Constitution Class Starships under Conmstruction in Trek 11

[theARE]

Re: Constitution Class Starships under Conmstruction in Trek

ST:Enterprise, like so many other things buggered this up. Prior to that it was quite conceivable that the class of the ship seen in TOS was the first proper "Starship".

What I mean by that is that it is capable of operating independently for a stretch of time. Previous ships like the Daedalus class might have only been able to make short, specific missions out of star bases.

Under that scenario it's quite possible that the class was initially referred to as just Starship class. As different classes of ships, also capable of operating independently where commissioned, the initial Starship class might have been retroactively renamed as the initial ship of that class, the Constitution.

Course, Enterprise buggered all that up.

 

[Timo]

Re: Constitution Class Starships under Conmstruction in Trek

It should be noted, though, that those past ships of the Daedalus era were also known as starships in TOS already. From the Captain's log in "Return of the Archons":

Kirk: "...While orbiting planet Beta 3 trying to find some trace of the starship Archon that disappeared here a hundred years ago..."

Whether the skipper of the Archon would have called his or her ride a starship back then is a different matter. But clearly Kirk at least believes that the old ship was worthy of the starship designation by 2260s standards.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[aridas sofia]

Re: Constitution Class Starships under Conmstruction in Trek

By Matt Jefferies own TOS-era numbering convention, rationalizing what "NCC-1701" might mean, the Enterprise was the first build of the seventeenth starship class.

I think the intent was that "starships" were very special kinds of spacecraft, but not necessarily something new.

 

[theARE]

Re: Constitution Class Starships under Conmstruction in Trek

That might make sense actually. If Starfleet started off numbering the classes, then later change to naming them.

If the Constitution 1700 was the test bed for the 17 class of Starship, when the fashion changed and starfleet decided to use names rather than numbers, all ships of that type where renamed to Constitution class.

My God I think we've cracked it!

 

[USS Mariner]

Re: Constitution Class Starships under Conmstruction in Trek

If that's true, all other classes may have been "backnamed" to conform to this logic.

It makes sense, especially with me, as I've always considered the Federation and Starfleet to be closer to a Confederacy in TOS than a true "Federation."

 

[theARE]

Re: Constitution Class Starships under Conmstruction in Trek

Lets clear this thing up once and for all then:

1) Starfleet initially numbered the classes of their starships.
2) The Constitution was the testbed for the 17th class of Starship. It never went in to service.
3) The Enterprise was the first of her class to go into service. At the time it was rightly described as "Starship Class" on the dedication plaque.
4) Later Starfleet decided to retroactively rename the classes and stop the numbering process.
5) The Enterprise was as such later called a Constitution Class.
6) There may have been a debate whether the class should be named after the test bed, or after the first vessel to go into service, hence the "Enterprise Class" name floating around.

 

[Cary L. Brown]

Re: Constitution Class Starships under Conmstruction in Trek

Well, none of this is "cleared up once and for all" in any case... it can only be "cleared up" if it's covered on-screen in a totally unambiguous way. And even then, unless the solution presented doesn't disagree with anything else that's already established (whether real or fictional), such a proposed solution STILL won't put all the debate to rest.

Me, I don't see the list, above, as being right. Of course, it's not "wrong" either... it's just different from what I see.

I see the breakdown as being this way. (I'll follow down only one branch of the tree I see... note, for instance, that the categories I list are only found for Class I Starships, for instance.)

"Supercategories" of ships
- Class I Starships
- Class II Spaceships
- Class III Transports
- Class IV Small Craft
- (etc)

Categories of ships
(Class I Starships)
- Command Ships
- Carriers
- Cruisers
- Destroyers
- Frigates
- Escorts
- Scouts
- (etc)

Subcategories of ships
(Cruisers)
- Heavy Cruisers
- Medium Cruisers
- Light Cruisers
- Escort Cruisers
- Exploratory Cruisers
- (etc)

Classes of ships
(Heavy Cruisers)
- Constitution (Block I)
- Constitution (Block II)
- Constitution (Block III)
- Enterprise (Block I)
- Enterprise (Block II)
- (etc)

That's the most logical way of handling this that I can see... everything else just feels like "straining" to me.

 

[theARE]

Re: Constitution Class Starships under Conmstruction in Trek

Well the "cleared up once and for all" bit might have been a bit strong, but I think those point give a satisfactory answer to most of the points raised in this thread.