Type
|
Attack Cruiser | ||
Unit Run
|
|
||
Commissioned
|
2347 - Present | ||
Dimensions
|
Length : 457 m
Beam : 240 m Height : 100 m Decks : 28 |
||
Mass
|
4,900,000 tons | ||
Crew
|
780 | ||
Armament
|
3 x Mark 12 pulse disrupter cannon
12 x Mark 10 disrupter cannon , total output 57,500 TeraWatts 4 x Triple fire photon torpedo tubes + 580 torpedoes |
||
Defence Systems
|
High capacity shield system
total capacity 2,092,500 TeraJoules
Heavy Duranium/Tritanium double hull plus 16.0 cm High Density armour. High level structural support field |
||
Warp Speeds
(TNG Scale)
|
Normal Cruise : Warp Factor 6
Maximum Cruise : Warp Factor 8.8 Maximum Rated : Warp Factor 9.4 or more |
||
Strength Indices
(Galaxy class = 1,000)
|
Beam Firepower : 1,150
Torpedo Firepower : 475 Weapon Range and Accuracy : 750 Shield Strength : 775 Hull Armour : 2,000 Speed : 918 Combat Manoeuvrability : 1,700 |
||
Overall Strength Index
|
890 | ||
Standard models approximately equivalent to Starfleet Grade
2
Some Vor'Chas have been refitted as diplomatic couriers for High Council members and are approximately equivalent to Starfleet Grade 4 |
|||
Expected Hull Life
|
80 years | ||
Refit Cycle
|
Minor : 2 years
Standard : 8 years Major : 16 years |
Notes : The Vor'Cha class was originally the Klingon response to Starfleets Ambassador class design. Intended to be significantly more powerful than the Ambassador, the ship had something of a troubled beginning. The project was approved in 2332, and immediately ran into snags; the Klingons experienced problems with the manufacture of the Warp Coils, a problem Starfleet would later encounter for itself. In addition, despite much effort the Klingons could not match Starfleets development of the burst fire torpedo tube. However, the materials problems were overcome and the first designs indicated that the new ships would comfortably meet the design requirements using larger numbers of single fire torpedo tubes. However, by the time construction of the first vessel was begun in 2341, Starfleet had issued the requirement for the Nebula class Starship. This would clearly be more than a match for the proposed Vor'Cha class, leaving the Klingons with a major new warship design which would be obsolete the moment it left the shipyards.
The Klingons responded by going back to the drawing board and re draughting the design. Three of the Mark 10 disrupter cannon were replaced with more powerful models, designated the Mark 12. These were capable of operating in a 'pulse fire' mode, increasing their effectiveness against shield systems. High density armour plating was added around the ships Warp Core, nacelles, and around the weapons platforms. Efforts continued to field a burst fire torpedo system; in 2343 a group of six torpedoes exploded wile being fired from a test vessel, destroying it with the loss of two hundred personnel, including nine of the projects best design specialists. Despite this tragedy the Klingons pressed on, albeit with a less ambitious tube design capable of firing three torpedoes at a time, and were eventually successful.
The re-designed Vor'Cha began construction in 2345 and launched in 2351,
three years before the first of the Nebula
class. Comparisons between the two are inevitable; the Vor'Cha is generally
considered to be about 15% more powerful than the standard Nebula
design because of its superior armour and pulse fire disrupters. However,
when fitted with an enhanced weapons pod the Nebula
is generally reckoned to be more than a match for the Vor'Cha. The advent
of the Galaxy class swung
the balance further toward Starfleet, and the Vor'Cha class is decidedly
behind the latest designs beginning to enter service in the quadrant. The
Klingons are reported to be planning to upgrade the Vor'Cha fleet with
more powerful disrupters, the latest torpedo tubes, and enhanced shielding
systems to keep them on the front lines. It is not known when this process
might begin.
Star Trek et al is Copyright Paramount Pictures
1996/97.
No Copyright infringement is intended and
this page is for personal use only.
All of the above classes of star ships
and all of the
named ships are copyright Paramount 1996/97.