How Was U.S.S. Hood Damaged?-The Ulimate Computer

[EliyahuQeoni]

One novel had an Excelsior-class ship circa 2290 bear the insignia "NEE" for Naval Exploration Extension. Some sort of long-term, multiyear deep space assignment given to only the most heavily-equipped and survivable starships and science vessels.

I believe that was Best Destiny.

 

[Timo]

From the FJ Tech Manual - NCC = 'Naval Construction Contract'

Exactly. And that's right about the point where the registries ceased to make any sense.

To have the letters denote something as redundant as "Hey, folks, this naval construction contract number here is, you guessed it, a NAVAL CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT NUMBER!" is definitely something Matt Jeffries would never have erred on suggesting. Why, should all automobile registry plates begin with the letters "CRP" just to indicate that this is an Automobile Registry Plate?

FJ messed up quite a few things where the people who actually made TOS would probably have gone for greater diversity and depth of thinking. Giving all types of vessel this identical (and thus completely redundant) three-letter prefix was one of the worst choices there, although admittedly preceded by similarly poor choices in TAS.

Thankfully, some kind of sense of functionality was restored to the registries when TNG and the TOS movies began showing other possible three-letter combinations. And the pattern that emerged seems to establish that NCC means "Starfleet vessel" while other letters denote other kinds of owner or operator.

I really wouldn't have minded more of those N?? things, now that we've had NCC and NX and possibly NAR and then that one offscreen instance of NEE for Starfleet, and all sorts of other N prefices for supposed Federation civilian-commercial ships.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Noname Given]

From the FJ Tech Manual - NCC = 'Naval Construction Contract'

Exactly. And that's right about the point where the registries ceased to make any sense.

To have the letters denote something as redundant as "Hey, folks, this naval construction contract number here is, you guessed it, a NAVAL CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT NUMBER!" is definitely something Matt Jeffries would never have erred on suggesting. Why, should all automobile registry plates begin with the letters "CRP" just to indicate that this is an Automobile Registry Plate?

FJ messed up quite a few things where the people who actually made TOS would probably have gone for greater diversity and depth of thinking. Giving all types of vessel this identical (and thus completely redundant) three-letter prefix was one of the worst choices there, although admittedly preceded by similarly poor choices in TAS.

Thankfully, some kind of sense of functionality was restored to the registries when TNG and the TOS movies began showing other possible three-letter combinations. And the pattern that emerged seems to establish that NCC means "Starfleet vessel" while other letters denote other kinds of owner or operator.

I really wouldn't have minded more of those N?? things, now that we've had NCC and NX and possibly NAR and then that one offscreen instance of NEE for Starfleet, and all sorts of other N prefices for supposed Federation civilian-commercial ships.

Timo Saloniemi

Huh? I've seen all the Star Trek feature films and TAS, TNG and DS9; and aside from 'NX' (used to denote a prototype); they NEVER showed a Federation with anything other the U.S.S. on screen - so where do you get the idea that:

"TNG and the TOS movies began showing other possible three-letter combinations."

from?

 

[cooleddie74]

I think BEST DESTINY was the only TREK novel either softback or hardcover to ever use the "NEE" registry scheme. No other episodes, movies or books have strayed from the "NX" and "NCC" paradigms.

 

[SeerSGB]

I don't recall was the Vico in "Hero Worship" a Starfleet vessel or a private ship? Cause it was a NAR registry number, as was the USS Raven (registered to the Federation).

 

[Timo]

Indeed, the potentially civilian Vico (still with Starfleet pennant stripes on her hull) was the second TNG model painted with NAR; the civilian mining shuttle Nenebek from "Final Mission" was the first. The Starfleet shuttle that took Kirk and friends to their ship in ST6:TUC was the first TOS movie model thus decorated. The Raven also had NAR, and several other vessels have been mentioned in obscure and off-focus Okudagrams with this registry prefix.

Other prefices from Okudagrams that were in fact in reasonable focus include e.g NSP, NFT, NDT, NGL, BTR and YLT. There seems to be something of a common theme that Federation registries have the letter N as the first of the three, a pattern only broken by "BTR-529" on the colony transport Santa Maria from DS9 "Paradise" for the sake of playing the in-joke on the registry plate of the Bluesmobile.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[comsol]

From the FJ Tech Manual - NCC = 'Naval Construction Contract'

Exactly. And that's right about the point where the registries ceased to make any sense.

To have the letters denote something as redundant as "Hey, folks, this naval construction contract number here is, you guessed it, a NAVAL CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT NUMBER!" is definitely something Matt Jeffries would never have erred on suggesting. Why, should all automobile registry plates begin with the letters "CRP" just to indicate that this is an Automobile Registry Plate?

FJ messed up quite a few things where the people who actually made TOS would probably have gone for greater diversity and depth of thinking. Giving all types of vessel this identical (and thus completely redundant) three-letter prefix was one of the worst choices there, although admittedly preceded by similarly poor choices in TAS.

Thankfully, some kind of sense of functionality was restored to the registries when TNG and the TOS movies began showing other possible three-letter combinations. And the pattern that emerged seems to establish that NCC means "Starfleet vessel" while other letters denote other kinds of owner or operator.

I really wouldn't have minded more of those N?? things, now that we've had NCC and NX and possibly NAR and then that one offscreen instance of NEE for Starfleet, and all sorts of other N prefices for supposed Federation civilian-commercial ships.

Timo Saloniemi

Huh? I've seen all the Star Trek feature films and TAS, TNG and DS9; and aside from 'NX' (used to denote a prototype); they NEVER showed a Federation with anything other the U.S.S. on screen - so where do you get the idea that:

"TNG and the TOS movies began showing other possible three-letter combinations."

from?

TOS: S.S. Columbia from The Cage, S.S. Beagle fromBread and Circuses, and S.S Aurora (I think) from Way to Eden.
TAS: S.S Huron NCC-F1913 from The Pirates of Orion, and S.S. Bonaventure from Time Trap.
The Huron - and the unmanned container ships from More Tribbles, More Troubles (NCC-G1465) had slightly different types of NCC numbers than was seen for Constitution Class ships.
Aside from the NX-2000 for the Excelsior in STIII, the only other prefix that comes to mind is an NAR number for the shuttle in STVI - and I can't remember if that one was clearly seen.

 

[Timo]

It is unknown whether "SS" really is different from "USS", or merely the exact same thing spoken by somebody too lazy to add the "U". After all, we've never seen "SS" written on the hull of a vessel, right?

For example, the Raven from VOY was verbally identified as "SS", but the Okudagrams and dedication plaque said "USS" nevertheless.

Memory Alpha has a comprehensive list of the prefix letters used in combination of the registry number (NCC, NAR, NSP and the like), as well as of the letters used in combination of the ship name (SS, USS, IKV, IRW and so forth). Just go for the entry titled "registry".

Timo Saloniemi

 

[NathanielM]

Hood was destroyed i thought and the excaliber

lexington was the flag ship and it was damaged. I have not seen that eps for a while tho. and May be mistaken.