at the battle of sector 001 the USS Defiant along with the federation fleet engaged the Borg cube. in that battle numerous ships were destroyed with several ships being destroyed very quickly by the Borg. the Defiant however survived multiple hits from the borg and was eventually left adrift. tho the ship sustained heavy damage it is still puzzling how the Defiant was able to withstand hits that destroyed other vessels so easily.
how did the Defiant survive?
- Thread starter cwl
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AFAIK, it was supposed to be destroyed, but Ira Behr wouldn't let them.
SchwEnt's answer may be flippant, but it is also correct. The Defiant was designed as a pure warship, it's physical structure probably far stronger than anything else in the fleet. The addition of ablative armour reinforced her further.
The Defiant took damage, certainly, enough to knock out power and life support. But if the basic structure remained intact it would be possible to repair.
The Defiant took damage, certainly, enough to knock out power and life support. But if the basic structure remained intact it would be possible to repair.
Both Rikers even said so, guys. Try to keep up.
The reasons presented so far are perfectly adequate, but I wanted to point out one other thing as well.
How do we know that? What reasons are there to assume that the ships that went down were destroyed "easily"? For all we know, every ship in that battle that was destroyed on-screen had already been beaten to crap, and the blow that destroys the ship is, quite literally, the finishing blow. Some of those ships could have been fighting the cube for hours; it's never made clear just how much time goes by from the moment Picard decides to head for Earth to the Ent-E's arrival at the battle, but given that they were near the Neutral Zone, it had to be quite some time.
Yeah, that's my estimation as well. We have to remember the time frame from when the Enterprise warps to the footage of the battle, and ships like the Defiant were there from the start (according to the comm chatter). For that matter, even in the Dominion War, whenever we saw Federation ships go down under normal fire, it was during a battle that's implied to have occurred over many hours (ie, the First Battle of Chintoka, or Sacrifice of the Angels).
Let's also remember that the Borg aren't conventional enemies. In the battle of Wolf 359, they apparently didn't bother to finish off most starships - we saw plenty of near-intact wrecks, and it even seems that at least USS Ahwahnee was repaired and returned to active duty ("Redemption II").
The Defiant near Earth could have been rendered unbattleworthy, after which the Borg lost all interest in her and moved on to other targets. They wouldn't care about denying Starfleet of repairable wrecks - that's peanuts for them. But they could well care about assimilating every living body involved in the battle, as that is their holy mission.
The ships that did blow up from direct Borg fire in the ST:FC battle tended to be Steamrunners for the most part. Which makes me cherish my pet theory about the nature of those ships all the more: these seemingly minimally armed vessels of unconventional shape, with gigantic hangar doors rivaling the Galaxy ones, are planetary assault "floating dock" vessels, more or less incapable of ship-to-ship combat and easily succumbing to hits. They just happened to be available near Earth in great quantity because Starfleet was amassing them for the upcoming Dominion War there...
Timo Saloniemi
The Defiant near Earth could have been rendered unbattleworthy, after which the Borg lost all interest in her and moved on to other targets. They wouldn't care about denying Starfleet of repairable wrecks - that's peanuts for them. But they could well care about assimilating every living body involved in the battle, as that is their holy mission.
The ships that did blow up from direct Borg fire in the ST:FC battle tended to be Steamrunners for the most part. Which makes me cherish my pet theory about the nature of those ships all the more: these seemingly minimally armed vessels of unconventional shape, with gigantic hangar doors rivaling the Galaxy ones, are planetary assault "floating dock" vessels, more or less incapable of ship-to-ship combat and easily succumbing to hits. They just happened to be available near Earth in great quantity because Starfleet was amassing them for the upcoming Dominion War there...
Timo Saloniemi
The Defiant survived because the Borg really didn't want to piss off Sisko. "We'll probably get away with taking out the life support and killing the crew, but for One of One's sake make sure the hull is left intact!"
How did the Defiant survive? A main character was on board.
"Adrift but salvageable".
Like Timo said, it's not the Borg way to destroy things that pose them no threat. Once the Defiant's shields had failed and was rendered crewless, the Borg probably left alone it alone for the sake of efficiency. After all, there is no point destroying an adrift and crewless ship when there are other active targets.
Like Timo said, it's not the Borg way to destroy things that pose them no threat. Once the Defiant's shields had failed and was rendered crewless, the Borg probably left alone it alone for the sake of efficiency. After all, there is no point destroying an adrift and crewless ship when there are other active targets.
At 001 several Federation ships were hit by Borg cutting beams and enveloped in huge fireballs accordingly. The Defiant admittedly on the other hand looked as if a small firework went off.
and before anyone says the Defiant is a warship, ALL starfleet ships are warships to some extent (except the science vessels). the fact that starfleet has emerged victorious in numerous wars against numerous hostile powers shows that UFP starships are perfectly capable warships.
and before anyone says the Defiant is a warship, ALL starfleet ships are warships to some extent (except the science vessels). the fact that starfleet has emerged victorious in numerous wars against numerous hostile powers shows that UFP starships are perfectly capable warships.
Whilst I agree that most of Starfleets ships are very capable of defending themselves in battles, I have to disagree about the assessment that all Starfleet ships are warships. Sure, some ships like the Galaxy and Sovereign classes have a hell of a lot of firepower, advanced shielding and strong, structural integrity. The difference is, they aren't as maneuverable as the Defiant class.
The Defiant class was constructed with maneuverabilty in mind. That in theory, would make it a challenge for the Borg, especially if the ship was compact enough to evade cutting and tractor beam attempts. A Galaxy class starship has a larger surface area and wouldn't be able to avoid enemy fire as easily as the Defiant class could.
It seems that all the ships designed for tactical purposes are smaller in size for manueverability reasons. Along with the Defiant you have the Sabre, Akira and Prometheus classes.
The Defiant class was constructed with maneuverabilty in mind. That in theory, would make it a challenge for the Borg, especially if the ship was compact enough to evade cutting and tractor beam attempts. A Galaxy class starship has a larger surface area and wouldn't be able to avoid enemy fire as easily as the Defiant class could.
It seems that all the ships designed for tactical purposes are smaller in size for manueverability reasons. Along with the Defiant you have the Sabre, Akira and Prometheus classes.
starfleet ships are warships as they are required to serve as combat ships. remember TUC where a peace treaty raised the question about the starfleet being mothballed.
the Defiant may be a compact barebones starship designed specifically for war with all the extras stripped out but I dont see how it can withstand powerful hits from the Borg so easily.
the Defiant may be a compact barebones starship designed specifically for war with all the extras stripped out but I dont see how it can withstand powerful hits from the Borg so easily.
Saquist
Commodore
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