UEN Pioneer (CH-29)

The UEN Pioneer (CH-29) was a cruiser that served the United Earth Navy in the 22nd Century. It was the first of it's class to replace it Predecessor the .
==History==
The adaptability of the was instrumental in its selection as the basis for numerous United Earth Stellar Navy (UESN) and Earth Starfleet cruisers and transports for the next 20 years. In the early 2150s, the UESN saw the need for a long-range cruiser to escort convoys of transports, which had recently been victimized by commerce raiders in the Libra colonies.
===Transforming the Bison===
To transform the Bison transport into a protective cruiser, the primary hull was shortened to 90 meters and structurally reinforced to withstand the greater stresses that the more powerful Pachyderm II warp nacelle was expected to produce. Weaponry was installed, including Spider area-defense missiles, Narwhal long-range anti-ship missiles, and a twin-laser turret. Because of their large size and inefficient fusion-reactor-based warp drive system, ruisers were unwieldy at both sublight and warp speeds. However, they were quite effective in their role as "flying fortresses" for protecting convoys of equally elephantine cargo ships from lightly armed marauders and pirates.
===Short comings===
Unfortunately, Pioneer and other fusion-powered cruisers were ill-suited for the demands of deep space ship-to-ship combat when war with the Romulans came in 2156. Although Pioneers were effective point-defense cruisers for convoys and colonies, they were poorly suited for border-defense or offensive missions far from their support bases. UESN fleets based around Pioneers were frequently outmaneuvered by attacking Romulan forces, with often disastrous results. Therefore, Pioneers were quickly replaced on the front lines when the first matter/antimatter (M/AM) warships entered service in 2157. Foreseeing these deficiencies, UEN granted Earth Starfleet to construct 8 additional starships.
==Commissioned Ships==
*UES Pioneer	CH-29
*UES Vigilant	CH-30
*UES Crusader	CH-31
*UES Victory	CH-32
*UES Pathfinder	CH-33
*UES Dauntless	CH-34
*UES Firebrand	CH-35
*UES Ironsides CH-36
*UES Sentinel CH-37
*UES Valiant CH-38
*UES Excelsior CH-39
*UES Liberator CH-40
*UES Sovereign CH-41
*UES Gallant CH-42
*UES Majestic CH-43
*UES Fearless CH-44
*UES Protector CH-45
*UES Courageous	CH-46
==Specifications==
Standard displacement: 402,778 tons
 	
Length [m]	191.76	
Beam [m]	112.22	
Draft [m]	75.29	
Crew complement: 1100 (165 officers + 935 crew)
Weapons: 
* 8 missile launchers with 90 Narwhal long-range anti-ship missiles 
* 24 Spider area-defense missiles 
* 2 Type VI laser cannons (1 × 2 turrets)
* 2 Type VII heavy laser cannons (fixed mounts)
Embarked craft: 16 cargo/personnel shuttlecraft
Warp drive:
* 4N-2F tokamak fusion reactor with 1 Pachyderm II warp nacelle
* 2 Jaguar I directional nacelles
Velocity:
* wf 2.3, cruise
* wf 2.6, supercruise
* wf 2.7, maximum
==Sources==
* The Starfleet Museum - Pioneer Class