EarthForce Capital Ships

Captain John Sheridan is liked by the men who serve under him because of his fairness. His motto is: "Never start a fight - but always finish one." Many of his opponents have learned to appreciate the full significance of this. Sheridan also collects conspiracy theories as a hobby.

Olympus Class Corvette

Here's another old ship. The Olympus Class Corvette is the oldest class of vessel still serving in EarthForce. We had those before the Earth-Minbari War; they were a fairly early light and fast gunship, but we hadn't perfected the jump engine technology at the time, so they were rather dependent on the jumpgates. Many of them served alongside the Nova Class destroyers in Earth's last defence at the Battle of the Line. Most of the Olympus class were just cut to pieces by the Minbari Warcruisers.

EAS Jupiter

I've got a few CamBot images of an Olympus-class corvette, the EAS Jupiter. You can see from the pictures that the Olympus is based around the utility pod technology still used by most freighters. The central core of the ship is surrounded by four long helium tanks, used to supply the aft fusion drive engines.

She's just shorter than a Hyperion, at just over 440 meters, but more manoeuverable, and was used a lot for convoy escort duty during the Dilgar War. The main advantage of the Olympus was that it was cheap to build in large quantities. I rather think that the Jupiter didn't survive.

Olympus Class Firepower

Regarding weaponry, she only had four standard pulse cannon and a couple of long-range rail guns; but she did carry four missile launchers. I think it was this last feature which made her useful for convoy protection.

I guess the only other feature of note is the projecting observation deck on the port side of the ship, which you can just see in this picture. It gives the ship an assymetric appearance. This is taken from the Battle of the Line. You can see a Nova-class dreadnought in the background.

Olympus Class Deployment

Here's one last picture of the EAS Jupiter, again taken from the Battle of the Line. I keep this picture, because just behind it, you can see the hull of my old ship, the EAS Lexington, with the name clearly visible. It's a reminder of the old days, I guess, and many fallen comrades. You know, they say we won, because the Minbari surrendered after the battle, but I can't see how we defeated them, not with ships like this.

We do have one or two Olympus-class left; mostly, they're used for ceremonial duties. We also use them as tenders, for refuelling fighters, since they can carry so much helium! But we don't use them for front-line duties anymore. The Olympus-class just doesn't stand up to the kind of warships that the other races are fielding.

Well, I guess it's been nice reminiscing about the old days. I'll let you get on your way, unless you want to hear my war stories all over again.

Exit to Transport Tube

Would youl like to hear again about EarthForce capital ships? Captain John Sheridan is off duty, and he seems willing to spend some time talking with you. Click on the Omega Class Destroyer to continue.