SSV Margaret Thatcher
From FABT
' |
|
Production information | |
Manufacturer: |
|
Class: |
|
Operator(s): |
|
Technical information | |
Length: |
1578m |
Width: |
750m |
Height/depth: |
873m |
Max acceleration: |
20 kilometers per second |
Engine unit(s): |
|
Shielding: |
|
Hull: |
1200cm of Titanium-A3 Ablative Heavy Armor |
Sensor systems: |
|
Targetting system: |
|
Armament: |
|
Crew: |
26,500 |
Skeleton crew: |
700 |
Usage | |
Commissioned: |
3 July 2175 CE |
Destroyed: |
19 October 2208 CE |
Role(s): |
Carry and deploy fighters, bombers and interceptors/fire support |
Engagements: |
|
Affiliation: |
Systems Alliance (2175 CE - 2191 CE) Systems Coalition (2191 CE - 2208 CE) |
Fleet: |
|
Commander(s): |
Captain James Cartwright (2175 CE - 2201 CE) |
SSV Margaret Thatcher CDS-10 (Carry and Deploy/Super-10) was a Charles de Gaulle-class supercarrier in the Alliance Navy. The tenth ship of her class to be built, the Margaret Thatcher was assigned to the Fifth Fleet under Admiral Steven Hackett not long after it was commissioned in mid 2175 CE. The Margaret Thatcher was the tenth of the initial sixteen Charles de Gaulle-class ships ordered and built for the Alliance Navy, where the ship was shortly thereafter assigned to the Fifth Fleet under Steven Hackett after successfully completing its shakedown run and other equipment tests, becoming the fleet's second supercarrier, after its sister ship, Ulysses S. Grant. Hackett had served on one of the sea-based supercarriers of the UNAS back on Earth in his earlier career, so he understood the importance of supercarriers as power projection pieces and used them accordingly, with the Margaret Thatcher being quickly deployed to patrol closely to the Hegemony border, making sure the batarians noticed the gargantuan vessel and the power it held, demonstrating Alliance military might. The ship nevertheless first saw action against Hegemony forces in the Skyllian Blitz at the Battle of the Dhopris System, where it assisted a Fifth Fleet detachment in holding the left flank against a batarian counterattack to lift the siege of Uighur, and despite the batarians temporarily breaking through to the Thatcher, the ship's defenses and rapid deployment of counter-strike air forces nullified the batarian gains and pushed them back, inflicting heavy losses on them in the process. Following the Blitz, the Margaret Thatcher would be deployed over Theshaca itself during the Theshaca Raids, defending the Fifth Fleet's base of operations whilst it waged war on the pirates operating within the sector: when the Blue Suns attempted to lure away the Thatcher and Grant in an attempt to quickly duck in and destroy the Alliance's listening posts, the Thatcher pretended to fall for the bait, taking its battlegroup to "investigate" the distress beacon, while the Grant remained behind and successfully held off the Blue Suns attack, where the Thatcher and its battlegroup returned afterwards.
In 2183 CE, after the outbreak of the Eden Prime War, the Margaret Thatcher would be present at the Battle of Armstrong, where it helped to secure air dominance during the battle and helped secure a decisive Alliance naval victory. The ship returned to Mars with the rest of the fleet after the battle, but was the only supercarrier to assemble following Hackett's emergency mobilization orders, due to her sister ship needing to remain behind for repairs. The Thatcher was part of the first wave of Alliance reinforcements at the Battle of the Citadel, helping to rout the geth heretic fleet and then destroy Sovereign, although it suffered moderate damage during the battle and had to be repaired. Afterwards it took part in the Counter-piracy campaign of 2184 CE, returning to patrol duties once the campaign was over. It accompanied the rest of the Fifth Fleet to Earth to help reinforce the Second and Fourth fleets in the defense of the planet during the initial stages of the Reaper invasion. The ship survived the Battle of Luna, participating in Operation Hornet's Nest for the remainder of the war, and briefly taking part in the Evacuation of Thessia. The ship would be present for Operation Defiant towards the end of the Reaper War, and was present for the battles of Minuteman Station and Anadius respectively. Finally it was present at the final battle over Earth, which it survived with minor damage. After a refit, the ship would survive the transition into the Systems Coalition and participate in both the Border War and Post-Apocalyptic War, only to be destroyed when a turian special forces raid boarded the ship and overloaded its engine core, obliterating the ship, during the Liberation of Nura.
The ship was named after Margaret Thatcher, the famous 20th Century prime minister of the UK who was known for her stern and unrelenting leadership during the then-controversial Falklands War, one of few instances of large-scale British military mobilization during the Cold War.