According to the 
Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 2, p. 509), 
"Roddenberry reportedly suggested the second USS Enterprise-A, launched at the end of Star Trek IV
, had previously been named USS Yorktown
 since it seemed unlikely that Starfleet could have built a new Enterprise
 so quickly. If this was the case, the Yorktown
 may have made it safely back to Earth and been repaired and renamed, or perhaps there was a newer, replacement Yorktown
 already under construction at the time of the probe crisis." The latter scenario could be supported by dialogue from 
Star Trek V where the 
Enterprise is described as a "new ship" by 
Scotty, whereas the former scenario serves as a convenient rationale for the difficulties Scotty had of getting the apparently recently 
refitted ship (therefore also fitting his "new ship" remark, mirroring the similar remark 
Will Decker had made on the refit-
Enterprise in 
Star Trek: The Motion Picture) back in operational order after the debilitating effects the Whale Probe had inflicted on it.
The season four internal studio document, 
Star Trek: The Next Generation Writers' Technical Manual (2nd ed. p. 6), co-written by 
Star Trek Encyclopedia Co-Author 
Michael Okuda, emphatically stated the renaming scenario as being the case, reaffirmed in the later officially licensed 
Star Trek Fact Files and the 2010 reference book 
USS Enterprise Owners' Workshop Manual. This was further validated when, in later 
Star Trek Encyclopedias, Okuda described the 2293 
Yorktown – the one Tuvok's father served on – as the 
second ship to bear the name. The Starfleet practice of renaming a vessel for a very deserving other vessel was later 
canonically established in 
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes "
The Changing Face of Evil" and "
The Dogs of War", when the 
USS Sao Paulo was rechristened as the 
USS Defiant, when the original 
Defiant was destroyed in the 
Dominion War. The 
Star Trek Encyclopedia and all other subsequent official 
reference works confirm the 
Yorktown being a 
Constitution-class heavy cruiser. The producers of 
Star Trek: The Original Series had the name included on their final 
fourteen ship list at the start of its 
second season, belonging to the 
Constitution-class, then still referred to as "
Starship-class" by them. (
The Making of Star Trek, pp. 164-165)