Air Corps: A quick guide to Air Ships

The Air Corps of the Glorious Kingdom of Eglen has copied the air ship nomenclature from the Imperial Eglonian Navy, and then expended upon it.

Types

Battle airships are the biggest, heaviest, best armoured and most armed airships, but they tend to be slower, and more difficult to manoeuvre. Battle airships also require the most crew and resources.

Cruiser airships are designed for long range patrol, to extend the range they are less armoured compared to battle airships, but armed well enough that they can keep their own in a fight with another cruiser and anything smaller than them. Also cruisers are equipped/stored for long duration missions.

Hunters are the fastest of the fighting airships, designed for speed and intercepting. Very lightly armoured, they employ hit and run tactics on bigger ships, and are armed with specialised weaponry for that. Their regular arms are just enough to take out a smaller opponent.

Frigates are the workhorses of the Air corps, they are unarmoured, have a decent range, mostly used for border patrolling, escorting, and presence missions. Their armament is simple but effective. In peacetime they are the most economic ship to keep sailing.

Corvette. The smallest fighting airships, unarmoured, lightly armed. They are used for domestic patrolling, escorting, or as a shield/remote weapon in a fleet. Therefore several types of corvette exist, specialising in different weapons.

After these ships that share names and roles with the Navy, there are some specialised ships:

Bomber. A cruiser sized airship, but unarmoured. With only the minimum of light weapons for self defence against airships like frigates and corvettes. Their power plant is similar to that of a cruiser, giving them equal range but lacking in speed and certainly unable to sprint. All this saved weight capacity is used for the transporting of bombs. That can be dropped over enemy terrain.

Freighter. An airship designed to move cargo (or groups of people). The Air Corps acquires these from the market. And only slightly modifies them with light/minimum self-defence.

Sloops. The smallest airship, unarmoured, unarmed, moderate range but a good speed. Used for transporting (important) people, and messages. As well as making observations. Odditiy here is that sloops are not part of Air ship wings. But stand outside of this organisation structure. Sloops are base bound, and are not gathered in a squadron, flight or wing.

Numbering

Battle airships are gathered in a squadron under an Air Ship Wing. For instance Air Ship Wing 1 has Battle squadron 11 with the single battle airship 111. With the numbers 112 to 119 reserved for future use, replacement or expansion.

Cruisers, Hunters, Frigates and Corvettes follow the same system, gathered in a squadron, 12, 13, 14,1 5. And numbered 121 until 159. Depending on how many ships in each squadron.

Fighters are gathered in a wing, but these wings carry a two digit number. Currently 10, 20 and 30. Subdivided in, up to, three squadrons, 101-103, and those subdivided in Flights, the flights carry letter markings. A(lfa), B(ravo), C(harlie), D(elta).
The Odonats themselves are numbered again, so 101A1 would be the first craft from Alfa flight of the 101^st Fighter squadron in the 10^th Fighter Wing.

Bombers, have their own Bomber Wing. Not numbered, but lettered BW. Subdivided into three squadrons, BW1, BW2 and BW3. Each squadron consists of, up to, five bomber airships. BW11, BW12, BW13 …. BW35

Freighters carry their Transport Group Number, for instance 4001, with a – separating a identifying number, like: 4001-1 . Freighters are not grouped in sizes or specialities, but just numbered in order of activation.

Sloops, Sloops are odd. They are marked with the shorthand of the base they are stationed with an added letter.
MP-A for example is a sloop stationed in Millpoint Air Station, with the designation A.
IH-CC for example is a sloop stationed in Ivoryhall Air Base, with the designation CC.
There is no regulated system for using letters, CC doesn’t have to mean that A-Z and AA to AZ are already spent all the way to CC, it can be a similar class of sloops, Sloop C in class C, or a group of sloops with the same function, that is up to the base to handle, and depends on the quantity and diversity of the sloops they have access too. And sometimes the added one or two letters just refers to the name of the sloop.
Kind of odd actually that the airships that are the most numerous have the least strict number/naming convention.

Wings

Air ships are grouped in wings.

1^st Airship Wing consists of the: 11^th Battle squadron, with one battle airship. 12^th Cruiser squadron, with one cruisers. 13^th Hunter squadron, with two hunters. 14^th Frigate Squadron, with four frigates. 15^th Corvette squadron, with six corvettes. Stationed at Ivoryhall Air Base.

2^nd Airship Wing consists of the: 21^st Battle squadron, with one battle airship. 22^nd Cruiser squadron, with one cruisers. 23^th Hunter squadron, with two hunters. 24^th Frigate Squadron, with four frigates. 25^th Corvette squadron, with six corvettes. Stationed at Babington Castle Aerodrome.

3^rd Airship Wing consists of the: 31^th Battle squadron, with one battle airship. 32^th Cruiser squadron, with one cruisers. 33^th Hunter squadron, with two hunters. 34^th Frigate Squadron, with four frigates. 35^th Corvette squadron, with six corvettes. Stationed at Piers Field Air Base.

4^th Airship Wing consists of the: 43^th Hunter squadron, with two hunters. 44^th Frigate Squadron, with four frigates. 45^th Corvette squadron, with four corvettes. Stationed at Victory Field Air Base.

5^th Airship Wing consists of the: 53^th Hunter squadron, with two hunters. 54^th Frigate Squadron, with four frigates. 55^th Corvette squadron, with four corvettes. Stationed at New Oak Air Base.

6^th Airship Wing consists of the: 63^th Hunter squadron, with two hunters. 64^th Frigate Squadron, with four frigates. 65^th Corvette squadron, with four corvettes. Stationed at Cardinal Post Air Base.

Bomber Wing consists of the: 1^st Bomber squadron, with five bombers. 2^nd Bomber squadron, with five bombers. 3^rd Bomber squadron, with five bombers. 1^st Bomber escort squadron, with six corvettes. 2^nd Bomber escort squadron, with six corvettes. 3^rd Bomber escort squadron, with six corvettes. Stationed at Reamingworth Air Base.

10^th Fighter Wing consists of the: 101^st Fighter squadron, with thirty-two fighters. 102^nd Fighter Squadron, with thirty-two fighters. 103^th Fighter squadron, with thirty-two fighters. Stationed at Millpoint Air Station.

20^th Fighter Wing consists of the: 201^st Fighter squadron, with thirty-two fighters. 202^nd Fighter Squadron, with thirty-two fighters. 203^th Fighter squadron, with thirty-two fighters. Stationed at Millpoint Air Station.

30^th Fighter Wing consists of the: 301^st Fighter squadron, with twenty-four fighters. Stationed at Wellinggar harbour.

Naming

All airships get a name, which is formally appointed at the moment the Air Corps commisions the ship, although it has been decided upon during the planning. The Odonat fighters first went without names, but later got named by their pilots after flying successful missions.

The Air Corps Naming Committee is in charge of choosing the names of all things new within the Air Corps.