11.5 Endeavour Class Heavy Cruiser

ENDEAVOUR CLASS HEAVY CRUISER SERVICE ENTRY DATES (OLD CALENDAR): 2262, 2273

e story of the Th Endeavour class is the story of linear warp tech s nology itself: how it almost came about a decade early, wa pass et ed on, and yet still managed to find its way into Starfle serv t. ice a decade after its lead ship had already joined the flee

End r eavour (NCC-1716) was one of a trio of ships converted fo use t as LN-40 linear warp prototypes in 2262. When tha upgr d ade program was passed over in favor of LN-64 base tech e nology, Endeavour’s days as a technology prototype wer over . She and the other two ships, the scout Monoceros and e transport/tug Keppler, were soon returned to service. All th heir new LN-40 warp engines. Endeavour would three retained t heavy cruiser of its type until the 2270s. remain the lone

Delays in Starfleet’s linear warp program caused Starfleet Command to revisit the concepts behind the LN-40 program. A revamped program with improved tecnhnology could serve as a quick, cost-effective means of upgrading the rest of the Class I fleet without the bother of a full linear warp upgrade. Twelve other heavy cruisers were converted to a slightly modified Endeavour configuration, utilizing the improved LN-52, starting in 2273. These were joined by four all-new builds in 2275. These last four (Truxtun, Confiance, Bunker Hill, La Vengeance) were the last “old-style” Class I starships ever built, and their date of entry into service is widely held as marking the end of the Class I era.

The biggest advantage of the LN-40 as opposed to the othe r esign in development at the time (the LN-60) was its selfd ontained nature. It was specifically designed to be fitted to c existing Class I starship frames and warp pylon mounts, replacing their older PB -series circumferential warp engines with a minimum of yard time and internal system reconfiguration. There was one significant drawback to the LN-40, though. Its dilithium decay rate proved to be the highest of any linear warp engine design. In practical terms, this meant that starships equipped with LN-40s could not maintain superwarp speeds (above Warp 8) for extended periods. This problem was partially resolved by the use of the improved LN-52 in the later E hile its dilithium decay ndeavour conversions and new builds. W arp engines, rate was still excessive compared to other linear w permitted was not as pronounced as the older LN-40 and thus it ing durations while maintaining superwarp speed. longer cruis Endeavour’s LN-40s were removed and replaced with LN-52s in 2272 at the same time other starships were being converted or built to the Endeavour configuration.

Two Endeavour class starships have been lost in the line of duty. Excelsior (NCC-1718) disappeared while on a long-range mission outside of Federation territory in 2277 and has never been seen since. The new space control ship Excelsior (NCC-2000) was amed in her honor. The Saratoga (NCC-1724) was ambushed n d and amaged beyond repair by four unknown starships, two of which are believed to be of Klingon origin. 373 crewmembers were lost and the unsalvageable hull had to be scrapped. The name has since been reassigned to a new-build Miranda class cruiser.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Length: …………………………………….. 283.1 m Beam: ……………………………………… 126.2 m Draft: …………………….………………… 73.8 m Mass: ………………………………… 190,000 DWT Crew ………………………………………….… 98 Range: …………………………….. 20 years at L.Y.V. Cruising speed: ………………….………….. warp 8 Maximum speed: ………………….………… warp 10 Armament: ……………… 8 phasers (4 banks of 2 each) 2 photon torpedo tubes

Innovations: the use of self-contained linear warp engine • Pioneered ing technology as a means of quickly upgrading an exist starship with minimum yard time • Last of the “original” Class I starships

SCH EMATIC:

ENDEAVOUR DESIGN BY WALTER M. JEFFRIES AND MIKE MINOR VISUAL COURTESY OF FILEFRONT SCHEMATIC BY GEOFFERY MANDEL ABD DOUG DREXELER

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