Alpha Centauri
Usually seen somewhere in the Southern skies
Member # 338
posted
Timo: I acknowledge the fact that the "Up the Long Ladder" DY-series ships did not have DY-registries. There were also no NCCs. I'm just mentioning conjecture from treknical fandom. The Bonaventure: the dialogue can be interpreted as the Bonaventure being the first 'regular' ship to be fitted with warp drive, after the Phoenix. The Phoenix was merely an experimental craft, while the Bonaventure was a real ship. Perhaps Cochrane's brief warp trip was even the only flight by the Phoenix ever.
Targetemployee: What does the DS9 Companion exactly say on those runabouts? I guess you're assuming that the Carolina is not a Daedalus because it was in service by the 2260s. If we scrap Okuda's conjecture of it being a Daedalus, then its class remains unknown. Unless it will later be contradicted in canon, I take the Carolina as a Daedalus. Even the fact that it was still in service by the TOS-era does not automatically mean it isn't a Daedalus. It might have been taken out of mothballs for some reason, and would in that case most likely execute secondary, non-urgent missions (Intra-system personnel/cargo transport? Ore hauling? I don't know what the ep says on what mission it was, if it says anything at all, so these are just random guesses).
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ALPHA CENTAURI
Human Class - Starfleet registry NCC-75715 Launched stardate 8311.23 - Parental Biology Yards United Federation of Planets
"A dedication motto? What about it?" - Alpha Centauri
[This message has been edited by Alpha Centauri (edited August 10, 2000).]
posted
USS Carolina Her mission was to patrol the Neutral Zone.
USS Kongo NCC-1710 The class of this ship was unknown and remains unknown. Many fans listed this ship as Constitution Class either because the Making of Star Trek was known to he or she or he or she chose to 'follow suit'. In the movie The Undiscovered Country, where this ship was listed, only the following ships have their class listed. This was because these ships were in other episodes or mentioned in the encyclopedia where their class was given. They are 1. USS Constellation NX-1974 Constellation Class (Encyclopedia, TNG Companion) 2. USS Eagle NCC-956 Constitution Class (Encyclopedia) 3. USS Endeavor NCC-1895 Constitutiton Class (Encyclopedia) 4. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A Constitution Class (Movie-schematic) 5. USS Excelsior NCC-2000 Excelsior Class (Movie-dedication plate) 6. USS Lantree NCC-1837 Miranda Class ("Unnatural Selection") 7. USS Potemkin NCC-1657 Constitution Class ("The Ultimate Computer") 8. USS Republic NCC-1371 Constitution Class ("Court Martial", encyclopedia)
The ships with unknown class are 1. USS Ahwahnee NCC-2048 2. USS Challenger NCC-2032 3. USS Emden NCC-1856 4. USS Helin NCC-1692 5. USS John Muir NCC-1732 6. USS Kongo NCC-1710 7. USS Korolev NCC-2014 8. USS Oberth NCC-602 9. USS Scovil NCC-1598 10. USS Springfield NCC-1963 11. USS Whorfin NCC-1024
Even Ms. Trimble didn't know the class of the 11 ships. And she didn't list the USS Kongo as Constitution Class. Her list matches that found in the encyclopedia. If someone could get the class information for these 11 ships, this could help resolve the issue of wheter the USS Kongo was Constitution Class or the USS Oberth was Oberth Class.
In the DS9 Companion, in the section which was about the Danube Class starships, there was a list of ships that are said to be the first to be commissioned after the USS Danube NX-72003. The order doesn't match the episodes, suggesting that the ships weren't commissioned chronologically.
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takeoffs are optional; landings are mandatory
[This message has been edited by targetemployee (edited August 10, 2000).]
posted
Nope, no UESPA, no name, nothing - just the registry on the nacelle, and standard Starfleet pennants of 2260s vintage on the secondary hull flanks. You might be thinking of a stupendously inaccurate reproduction that was later circulated (probably to hide the embarrassing fact that the on-screen Bonadventure looked far too 2260s-like).
Targetemployee: just because Kirk or a later character calls a primitive space vessel a starship doesn't mean it was necessarily called that in its heyday, by its own crew. I'd like to think that the whole term "starship" was something specifically invented for the Constitution class, and thus put on the dedication plaques at first; when lots of ship classes were built with similar or improved capabilities, Starfleet bumped the Constitutions down to "heavy cruiser" category, and either reserved "starship" for bigger designs like the Excelsior, or abandoned it altogether.
Why do I like to think so? Mainly because Diane Carey thinks so . She's been improving her act considerably, relegating FASA to the deep background and even adopting some Okudaisms in her newer books. I got totally hooked on the "New Earth" hexalogy, where the difference between a "cruiser" and a "starship" again is prominent...
posted
There is something appealing about "starship class" being an older (but more confusing) term for "explorer class".
Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
I'm all with Joshua here. When the Constitutions premiered, they were probably considered a step up from the big cruisers of the era, but Starfleet didn't want to call them battleships since they weren't meant primarily for battle or anything. So they dreamed up "starship". By the movie era, there were plenty of ships with similar capabilities extant, and bigger ones were coming off the docks, so the early "starships" got bumped down to "heavy cruiser".
Using this terminology, the ST4 reference to the Probe neutralizing three starships and two smaller vessels would mean the thing offed three Excelsiors or other similarly big ships (Constellation? Federation?) in addition to the "small" Saratoga and Yorktown...
After a while, the novelty value of "starship" wore off, so that perhaps it was applied to the Excelsiors or Ambassadors for a while but then abandoned soon thereafter in favor of "explorer". Some would still remember the old usage - say, the Ferengi in "Peak Performance" would still associate "starship" with "the biggest type of Starfleet vessel, the one that can kick the crap out of our Marauder".
posted
The Star Trek 4 reference could actually mean 3 starships (Yorktown, Saratoga, and one other) and 2 other small vessels could mean some small civiilan freighters or shuttles.
------------------ "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
. She's been improving her act considerably, relegating FASA to the deep background and even adopting some Okudaisms in her newer books. I got totally hooked on the "New Earth" hexalogy, where the difference between a "cruiser" and a "starship" again is prominent...
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