Belknap Class

Based on the original design for the Ulysses Class, the Belknap entered service shortly before the General War and was produced in some quantity in an attempt to offset the power of ISC and Neo-Tholian vessels encountered. Sharing 90% of her ships systems with the Ulysses Class greatly aided in maintenance, but ultimately her non-standard Plasma weaponry found her relegated to secondary duties after the Khitomer Accords and she was finally retired in 2311 when the Treaty of Algeron was signed, forbidding (amongst other things) the Federation from developing and using Plasma weapons.

## Development

The development of Battleships for Starfleet dates back to the turn of the 23rd Century. Starfleet had never fielded Battleships: the last design of that designation had served with the UESN during the Earth-Romulan War. Lighter Cruisers had been more effective at policing the frontiers of the new Federation, although as early as the 2170s, larger and more powerful ships had been proposed. Political Opposition prevented most of these proposals from being produced, however by 2210, this opposition had been overcome and a new design study was undertaken.

The result of this was the Quetzalcoatl Class of 2215. Technology of the time simply hadn't progressed to allow such large ships to move at the warp and impulse speeds required for them to be competitive, with warp cores not sufficiently powerful, nacelles not efficient enough and hull designs too inefficient to allow smooth warp speeds. Weaponry of the time was another concern, with the Photon Torpedo having only just entered service and Starfleet stipulating back-up Missile based weaponry as a fallback. In the end, the Quetzalcoatl failed to improve on the capabilities of the Lancaster Class and only two were built.

A second attempt at building a Battleship for Starfleet came in 2235 in the guise of the Siegfried Class. By this point, Photon Torpedo technology had progressed to the point where it was considered a reliable weapon, and Starfleet designs no longer carried back-up Missiles. Warp core and nacelle technology had also progressed to the point that a ship of her size and design planform could reach reasonable speeds.

The Siegfried Class was designed around a single main gun, the 'Kaminari' Type I Phaser Cannon. In testing, this weapon failed spectacularly, and after killing several high ranking Federation representatives, was eventually redesigned and rebuilt into the operational 'Kaminari' Type II Phaser Cannon. This weapon proved overweight and underpowered, and 8 of the 12 Siegfried Class ships left in service were modified in 2242 and had their 'Kaminari' Type II Phaser Cannons removed, being reclassified as Battlecruisers (the first of the type in Starfleet). They were finally retired in 2245 when sufficient number of Constitution Class ships had entered service.

The next attempt was the Federation Class. From the outset the design was marred with political compromises, and an additional problem was the requirement that the design also be capable of scientific, exploratory and even diplomatic missions, which burdened down the already large ship with science labs, survey equipment,
function rooms and even an arboretum. Of course, none of this was any use in a combat situation.

Despite the use of many Standard A series components, the design and production of the Federation Class still took many years, and the USS Federation (NCC-2100) did not leave dry dock on her shakedown cruise until 2264.

Immediately, there were problems. Only the very best engineers could seem to keep the centreline nacelle coils in balance, and many times they were simply used for generating and storing additional power for the shields and weapon systems, further slowing the already lumbering beast. The impulse engines and thrusters, exactly the same types as used on the Constitution Class, were not designed to move such a heavy ship, and manoeuvrability suffered accordingly. Systems failed with alarming regularity, unable to take the additional strain of working on a vessel 60m larger and several times heavier than the Heavy Cruiser they were originally designed for. In the original design, new systems had been envisaged and conceptually designed that would solve this problem, but using Standard A components it simply wasn't possible to operate far from shore, which then rendered her supposed scientific and exploratory missions impossible, and even her diplomatic roles were hampered.

Despite the programmes initiated in the light of the failure of the Federation Class, nothing serviceable had come to fruition by the time the Organian Conflict broke out in 2285. The supposed replacement for the Federation Class, the Langley Class Battleship, had proven to be a technological dead end, taking so long to enter service that she was approaching obsolescence before the prototype was off the slipway. Indeed, the situation was so dire that despite all her failings, at least one Federation Class, the USS Confederation (NCC-2114), was used during the V'Ger Incident in 2271, albeit kept out of harms way.

The outbreak of the Organian Conflict in 2285 did much to highlight the urgency of the need for a Capital Ship in Starfleet. There was simply no way that the Federation Class could be sent into battle against the latest Klingon designs, and the Langley Class Battleships were too few and too slow to be of any use. The first year of the war was a desperate battle of attrition, taking a terrible toll on Starfleet personnel, especially in Destroyer Flotillas. In record time, a new design was drawn up, approved and simulator tested. Only minor modifications were required for production, and the prototype, the USS Ulysses (NCC-7850) entered service as a fully operational starship. This was very fortunate, as the war left no time for the usual shakedown cruise prior to entering service.

The Ulysses Class proved an almost instant success. In the rush to enter her into service however, the original plans for her Secondary Weapons Array to be comprised of Plasma Torpedoes were dropped in favour of the tried and tested Mark VI Photon Torpedo. The original intention of using Plasma based weaponry was to give the new Battleship unprecedented firepower whilst not unduly burdening her with multiple torpedo tubes, as had occurred on the Langley Class. The change back to Photon Torpedoes did reduce the overall firepower of the Ulysses Class, but this was considered an acceptable reduction and was made up for with the fitting of a QCB Projector as part of her overhaul and reclassification as a Dreadnought in 2288.

The dream of a Plasma-armed Dreadnought lived on however, and when new ISC refits were encountered during the closing battles of the War of Pacification, permission was granted to convert a number of Ulysses Class hulls currently under construction into Plasma Dreadnoughts. These new ships were christened the Belknap Class after the first ship converted, which entered service in 2291.

## Operational History

The USS Belknap (NCC-7910) was introduced too late to see combat in the War of Pacification, although with the great expedition to the Galactic Fringe in 2292, she soon encountered the foe she had been designed to best and served admirably alongside her two sisters, the USS Strafford (NCC-7911) and USS Carroll (NCC-7912). As the war progressed, more ships of the class were launched, and soon rivalled her counterpart, the Ulysses Class in number.

She was not without her faults however. Federation understanding of the principles behind Plasma weaponry was rather basic, and this made the weapons system bulky and prone to failure. Rate of fire was always slower than with Photon Torpedoes, although this was entirely expected and offset somewhat by the higher yield. The power consumption of the Plasma Torpedoes however did prevent the fitting of a QCB Projector to the Belknap. This left her less able to counter manoeuvrable ships, and made her more suitable for frontal attacks, using her pair of Type H Plasma Torpedo Tubes to quickly overwhelm enemy shields.

The hard hitting nature of her Plasma Torpedoes was particularly beneficial against the Neo-Tholian ships encountered in the Galactic Fringe and during the later Andromeda Strike, Neo-Tholian (and Archeo-Tholian alike) ships having a small crew complement for their size. The massive, sudden release of energy from a Plasma Torpedo often overwhelms shielding and cripples internal systems, and the sheer concussive effect can kill crewmembers also.

## Apocrypha

Despite the success of her and her counterpart, the Belknap Class soon found herself relegated to secondary duties after the signing of the Khitomer Accords. Her non-standard weaponry was expensive, time consuming and costly to maintain. They were often deployed in the role of planetary defence, keeping their sensitive systems close to port should the need arise for repair. Proposals were made to convert the Belknaps to Ulysses Class ships, but these plans had not come to fruition by the time of the Tomed Incident.

In the aftermath of that incident, the Treaty of Algeron was signed between the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire. The treaty stipulated in one of it's clauses that the Federation was not permitted to design, develop, deploy or continue to deploy existing Plasma weaponry. In accordance with the treaty, the Belknap Class was retired.

## Specifications

* **Class:** Dreadnought, Plasma
* **Hull Type Designation:** FDNp
* **Length:** 549m
* **Crew:** 1005
* **Warp Nacelles:** 2

* **Maximum Sublight Speed:** 3075 k/s (30.75 Mk/s)
* **Cruise** **Warp Factor Speed:** wf 7.4
* **Safe** **Maximum Warp Factor Speed:** wf 9.4
* **Hull Rating:** 600 HSF
* **Shield Rating:** 1260 FSP

* **Sensor Rating:** 800 SRU

* **Armament and Equipment:**
	+ Primary
		- 5 × Type B Phaser Emitter
	+ Secondary
		- 2 × Type H Plasma Torpedo Tube
	+ Heavy
		- None
	+ Advanced
		- None
	+ Equipment
		- Tractor Beam Emitter
		- Mark VI Probes
		- Electronic Warfare Equipment
		- 2 × Wasp Attack Shuttle

## Ships in Service (2292)

USS Belknap (NCC-7910)

USS Strafford (NCC-7911)

USS Carroll (NCC-7912)

USS Cheshire (NCC-7913)

USS Rockingham (NCC-7914)

USS Hillsborough (NCC-7915)

USS New Hampshire (NCC-7916)

USS Harrier (NCC-7917)

USS Tyrant (NCC-7918)

USS Arbalest (NCC-7919)

USS Wausau (NCC-7920)

USS Aniwa (NCC-7921)

USS Antigo (NCC-7922)

USS Appleton (NCC-7923)

USS Milwaukee (NCC-7924)