Jack of Harts

The Confederation Navy went through many growing and shrinking pains during the Second Great Depression and beyond. The fleet carriers were far too expensive for any single State to maintain, but the smaller amphibious assault ships were another matter. The size of World War II fleet carriers, they could carry a Marine Expeditionary Unit, its landing craft, and a few fighters at the same time. They could push that number up to a pair of fighter squadrons if they unloaded enough heavy equipment, making them a major threat in nearly any operational theater. They had been used to support, or replace, fleet carriers for decades, in operations all over the world. The USS Bataan was still homeported to the reserve fleet in Norfolk when the failed nuclear strike against Virginia occurred. Her crew spent little time bringing her fully online and finding a Marine fighter squadron willing to fly off her. She and her destroyer escorts became the core of the Virginia, and Confederation, Navy for years to come.