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I wrote this and thought you guys might enjoy it.
RS
With the breakout of the Dominion war Starfleet was losing ships at an extraordinary rate. Admirals scrambled to begin rapid prototyping and refurbishment on at least 178 partial builds, salvaged hulls, and spaceworthy warp engine systems. The ships that could be structurally mated and outfitted were hastily launched and flight-tested, more often then not given no formal name or registry number. The Shelly class (the name was given to the nine ships that survived the war) is an Excelsior/Constitution variant that served as a medium cruiser, a fighter carrier and or fleet tug. Two versions of this ship were actually created; a medium cruiser and fleet tug/carrier. Seven ships were created of the cruiser design, and six of the tug/carrier. The cruiser version was not very maneuverable in a dogfight but her firepower, which consisted of eleven type-ten phaser banks and five torpedo launchers with a complement of the new quantum and photon torpedoes. As a result the Shelly-class cruiser outmatched every ship in her class. So she proved better as a cover for fighters and a point ship for attacking wings. As a result the cruiser version of the Shelly was often seen protecting her carrier sister. As a carrier, the Shelly class ship would often be found near the front lines. At the beginning of a fight, the carrier would rush to the front with all her guns blazing with additional fire from nearby cruisers and battlecruisers, to release her precious fighters to do soften up the enemy front ships. Weapon complement for the Carrier variant consisted of nine type-ten phaser banks (four on the saucer and five on the secondary hull), three proton torpedo launchers and three tractor beam emitters located near each of the fighter bays to help guide the ships in. With Retaliator and Peregrine class fighters in her grasp and protection, she proved to be a worthy opponent. The tug version too served an important use in the war against the Dominion. As the carrier would be used at the beginning of the fight, the tug would go in after the battle to retrieve escape pods, wreckage that still had life signs or had military value. Between battles the tugs would tractor ships to starbases for repair, transport medical supplies to nearby hospital ships or starbases. The tug did not have as many weapons as her sister variants, relying on other more on escort cruisers (such as the Centaur-class) for cover. In conclusion all the Shelly class variants helped carry the Federation to victory against the Dominion and their allies. Even though not very many of the ships survived the war, they will always have their part in the memories of the survivors and the victors.
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Not a bad writeup. One nitpick is that the name is actually "Shelley" class, named for Mary Shelley, the author of "Frankenstein". The name is evocative of the patchwork look of the ship. This is the fandom name for it, though, and arguably the more popular one. The name on the actual model is USS Curry NCC-45617 (after DS9 Visual Effects guy Dan Curry), which suggests that it was built some time before the Dominion War - as a result, some fans prefer to call it the "Curry Type".
At the time we first saw her, a lot of us came to the conclusion that the Shelley was more of a transport or logistical support craft rather than a combat ship. There's no evidence to support this, of course, so any interpretation is purely open to opinion.
I thought making her more versital might be kinda cool. Since she is a kitbash she would not be made for one specific task, so I made a cruiser/tug/carrier out of her. She would make an exellent cruiser with many places to put phaser and torps.
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