7.5 Daedalus Class Cruiser

Daedalus Class Cruiser

Service Entry Date (Old Calendar): 2158

In 2156 the Romulan War was already looming on the horizon. Star Fleet was understandably looking for any starship on which it could get its hands to beef up its fleet. It found a ready candidate in the Daedalus class survey cruisers. The first two ships of the class had already been under construction for the past nineteen months. They had been partially reworked while still in their berths to take advantage of the latest design data from the Jeffries Galactic Survey Cruiser Project; hence the delay in their completion. The Federation Council granted Star Fleet the authority to "take over" the Daedalus class and finish it on an accelerated schedule as a military cruiser. This was done much to the irritation of both UESPA and the Federation Bureau of Sciences; yet both acknowledged that the looming war against the Romulans took precedence above all else.

The need for swift completion under these conditions meant that the Daedalus as built could not implement all of the data learned from the Jeffries Project. A simple spherical primary hull was fitted instead of the toridal saucer that had been worked up from the Jeffries Project data. Star Fleet standard PB-2 circumferential warp drive units, an uprated version of the ones first used with the Armstrong class heavy cruiser, were installed instead of the proposed new "Pegasys" series VX-1 by Kloratis Drive Systems, as UESPA had intended. Although not as powerful as the Pegasys VX-1 on paper, the PB-2s were already available and did not have to go through a lengthy testing and evaluation process. Finally, one small yet significant change remained to be made to the Daedalus design. It was equipped with lasers and torpedoes for combat conditions. They were not part of the original design, since a survey vessel was traditionally unarmed; however, Star Fleet experience with the Romulans had proven the folly of such a practice. They would have mounted more weapons had there been any room left for them in the already thrice-redesigned hull. Instead, they would have to content themselves with hiding additional weapons inside its shuttle bay on an as-needed basis per mission specs.

The Daedalus class has often been criticized for its utilitarian lines and rather ungainly appearance. It is quite a different ship as built from what had been intended, which would have more closely resembled the Jeffries Project prototype after its mid-construction design revision. One must understand, though, the wartime environment that dictated how fast and under what conditions the Daedalus class entered service. One must also take into account that despite its "primitive" looks the Daedalus was one of the fastest and most agile starships of its day. The limited application of the Jeffries Project data had given the Federation its first "modern" starship class regardless of its appearance. The arrival of the Daedalus and its brethren on the scene in 2158 was one of the factors that helped the Federation defend itself in those terrible first two years of the Romulan War. They would also prove instrumental in winning it. The Daedalus class would go on to serve long after the war was over, returning to more peaceful missions and performing admirably in its intended role as survey and exploration vessels.

All starships of the Daedalus class were officially retired in 2196. A few still serve "unofficially" in various support roles.

Specifications

Length: 114.5 m. Beam: 49.4 m. Draft: 37.5 m. Mass: 27,500 DWT. Crew: 120. Armament: 7 laser banks (4 fore / 3 aft), 2 fusion torpedo tubes (both fore). Cruising speed: Warp 3.5. Maximum safe speed: Warp 3.9.

Innovations/Experiments

• First "modern" Federation starship class.