Crew Complement

[Bry_Sinclair]

I'm just curious if there was any background information on the breakdown of those onboard the E-D, specifically the number of civilians to Fleeters. With 1014 onboard how many were operational crew and how many were family members, civilian contractors or researchers along for the ride?

 

[Agony_Boothb]

I don't think there has ever been an official breakdown, But my guess would be maybe 800 odd officers and enlisted and a couple of hundred civilians. Granted I only recall the complement being mentioned once, it's possible the numbers fluctuated depending on whether the Ship had to take on additional personnel for a mission.

 

[Mysterion]

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/starfleet-crew-compositions.78161/#post-2499928

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

I don't think there has ever been an official breakdown, But my guess would be maybe 800 odd officers and enlisted and a couple of hundred civilians. Granted I only recall the complement being mentioned once, it's possible the numbers fluctuated depending on whether the Ship had to take on additional personnel for a mission.

I'd say it's approaching certain that the complement ebbs and flows depending the mission at hand. For instance, it's not hard to imagine that the USS Grissom destroyed prior to Field of Fire (DS9) was a Galaxy-class (it certainly wasn't an Oberth with a crew of twelve hundred and fifty, although an Excelsior is at least possible).

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I'd say it's approaching certain that the complement ebbs and flows depending the mission at hand. For instance, it's not hard to imagine that the USS Grissom destroyed prior to Field of Fire (DS9) was a Galaxy-class (it certainly wasn't an Oberth with a crew of twelve hundred and fifty, although an Excelsior is at least possible).

I think an Excelsior would be a very tight squeeze with that many onboard. If she weren't a Galaxy then I'd say a Nebula would be the most likely candidate.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

I think an Excelsior would be a very tight squeeze with that many onboard. If she weren't a Galaxy then I'd say a Nebula would be the most likely candidate.

Perhaps, however licensed material alternates between Oberth and Excelsior for USS Grissom so it makes sense to chose one of those options, especially as the DS9:TM lists an emergency capacity for the Excelsior of 9,800, suggesting that 1,250 could be accommodated relatively easily short-term.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

If I remember correctly the Excelsior- and Nebula-Class are identical in crew stats, which seems unlikely given the considerable difference in internal volume for the two ships.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

If I remember correctly the Excelsior- and Nebula-Class are identical in crew stats, which seems unlikely given the considerable difference in internal volume for the two ships.

Maybe Nebulas are literally spaceborne conference centres. Entire decks could be nothing but endless conference rooms...

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Though the Saber and Norway are better known for this, you're actually right.

However, given that the Excelsior-class is about 3x the volume of the classic Connie (est 2.1m v 600k) and the Connie accommodate c 500-600 (in Journey to Babel among others), it seems plausible that the Excelsior figures are correct and it's the Nebula's that are low-balled.

 

[Timo]

One shouldn't put too much faith in the DS9 Tech Manual stats, which were amusingly copy-pasted to conflicting effect (Bajoran ships have Jem'Hadar weapons, ship mass is proportional to length rather than volume, etc.).

On screen, we only have one datapoint on Nebula crew, if we accept the idea that the Hera of "Interface" with her 800 crew indeed represented that class. But the class identity is not mentioned in the episode. Excelsior crew is likewise only "half defined" - we have 1250 aboard the Grissom of that class in "Field of Fire", but the class identity is not part of the dialogue.

However, if we want to go with the DS9 TM figures, we can argue that the older ships need bigger wartime crews in proportion because they can't be automated quite so extensively, or are more difficult to repair after getting holed by the Jem'Hadar. Peacetime crews might be completely different again.

Timo Saloniemi