12.4 Ariel Class Shuttlecarrier

ARIEL CLASS SHUTTLECARRIER SERVICE ENTRY DATE (OLD CALENDAR): 2276

Ariel – McQuarrie concept proposal Does anybody have a mesh of the version by Aridas Sofia?

The concept of the fleet shuttlecarrier had once been thought to be a quaint but rather obsolete idea. The Romulan War (2158- 2162) had all but proven the futility of throwing armed shuttlecraft up against a well-armed starship … and yet, the notion of a space-going carrier and its squadron of starfighters never really died. The need for starships that could field large amounts of shuttles for a variety of missions, such as colonization support and defense against space piracy, was ever constant. Once the Klingons entered the picture, the need for fleet shuttlecarriers returned. There were several Klingon Houses that specialized in small craft operations, to which the Federation had to respond in kind. Thus was born the Santee class shuttlecarrier of the Four Years War and the Coronado class, its post-war descendant. Combat small craft operations were back and in a big way. This caused Starfleet Command to start thinking about fielding shuttlecarriers that were capable of more than just convoy escort.

The largest shuttlecarrier Starfleet had ever built to date was the Illustrious. This was a 2 million metric ton, slow-flying monster converted from an unfinished starbase during the Pax Federationis (2263-2221). It was too old, too large, and too slow to serve any use other than pilot training, and Starfleet wanted a comparable ship suited for the modern starship era. They found their answer in the Titan, one of the proposed but abandoned designs from the Baton Rouge era. It had married an early Chiokis-type primary hull saucer to a substantially modified primary hull, patterend after a Terran lifting body and capable of operating three squadrons of combat shuttlecraft within a single massive hangar bay. The dual warp engines were mounted on extended wing struts and were of a modified Pegasys design. Both features were necessary for the mass of the starship involved. The Starship Design Bureau modernized the Titan proposal for the linear warp generation, doubling its size in the process. The single large shuttlebay was replaced by six smaller ones, each with rear-hull exits. LN-64C linear warp engines replaced the original design, and a custom-built, enlarged Chiokis primary hull saucer added the final touch. Numerous pointdefense “gatling” phasers were incorporated into the design to provide protection against attacks from enemy combat shuttlecraft. The finished proposal, now named Ariel, was quickly approved and the hulls of the first three ships were laid down beginning in January of 2271. The fact that Ariel was an all-new design, utilizing no existing Class I components save her engines, delayed her completion by five years.

From the start the Ariel class shuttlecarrier (and its descendant, the Fredrikstad class) was destined for the role of fleet command ship. It was one of only three starship classes with a full C3 operations suite, required in its case for combat shuttlecraft operations. They could also support ground assault operations on an unprecedented scale, which eventually lead the Starfleet Marines to propose a design of their own (Normandy) which has yet to be approved.

The massive costs of the craft combined with construction delays caused the Ariel program to be reduced from ten hulls to only six. The first four were built to the original Ariel specification, while the last two were built to the modified Fredrikstad design. The only visual differences between the two are the landing bay sponsons added to the Fredrikstad for greater flexibility in hangar bay operations. Budget limitations forced Starfleet to switch to the cheaper “heavy carrier” programs (Jenshahan, Chosin, and Youngblood classes) soon after. Ariel has since been replaced on the fleet shuttlecarrier procurement schedule by the Midway class. The Ariel and Fredrikstad classes are expected to remain operational well into the 24th century.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Length: …………………………………….. 496 m Beam: ……………………………………… 319.3 m Draft: …………………….………………… 79.2 m Mass: ……………………………… 1,200,000 DWT Crew ……………… approximately 700 (plus 70 pilots) Range: ………………………... 20 light-years at L.Y.V. Cruising speed: ………………….………….. warp 6 Maximum speed: ………………….………… warp 14 Armament … 40 phasers (12 std, 28 point-defense banks)

SCHEMATIC:

ARIEL DESIGN BY RALPH McQUARRIE, ANDREW PROBERT, AND ARIDAS SOFIA ARIEL (TITAN) VISUALS BY ATOLM SCHEMATIC BY ARIDAS SOFIA

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