6.2 Roanoke Class Transport
The Roanoke was the first of the Class J cargo ships, introducing the cargo container grapple-and-tow train system, and 53 were purchased for the fledgling Star Fleet after the Federation’s founding to form the core of its transport division.
Roanoke Class Transport
Service Entry Date (Old Calendar): 2105The new century ushered in a new class of Terran space transports. Class J cargo ships were something of an innovation at the time. They featured a redesigned cargo container grapple-and-tow system whereby these vessels could snake additional containers behind the ship in a train, towing these along with the ship’s on-board cargo to their intended destination. The only limitations were the power of a Class J starship’s warp engines (which limited just how many containers it could tow), and the limits to which its trailing warp field could be extended to cover the “stretching” of the ship in this manner. A three-container configuration was typical, with five representing the uppermost limit. The basic concept of the container-train configuration has proven so successful that it has remained virtually unchanged ever since.
Roanoke was the first of the Class J cargo ships. As with most vessels of its type crew spaces were at a premium. The ship’s complement of 19 was squeezed together on three decks in conditions approximating those of an old DY-series starship. Oftentimes crewmembers would set up temporary quarters in the ship’s lone shuttlecraft or even in the foremost cargo container. The latter was usually a costly proposition, though, and not followed unless the job involved a voyage of extreme duration. The less space needed by the crew meant the more that could be used for cargo — and in the end, making a profit by hauling cargo was what a Class J starship was all about.
A total of 53 Roanoake class transports were purchased from Terra for the fledgling Star Fleet shortly after the founding of the Federation in 2127. These would form the core of its transport division, which evolved over many decades into the organization we know today as Starfleet Transport Command. These remained in service until the early 2200, thanks to numerous system and engine upgrades.
Specifications
Length: 76.2 m. Beam: 58.8 m. Draft: 32.1 m. Mass: 19,400 DWT. Crew: 20. Range: 6 years at L.Y.V. Cruising speed: Warp 1.5. Maximum safe speed: Warp 2.2. Armament: 2 laser banks.Innovations
- First Terran transport with the ability to like multiple cargo containers together to increase cargo volume.