Syaran Auxiliary Cruisers
Syaran Auxiliary Cruisers was the catch-all term utilized to describe the convoy escorts of the Navy of the Syaran Republic during the Siduri War.
The designation "Auxiliary Cruiser" utilized by the Syarans was different than most other nations in Tyran; in most navies, the term "Auxiliary Cruiser" explicitly referred to civilian ships, either merchant vessels or passenger liners, that had been converted to military use through the addition of weaponry and military equipment. The Republic of Syara however applied the term "Auxiliary Cruiser" to any vessel designated for convoy escort duties regardless of origin or tonnage; this extended to vessels of less than 1,000 gross registered tonnage, including ship types that most other navies would have designated corvettes, frigates, sloops, or destroyers. Syaran Auxiliary Cruisers included both purpose built warships but also modified civilian vessels repurposed for war. More than 415 such Auxiliary Cruisers were either constructed or converted over the course of the war.
Shortly after the war began, the Syaran Admiralty had recognized the need to protect Syaran merchant shipping from commerce raiders. Re-assigning warships from the National Fleet however was seen as wasteful and threatened to undercut Syaran ship strength at a time when it was desperately needed to take on the likes of the Cacertian Royal Navy. In response, the Syaran Navy began the Auxiliary Commission, which was given broad authority to identify commercial vessels for use as convoy escorts and also outline designs for the constructions of light craft that could be used to defend convoys as they transported materials from foreign ports to Syara. The Syarans began converting civilian ships to wartime needs shortly after the invasion of Ruvelka in April 1934, on occasion utilizing captured Ruvelkan vessels. By August however as war with the Common Axis drew nearer the Auxiliary Commission began designing purpose built warships for the purpose of convoy escort. A total of five designs were approved during the war, the Zargita-class (designated by the Cacertians as a corvette), the Svostra-class (considered a frigate), the Pydna-class (identified as a torpedo-boat), Vanir-class (an ocean-going monitor) and the Konovo-class (sometimes labeled a destroyer escort).
Although each design was different, they all shared common characteristics. Because their principal duty was convoy escort, speed was not considered essential (the Vanir-class could only muster 11 knots an hour). Armament tended to consist of small caliber cannons (the heaviest was carried on the Vamir-class of a single 155mm cannon), along with depth charges and torpedoes. Torpedoes were considered the default weapon when it came to engaging enemy surface combatants, as they represent the one weapon system where the Syarans enjoyed an advantage over their Common Axis counterparts. Otherwise Auxiliary Cruisers were lightly armed and armored. None of the purpose built craft exceeded 2,000 tons and most lacked water-tight compartments to save time on construction and cost.
While they were cheap to produce they were by virtually every metric inferior to even lighter warships. Direct engagements between Auxiliary Cruisers and commerce surface raiders frequently ended with the loss of most convoy escorts, while submarine engagements tended to be more evenly matched. On a few occasions Auxiliary Cruisers proved unexpectedly formidable opponents, most notably during Convoy ST-178 when the Auxiliary Cruiser Considerate Spirit sank the Cacertian Brindisi-Class Light Cruiser HMS Starmi and a Luciana-Class Destroyer. Such victories were rare however, and Auxiliary Cruisers tended to suffer heavy losses; by the end of the war, 283 of the 415 Auxiliary Cruisers built or converted had been lost. Despite their occasional grossly-outclassed engagements, Auxiliary Cruisers developed a reputation for near suicidal willingness to engage larger warships in defense of their convoys; in Operation Winter Phantasm the 1,344 ton Pious Inquirer charged the 54,528 ton HMS Amika Carpio battleship head on in an effort to buy time for the rest of the convoy to escape. During an attack on Convoy ST-544, the Forgotten Wanderer pulled alongside the Cacertian Anastasia Alberti-Class Battlecruiser HMS Zanita Testo, upon which the Syaran crew began firing small arms at the battlecruiers' bridge in an effort to kill the bridge crew. In other occasions Auxiliary Cruisers rammed submarines and surface raiders in attempt to sink their adversaries, earning them the nickname "Suicide Ships" among some Common Axis crews.