Guide:Flamsteed/Fraunhofer/Flagstaff
| |
| Flamsteed / Fraunhofer / Flagstaff | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | scout drone |
| Operational | 2232 - 2298 |
| Constructed | 45 total:
|
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 36.0 m |
| Beam | 15.4 m |
| Height |
|
| Mass |
|
| Performance | |
| Cruise Speed |
|
| Max Speed |
|
| Endurance | 2 years (estimated) |
| Complement | |
| Crew | none |
| Passengers | 5
|
| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons | Original
|
| Shields |
|
| Transporters | 1 GP (2-pad); Mk IV (possibly installed on Flagstaffs in 2275) |
| Auxiliary Craft | Up to 20 reconnaissance and tactical sub-drones (varying types) |
| Historical | |
| Ships of Note |
|
| Canonicity | |
| Design | Jeff Maynard |
| Name | Jeff Maynard |
| History | own
|
It did not take Starfleet long to realize that the problems the Bode scoutship project was facing in
2230 were formidable, and potentially crippling to the overall intelligence gathering effort.
Alternatives to the high speed scouts were thus sought basically from the outset. Some suggestions
were on the conservative side, and stressing tried and true technologies and high volume
production. Others dabbled on alternative supertechnologies. The solution Starfleet settled on featured elements of both approaches. Instead of finding middle ground, though, it changed the rules, broke new ground, and eventually gave SF Intelligence the full capacity it coveted.
The secret of high speed warp propulsion was not all that secret in the end. High output powerplants and high throughput warp coils could be defined simply as high risk adaptations of existing powerplant and warp coil technology, constructed for extra performance at the cost of drastically diminishing reliability, durability and endurance. The optimum curve for the technologies didn’t allow for supercruising midget starships yet, but it did allow for supercruising drones that utilized acute warp field gradients and thoroughbred antimatter reactors, sidestepping the issues of poor duonetic attenuation and insufficient delta radiation shielding by removing the vulnerable crew.
A fully automated 36 meter, 7,000 ton starcraft could in fact be constructed to carry the desired automated reconnaissance payload at speeds beyond warp six, cruising at a steady warp four. Moreover, this craft could be given landing capacity, the ability to carry and deploy sub-drones in quantity, and a potent armament for defending the nevertheless vital onboard assets from enemy action. Craft of this description began appearing in 2232, duly equipped with standard navigation and identification systems, yet carrying equipment of undisclosed nature, and frequently disappearing from the traffic control nets onto missions of utmost secrecy. Three distinct batches had been ordered, propelled by various 20-meter engines, the first of these clearly based on the commercial DB-04 model. I series registries were allocated, the Flamsteed model receiving NCC-I650 through 669, the Fraunhofers NCC-I670 through 684 and the Flagstaffs NCC-I685 through 694.
The innocuous-sounding naming schemes followed the tradition of allocating people, places and events from Earth’s history of astronomy to vessels scouting deep space. This was not completely in the name of subterfuge: the intelligence drones had a very real role to play in the charting of outer UFP commerce routes and their surrounding space. Witnessed propulsive endurance of two years facilitated thorough mapping runs, during which crew fatigue would not be an issue. The occasional launch of probes, drones or other hardware from the two stern deployment chutes of the craft did not detract from the mapping missions, and in some cases actually legitimately complemented it. The daughter and mother drones both had illegitimate uses as well, though, entering regions of space closed, for various reasons and by various means, to UFP traffic.
At least two types of sub-drone capable of independent warp travel were observed. Also, it was evident that the truncated cone bow section of the craft could be jettisoned and was equipped with warp coils of its own, possibly for intrusion to regions of extreme risk, possibly for extraction of data packages from such if the main craft were compromised. Also in evidence was the ability of the drones to take onboard passengers (with apparent but ill defined means of special protection against the field gradients and radiation). Insertion and extraction of intelligence operatives was an obvious application, yet for example USS Ball (NCC-I691) distinguished herself in 2266 by rescuing the crew of prospector SS Malverne, performing a complex series of tasks that involved phasering open the side of the drifting ship.
The exploits of the intelligence craft encouraged Starfleet to experiment with dedicated rescue drones, up to and including the massive USS Recovery trial launched in 2272. In reconnaissance missions, the trend was toward smaller craft instead. Few of these got NCC series registries, and only the very smallest, least capable ones were built in significant numbers. The F drones remained the mainstay of the uncrewed scouting force, keeping up with the times by adopting new engines in addition to new sensors and weaponry. The Fraunhofers were equipped with DB-404, the Flagstaffs with solid-coil PB-42. The original lasers were replaced by phasers, probably of Type III but later possibly of Type IV as well, with possible stun mode weapons installed on select drones. There is some evidence of the presence of transporters on late standard Flagstaffs as well.
Retirement of the drones was not to be an issue. By the 2270s, all the Flamsteeds and all but one of the Fraunhofers had been lost in action; the last Flagstaff was written off in 2298. No fatalities have ever been reported in connection with F series missions, unless one counts lives lost when recovery missions were aborted for various reasons, or enemy casualties in purported aggressive operations where lasers or phasers were fired in anger or explosive or otherwise destructive ordnance deployed by the drones. Data on such aspects of the drone missions is still lacking, either unpublished or destroyed altogether.
Gallery
Notes
- While the original text says the Recovery was launched in 2273, the source material (Recovery) indicates it had a space trial in 2272 that resulted in the ship's destruction.