constitution class?

[judge alba]

I was watching a few tos episodes the other day and it got me thinking. not once when they said about the enterprise did they mention she was a constitution class star ship. not that i can remember. So I was wondering when was the first cannon or on screen mention of the enterprise being a connie?.

 

[erastus25]

Also, check out the dedication plaque of the original E:
http://www.startreksite.com/plaques/

 

[captcalhoun]

Star Trek VI, Scotty's plans are labelled "USS Enterprise Constitution class Heavy Cruiser"

 

[Timo]

Also, movies 1-3 use graphics from Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual, where the Class One Heavy Cruiser is designated "Constitution class". Not all the graphics are readable, though, and the designation cannot really be seen in any of the in-focus ones IIRC.

The first time the text "Constitution class" is seen on screen (although again completely off focus) is supposedly in "Trouble with Tribbles", where one of Scotty's technical manuals has an image of something that claims to be a phaser bank for that ship class. Nothing connects this technical drawing to Scotty's own ship, to be sure, but one might claim this to be the first canonical appearance of what would soon become fan and also Paramount pseudofact.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[erastus25]

But how do we know that pre-refit Enterprise wasn't a Starship class, as seen on the dedication plaque? They could have changed the classification to Constitution only after the refit.

 

[USS Excelsior]

I believe the first onscreen mention of "Constitution Class' was in TNG's 2nd episode "The Naked Now".

 

[trevanian]

But how do we know that pre-refit Enterprise wasn't a Starship class, as seen on the dedication plaque? They could have changed the classification to Constitution only after the refit.

That would conflict with the onscreen indication in TWOK that the refit is an ENTERPRISE-CLASS ship, as well as all Probert's bts stuff from TMP and the first published ST SPACEFLIGHT CHRONOLOGY, all of which have the refit as Ent-Class.

 

[jayrath]

It's a heavy cruiser, Starship Class. That's canon. The refit may have made it a Connie. That's also canon. It's all just an example of bad retcon.

I wouldn't mind, but these days any old space boat is termed a "starship." It was never a given that every single Starfleet vessel even had warp drive -- hence the significance of dilithium's rarity. In the beginning, "starship" was a very, very special term. Only 12 like her in the fleet!

As the years went by, it all got so easy to travel between stars -- too easy.

 

[Timo]

In the beginning, "starship" was a very, very special term. Only 12 like her in the fleet!

Not quite: according to Kirk, for example the old tub Archon had also been a starship.

The "only twelve" statement is never associated with the designation "starship", but only with the specific type of vessel that Kirk flies. It may well be that there were only 12-13 starships of that design in existence in "Tomorrow is Yesterday", but other designs of starship no doubt existed in considerable quantity - including the previous generation of starship designs, and the first examples of the next generation of starships.

Yeah, it seems that at some point after TOS, "starship" ceased to mean "big and bad interstellar vessel" and simply came to mean "interstellar vessel" - perhaps because all ships from that point on were at least as big and bad as the old starships had been.

Still, it would be nonsensical for Starfleet to designate one of its 2260s ship classes Starship class when the word "starship" at that point already was a generic one for a certain category of vessels. It might be just slightly less nonsensical to say that Starfleet would write down the category of certain vessels on a brass plaque on the bridge, so that for example Constitution, Surya and Fanboy class vessels would get their status as starship confirmed in writing. But the Constitution, Surya and Fanboy designations would still have to exist in parallel with the "starship class" nomer, so that Starfleet could tell its various starship types apart.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[judge alba]

But how do we know that pre-refit Enterprise wasn't a Starship class, as seen on the dedication plaque? They could have changed the classification to Constitution only after the refit.

That would conflict with the onscreen indication in TWOK that the refit is an ENTERPRISE-CLASS ship, as well as all Probert's bts stuff from TMP and the first published ST SPACEFLIGHT CHRONOLOGY, all of which have the refit as Ent-Class.

never knew that ,i thought the refits were a refit constituion. Though thinking about it it would make more sense to call the refits a different type if they were so much different from the original constituitions
another question though i may be completly wrong but when did the reliant class ship become the miranda class in canon or was it walways known as the miranda class?

 

[captcalhoun]

the TWOK data-point is debatable. a simulator at the Academy is labelled 'Enterprise class'. it could just as easily mean 'the simulator for the class of cadets assigned to the Enterprise'

Spaceflight Chronology is hideously out-dated and non-canon. what, are you James Dixon in disguise?

The Reliant-type became Miranda class when one appeared on TNG with 'Miranda class' on its dedication plaque and no bugger could read it on TV...

 

[SeerSGB]

I believe the first onscreen mention of "Constitution Class' was in TNG's 2nd episode "The Naked Now".

And TNG's Relics IDs the old bridge as a Connie Class bridge.

 

[Carpe Occasio]

In 2267, there were around twelve Constitution-class starships in the fleet. (TOS: "Tomorrow is Yesterday") These included the NCC-1700, the USS Constellation, the USS Defiant, the USS Enterprise, the USS Excalibur, the USS Exeter, the USS Hood, the USS Intrepid, USS Lexington, and the USS Potemkin.

From Memory Alpha

 

[Red Ranger]

Frankly, I like the retcon that Enterprise is a Constitution-class starship. And I also like that in every series since TNG, they've been quite specific from the get-go of the class name for the starships that have appeared, with the fairly notable exception of Archer's ship, but I think his Enterprise was called the NX-class, or some such uninspiring name. It would be refreshing if there was another ST series with a future Enterprise that is actually an Enterprise-class! -- RR

 

[Michael]

Frankly, I like the retcon that Enterprise is a Constitution-class starship. And I also like that in every series since TNG, they've been quite specific from the get-go of the class name for the starships that have appeared, with the fairly notable exception of Archer's ship, but I think his Enterprise was called the NX-class, or some such uninspiring name. It would be refreshing if there was another ST series with a future Enterprise that is actually an Enterprise-class! -- RR

One could argue that since the NX-01 Enterprise was the first ship of her class it was the Enterprise class.

 

[trevanian]

the TWOK data-point is debatable. a simulator at the Academy is labelled 'Enterprise class'. it could just as easily mean 'the simulator for the class of cadets assigned to the Enterprise'

.

No.

 

[trevanian]

Spaceflight Chronology is hideously out-dated and non-canon. what, are you James Dixon in disguise?

the notion of canon is meaningless to me, given all the retcons and such that have been authorized; however, the intent of the designers is not.

 

[Kemaiku]

"Trials and Tribble-ations" in DS9, Sisko and co witness the incident with the Tribbles during TOS, including the 1701 which Sisko refers to without hesitation as the Constitution Class.

 

[Michael]

Yeah, cuz they are following the Okuda line of rethink from TUC. Perfect example of canon being for the birds.

Then what class was the original NCC-1701?

 

[trevanian]

Yeah, cuz they are following the Okuda line of rethink from TUC. Perfect example of canon being for the birds.

Then what class was the original NCC-1701?

WHAT is the original 1701? Is it substantially the same ship between April and Pike and Kirk? If Jeffries had said it was a connie, fine. But as far as I know, it was only GR who said that, and well after the fact.

Short answer: I don't care.

Worth chewing on, though: STARSHIP CLASS really means something in terms of how it was presented on TOS. Remember Merrick talking about how Kirk was a real exception, that he commanded a STARSHIP?