Scitaria-class battleship
 RS Shadow of Hope
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Scitaria-class battleship |
| Builders: | Ardiaei Constructs |
| Operators: |
 Navy of the Syaran Republic |
| Preceded by: | Zovahr-class battleship |
| Succeeded by: | Hayreniky-class battleship (planned) |
| In commission: | 1935-1938 |
| Planned: | 4 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Cancelled: | 2 |
| Lost: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Battleship |
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 265 meters |
| Beam: | 35.5 meters |
| Draft: | 10.4 meters |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 31 knots |
| Range: | 15,000 kilometers at 15 knots |
| Complement: | 1,200 officers and crew |
| Armament: |
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The Scitaria-class battleship was a class of fast battleships built by the Republic of Syara. The Scitaria-class were the largest battleships put into service with the Navy of the Syaran Republic, and the last class of battleships produced by the Republic.
The Scitaria-class was intended to complete the evolution of Syaran quadruple-turret fast battleships that had started with the Makedon-class and followed by the Zovahr-class, with the addition of a third quadruple turret aft of the superstructure. Retaining the 380 mm caliber from the Zovahr-class, the Scitaria-class was an upgrade in firepower, armor, and performance intended to act as the long arm of the Syaran battle fleet. By the 1930s concern in the Syaran Admiralty that the Syaran battleship fleet was insufficient to deal with the battleships of the Cacertian Royal Navy led to the commissioning of the Scitaria-class, which began construction in 1932 with the first keel laid down in July followed by the second in December. Neither ship was ready by the outbreak of the Siduri War in 1934. The first ship, designated the RS Shadow of Hope entered into service in March 1935, followed by her sister Atonement In Sacrifice in June. Although four ships had been planned, only two were completed, leading the ships to be labeled the "twins" among the Syaran fleet.
Both ships saw extensive service despite short careers. In January 1936 both ships took part in the Battle of the Gabrius Reef against a combined Cacertian-Quenminese task force that saw Atonement in Sacrifice torpedoed three times, though she managed to return to port and underwent repairs. In March 1936 Shadow of Hope took part in the Second Battle of the Mansuri Sea, where she sunk the carrier HMS Paterniano Viani. Atonement in Sacrifice returned to the fleet in time to take part in the Battle of the Bara Sea alongside her sister, but neither ship scored nor suffered any hits in the confusing engagement that followed. In September the two took part in Operation Uphold where Shadow of Hope was hit several times by Cacertian carrier-borne aircraft, forcing her to retire for repairs. Atonement in Sacrifice then took part in the Battle of the Sabri Sea, where it suffered seven hits by Tennaiite carrier aircraft, but managed to return to port for repairs.
After returning to the fleet in early 1937 Shadow of Hope was assigned to the Sundering Fleet to shore up the collapsing Shirvani Dominion. In March 1937 Atonement in Sacrifice led Omega Cluster in the Battle of the Mansuri Peninsula and was sunk with the loss of 874 of her crew of 1,254. Following the Shirvani withdrawal from the war, Shadow of Hope was withdrawn back to Syara waters. In December 1937 she spearheaded the last sortie of the Syaran National Fleet; in the last battleship engagement of the war she was hit 23 times and exploded, taking all but 93 of her crew with her. Syara surrendered two months later; neither ship had reached three years of service.