Alexandria class heavy cruiser

By the end of the One Year War it had become obvious to the Earth Federation that the primary weapon in any future war would be the Mobile Suit. Because of this the Federation began to study the lessons learned from the "Pegasus" class program (several units of which, including "Albion", were still building) in order to create a better carrier for their mobile suit forces, and the result was the "Alexandria" class cruiser.

The Federation originally commissioned the "Alexandria" class shortly after the One Year War, and the ships were set to be delivered in time for the Federation's naval review in UC 0083; however, setbacks during the outfitting pushed back their launch date. The "Alexandria" class was equipped with four two-barrel main beam turrets and two single-barrel beam turrets, and had two launch platforms for its Mobile Suit contingent, which were stored in the bow below the bridge. These vessels became command ships for various Titans task force commanders.

These ships originally went into service for the Federation's elite "Titan" task force, a group formed in the wake of the Delaz Conflict whose sole purpose was to eliminate threats to the Federation. The Titans were utterly ruthless in their pursuit of dissidents, taking up Zeon-style tactics including the wholesale nerve-gassing of entire colony cylinders, and brought about a full scale civil war between the Federation and the dissident Anti Earth Union Group (AEUG). After the defeat of the Titans, the "Alexandria" class became an uncomfortable reminder of them, and the class was quickly and quietly decommissioned, the last unit mothballed before the Second Neo-Zeon War in UC 0093.

Two ships of the "Alexandria" class were refitted. One was the "Hario", a ship that was used by the Federation, which was modified to include addition aft firepower (the aft quarter being a traditional weak fire zone in space warships). Decades after the retirement of the last "Alexandria" class ship from the Earth Federation Space Force, the "Gaunland", a ship of that class, was recommissioned and refitted by the League Militaire to act as their flagship against the invading Zanscare Empire. Included in the "Gaunland" refit were two additional Mobile Suit catapults in the aft, as well as addition beam turrets. "Gaunland" gave honorable service to the LM, redeeming at long last the honor of the class.

ee also

*Mobile Suit
*List of Mobile Suits
*Minovsky Physics

External links

* [http://www.mahq.net/ Mecha Anime Headquarters]
* [http://side7.gundam.com/rgz/info/uc_ship2.html Library of Londonion (ship names & fates)]