These old ships were once considered among the largest and heaviest warships ever put to the stars, and the pride of the Republic Navy. Even today, they are considered dangerous opponents due to their excellent protection, small size (compared to newer battleships), quick turnaround times despite a low maximum acceleration of 2.1 Gs, and lastly, their powerful armament.
Additionally, recent modernizations using components from the Black Hills and Sirentide-class battleships have only increased their potency in battle, and as flagships.
The eight Shenandoah-class battleships and the preceeding 'standard-type' battleships were concieved as the 'anvil' to the hammer of the more mobile cruiser and destroyer forces against which enemy fleets would be shattered.
To do so, the Standards (or Dreadnoughts, in Avalonian parlance) would sail to target strategic assets such as shipyards, mines, fuel depots, etc., forcing enemy fleets to deploy against them or risk losing key resources whereupon the fleets would meet and the battle decided through overwhelming firepower.
However, the need for more mobile forces and advancements in ship construction allowed designers to combine the roles of the battlecruiser and the dreadnought into the Fast Battleship, leading to a naval arms race that quickly obsoleted the Shenandoah and her contemporaries, and led to the development of the massive Black Hills and Sirentide-class battleships.
The fact that even the smallest Fast Battleship was much larger and cost far more in terms of expenses, materials, and manpower such that even the largest economies could only afford a so many. Therefore giving impetus to modernize their ageing fleets of Standard battleships as well.
Ships in class:
BB-55 Winnipesaukee
BB-54 Brunswick
BB-53 Providence
BB-52 Shubenacadie
BB-51 Plymoth
BB-50 Sunderland
BB-49 Blue Ridge
BB-48 Shenandoah
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This ship was meant to be a representation of the USS West Virginia and the Colorado-class battleships in the pseudo WWII setting I'm developing.