The MCKENNA class | 400 years of being the best.

Generic greetings, todays video will be about one of the grandest warships in BattleTech, arguably THE face of the franchise when it comes to space combat. The McKenna class battleship. A beautiful juggernaut and one of the pinnacle of naval technology for hundreds of years. So settle in as we laugh, meme and joke our way through this beauty.
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[@mickbrown7793]

The ships absolutely can go into the atmosphere. Once.

[@gmradio2436]

"Anything is air droppable once."

[@wiaf8937]

and "its never a warcrime, the first time"@@gmradio2436

[@Talon1124]

@@gmradio2436 Any vessel is capable of making landfall, once.

[@gmradio2436]

@@Talon1124 I was paraphrasing maxim I heard.

[@phelandhu]

@@gmradio2436 Maxim #11 to be precise.

[@ralphsexton8531]

The Jump Core is a massive cylindrical slug of germanium. It actually has to be shaped like that to work. And that slug is so big that the ship is basically built around it. In this case, the McKenna weighs in at 1,970,000 tons - and the Jump Core is around 940,000 tons. I don't remember the exact amount, but Jump Ship Cores are like 97% of its weight, and the Warship version is half that.

[@alexs5814]

Ex-fucking-cuse me? Wow!

[@Paerigos]

That is the difference btween "Compact KF Drive" and normal KF drive. @@alexs5814 there is technological upper limit on how large can a ship be. although its more like "soft" lore limit, because humanity doesnt actually fully understand the jumpoits and the physics behind hem. there is something missing in the knowledge - for example noone is sure why Fortress works. and why it only works for long jumps. Noone knows why some HPGs were fried during the crisis and others werent. Its said that human understanding is precise enough to make it work... Like knowing taylor polynome expansion of function to 3rd order, But not enough to actually be fully correct in its interpretation for perfection on given scale you need 10th order. its more then likely that with more knowledge even larger ships could be built, or smaller ships with much less power needed.

[@robertbensch7748]

@@alexs5814yeah that´s why commercial jump ships are mostly loooong tubes with docking clamps all over them for smaller craft. Almost no stand alone ships have jump capability, and the jumpships function like buses. You fly up to the jump point, get clamped up and then do a series of jumps until you reach your destination. As the jump drives are mostly charged by accumulating solar power instead of using the fusion reactors (battletech is more of a heat management game than a battle game, and everything is about getting rid of heat) it takes a couple of days for each jump to be made. A very, very viable strategy is to bomb the heat dissipators on a ship and just keep outside of range and watch it melt itself. Fusion reactor + vacuum insulation ... not a nice way to sterilize a ship.

[@alexs5814]

@@robertbensch7748 is the ship still usable after you manage to hoover up the fine ash?

[@Xeno426]

Exactly. The fact that there's such a strong rule for how the setting's FTL system works that leads directly into their ship designs is just a cool aspect of setting consistency.

[@voicetest6019]

"can't be having those incorrect opinions" I see you're well versed with the battletech and mechwarrior community.

[@DefiantSix]

He's just moved to the head of the line of candidates for ComStar Acolytes with that one line.

[@alexs5814]

Another commenter mentioned the half-the-ship-in-weight core of the jump drive of this beast and i believe this would be a wonderful new video. Could you do a deep dive on Jump Technology in Battletech and how it is such a monster compared to most other types of drives in science fiction?

[@danielva1011]

Admiral McKenna having the only capable Space Force: I”M THE MIGHTY WATCHFUL EYE

[@danielva1011]

Fun fact: The Canadian Space Division 3 (the equivalent to the USAF Space Command) was established in 2022 IRL

[@IronSuns]

Hope you guys cover Drone Warships. Those things were a horror show, total destruction was necessary to stop the things.

[@fredlandry6170]

I love this ship in Battletech, General Kerensky’s Command Ship. I’m surprised it survived the Amaris Civil War I would think the Amaris forces would have launched everything that they had against it but I’m sure it was well protected.

[@urbiewolfie]

Welcome back, Steve! We missed you! We're finally going to get some quality content again.

[@Uncommoner]

"I stole your script" best answer in a series of best answers

[@PeachDragon_]

Steve is NECESSARY

[@AngryDuck79]

Steve says the soulless intro is never gonna change but one day he'll reply with "Hello, Steve" and the world is gonna lose its collective mind.

[@mikewaterfield3599]

What you forget is America annexed Canada in 2132.

[@KillerOrca]

So really northern Canada was REALLY Northern Washington by that point

[@mikewaterfield3599]

@@KillerOrca in my head canon (not sire if its accurate) I never got caught in the early history lore. I just know Ghost Bear is the best clan, Capellans gotta die, he who sells you weapons is your friend (looking at you Diamond Shark), and Taurian for life!

[@PeachDragon_]

​@@mikewaterfield3599we're only friends for as long as you pay your loans on time. Sincerely. -diamond shark

[@jaredragland4707]

Timeline aside, it is legit hilarious that the canonical world capital of the entire Earth is... Bremerton. I guess if they wanted to go even more out of the way, they could have gone with Sequim or Kamloops, but Bremerton is a pretty nowhere choice.

[@mikewaterfield3599]

@@jaredragland4707 bear in mind more than a few times nukes had flown.

[@arrowtooth]

It’s always interesting to listen to you guys talk about random underrated things from favorite sci-fi universes.

[@SirThoreth]

It's worth noting that the McKenna class, with all those heat sinks, can actually fire all its weapons except its aft chasers at the same time, which works out to 1084 points out of a potential 1274 points without any heat issues. There's a reason the Star League's answer to everything was "I killz it with my battleships."

[@JosephKano]

McKenna the man was a tribute to the maxim of "If you build it, you will find a use for it".

[@themisspultone]

This is a prime example of why I loved BattleTech lore. Its ridiculous enough to be believable. ps the phallic nature of jumpships is explained by the KF drive that is the core/spine of the ship.

[@derekburge5294]

Therapist: Big Canada can't hurt you. It's not real. Big Canada: *slags my damn islands*

[@Eulemunin]

I remember playing against those H NPPC are scary, as long as HS hold out.

[@PeachDragon_]

Your ship breakdowns are legitimately addicting to me, I've watched them all multiple times over and over, especially the ones on the expanse. It feels like an actual chat with a fellow nerd and a kidnapped engineer, rather than the usual collection of stats and technical terms (which is respectable too just not to my preference)

[@Jake9066]

He finally figured out how to use the geese, Canada's ultimate weapon

[@Lowlandlord]

Fear the cobra chicken!

[@Somewhat-Evil]

400 years old is a fairly new hull in BattleTech, the Aegis cruiser is over 600!

[@gregdomenico1891]

Every one who is saying 4500 ton's for the NAC 40 is alot, just for comparison, the triple 18.1 turret on the Yamato weights in at 2,774 tons. (With guns, with out barbette). The biggest issues with SLDF designs is the same for ISD's in Star Wars; who needs point defense when you have fighter's? As you can probably guess, the biggest killer of McKenna's was fighter's (and SLDF drone ships) with nukes. And for anyone who wants a more well rounded design, take a look at the Clans Nightlord class Battleship.

[@derkylos]

SLDF naval doctrine revolved around the key WarShip assets not getting nuked. Nuclear capable capital missiles are basically the best way to kill WarShips in the setting, and can be carried by fighters. Most of the time, SLDF WarShips operated as supply barges for the ground forces, having HUGE cargo holds.

[@pdorn1]

A Nightlord is a good start in that it actually has some Standard scale weapons for Point Defense (though not enough by far), but a better example that's closer to a McKenna tonnage-wise would be the Leviathan hulls; any of them.

[@TheTrueAdept]

@@derkylos nope. The funny thing is that SLDF ships have two anti-ASF advantages compared to their House brethren in some new rules: Bracket Fire and AAA Lasers. The former are flack barrages, decreasing range and firepower compared to their regular firing mode. The latter turns a Lua III destroyer into a scary MoFo as it can wipe the floor with a Davion II class thanks to its NAC-10 batteries doing Bracket-4 bracket fire. AAA lasers are a whole different level of scary. Like bracket fire, they use the bracket table, but unlike bracket fire, they use the full power of the naval lasers. So you can use your NL-55s to vape entire squadrons at ranges they don't have an answer for.

[@user-bv4zx6ln9m]

Canada. Americas hat.

[@RageDuck0]

America's hat full of war crimes and help

[@r3dfiv3]

Murica... Canada's dirty shorts

[@jfangm]

​@RageDuck0 Mostly war crimes. And corn.

[@jfangm]

​@@r3dfiv3 America. Canada's defense budget.

[@scottwalker6947]

Bluenose Clipper ships? Wow! Canada is all over this.

[@DeadBoy665]

The mechanic class is the Battlestar of the BattleTech universe, it has a ability to absorb and dispense great amounts of destruction. But it's so big and so in gamely and so slow. Playing this game back in the day was aggravating.

[@nibblitman]

I for one welcome our new Canadian overlords

[@gmradio2436]

Free maple syrup for everyone.

[@martinjrgensen8234]

Getting a broadside from this to the face, REALLY hurts.

[@Kaiju-Driver]

I've always liked this ship. It's role in the setting is unrivaled. Great content, thank you. :)

[@Jackjones78189]

hell yeah ! Mckenna !!!!

[@johntaylor8095]

Excellent video, I hope you male more about BattleTech ships!

[@randomnetsurfer]

"Canadian Genghis Khan", okay, you've earned that like. Now, let's see where this goes.

[@rexcolt2628]

welcome back

[@andrewweltlich9065]

Finally more Steve!

[@JBRocky007]

Nice to hear an Eddie Izzard reference.

[@dinodog6068]

If you like this ship, check out the Concordant class frigate. The entire front of it is just, guns.

[@Llangion]

That was a treat.I would love to know more.

[@JeanLucCaptain]

any incorrect opinions will be fact checked by Com*

[@Stinger420]

I've got this picture with the caption, "ComStar. AT&T with Guns. Pay your bills."

[@aliceosako792]

This is going to sound insane, but how interested would you be in doing a video about Cordwainer Smith's "Instrumentality of Mankind" series? It was a seminal setting in 1950s SF, but has mostly been forgotten today.

[@weldonwin]

If they do, can we please get the Lensman series?

[@davemilner5504]

"Oh He's a lumberjack and he's o-kay..." ;D

[@mikewaterfield3599]

Sorry, its the Texas class or the concordat class

[@platiuscyndar9017]

No, it's the McKenna. Always has been, always will be.

[@mikewaterfield3599]

@@platiuscyndar9017 the concordat held back the full might of the star league for twenty years, and it was the Texas class rebelling that made Kerensky stop and prove himself a dictator.

[@randomnetsurfer]

Okay so it's about the McKenna, i give a like. It's just science.

[@ligerstripe99]

So this is battletech's battlestar. :P

[@weldonwin]

No, Battletech's Battlestar is the SLS Dreadnought, the very first true warship and McKenna's original flagship. During the Amaris Coup, the Dreadnought was in the Sol system serving as a museum ship and when things went down, she was reactivated by her Star League Navy caretakers and used to escort a fleet of refugee transports out of the Terran Hegemony to safety. They literally did a Battlestar Galactica with the SLS Dreadnought

[@gmradio2436]

Wait, battlestar as a ship class/role or Galactica, the story of a specific ship?

[@ligerstripe99]

@@gmradio2436 the class of ship. As in look at science insanitys video on the battlestars and other than the holy wall of flack and facetanking a nuke, this ship does the exact same things as them.

[@gmradio2436]

@@ligerstripe99 Sorry, I replied to weldonwin with a phone. It showed up in your notifications.

[@ligerstripe99]

@@gmradio2436 That's fine the phone app is a pos..

[@jamesricker3997]

The Texas class Battleship was bigger and was the McKenna 's intended replacement

[@catboxvideo]

The Dropships must lock onto the Docking Rings ... it has 6 docking rings. With these you can add on any type of drop ships you need, mech, combined, vehicles, infantry, fighter carrier, or a combination of the above with a tender to also provide / support ground assaults. I really always preferred the Black Lion over the McKenna.. (another great vid gentlemen)

[@Kyzrath]

Leviathan (Great Bear) for the win.

[@Crazyman23]

Another thing for the gun weight to compare it to is the yamato's turret. That 3 gun turret comes in at around 2750 tons. So a little more then half the weight of that single gun .

[@legokill1019]

you gotta stop letting steve escape from the dungeon

[@oleksaderzybis9052]

Man your videos are sooo good. Would be glad if you'd include Dropfleet / Dropzone Commander lore into 'em. It is not a wide lore, but ideas inside are good. Anyways, thanks for a video!

[@thunderK5]

The actual highest casualty rate among SLDF Warships was the Luxor-class heavy cruiser: The Amaris War saw every ship in the class destroyed.

[@Wastelandman7000]

Welcome back Steve! I keep thinking its like the galley. Was used for centuries almost without change because nobody came up with anything better. its a tribute to technological stagnation.

[@Spamdestructive]

What a beautiful bit of chaos, missed you steve!

[@kilrathi827]

Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeve!!!!! Missed you buddy!

[@fredlandry6170]

4500 tons? That’s 9 million pounds!!!! That’s a big ass gun.

[@DefiantSix]

35:45 ::Desire to know more intensifies::

[@GregPrice-ep2dk]

So, McKenna was Kerenski before Kerenski?

[@jamesricker3997]

He only had one child, a daughter. She married the idiot son of a major defense contractor named Cameron

[@611fk]

Just under 1,5 km long... So... it's a Frigate. Kool.

[@wiaf8937]

rocky start into nailing it. Steve got it.

[@wiaf8937]

"i stole your script." ha!

[@grim1469]

regarding the shape it could partly be because there is no artificial gravity in Battletech like in other franchises. (only one of 2 i know that follows Newtonian physics.) as a result the warships are like a skyscraper where the engines are where the basement would be and the bridge where the penthouse would be and when on the move 'up' is towards the nose while 'down' is towards the engines.

[@arthurdotson9579]

I want those other potential videos. I ALSO want you two, Sci and Steve, to do a video where you just talk about designing a "Steve class warship". DO EET!

[@KillerOrca]

Honestly the backstory with McKenna is very much needrd because Battletech is SORELY lacking jn chadly men willing to break whats needed too and not give a FUCK (sarcastic) and learning about him is never a bad thing (genuine) Also the McKenna always looked like a fish or a whale to me

[@Animalover205]

Hey! Welcome back Steve! We missed you 😊

[@ZombieEater73]

I imagine this request would only be addressed if I were a Patron, but if you do any more individual mech breakdowns, I would love to see one done on the Warhammer. At least that's what I believe it's called. It's also known as the Excalibur in the Macross/ Robotech universes (I.e. using the same models)

[@fucktheGQP]

Hey! Steve is back!

[@cannibalpenguin19]

The Luxor class Heavy Crusier was single out by the Casper drones and the Reagan space defense system and was completely wiped out over Terra right before the first landings were underway, I believe that would be the highest casualty rate of any class?

[@Dreadwolf3155]

oh i so want to see more / new battletech space content!

[@TheTrueAdept]

Ok, some rules for SLDF ships can make them scary. One is the Bracket Fire rule (and can be used by everyone post-Amaris Civil War), where the basic idea is Galactica-style flack barrages, reduced damage, but it makes light-end NACs (Naval Autocannons, aka using nuclear explosions to yeet a projectile weighing in at several hundred kilograms at the minimum at ~450km/s) into horrors. Like a Lua III destroyer (before these rules, it was considered the *_WORST_* warship in the setting) could defeat a Davion II class with only a handful of hits at worst because of its NAC batteries wiping out the Davion's ASF complement horrifying. The second rule that makes SLDF ships scary? The AAA Laser rule. Take your NLs and use them as anti-aircraft guns *_AT FULL POWER._* So you get all the range of your NLs but are able to plink ASF assets depending on the size of the battery. So, say a ship has a large NL battery, and you decide to use this rule; any ASFs coming in that direction will be exterminated well outside their range with reasonable results.

[@imasspeons]

Wait, Warships *and* FTL music? Subbed.

[@EricDKaufman]

Okay, I look forward to watching this. After last weeks questionable conclusions about Warships and battletech fandom, I feel you are off on an excellent saving of grace.

[@murgel2006]

Well, I think you might enjoy the Renegade Legion stuff.

[@vincentstanley2291]

We missed you Steve and your audio that always sounds like your eating something.

[@KlaytonTripleO]

the real start 2:45

[@chthulu27]

After seeing Canada's current prime minister, i could see them going tyrannical.

[@Kissamiess]

Ah yes, the giant of the lost age.

[@gmradio2436]

I will nick pick the two definitions used. The orbital face of the franchise is probably a dropship. You are probably right that the McKenna is the face of the franchise when it comes to space combat. Two ever so slightly, but technically different titles. As established on this channel, being technically correct is the best type of correct. Memes aside, cool video. Why is Raging Canadian now referring to himself as Sci.I? Is this a Palpatine "I am the Senate." moment? "I stole your script." Was a nice bit. The laugh really makes it. When can we expect a video of jump tech, and the logistics it involves?

[@tancar2004]

Now you should do the Nightlord class. Clan Snowraven's attempt to one up the McKenna by using clan technology. Or the Leviathan which is basically a jump capable base.

[@paulsim7589]

I always thought the Black Lion was the face of Battlespace rather than the McKenna.

[@walt_man]

New subscriber! I see Battletech/Mechwarrior, done well. I click 'da' button. :)

[@shaftoe195]

So, basically the USS Mary Sue. Lol.

[@bthsr7113]

I'm rather partial to the Potemkin class.

[@curbnug3487]

I hate those people with incorrect opinions also. 😂😂

[@MOrab46019]

Steve is back.

[@SRTifiable]

Solid Eddie Izzard reference 😂

[@thunberbolttwo3953]

I always prefered the Texas over the McKenna.

[@wrayday7149]

Maple Syrup for the Leaf God

[@temperusmaximus7268]

"Removing britain is probably a positive for the planet" gentlemen, you had my interest before, now? Now I consider you kin.

[@ryank5424]

Even though he was kind of a dick. It does tickle me that an inportant character in a sci-fi setting is a fellow canadian. It doesnt happen very often, however it show show our politeness has its limits :)

[@justicar5]

Tube spaceships are probably realistic, if you radiation shield the hell out of the 'front' the rest of the ship can hide in it's shadow from solar flares etc, so a small cross section is easier to protect, and you bolt a cylinder full of stuff behind that.

[@Kanas83]

Wasn't the Ghost Bear Leviathan Bigger

[@johnpk5831]

Canadian Empire? All your maple syrup are belong to us.

[@DieselsVideos]

A nice size comparison: The McKenna Class wights as much as 20 USS Gerald R. Ford supercarriers Not one not 5... 20 of the biggest Aircraft carriers humans Build up until today.

[@joshuachapman247]

"A Canadian God Emperor sounds great." - From a Canadian

[@basara5496]

So, he's a lumberjack, and he's okay???

[@Uncommoner]

This is why you should be afraid when Canada loses its shit. Warcrimes be happening all over.

[@nibblitman]

They got that Geneva checklist to work from.

[@o.k.productions5202]

I take offence to Steve’s comment, we Canadians are born with a jar of maple syrup not a tin.

[@ProjectWARBEAST]

He’s not Canadian Ghengis Khan, he’s more like Canadian Space Stalin.

[@spartanalex9006]

What’s funny is that the McKenna by the rules of WarShips construction is actually pretty bad. It’s just lacking anything better to compare it to unless you build your own…. Like I did.

[@AKlover]

It'd be quite vulnerable to "Flak Spam" given all the exposed heat dumping mechanisms. Just literally spam walls of tiny "shot" made of dense material and in short order they will exhaust their ability to offload heat.

[@gmradio2436]

Is this from the table top, lore, or speculation?

[@AKlover]

@@gmradio2436 Never played the table top, I'm just looking at the design/layout. From the looks of things someone tried to ground the design in reality.

[@gmradio2436]

@@AKlover Ok. I would be surprised if those sails were capable of being damaged by traditional flak. Mostly because everything is armored in Battletech. It is still a weak point.

[@dawall3732]

No faulty information. True maple syrup comes from Vermont. (Fight me over it.)

[@r3dfiv3]

Ha!

[@Raist474]

The reason you don't see much Warships even in fiction is because they are too overpowered. They have no counter in the setting outside of another warship, and have the ulitmate high ground in a game built around ground combat. Also they are so mind-numbingly expensive, losing one is like losing a portion of your GDP, and only very rich nations can afford them. Turns the game into a one-sided slaughter.

[@texasdesertsailor2587]

McKenna was beautiful. But the Texas was the Beast.

[@mikewaterfield3599]

Eddie izard lived!

[@taylorbabcock4052]

Could you guys do the Texas class next?

[@comradepripin612]

Need more Btech in my life