After the Reunification War, the SLDF admiralty decided that their valuable troop DropShips were inadequately protected by existing escorte vessels. To remedy this situation, the SLDF commissioned a new escort cruiser. That commission produced the massive Potemkin Class troop cruiser, one of the most unusual designs ever built.
         Initially Riga Interstellar Shipyards submitted a design for a 750,000-ton vessel, capable of transporting and defending ten DropShips. The design pleased the SLDF admirals, who nevertheless requested a number of modifications. After eight years and eleven redesigns, the SLDF quartermaster approved the new design. At 1.5 million tons, the new vessel was larger than several battleship classes and required a new classification. And so in 2611, the first Potemkin Class troop cruiser emerged from the Riga shipyards. The Potemkin could carry an unprecedented 25 DropShips on docking collars arranged in five rows that ring the vessel's hull. This unique design feature led troops to nickname the new JumpShip the "Corncob."
         The Potemkin mounts a formidable array of weapons. Twenty Fugison-2a Naval PPCs line each side of the vessel, supported by Maxell-45 Naval Lasers in the bow and stern. These weapons allow the Potemkin to engage targets up to 450 kilometers away, a range that is considerably greater than that of any DropShip or fighter, as well as those of many WarShips. However, these powerful energy weapons create massive amounts of heat and so require a large coolant system.
         Many of the 106 Potemkins known to exist served admirably in the Periphery campaigns, as well as Operation Liberation. However, most of these vessels were decommissioned after the collapse of the Star League, and many were dismantled. Only about thirty Potemkins remained intact to flee the Inner Sphere during General Kerensky's Exodus. Most of these vessels transported the families of SLDF troops during the 18-month trek to the Pentagon. Each Potemkin became a spaceborne city, with the crews and passengers of each WarShip's 25 DropShips mingling and trading goods. The children of the first post-Exodus generation were born in these communities, which also contained seeds of dissent against Kerensky's rule. The Potemkin Class Hermes was one of those vessels involved in the Prinz Eugen revolt, and its commanding officer, Admiral Robert Nicholls, was among those executed.
         All 30 Potemkins from the Exodus fleet--except one ship lost after the formation of the Clans--remain in service with the Clans. Most Clan fleets contain at least one of these vessels, which have been fitted with lithium-fusion batteries and hull-sealant units.

Clan Vessels:
Cloud Cobras - Wisdom of Ages, True Sight
Coyote - Midnight Star, Morning Star
Diamond Sharks - Poseidon, Titanic, Tsunami, Red Tide, Kraken
Goliath Scorpions - Enceladus, Karttikeya, Epimetheus, Prometheus
Hell's Horses - Steel Shield, Armageddon, Blood Horse
Ice Hellion - Coterie
Snow Ravens - Wild Swan, Snow Flake, Bonaventure, Eden Rose, Rock, Treachery
Star Adders - Renown
Steel Vipers - Ophidian, Serpentes
WiE - Full Moon

Inner Sphere Vessels:
Comstar - Vision of Truth

Old Star League Vessels:
Hermes (Exodus - Clan Snow Raven Treachery)
Richardson (D - Amaris Liberation)
Potemkin
Riga
Nightwind