I grew up thinking, thanks to the assumptions of the time and the charts in the Star Trek: Encyclopedia, that Starfleet ships generally got bigger over the centuries, with each Enterprise representing the largest class in it's era - Constitution > Excelsior > Ambassador > Galaxy > Sovereign. But recently, I've encountered a few forumers who, because of the giant size of the Kelvinverse ships, have opined that the original USS Enterprise NCC-1701 may have just been a smaller class, with far larger ships present alongside Kirk's famous exploratory vessel (the same idea is present in some of the older novels).
In light of the Abrams movies, and in light of Discovery, I was wondering it it was time to look again at the weight classes of Federation starships - perhaps, contrary to fans assumptions based on the charts in the Encyclopedia (and other sources that may have given the impression), there have always been larger vessels present during TOS. But how does the Kelvin, say, fit into a larger weight category when it does not seem to be a battleship?
In a navy, especially around WW2, generally:
This would mean that the original Enterprise was a cruiser (heavy cruiser as the movies say)
The Enterprise D was a battleship, and the Abrams Enterprise is a battleship-class rather than cruiser
The Kelvin itself may have been a large heli-carrier/landing platform, explaining it's size and shuttles
The Defiant would have been a corvette, and again, it's borne out by being called an "escort"
So in other words, during TOS, maybe there existed ships the size of the USS Kelvin and USS Enterprise-D, and Kirk's Enterprise was not the largest ship in the fleet, but rather a class of cruiser. When the Abrams-verse Enterprise is commissioned, it is instead envisioned as a battleship class, like the Galaxy-class explorer (referred to as a battleship in Yesterday's Enterprise, and seen acting as a slow heavy warship in the Dominion War). When the Enterprise-D is commissioned, the Galaxy class is effectively not the successor to the Constitution class, but rather to whatever huge battleship class existed in the time of TOS (the 1984 novel "My Enemy, My Ally" mentions a class with a saucer that dwarfs the Enterprise - sounds a bit like a Kelvin-timeline ship). So, the progression of Constitution > Excelsior > Ambassador > Galaxy > Sovereign, begins to look like cruiser > battlecruiser > battlecruiser > battleship > battlecruiser, with the Sovereign class and Romulan Valdore-type being significantly lighter in volume than the Galaxy and D'Deridex - perhaps in response to the Borg and Dominion.
It would mean the Nebula class, which has almost the same internal volume as a Galaxy class, was probably also battleship-weight - it certainly caused havoc in Cardassian space in "The Wounded". The Kelvin may have existed in both timelines, as a large heli-carrier/command and control/landing platform type ship, which when not in times of war, would have been ideal for planetary surveys and humanitarian missions.
What do you think?
In light of the Abrams movies, and in light of Discovery, I was wondering it it was time to look again at the weight classes of Federation starships - perhaps, contrary to fans assumptions based on the charts in the Encyclopedia (and other sources that may have given the impression), there have always been larger vessels present during TOS. But how does the Kelvin, say, fit into a larger weight category when it does not seem to be a battleship?
In a navy, especially around WW2, generally:
- - Corvettes are the smallest class of warship, for fast intercept and patrol
- - Frigates are the mainstay of the fleet, designed to protect other ships
- - Destroyers are roughly the size of frigates, with more focus on firepower
- - Crusiers are the multi-purpose workhorse of a fleet, capable of any role
- - Battlecruisers have size/power like a battleship, but armor like a cruiser
- - Battleships are the largest and heaviest class of ship, with thick armor
This would mean that the original Enterprise was a cruiser (heavy cruiser as the movies say)
The Enterprise D was a battleship, and the Abrams Enterprise is a battleship-class rather than cruiser
The Kelvin itself may have been a large heli-carrier/landing platform, explaining it's size and shuttles
The Defiant would have been a corvette, and again, it's borne out by being called an "escort"
So in other words, during TOS, maybe there existed ships the size of the USS Kelvin and USS Enterprise-D, and Kirk's Enterprise was not the largest ship in the fleet, but rather a class of cruiser. When the Abrams-verse Enterprise is commissioned, it is instead envisioned as a battleship class, like the Galaxy-class explorer (referred to as a battleship in Yesterday's Enterprise, and seen acting as a slow heavy warship in the Dominion War). When the Enterprise-D is commissioned, the Galaxy class is effectively not the successor to the Constitution class, but rather to whatever huge battleship class existed in the time of TOS (the 1984 novel "My Enemy, My Ally" mentions a class with a saucer that dwarfs the Enterprise - sounds a bit like a Kelvin-timeline ship). So, the progression of Constitution > Excelsior > Ambassador > Galaxy > Sovereign, begins to look like cruiser > battlecruiser > battlecruiser > battleship > battlecruiser, with the Sovereign class and Romulan Valdore-type being significantly lighter in volume than the Galaxy and D'Deridex - perhaps in response to the Borg and Dominion.
It would mean the Nebula class, which has almost the same internal volume as a Galaxy class, was probably also battleship-weight - it certainly caused havoc in Cardassian space in "The Wounded". The Kelvin may have existed in both timelines, as a large heli-carrier/command and control/landing platform type ship, which when not in times of war, would have been ideal for planetary surveys and humanitarian missions.
What do you think?
