posted
Does it make sence to any of you that the Constitution-class should still be in service?
Think about it, as of at least 2293 the Connies were being retired from frontline service in favor of the new Excelsior's. They could still be used in a lower key role as transports or medical ships.
Oh, and don't forget that we had a little war with the Dominion. When you get desperate for ships you will use ANYTHING. Slap a little modern tech onto a Connie and you have one arse-whippen starship.
------------------ Brandon "Enterprise" Grasmick Commanding Officer, USS Sovereign (NCC-74222)
"It's the year 2000, but where are the flying cars? I was promised flying cars!" -- Avery Brooks, IBM commercial
posted
Well, it was never said that the Connies had been retired. A suggestion here and there, but never full dialog. Picard mentions one in the Fleet Museum alluding that all were out of service. A Republic is around as an old training ship, and that might be Kirk's Republic. People just believe that all are out of service.
------------------ 7 alarm clock: "Do not touch me." Dilbert: "Then how do I turn you off?" 7: "Believe me, I am plenty turned off."
posted
The USS Stargazer was going to be a Constitution Class ship until they got the budget to build a new model for the episode. In fact, they made it a Constellation Class because "Constellation" is easy to dub over "Constitution". The Constitution Class had a great tendancy to get destroyed, which was a natural function of their being sent in harm's way. With the Excellsior Class being bigger and better, they stopped making new Constitution Class ships by 2285 or so, and not many Constitutions survived. In fact, I believe the Enterprise-A was retired because it was the last one in service, and far too valuable as a museum peice to lose. But that's just my opinion, and may not be supported by any evidence.
------------------ You're a Starfleet Officer. "Weird" is part of the job.
posted
Well, that hull in TBoBW could have belonged to a different class that used that particular part. And the nacelle in TSoHV could have been from a Miranda, or any other ship w/ that sort of nacelle.
------------------ "I'm sick of you little girl and boy groups: all you do is annoy me, so I have been sent here to destroy you..." -Eminem, "The Real Slim Shady"
posted
There's never been any explicit declaration regarding the fate of the class, but, at least as far as my understanding goes, evidence for its decease stem from three or four general points.
1.) Throughout TOS, we get several references to the Enterprise and her class being, on the whole, rather small in number. In fact, I believe the number stated was 12 total. Now, of course, that only holds true for that moment in time. But that's where other factors come in.
2.) Constitutions don't live very long. Understandable, considering the harsh conditions they often faced with little support from the rest of the fleet, assuming that they all were on similar assignments as the Enterprise. They seemed to be eaten by giant space amoebae and crashed into flying cornucopias of death with disturbing frequency. Part of why the Enterprise was so famous might have had to do with the fact that she was one of the few to return from her five year mission in once piece, without having the entire crew turned to dust or sucked dry by vampiric clouds in the interim.
3.) And four, really. We simply don't see Constitutions anymore. We do see Excelsiors. We know that as the 23rd century was drawing to a close, the Excelsior was being billed as the next big thing. From the available TNG and DS9 evidence, it would seem that the Excelsiors were wildly successful, giving Starfleet little reason to pursue the proud but now wholely unnecessary Constitution class. Her deep space duties were taken over by the Excelsior, her patrol ones by the refited Miranda.
And so the Constitution class was honorably retired, with one possibly remaining on active duty as a cadet training ship, a few others put in various museums, and perhaps one or two others shipped off to serve in local defense fleets or the like. Perhaps the Wolf 359 Historic Battle Reinactment Society happened to be in possession of one on a rather unlucky day?
Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
Another point I may add up is that the Ent-A was ordered to be decommissioned after only seven years of service. Which is unusual. Ships are meant to be in service for around 20 years or so (unless the usual destruction of a ship occurs). Which means that around ST:VI, Starfleet was considering decomissioning the Constitution Fleet. And when the order for the Ent-A was given, it meant that the decomissioning was well under way.
The Ent-A/Yorktown was probably one of the last Constitution ships to be ever produced. Perhaps the fate of these ships were to be decided by the success or failure of Captain Sulu's mission in the Beta Quadrant.
------------------ "My Name is Elmer Fudd, Millionaire. I own a Mansion and a Yacht." Psychiatrist: "Again."
[This message has been edited by Tahna Los (edited July 07, 2000).]
posted
I believe the USS Endeavour NCC-1895 would be the last Constitution built. And Yorktown/Enterprise-A would be roughly 47 years old or so
------------------ "The things hollow--it goes on forever--and--oh my God!--it's full of stars!" -David Bowman's last transmission back to Earth, 2001: A Space Odyssey
posted
I like the idea that the Constitution II Class was refit to mimic the Miranda Class design because the Miranda Class was such a succesful design. That may also explain why we see so much Miranda's in the TNG era and (almost) no Constitutions.
------------------ "Do you want to be President?" "Yes." "Put you hand on the book and say 'I do'." "I do." "Good, done. Let's eat!"
posted
The presence of a Constitution hulk at Wolf 359 has had us teeter-tottering between theories for a while. First we thought the scene was filled with ships from various eras, including the Constellation-lookalike USS Buran of Challenger class. One Constitution in the mix would have only been natural - apparently, Starfleet was still extensively using old designs. So perhaps the Constitutions were still serving?
Then we learned that all the models built for Wolf 359 were new Galaxy generation ones, save for the Constitution secondary hull and a couple of background Excelsior study models. So now it seemed that anything older than the "Excelsior generation" would actually be a rarity in Starfleet service. Perhaps the Constitution was a museum piece from a near-Earth Fleet Museum?
Then DS9 proved there was at least one Miranda at Wolf 359, and later shoved dozens of these relics down our throats, reviving the idea that ships of that era still served. But these later Mirandas had NCCs above 31000, as far as we could tell. Not quite as old as the newest known Constitutions... And they were the only old type to be seen - no Constellations were in evidence.
Perhaps the newest show or possible upcoming movies will once again provide this kind of indirect "evidence"? The CGI models of Mirandas might see continued use there, suggesting their presence in DS9 wasn't just a desperation measure due to the war. Or then they might disappear altogether, suggesting that if Constitutions weren't dead in the early TNG era, they probably are now.
------------------ Frank's Home Page "Canadian bacon is called that because it's made from Canadians. And while I'm on the subject, could you people cut back on the fish and rodents and eat more fruits and berries? It would vastly improve your flavor, in my opinion." - Simon Sizer
posted
Oh yes they are. I think the whole Miranda situation is perfectly summed up by whoever it was who said "Luckily the Defiant was protected by ablative Mirandas."
posted
I prefer the 'take blueprints of old succesfull classes, use brand new materials and build total new ships' idea for the Oberth/Miranda/Excelsior Class ships.
With this explaination that would mean that either of the Constitution designs were not that succesfull. I don't know about the first Constitution but the second was definately flawed, as seen in the movies.
------------------ "Do you want to be President?" "Yes." "Put you hand on the book and say 'I do'." "I do." "Good, done. Let's eat!"
- G'kar and Sheridan, Babylon 5.
[This message has been edited by Altair (edited July 07, 2000).]
posted
Well, here's a little bit of non-canon thrown in to make you think:
In the novel Best Destiny, the E-A goes off on a side mission just before being decommed. It rescues an Excelsior class ship in peril, and thusly SFC decides to not decom the Constitution fleet.
------------------ "Huh. An intelligent guard. I never would have guessed." -Stith, Titan A.E.
[This message has been edited by Fabrux (edited July 07, 2000).]
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