Constitution Class

The ***Constitution*-class** was a Federation heavy cruiser starship in Starfleet service in the mid-to-late 23rd century. The design underwent several refits in its many decades of service. The original configuration and refit variants of this class influenced starship design significantly, and accelerated the standardization of the fleet.

Celebrated members of the class included the USS *Enterprise* and the USS *Enterprise*-A—two of the most venerated starships in Federation history, having risen to prominence under the captaincy of James T. Kirk.

## Specifications

### Armaments:

7 dual emitter phaser banks, 2 photon torpedo launchers

## History

### Development

Development of the *Constitution*-class began in the 2230s when key Fleet personnel, including Admiral William Jefferies and Captain Robert April, came to see the necessity of an all-purpose vessel that could explore space while protecting Federation interests and expanding its reach. When a design team led by Doctor Lawrence Marvick finished plans late in that decade for just such a ship, a new class was swiftly approved by Starfleet Command.

Starfleet authorized its Fleet Yards in San Francisco to build two vessels, with Admiral Jefferies overseeing NX 1700 -- christened *Constitution* -- and Captain April supervising its sister ship 1701, as yet unnamed.

The USS *Constitution*'s hull was completed in 2244, with enhanced sensor and deflector shield systems installed. When hostilities broke out late in the year, Jefferies pulled her from drydock to take decisive part in the Battle of Donatu V. Blunting the Klingon invasion force -- without weaponry -- she rescued USS *Yorkshire* but was badly damaged and required extensive repairs.

Construction on NX 1701 continued apace, employing new Duotronic computer systems designed by Doctor Richard Daystrom, which afforded 1701 better control of her systems. After a secret mission into the Romulan Neutral Zone, April christened her the *Enterprise*.

By 2244, both the *Constitution* and the *Enterprise* had begun their first five-year missions of exploration, the results of which led Starfleet to order nine more ships of the class.

Even after over a decade of service, the *Constitution*-class was known for its hardiness, and posting on one of them was considered a privilege. The *Constitution*-class was largely kept away from the battlefield during the Federation-Klingon War, ostensibly as a weapon of last resort, the only known exception being the USS *Defiant* which patrolled Sector 006. By this stage, however, the *Constitution*-class was beginning to show its age compared to newer models such as the *Crossfield*-class.

Often sent on long-term missions far from Federation space, *Constitution*-class ships were equipped to operate alone for extended periods of time and could go for long periods of time without seeing a sister ship. Noted exceptions occurred in 2267 when several of them were docked at Starbase 11 and in the brief war that took place over Organia where eleven of the class fought off the Klingon fleet until the Organians forced a ceasefire.

The following year, five *Constitution*-classes were used in the testing of the M-5 computer only for the computer's malfunctions to result in the destruction of the USS *Excalibur* and the USS *Lexington* being severely damaged.

After the *Enterprise* had stolen a Romulan cloaking device, the *Constitution*-class was used to test Federation built copies of the device. While the *Enterprise*'s cloak initially malfunctioned, the cloaks of five others had been properly refined and were used to scare of Kor's fleet before the Treaty of Algeron prevented any further usage of cloaking technology by the Federation.

Their long-term missions meant that the *Constitution*-classes often missed out on upgrades such that, by 2270, their technology was considered ancient by fleetwide standards.

### Refit

The First Major Refit of the class was in the mid 2250s most of the ships completed by 2255.

It was in the 2270s, after decades of continued service with only minor modifications, that the *Constitution*-class underwent a significant refit. Upgrade proposals all shared a more efficient power plant, with some versions streamlining the hull for better warpfield geometry, and others emphasizing enhanced weaponry or science capability with the final design merging many of the proposals.

The first major refit was *Enterprise*, and its success ensured the refit of the rest, bringing the fleet in line with newer technologies and extending its life.

### Later service

A *Constitution*-class ship the USS *Explorer* served into the late 24th century as a Training Vessel for 4th Year Cadets and was destroyed in battle at Wolf 359.

4 ships were decommissioned and sold to a private entities

Another *Constitution*-class the USS Yorktown was Retrofitted back to it's earlier designs and placed in the Memory Beta fleet museum.

## Specification

The largest and most elaborate vessel class Starfleet had yet fielded, with an unprecedented fourteen research labs each, ships of the *Constitution*-class became the most extensive mobile research platforms ever deployed by the Federation, and were responsible for expanding known space by thousands of cubic parsecs.

The class utilized a greater level of modularity, which allowed for incremental changes to configuration -- so flexible that it became standard starship design practice. As other classes began to employ such modularity, Fleet design became increasingly more uniform.

The *Constitution* class were also among the first to allow for primary-hull saucer separation -- though only in emergencies, since the separation's use of explosive bolts required starbase facilities for reconnection. By the 24th century, the saucer separation had become a routine maneuver with *Galaxy*-class starships having the ability to separate their saucers, and reconnect them.

The saucer section of the class was also capable of making an emergency planetary landing using retractable landing gear. A boarding ramp could be lowered from the dorsal connector point to allow crew on and off the ship.

*Constitution*-class ships were normally crewed by roughly 400 people but could be crewed by less should the need arise. At minimum, discounting any special modifications to aid in operating the ship, twenty-three crewmembers were required.

### Variants

One Modified Variant was made to the Class and it was 4 vessels were modified as battle cruisers with added Phaser Emitters and Torpedo launchers

These Vessels had added 4 extra Phaser Emitters and 1 extra Torpedo Launcher plus the new 2 Phaser Turrets.

## Known vessels

Constitution Class Variant(Battle Crusier)
 USS *Valiant* | NCC-1718
 USS *Defiant* | NCC-1764
 USS *Indomitable* | NCC-1765