Rim Worlds Confederacy

Flag: Old US Flag circa 1783 modified - 9 stars on blue field in ring pattern.

Total population-75,030,307.

Economy and Trade: This is based on sales of the abundant and extremely pure iridium deposits that the Rim Worlds possess. The RWC trades with most of the known galaxy with a few exceptions. There have been no sales made to the Eurasian Solar Union since the attack on New Virginia in 2179, the Netherlands prefer to rely upon their own resources, and sales into the Federal Stats Europa have slowed down to a trickle in the last several years. The RWC?s most important and certainly largest buyer is the New Anglian Confederation, other major trade partners include Free Cal-Tex, the New Swabian League, the United Nations, New Isreal, and Japan. Pound for pound the Rim Worlds Confederacy has the strongest economy of any nation, it is only it?s relatively small size that has kept it a Minor Power. As it?s population grows however the RWC is expected to achieve Major Power status by the turn of the century.

Foreign Relations: The RWC is currently allied with Free Cal-Tex. It maintains Strong ties with the New Swabian League and the New Angian Confederation, it has been a friend of the Romanov Hygemony in the past. As for enemies, relations with the ESU have been very bad ever since the attack on New Virginia. A number of times since the RWC naval forces (operating under NAC letters of marque) have clashed with the Eurasian VKF, with the Eurasians frequently being embarrassed by the Rim Worlders. The main enemy, however is the Federal Stats Europa. Rim Worlds Task Forces are usually assigned to operate against the predominantly French alliance mainly because their Bonaventure B class Escort Cruisers give them the ability to withstand the FSE?s salvo missile armed ships better than other nations. The fact that the French accused the RWC of manufacturing the 3rd Solar War didn?t help matters. Experts predict that the Rim Worlds Confederacy will formally declare war on the FSE by 2185 and that the New Swabian League will likely follow their lead. The Romanov Hygemony may run a few smash-and-grab raids against the ESU at that time.

Relations are graded as follows: 1=bad, 2=poor, 3=average, 4=good, 5=excellent.

NAC: 4/5 ESU: 1 UN: 3 NSL: 4 FSE: 1 FCT: 5
PAU: 3 NI: 4 IF: 2 SK: 2 LLAR: 3 RH: 3
OU: 3 DL: 2 IC: 3 J: 3 CH: 2 SF: 3

Editorial Notes

Naval Forces: What follows is a brief description of each class of combat vessel currently is service with the Rim Worlds Navy as well as one class which is planned to enter service soon.

• Stinger class Local Fast Attack Boat (LFAB): An engine with a crew module and a pair of sub-munitions packs tacked on. Essentially an eggshell armed with a hammer.
• Pearl class Corvette (CT): A small, lightly armed Patrol and Escort vessel, currently being phased out of service.
• Ranger class Heavy Corvette (CTH): The replacement for the Pearl class, it carries only a single battery but that weapon has twice the range.
• Gryphon class Frigate (FF): A light explorer and escort vessel it?s armour gives it better survivability against hostile forces.
• Fearless class Destroyer (DD): This is a fairly standard destroyer built around generalist principles, it forms the bulk of the RWN patrol squadrons.
• Bonaventure A class Light Cruiser (CL): A strong cruiser design the RWN maintains exactly nine of these as the flagships of it?s patrol squadrons.
• Bonaventure B class Escort Cruiser (CE): The majority of Bonaventures are of this variant. Designed as an anti-fighter/anti-missile platform in that role it stands supreme.
• Vanguard class Heavy Cruiser (CA): Intended to stand in the RWN?s small line of battle, their triple class 3 batteries make them very dangerous opponents.
• New York class Battleship (BB): Commissioned in the late 2130s they were the Rim Worlds Navy?s first non-carrier capitol ships, a few remain in service.
• Constitution class Battleship (BB): Forming the center of the RWN battleline, their heavy shields and quadruple class 3 batteries make them very powerful.
• Confederacy class Dreadnought (DN): With an excellent mix of weapons and defenses, the RWN's main class of heavy warships anchors the navy?s battleline.
• Princeton class Escort Carrier (CVE): The RWN?s smallest carriers, they are used primarily for escort duty and to ferry replacement fighters to the bigger carriers.
• Independence class Light Carrier (CVL): The navy?s standard do-everything carrier. Any formation of size will include at least one of these.
• Coral Sea class Fleet Carrier (CV): Their main class of heavy carrier, the Rim Worlds Navy builds it?s fleet around this class.
• Shinano class Assault Carrier (CVA): The biggest ships in known space, they are the embodiment of the RWN?s doctrine of naval warfare - Carrier Operations.
• Monitor class SuperDreadnought (SDN): The build on these ships has yet to commence. Experts doubt that the RWN can build them, however they felt the same way about the Shinanos.

Player notes: The RWN is a carrier based navy, play them that way. Their battleline although powerful, is small and intended to protect the carriers from direct ship-to-ship assault. Once an opposing force has been sufficiently weakened by the carrier strikes and turns away an ambitious Admiral might order his battleline to pursue. But heaven help him if he screws up and loses his carriers because of it.

It is very important to correctly make use of the Bonaventure B class Escort Cruiser, this ship is what allows the RWN to take the offense against an SML armed opponent. Don?t be afraid to divide the point defense fire of the Bonaventure B, that?s what it was designed for. Don?t worry too much about your carriers, unless they are clearly the target of a saturation attack they have the point defense systems to take care of themselves (exception the Princeton class CVEs) , as well as fighter screens. Use you CE s to protect your heavy cruisers and battleships, they have lighter point defense and their loss opens your carriers to attack. Mind you, what applies to salvo missiles also applies to fighters.

Other than that tactics are pretty much common sense. Keep your carriers well behind your battleline, at least 7 MU but I prefer 10. If your opponent has fighter capability then make sure you escort your strikes in and under no circumstances neglect a combat air patrol. A special note- when employing Stingers have them make one and only one high speed pass on a single enemy ship firing both submunition packs at optimum range (i.e. 6 MU) and then immediately accelerate at maximum thrust. If you?ve done this right you should be out of range the next turn.

Designer's Notes: The first time I read the Full Thrust Fleet Book I couldn?t help but notice that no government built carriers, instead they built hybrid carrier-battleships. This didn?t seem right to me. If the carriers were fought as carriers then all the heavy guns and missiles and the like would never be used, and as such were a waste of mass that could be better devoted to more fighters. Likewise the idea that BattleDreadnoughts and up should carry fighters seemed to be straight out of SPACE CRUISER YAMATO, and again was a waste of mass that would be better used as beams, torpedoes, armour or shields.

Now some years ago I had created the Rim Worlds Confederacy as a political entity for a campaign I had run using FGU's SPACE OPERA. They had designed their fleet around carrier ops. I simply adapted them to the FULL THRUST Universe, writing a whole new history but keeping the thrust the same: A group of malcontents unhappy with things on Earth found a new nation far away, after a period of isolation they start interacting with the rest of humanity again. The "Yankee Trader" aspects of their character just seemed to flow naturally as I went along. In the end the RWC was born into the FULL THRUST Universe.

I hope that you all enjoy reading and using this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Ground troops will be forthcoming as soon as I get my hands on a copy of DIRTSIDE II. Any comments should be addressed to johnjstevens@hotmail.com and would be greatly appreciated.