United Federation Navy

The Lapord and Prairie War-era

In an era of Great Power competition starting in January of 2019, the Federation Navy became the unquestioned bulwark of the United Federation's national defense. It's expansive territory was protected by massive fleets of aircraft carriers and battleships defended by guided missile escort ships, and the nation's ballistic missile capacity protected by the large Wall-class submarines. The outbreak of Prairie War I saw relatively minor naval actions; while the Navy was commended for the actions it did partake in, it was criticized by some for failing to deter the invasion in the first place. Federation aircraft carriers were crucial in the transport of aircraft during the war, including the convergence of Allied forces before the climactic Battle of E House. Following the war, the Federation Navy constructed several more large Aircraft Carriers to improve their capacity to transport and project air power. 

The interwar period saw a major naval arms race between the United Federation Navy and that of the nascent Federal Wisconsinite Republic; this led to the construction of several new battleships and a refocusing of resources more on home waters. Eventually, the FWR and Federation eased tensions before the outbreak of Prairie War II. During this conflict, the Federation Navy suffered it's first major defeats during the 1st Battle of the Waubesa Sea, when a large contingent of ships were damaged and forced to retreat during a surprise attack on their Lake Waubesa fleet base. The Federation Navy attempted to rally resources to the Janesville Pocket in the southern UFP but was unable to break through the large tank batallions guarding the riverine connections to the city. The Federation Navy was ordered not to attempt a last-stand on Lake Carriage by President Anderson; instead the ships were used to transport most of the Federation's forces into Kettle Moraine before the Allied counterattack which liberated the Federation next month. 

Along with allied vessels from the Federal Wisconsinite Navy, Despan Navy, and Pyrrhian Navy, the UFN decisively defeated the large UNSC Red Fleet at the Battle of Governor's Cape; still today the largest battleship duel in the SPN's history. The 2nd Battle of the Waubesa Sea likewise ended in a crushing victory by Federation guided-missile ships accompanied by the Valentinian Navy. The Federation's massive fleet supplied the Allies during their invasion of the UNSC and later occupation, as well as relieving the beleagured forces of the West Mendotan Republic. 

Post-Prairie War II through The Long Recess

Immediately after the War, the FWR attempted to assert it's control over the Centralian Canal, which was owned by Valentino. The Federation Navy was instrumental in applying the pressure which forced the FWR to pull it's own warships out of the area; a major peacetime victory for the force. As tensions continued to ease, the Federation Navy began to re-examine it's fleet and plan for the replacement of a number of ships. Believing it would not need as many battleships in a future war thanks to the destruction of most UNSC ships and the smaller number of FWR vessels, only one new battleship and one battlecruiser were commissioned, while the crown jewels of the Federation Navy, the Anderson-class Supercarriers, were built to replace the Defiant-class and supplement the Enterprise-class. 

Additionally, four new gunnery cruisers were built for the Federation Navy; three of the Exeter-class and one unique vessel, USS Alliance, which was originally meant to be an FWR vessel but was taken into Federation service as the FWR was unable to pay for the ship. 

Anticipating the replacement of the Petri-class Frigates, the backbone of the UFN, many of these ships as well as older frigates were sold to others such as the West Mendotan, Wisconsinite, and Royal Pyrrhian Navies. However, plans for both the Boott-class Frigate and Fesmeyer-class Destroyers fell through and the Federation was sorely lacking in escort vessels during the onset of the Long Recess. This period caused massive reductions in budgets across the SPN, and the Federation Navy did not escape it's effects. Thanks to the continued efforts of shipwrights in New Illinois, many of the ships remained in serviceable and deployable condition; however, the ships were already aging and many of their hulls were simply outdated for a modern conflict. 

The November Crisis and Madden Era

The November Crisis saw the first actions of the Federation Navy since the Centralia Canal Crisis, as President Alexander Knebel ordered the fleet to operate alongside the Holy Roman Navy during the Imperial War; during this conflict, arms suppliers like Gateway Corporation and Patriam National Shipbuilding left the Federation and began to develop vessels for the United Manonan States and West Mendota respectively. This led to a crisis of armament in the Federation Navy, as it was unable to purchase Patriarch guided missiles from Patriam National, the longtime armament of guided missile vessels in the Federation Navy, nor could it use Gateway's experience to keep their ship in fighting shape. 

The Navy began to rely more and more on their most experienced crews and government workers, neither of whom retained the same level of care across the fleet. The economic recession of the Long Recess also prevented virtually any other nation from creating guided missile ships in any large number; as such, the Federation and other nations turned to cheaper and simpler gunnery vessels to be the backbone of their fleet. President Ryan Madden ordered the Castle Rock-class Cruisers to be heavily refitted to act as gunnery cruisers, among others. With the beginning of the Circles Republic Revolt, a large contingent of the Navy was taken over by Knebelist forces, but were swiftly retaken by their crews and escaped damage during the Nuclear Bombardment of the Circles Revolt. This bombardment was internationally condemned and swiftly led to the outbreak of Prairie War III. 

On the outset of the War, Ryan Madden renamed the Navy to the Federation Reichsmarine; when the Federation was fully corrupted into the 4th Reich, it would become the Imperial Reichsmarine. 

The day that the war was declared, the Reichsmarine was still the largest navy in the SPN and far in excess of every other by displacement of it's battle fleet. It operated 3 Anderson-class Supercarriers and 6 Republic-class Supercarriers, along with 10 Light Carriers/LHA's, 2 battle-line capital ships, 8 cruisers, 7 destroyers, and 10 submarines (9 of which were nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines). With a total fighting force of 46 ships, it stood in opposition to the combined Allied forces of the United Manonan States, Federal Wisconsinite Republic, Kingdom of Pyrrhia, and Central Despan Republic. Combined, these forces had 9 fleet carriers, none of which were as large as the Reichsmarine's, 3 Battleships, 3 cruisers, 7 destroyers, 11 frigates, and 4 submarines for a total of 37 ships. Many of the frigates of the Allied navies were armed with only a single surface action gun and acted primarily as escort ships with anti-aircraft rockets and guns as opposed to surface combatants. 

It was largely assumed at the start of the War, especially by the neutral West Mendotan Republic, that the Allied Navies would be easily overcome by the Reichsmarine and defeated once they came into action. However, the first major naval action did not occur until the 13 of December; in the intervening time, the Allies had largely been using their ships to escort convoys and search for the Reichsmarine's ballistic missile submarines, while the Federation Navy utilized it's navy to launch the December 2nd Attacks on West Mendota and Valentino, bringing them into the conflict. The United Manonan States had also built a mostly-ignored industry under the guidance of Gateway Co. which allowed them to mass produce ships at a pace never before seen in the SPN's history. Although Allied fleet carriers were smaller than their Federal counterparts, they could be more easily replaced at a far cheaper cost. 

When Madden proclaimed the 4th Reich out of the Federation, several ships saw major revolts or protests against him and his administration, most notably aboard the aircraft carrier ISS Kearsarge. These were put down in often draconian ways by Imperial Army troops. It is widely agreed that these moves fostered a great deal of resentment in the Navy's ranks and contributed to it's poor performance against enemy forces during the war. On the 13th of November, the Battle of Whitefish Bay saw the first major action between fleets of the Allies against the Reich. A carrier group headed by the ISS Kearsarge and escorted by 2 heavy cruisers and 2 destroyers were sailing in company with two missile submarines, the ISS Noah Berg and ISS Seth Kosky in an attempt to inflict maximum losses on the Allied forces attempting to evacuate civilians and equipment from the FWR. 

The United Manonan Navy had detatched Task Force 8 of the Far East Fleet to counter any such attempt, comprising three fleet carriers, a battleship, and 4 escorting destroyers. Kearsarge's aircraft sunk the Manonan carrier Agamemnon as well as the destroyer Implacable, but in exchange the Manonans were able to sink the destroyer Fesmeyer and both missile submarines; this loss forced the Reichsmarine to retreat from their assault. 

As the war's focus appeared to shift northward towards Despa and Pyrrhia, the Imperial fleet fell into action against the Manonans again off the coast of Sheboygan, a major Despan port. In the Battle of the Sheboygan Sea, the Manonans suffered significant losses but ultimately inflicted much heavier blows on the Reichsmarine. They successfully sunk the carriers Kitty Hawk and Galactica, as well as the light carrier Waubesa and the destroyer Nesbit. With more Manonan and Wisconsinite fleet carriers on the way to the Far East, it was clear to Imperial High Command that the allies needed to be dealt a crushing defeat to regain the initiative. 

The battleship Arstotzka was deployed to the area of operations along with an additional heavy cruiser and another destroyer. Linking up with the ISS Constellation and Forward unto Dawn, they joined the Kearsarge's force. Detected before they were within striking distance by a Despan merchant ship, the Imperials were caught unprepared. The Manonans had all three Vengeance-class fleet carriers available for the first engagement, which were heavily outmatched by the Imperials' three Republic-class supercarriers. However, the Manonans held an advantage in escort ships, with 2 battleships, 4 cruisers, and 3 destroyers to defend the fleet. Despite significant damage to many ships in the fleet, the Manonans only lost two destroyers; the Reichsmarine lost 2 supercarriers, 2 heavy cruisers, and 2 destroyers, along with putting the battleship Arstotzka out of action for a time. In fact, the Manonans believed they had sunk her. 

With the Reichsmarine in partial retreat in order to regroup, Madden ordered nearly every asset the Navy posessed which could be spared to make sail to meet Kearsarge and her task force in the open sea. The Allies, sensing an opportunity, drew ships from convoy escort and from the Manonan Central fleet into Task Force 11 and Task Force 10. The Federal Wisconsinite Navy joined them for the first time, sending Task Force 1 centered on 2 fleet carriers and 3 light carriers. The combined forces of the Allies included 16 aircraft carriers of all sizes, along with 16 escort vessels. The Reichsmarine nevertheless posessed a numerical advantage in aircraft thanks to their 6 supercarriers and 6 light carriers. However, the Reich posessed fewer escort vessels, which were also less suited to anti-aircraft duties than the allied vessels. As such, many aircraft were held back from offensive action to screen for the fleet. Whether by the allies' strategic flexibility, superior escort vessels, or sheer force of will is debated, but the defeat for the Reichsmarine was devastating. 3 Supercarriers and 6 light carriers sunk to the loss of just 6 allied vessels combined; five of these were aircraft carriers. In addition, 3 Imperial submarines were sunk in the action, further reducing the Madden regime's ability to launch nuclear strikes. 

The Battle of the Dune Sea ended the Despan Sea campaign and firmly established the supremacy of Allied fleet tactics. Ryan Madden, against the advice of Andrew Anderson, refused to take any of these lessons to heart and instead removed the fleet commanders and replaced them with other advisors, including some from both Starfleet and the Army. At first, it seemed that this shakeup worked as the Reich dealt the Allies a massive blow by sinking two powerful Wisconsinite battleships in the Battle of Camprest Island. However, the Allies swiftly responded with a minor victory in the Battle of Cassell Gulf. Attempting to halt the oncoming invasion of the southern territory of the Reich, Madden ordered the fleet to defend the Chippewaand Kegonsa seas, sending virtually all of the nation's remaining naval assets. By now, however, the Allied Powers had far exceeded the Reich's martime capacity and a massive fleet of over 100 ships assembled in South Waubesa to meet them. In the ensuing Battle of the Chippewa Sea, the largest naval battle in the SPN, any striking force left from the Federation-turned-Reich was shattered. Resorting to suicide attacks and kamikaze strikes to inflict damage against the well-defended allied vessels, the Reichsmarine lost 2 of it's last three carriers, 3 of it's last 4 light carriers, and 4 torpedo boats. A surface action between the big-gun capital ships, the Battle of Kegonsa, further inflicted on the navy the loss of the Arstotzka, as well as one of their cruisers, two of their destroyers, and the defection of many other assets including the capital ship Port Freeland. 

By this point, a number of Imperial ships had defected and joined with the Free Federation government to form the Free Federation Navy. By the end of the conflict, this fleet included