Saber class appreciation thread

I figured that since the Akira has a bit more of the curved design and darker gray color scheme of the Sovereign it was of the next generation (pun) type ships made after BOBW.

 

Admittedly, it could be my bias. Every non-show where I've seen the Akira (video games, source books, websites, etc) has the Akira at the same shade of gray as the Galaxy and the Nebula, and not as dark as its FC cousins, which subconsciously adds a bit of evidence to the pre-Wolf 359 theory. But it's a theory nonetheless.

Going back to the registry numbers, if we assume that numbers are assigned by the number of ships (that is, the later the ship is built, the higher the number), then many of the Akira class (~63000s) are older than many Galaxy class ships, including the destroyed Yamato and the Odyssey (~71000s).

Then again the idea that a ship's age depends on its registry number was never really verified on screen, as far as I know.

 

I know that it isn't canon but that's exactly what a Star Trek Reference book called The Price of Freedom suggested. It proposed that the Akira, Norway, Saber, and the Steamrunner were all part of the same design family called the Perimeter Defense Directive.

 

I own that book, it's where I got the idea .

 

'Course, it would also be perfectly satisfactory to decide that the dark, angular style represented by the Saber and Steamrunner was in fashion after the Excelsior/Ambassador but before the Akira/Galaxy - like the registry numbers suggest.

Perhaps these were indeed vessels of an "emergency program", but one intended to cope with the Cardassians in the 2340s-50s? In that war, it would make greater sense to build numerous but sparsely armed ships than in the war against the Borg...

Timo Saloniemi

 

The 2340s, 50s and early 60s did seem to have a number of conflicts between the Federation and its neighbours, you had the Cardassians, Tzenkethi, Talarians and attacks by the Tholians. so it would make sense for these supposedly more combat capable starships to be born of that time.

 

And, conversely, not to be seen much in deep space in the supposedly more peaceful 2360s.

Although are these ships more combat-capable? The Steamrunner doesn't seem to be heavily armed, beyond three to six short phaser strips (depending on how one interprets the coarsely drawn surface features, only three of which look like genuine phasers). The Saber is puny. The Norway appears unarmed, save for a single beam emitter in the upper bow depression.

These could be special purpose ships for planetary assault where all-around phasers aren't needed much and torpedoes could be overkill. Or then these are what suffices for defeating the weak and primitive Cardassians. Or then these are ships built for peace, at a time when all wars were against insignificant opponents far away.

Timo Saloniemi

 

The Saber may be puny, but it's bigger than the Defiant. I admit that I haven't looked up much in the way of technical details for them, I was basing my assumptions over them being in the FC movie (where they appeared more advanced, which was due to superior CGI effects) and their use in the Star Trek Armada games.

 

Are there any representations of Saber Class interiors available? I have a few concepts about a few of the areas on that ship.

 

I think of the Saber as a the Oliver Hazard Perry class of its time. Cheap, underrated, and over worked.

 

Brainnnsss!!

 

The ship's a tad bulky and boxy, not very streamlined; thought I saw a volume figure that suggested it was about three times the volume of an uprated Constitution-class (someone else feel free to correct that if wrong), which would seem to indicate it's meant more as a support ship, such as for Corps of Engineers or other organizations who need a lot of storage space on a ship.

 

I hated this ship when I first saw it but I love it the more I see it. Was a fun ship in STO.
What REALLY makes the Sabre hot are the hideous Steamrunner and Norway, her 2 DUFFs.

 

I hated this ship when I first saw it but I love it the more I see it. Was a fun ship in STO.
What REALLY makes the Sabre hot are the hideous Steamrunner and Norway, her 2 DUFFs.

 

Would very much like to see more documentation on this starship class in any case!

 

All I want to know is, where did you get that model? I've run out of the more popular ones to buy, and I'm looking for models of some of the cooler ones that are only mentioned and never seen in the show.

 

These guys seem to sell models of ships, never purchased anything through them. They are pretty expensive.

 

I love the Sabre-Class! I would have to say that she is probably my favourite design of all the ships out there.

 

I'm doing a deep dive into everything Saber-class. and trying to put together a single cohesive concept. Using Alpha sources from First contact. Alex Jeager and David Stipes Sets the length of 190.5 meters. Using that as a starting point, I used scanned images of the Sabers Schematics from Star Trek Magazine. It's size is around
Length: 190.5 m
Width: 193.19 m
Height: 48.6 m
About ever official source classifies it as a light cruiser. Which makes sense. It is often refereed to as a replacement for the Oberth-class and Miranda-class. Considering everyone thinks of her as a grown-up Defiant-class that is more livable, and the Light Cruiser is considered in the real world as the command ship of a destroyer squadron. (Defiant Squadron). It fits that role nicely.
Crew Size. Alot of sources vary between 40 and 60. I consider 40 being a "war time" compliment due to realistic manpower shortages during wartime. 60 being a peace time standard compliment, mostly due to expansions in the Science department.
It's complimentary role with the Steamrunner. I see the relationship between the to being akin to a Huey Utility Helicopter and a Cobra Gunship. The Steamrunner being a true multi-mission/role ship that is very flexible, and the Saber providing a security over watch for it.