HMS Sara Vazzana (BBG-EE-007)
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| File:HMSSaraVazzanBBGEE007.png | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Cacerta
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| Name: | HMS Sara Vazzana |
| Namesake: | Dr. Sara Vazzana |
| Ordered: | 15 December 1975 |
| Builder: | Royal Shipbuilders of Cacerta |
| Laid down: | 3 November 1976 |
| Launched: | 9 January 1979 |
| Commissioned: | 11 July 1979 |
| Motto: | “Nothing unattempted” |
| Nickname(s): | Big Vee |
| Honors and awards: | |
| Status: | In active service; CWCF |
| Notes: | First guided-missile battleship of the CRN to see active combat |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Empress Elliana-class battleship |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 262.4 meters |
| Beam: | 33.4 meters |
| Draft: | 11.8 meters |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 32 knots (60 km/h) |
| Range: | 14,900 nmi at 24 knots |
| Complement: | 1,150 officers and crew |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
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| Armament: |
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HMS Sara Vazzana (BBG-EE-007) is a Cacertian Royal Navy Empress Elliana-class battleship and the seventh ship of her line. Affectionately nicknamed “Big Vee”, she was named after naval corpsman Sara Vazzana who was noted for her service during the Divide War rescuing Cacertian wounded well within no-mans land. As of 2021, the Sara Vazzana currently possesses the most service crosses of any ship in the modern Cacertian Navy.
In 1984, the Sara Vazzana had initially been attached to serve with the Southern Fleet, but as potential support for the Wardens began to grow within Cacerta she was later reassigned to the Andria Fleet. The increase in military participation of both Acrea and Ossoria later prompted the creation of Task Force Aspis of which Sara Vazzana and the older Natalia Barberi would form the spearhead. Her deployment to combat operations during the Refusal War allowed the CRN to extensively test her new systems. While the Sara Vazzana’s advanced sensors, electronic warfare suite, and multipurpose vertical launch systems proved very effective, significant problems were discovered in her newly developed defensive countermeasures and close-in weapons systems.
The Custode CIWSs employed aboard were brand new and had yet to be extensively tested; on two occasions the system failed to engaged threats against the Vazzana or other ships within close proximity. On 11 March 1985, a Syaran Royalist Nephele fired an anti-ship missile at the Natalia Barberi which deployed its chaff countermeasures in response. Both starboard-side Custodes on the Vazzana, which were operating in automatic target-acquisition mode, locked on to the Barberi’s chaff firing off a burst each that struck the Barberi. The missile missed its intended target and no injuries resulted in the accidental friendly fire. Three months later, in June of the same year, another missile was fired at the Barberi and the Custodes aboard the Vazzana failed to engage and remained in standby mode.
During the Battle of the Olichara Gulf, Vazzana suffered severe damage to her stern after being struck by a Royalist missile below the waterline. The ship's chaff countermeasures successfully defeated two of the incoming four missiles with a third failing to detonate. The Custodes had been turned off following the previous two engagements and debate still exists as to whether or not their activation could have intercepted the fourth missile. As a result of the strike, 63 of the ship's crew were killed with another 22 suffering injuries. Vazzana docked in Moddra following the battle and underwent repairs that put her out of service until early December.
Her later deployment during the FedCom Civil War as part of the Navy’s Center Fleet saw significantly less technical failures. She served as the CRN’s flagship during much of the conflict.
As of 2020, the Sara Vazzana is currently assigned to the forward-deployed fleet at JOC, Whitecliff in Shalum.