Named for one of the Nirtalm's most accomplished wet-naval commanders who played a critical role in her homeworld's Final War theclass Battleship has for 107 years been the primary capital ship of the Commonwealth Star Navy, serving as the primary heavy hitter in their Walls of Battle and often as flagships for task forces. They are not subtle ships, being ponderous (it's gravitic drivers only being able of 27 Gs of forward acceleration even after the latest refits, 2/3s of what a Light Cruiser or Destroyer could do) and with all but the most token attempts at stealth capacity omitted, though their sensor networks are among the best in the fleet. Their function in fleet battles is first and foremost to get within the knife fighting distance of 200,000 kilometers or less and carve apart any ship it faces with it's massive heavy duty particle cannons. Service on a Frath Shomis class ship is often considered a prestigious assignment which your average Nirtalm spacer hopes to get at some point in her career simply because the promotion prospects are more highly valued. This is especially true of captains assigned command of these who are often treated as apprentice Admirals. Some 305 ships ofclass have been built (not including the 68class Torpedo Battleships or 82class Fleet Carriers), with only 5 of them (6 if one includes aclass ship) being lost in battle. It is believed that this class will continue to serve the Commonwealth for the next century at least.