Canon Fodder Reveal, UNSC Wet Navy

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When we talk about the UNSC Navy, it’s almost always certainly dealing with their space-faring vessels—but what about the seaborne ones? We do, after all, state that the UNSC Army maintains a specialized “wet navy” on several worlds, where we have seen gargantuan aircraft carriers on Earth (such as on the Halo 3 multiplayer map Longshore), and submarine arsenal ships were present on Reach. During the Covenant War, these were often the last surviving military assets following ground invasions and orbital bombardment, as the Covenant would typically bypass the oceans of worlds they attacked.

So, let’s take a closer look at the Crassus-class supercarrier...

 

CRASSUS-CLASS SUPERCARRIER
MANUFACTURER: SinoViet Heavy Machinery
ENTERED SERVICE: 2411
LENGTH: 1,633ft (507m)

Rebuilt and recommissioned in 2411 for use by East African Protectorate regional peacekeeping forces, the Crassus served as a training ship and drone mothership until 2490, when it was retired from service and moved to serve as a floating military museum. It was again reactivated in 2550 as part of Earth's defensive preparations, where it was moved multiple times during the Covenant assault on New Mombasa—resupplying Wombat drones and Pelicans for quick strikes against targets of opportunity along the coastline.

The ship was spotted by Jiralhanae hunting parties who engaged the ship and its support vessels with a mixed force of infantry in war-sleds and dropships on November 18, 2552. Covenant boarding parties quickly seized the flight deck, but the cramped interior corridors proved to be a significant hindrance for the massive Brutes and wide Grunts, particularly as bodies choked the passageways. Tiring of the stalemate and lack of slaughter, the Brutes demolished the flight tower and withdrew to their own dropships.

Battered and wrecked, but still floating, the surviving crew moved the ship to safety, and cleared the deck to allow for limited flight operations to commence. Following the end of the war, the ship was towed to Durban, where it was once again converted into a museum.