oldest, least modern pre-dreadnoughts share critical systems – redundant and compartmentalized toruses, electrical power, face-hardened armour and armour piercing naval artillery. Most sailed with a main battery of four heavy guns, though a few had only two. Each also had large batteries of smaller guns at various sizes intended to pepper opponents into submission as range closed.
While powerful and surviveable to a point, pre-dreadnoughts are not modern – not by any stretch of the imagination. Most pre-dreadnoughts were built expecting to fight for and against Continental states, so range and stormworthiness were not priorities. As torpedo tactics became prominent, the protection scheme of the pre-dreadnought faced increasing challenges. In the modern sky, the exposed propulsion and antiquated artillery and fire direction of pre-dreadnoughts make them vulnerable to even significantly smaller ships.