Ulysses Class

Initially a knee-jerk reaction to the lack of a modern Capital Ship in Starfleet at the beginning of the Organian Conflict, the Ulysses Class quickly matured into a rugged and reliable Dreadnought. A surprisingly long lived design given her rapid development, she was not finally retired until the mid 2320s.

## 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 numbers 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. Originally it had been intended that she be armed not with Photon Torpedoes, but Plasma Torpedoes, as this would give her formidable hitting power. The need for her to enter service quickly however overrode this plan, and instead she was armed with a quartet of Mark VI Photon Torpedo Tubes. Plasma-Armed ships did eventually enter service as the Belknap Class.

In 2288, the Ulysses Class ships in service were overhauled as part of their reassignment as Dreadnoughts as opposed to Battleships. The torpedo tubes onboard were upgraded to Mark VII standards, and the newly acquired QCB Projector fitted to boost her all-round firepower.

## Operational History

The USS Ulysses (NCC-7850) first saw combat in the opening months of 2286. Leading a Cruiser Squadron, the Ulysses proved a match for even the latest Klingon designs, although little did Starfleet know what both the Klingon Empire (and especially) the Romulan Star Empire were about to unleash against them. Further hulls were produced and entered service rapidly for a ship of her size, largely due to the tried and tested nature of many of her systems, taken from or derived from those aboard the smaller Constitution Class Refit. By the wars end, five Ulysses Class ships were in service.

In 2288, in response to the Romulan War Eagle Class, the Missouri Class Battleship entered service. Rather than replace such useful, effective and modern ships as the Ulysses, she was redefined as a Dreadnought, a brand new ship class. The Ulysses Class was the first of these now medium Capital Ships to be officially designated as such, although eventually all powers came to use the term. As part of their overhaul and redesignation, they were given upgraded armament including the new QCB Projector. This gave the Ulysses greater all-round firepower, very useful in offsetting the greater manoeuvrability of equivalent Klingon designs.

The QCB Projector also came in very useful against ISC vessels in the War of Pacification, helping to offset their formidable shields. While increasingly playing a support role to larger Missouri Class Battleships, the Ulysses also saw extensive combat in Heavy Brigades attached to Cruiser Squadrons, providing a powerful punch to help these Squadrons overcome much larger forces.

With the coming of the General War in 2292, the Ulysses was once again called into action in both support and Heavy Brigade work. Ships of her class were often the first true Capital Ship to engage ISC forces, their higher speed at warp and impulse allowing them greater freedom of operation than the larger Missouri Class or Yamato Class Battleships.

## Apocrypha

Unlike most of her wartime stablemates, the Ulysses found a place in the post-Khitomer Starfleet. Whilst the Constitution Class Refit was considered too old to keep in service, the great Missouri Class Battleships deemed too expensive and too inflexible, and some newer ships like the Lexington Class suffering from spaceframe fatigue due to their design, the Ulysses was considered powerful enough to keep in service, even with the new Excelsior Class Refit entering service, yet economical.

The most infamous post-Khitomer loss of a Ulysses Class was the USS Agamemnon (NCC-7875), destroyed during the Tomed Incident. The Agamemnon was a relatively new ship, built in 2295 and one of the last Ulysses Class ships produced.

The Ulysses continued on in service until the introduction of the Ambassador Class in the 2320s rendered her entirely obsolete.

## Specifications

* **Class:** Dreadnought
* **Hull Type Designation:** FDN
* **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
		- 4 × Mark VII Photon Torpedo Tube
	+ Heavy
		- None
	+ Advanced
		- Quantum Carrier-Wave Beam Projector (QCB)
	+ Equipment
		- Tractor Beam Emitter
		- Mark VI Probes
		- Electronic Warfare Equipment
		- 2 × Wasp Attack Shuttle

## Ships in Service (2292)

USS Ulysses (NCC-7850)

USS Heracles (NCC-7851)

USS Argo (NCC-7852)

USS Pericles (NCC-7853)

USS Sparta (NCC-7854)

USS Herodotus (NCC-7855)

USS Pyhrrus (NCC-7856)

USS Epirus (NCC-7857)

USS Jason (NCC-7858)

USS Titan (NCC-7859)

USS Hera (NCC-7860)

USS Zeus (NCC-7861)

USS Artemis (NCC-7862)

USS Alexander (NCC-7863)

USS Troy (NCC-7864)