The _Berlin_ class Light Rider 

BM-1 Berlin 

BM-K6068F3-C00100-00009-0 

MCr10,780.7 			

10,000 tons 		batteries bearing      A  

Crew=440. 		batteries        A  

TL=12. 
Low=220. 
Cargo=218. 
Fuel=800. 
EP=800. 
Agility=6. 

Marines=350. 

Notes: Has a frozen watch, fuel scoops, and purification plant.
This class normally operated in groups of four. This is the original 
_Berlin_ class rider. 180 of these riders were  built, and the class 
was originally meant to serve as part of the core of  the NFN, along 
with the _Provence_ heavy riders. Riders of this class  were named for 
cities on Earth. The class saw extensive action during 5627. In the Old 
Islands War, it  was found that the Amondiage _Sword_ class was almost 
perfect for  fighting the _Berlin_. In addition, the weaknesses of the 
rider concept  were dramatically displayed when half the NFN's riders 
were captured at  the Third Battle of St. Genevieve because they couldn't 
retreat from the  system. The disastrous showing of the riders during 
that war convinced  the Admiralty to drop the rider concept, although 
riders would remain in  service for several years yet. During the Topas 
War, the _Berlin_ made just the opposite impression on  the Serendip Belt 
when a Light Rider Squadron and a Cruiser Squadron tore  up half the 
Belter Navy. The _Berlins_ of the Light Rider Squadron were  captured, 
but the performance of the NFN ships so terrified the Belters  that they 
later ran away rather than fight an Alliance force. Following these wars, 
fourteen of the twenty _Berlins_ captured by the Belt  were given to 
Topas to serve as the core of its Navy, and the other six  were kept 
hidden by the Belt. In 5629, the NFN officially gave twenty of  its 
_Berlins_ to the Alliance Navy. In 5631, the NFN decided to give their 
remaining _Berlins_ a Series A refit. 60 riders received the refit 
before the Serendip War. 

BM-1 Series A K6068H3-C00300-0000A-0 
MCr10,755.6 
10,000 tons 		batteries bearing     A  
Crew=440. 		batteries       A  

TL=12(14). 

Notes: Has frozen watch, scoops, plant. The refit cost MCr347.6
per ship  and took 9 weeks. 40 of the Series A riders, along with 
the 80 remaining original model  _Berlins_, participated in the 
Second Battle of Neubayern, where the  Missile-A bays of the refitted 
riders helped pulverize one of the Belter  battleships. 73 of the riders 
were lost, however. When the Imperials invaded, 20 Series A _Berlins_ 
were hidden in deep  space. The rest of the class was scuttled (very 
visibly) in the Neubayern  system to prevent capture by the Imperial 
Navy. When the Imperials were  thrown out, the 20 _Berlins_ were 
reactivated to act as system defence  boats for a few months and then 
were relegated to museums. They never saw  action again.