posted
Hey, look! A ship class with a write-up AND a digram! Write-up by Maldal (still can't remember who he was), diagram by Lee.
Steamrunner Class Starship
Class Overview
One of the last vessels designed and launched before the debacle at Wolf 359, the Steamrunner Class of starships was the quintessential utility vessel of starfleet. The class was originally designed as a replacement for the elder statesman of the fleet, the Miranda class, in the role of cruiser and deep space fleet escort.
The Steamrunner class is equipped with modest scientific and diplomatic quarters and sensors, and has proved to be a capable stand-alone deep space vessel.
Construction History
The Steamrunner Class was born out of necessity. The Miranda Class had long since past its expected service life by more than 75 years. In that time, Starfleet had yet to find an adequate replacement for the multi-role Miranda�s, so the call went out to the Fleetyards of the United Federation of Planets for a new, small, multi-role vessel to replace the Miranda class.
Over ten different designs were submitted to Starfleet. Several of these designs went into production under different contracts, the Norway and Saber Class vessels among those used by Starfleet. The accepted design for the Steamrunner Project was from the Nesrun Shipyards.
Pursuant to Starfleet Exploration Directives 902.3 & 914.5, Starfleet Defense Directives 138.6, 141.1 & 154.7, and Federation Security Council General Policy, the following objectives had been established for the Steamrunner Project: 1. Provide a multi-mission mobile platform for a wide range of scientific and explorative research projects. 2. Replace Miranda, Soyuz, and Merced class Starships as the primary instrument of Federation deep-space defense. 3. Provide autonomous capability for full execution of Federation defensive, cultural, scientific, and explorative policy in deep space or border territory. 4. Serve as a frontline support vehicle during times of war and emergencies.
Construction of the first prototype hull, now designated NX 51000, began in 2350 in Arm 3 of the Nesrun Shipyards. The nacelle / primary hull assembly was completed within the year, and the primary secondary hull and both Primary and Auxiliary Computer Cores were put in place by the end of 2351.
The question of what type of power plant to use for both Impulse and Warp engines. Due to the unique profile of the Steamrunner Class, a standard Impulse and M/ARA configuration had to be abandonded. The debate raged as to just how powerful of a plant the vessel needed until 2353, when the Akira Project began propulsion testing of its own unique warp core and impulse engine configuration.
When the Akira project design team rejected Consolidated Fusion Inc.�s M/ARA and Impulse engine design, Team Steamrunner jumped into the vacuum. Talks between CFI and Project Steamrunner went quickly, and within 2 standard months, the first test Impulse Engines and Warp Core arrived at Nesrun. Owing to the unique design of the Hull, and that the impulse engines were originally designed for a much larger vessel, some severe modifications to the NX 51000 hull took place. The most visible modification was the extraction of the primary Warp deflector array from the primary hull. Because of the necessity of the deflector to Starship survival at high warp speeds, the Deflector was mounted �outboard�, in a pod strung by structural beams between the Warp Nacelles. This unique configuration was not the most efficient manner of reconfiguring the deflector network, but it was the most expedient.
NX 51000 left Arm 3 of the Nesrun Shipyards in 2354 for Impulse engine stress testing near Theta Cygni V. Stress tolerances were well within expected levels, and the hull was towed back to Nesrun for interior compartment completion and final warp testing. The hull, now dubbed the USS Steamrunner, had final compartmentalization completed on December 1, 2354 and took its final shakedown cruise through the new year to January 31, 2355 when she arrived at Sol system for its official launch. By the time the USS Steamrunner entered into service in 2355, her sister ship, the USS Sulaco NCC 50001 was nearing completion at Nesrun, within no less than 10 more hulls being prepared for construction.
At the height of production, both the Nesrun Fleet Yards and the Balkinur Cosmodrome were producing Steamrunner Class vessels. Squat, ugly, but heavily armed for their size, they were slowly supplanting Miranda, Soyuz and Merced class vessels on deep space patrol and survey duties at the very fringes of the Federation. Production of the Steamrunners continued until 2359, when the first of the New Orleans Class vessels began entering service and the vessels outlined in the "Master Plan for the Renewal of the Fleet" began entering service. Despite its solid performance since its introduction, the Steamrunner fell into disfavor with Starfleet Command, who preferred the newer New Orleans class frigate.
The introduction of the New Orleans Class pushed the Steamrunner class out of its traditional role of Deep Space and Diplomatic vessel. The class was retired to refit status as the Steamrunner�s weapons and shielding were upgraded as Starfleet sought to find a mission role for this small, modestly equipped starship. It wasn�t until Wolf 359 and the realization that the Borg posed a clear and present danger to the Federation and her allies and the continued problems with the development of the Defiant Project made the decision easy as to what role the Steamrunner was to play. Soon, the class was refit with new Type X phaser banks and the forward torpedo launcher was made largely automated to allow for a higher volume of firepower. This gave the Steamrunner class unprecedented firepower for its size, second only to the size to firepower ratio presented in the Defiant project vessels. Owing to the number of Steamrunner Class vessels that were in active service, and complexity of the refits ordered by Starfleet, the turn-around time for these �new� Steamrunners was excessive. Over 20 were completed at Utopia Planetia and Station McKinley by the time the second Borg Incursion occurred. Of those 20 Steamrunner Class vessels that participated in the defense of Sector 001 in that battle, 9 Steamrunner class vessels were destroyed, 5 suffered significant enough damage that Starfleet decided to scrap the hulls. Of the six that survived the battle and were still space worthy, the most notable was the USS Appalachia.
By the outbreak of war with the Dominion, the Federation had uprated their entire fleet of Steamrunner class vessels. As losses mounted in the war, production orders began again for the Steamrunner Class vessel. It was a proven design, heavily armed for its size, and was well-suited for combat against Dominion Threat vessels. Production of the Steamrunner fell again on the Nesrun Fleetyards and the newly revamped Balkinur Cosmodrome, where production continues to this day. Several small modifications have since been made to the refit specifications on the Steamrunner Class, including the addition of EMH technology in Sickbay and Ablative Armor to the nacelle and Deflector dish assembly.
Ships of Note:
USS Appalachia NCC 52136 USS Shenandoah NCC 52200 USS Quirinus NCC 83942 USS Artemis NCC 83093 USS Athena NCC 83099
I'm building a pair f Steamrunner models tonight nad need your help:
I needs an answer on the Steamrunner- aside from the nacelle tips, what parts of the nacelle glow blue? The publicity beauty shot shows grey areas on the side that are sometimes represented as the glowy blue areas by fan artists and modelers.
Anyone got a screencap from First contact or the many other appearances on DS9?
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
y'know - i'd like to see the four FC ships gussied up with proper detail and to see some proper beauty shots in the Ships of the Line calendars/books/media of choice.
Those ships have been 'around' now for 10 years.
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
posted
There's also a shot of the Steamrunner from behind in "Tears of the Prophets" during the end of the battle, I think. I don't have access to all my own screencaps and stuff. Everything I've seen of the Steamrunner suggests that it's just a thin line of the rear caps that glows blue.
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
That LOOKS detailed but aren't those images just a quick study/ marquette thing? On the Sabre, the Steamrunner and the Norway versions of these - the windows are shocking - all wonky etc.
And we NEVER see the undersides of these ships.
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
Thanks, those screengrabs were really what I was looking for, as they show no blue glowy things on the nacelle's sides.
If SSM makes the ship available again, and you want to buy one (cheap at only $25), I'd gladly build paint and decal her for you. They also make an incredible Akira for $45 and Odyssey Slipways offers the Sabre and Norway (rounding out the "class of '94). The whole FC "Family" of new ships would run you about $150 in models (I could easily donate an Enterprise E- those are now -thankfully- a common styrene kit).
Mark, thanks for that beauty shot (I have that and another as reference for painting already )- I just did not fully trust that image, as the ship's impulse engines are not lit and I thought mabye they forgot to do the same with the nacelles.
That dark area at the nacelle's ide sure looks like it should be glowing blue- it even has the nacelle ribbing. Mabye it was intended to be glowy, but that was never used in FC nad later CGI models followed suit?
Damn weird that it's fring a phaser out of that "notch" at the front! There's two glowy rectangles in there but all the pahsers on the ship are clearly on the ship's hull elsewhere and the main dorsal strip could be firing that same shot. Bad CGI artists! No cookie for you!
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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Glad to help. I had a feeling from the way you mentioned FC only that you might not have remembered the appearance of a brace o' Steamies in "TCFoE" (still not brilliant caps though, is s7 out on DVD yet?) Twenty-five bucks, hmm? Yeah, I'm up for that, I love the Steamrunner and would really like a representation of the design. Let me know if you ever get ahold of any more?
posted
Word is that they'll be offered again. I'll be posting pics of my completed model(s) next week- I've been making decals for it in Illustrator all night and I think I have the last of them worked out now...
Season 7 is indeed on DVD- I have it too, just not sure which episodes had the Steamrunner. Sad they only used it and the Sabre in a few brief shots here and there.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
It's pretty easy to find in "The Changing Face of Evil." The Fed fleet approaches Chin'toka, and those screenshots are from just before or just after the Defiant scrags a Breen warship, starts to pull up over the battle then gets hit by the energy-draining weapon. I love that scene - Sisko's sheer cockiness going in, and then it all goes to hell. . . Probably the second-best ship-death scene (easily eclipsing the E-D) after that of the E-nil.
posted
(As far as random destruction goes, I have a soft spot for a certain Akira with a serious attitude control problem, though it was just a background detail.)
Registered: Mar 1999
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