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USS Spirit NCC-70223

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Description

For the Star Trek Universe.

*Senses trekkies heartrate increase*

Anyway.
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USS Spirit
Thunderbird-class
Federation Torpedo Frigate.

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Introduced in the year 2375, the Thunderbird-class was designed to be built quickly, yet retained high combat ability, to replace the large amount of ship losses during the Battle of Sector 001 as well as the Dominion War. Starfleet Command decided the emphasis in the ship design would focus on speed, manouverbility and armament, with minimal attention to non-combat luxuries. As a result, a very potent and capable warship emerged from the drawing boards, partially inspired by the Akira-class, also a recent design. Three ships of the class were deployed just a year after the design was finalised, and now serve to fill in gaps in the fleet as a result of the recent Dominion conflict.

Engineers designing the Thunderbirds decided upon a Torpedo Frigate classification, noting that the fleet lacked dedicated torpedo vessels. The main flaw in torpedo-based combat, as opposed to phaser-slugouts, is that torpedoes can be intercepted by phaser shots or even counter-torpedoes before they even hit their targets, rendering them useless. To counter this, engineers added ample torpedo launcher mounts onto various points in the ship, including the saucer section and aft rollbar. Furthermore, these torpedo launchers are bolstered by additional triple-tubed rotary microtorpedo launchers, similar to those mounted on Federation Starbases as defence systems. These high rate-of-fire microtorpedoes, rather than firing a single, high-yield warhead, fires many smaller, lower-yield weapons continously, overwhelming the target's defensive systems. In addition to these disposable weapons systems, the Thunderbirds are also armed with the oh-so-common Type XII Phaser systems. An upgrade to the system is also present on the vessel. In addition to the common phaser arrays laid out on strips, the Thunderbirds also have dome-shaped multidirectional phaser mounts, which can fire in nearly any direction, ensuring every flank of the ship is covered.
The ship also possesed an improved dual-layer shielding system, with the outer layer being a pulse-shield, only activating when enemy fire is detected. The inner layer is a conventional regenerative shield, similar to those on most contemporary ships. The ship is also coated in ablative hull plating, which dampens energy weapons fire, as well as reactive armour packs, which can deflect physical damage. Onboard replicators allow both these defensive system to be replaced in a matter of hours, ensuring optimum protection of the vessel even after a battle. The exposed bridge, long an issue of controversy by Federation commanders, is plated with thick neutronium armour, making it one of the toughest parts of the ship. Externally, the ship lacks windows common to most Federation ship classes, opting for a more armoured hull rather than the luxury of spacescapes. However, high resolution external cameras were installed later on to most of the Thunderbirds in service, as creature comfort when more resources became avaliable.

The Thunderbird's other specialty is her speed. Having six high powered impulse engines, the Thunderbird has one of the fastest sublight acceleration among ships in the Federation fleet, allowing it to travel quickly without engaging warp drive. Her warp drive also consists of four heavy duty nacelles, each nacelle having a pair of warp coils. At cruising, she can attain a very fast FTL speed of Warp Factor 9, and can boost to Warp 9.52 for a maximum time of around twelve hours. With her unique nacelle configuartion, she can go to warp even if three out of four of her nacelles are disabled, allowing her to escape to fight another day. Due to the high consumption of deuterium for her hungry impulse engines, larger and more buzzard collectors were installed into all four of her nacelles, ensuring her fusion reactors have enough fuel for impulse power.

Due to the ship's modular design, she is expected to serve in the fleet until even the next century, progressively being upgraded with the latest Starfleet systems as time goes by. Already the three ships in service are proving themselves, bringing Federation firepower to bear when the situation goes awry. Utopia Plaintia Fleet Yards are expected to bring around 25 of these new ships into service, probably more due to it's excellent performance.

Artist Notes:
My virgin Trek Sketchup ship. Feedback is much appreciated. I tried my best to keep in line with Gene Roddenberry's starship design rules. =)

Google Sketchup =) Mm. Ketchup...
Image size
2260x1530px 1.73 MB
© 2009 - 2024 fongsaunder
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LordOmegaZ's avatar
designed to be built quickly, yet retained high combat ability, to replace the large amount of ship losses during the Battle of Sector 001 as well as the Dominion War. Starfleet Command decided the emphasis in the ship design would focus on speed, manouverbility and armament, with minimal attention to non-combat luxuries.


so... starfleet's T-34 tank? X3