Guide:Chameleon
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| Chameleon | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | light courier / scoutcraft |
| Operational | 2242 - 2294 |
| Constructed | 912 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 32.4 m |
| Beam | 8.0 m (10.0 m gear extended) |
| Height | 8.0 m (10.0 m gear extended) |
| Mass |
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| Performance | |
| Max Speed | w 3.5 |
| Endurance |
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| Complement | |
| Crew | 2
|
| Tactical Systems | |
| Shields |
|
| Transporters | 1x GP (2-pad); Mk II |
| Canonicity | |
| Design | FASA |
| Name | FASA |
| History | FASA
|
Star Fleet’s attempts in the 2220s and 2230s to field interstellar-capable utility craft were frustrated by lack of progress in lightweight engine development. Available designs were coming short either in speed, range, reliability, or affordability, in paralyzing combinations. This was not for lack of trying: efforts of Star Fleet and the civilian sector alike were concentrated on miniaturizing the now more or less standard circumferentially-excited, monoaxial engine type. Yet the experimental types in the 10 to 15 meter total length, 1,000 to 2,000 metric ton total mass range only slowly crept towards the desired warp three interstellar performance. In 2237, the Hubble runabouts still represented the cutting edge in light craft propulsion.
Yet solid state coil technology was inevitably permeating to light craft stardrives as well. Without a compact total annihilation powerplant, a solid state engine would not yield massive improvements in speed, but at least it would solve the reliability and endurance problems of spooled designs. When Cochrane Warp Dynamics introduced the groundbreaking DB-30, Star Fleet jumped at the opportunity and ordered immediate construction of light craft mounting one nacelle of this type. Project Salamander thus began life as a utility transport, yet impressed Star Fleet with its propulsive performance, and quickly diversified into a variety of battlefield and exploration roles.
There are obvious practical problems with creating a single-nacelle craft capable of planetfall. A top-heavy dorsal mount is virtually the only possible configuration, and craft like this tend to be very beamy for relaxed, SIF-off surface stability. The Salamander went another route, sporting a long and narrow body braced by widely spread landing struts at both ends. The fusion reactor was packed astern, while the two-pilot flight deck in front sat atop a flight and life support systems compartment, a two-pad transporter, and a minimal berthing space.
Payloads in the low-lying midsection could be easily accessed by surface crews and cargo handling machinery. They typically consisted of containers five meters on the side and 2.5 meters high, but a single box hold five meters wide and fifteen long could also be carried. Offloading in this configuration called for perfectly smooth and almost level landing sites. Even with smaller packages, a roll angle limit of 9 degrees and positive yaw limit of 5 degrees had to be observed.
Prepared landing sites could generally be expected in the utility role, yet Star Fleet wanted to push the envelope. Development of more flexible or specialized craft would have to wait: Star Fleet’s first small craft capable of exceeding warp 3 on a regular basis would be pressed on to scouting duty. In this application, amidships holds would simply be furnished with crew quarters for extended operations; with a field laboratory; and with a sensor and computer package. Military intelligence gathering would call for a slightly different balance of equipment, and configurations dedicated to operative insertion and extraction were also requested early on. By 2240, Project Salamander had mutated to the multifaceted Project Chameleon, and the first production craft began operations (in 2242) as Exploration Command surveyors, Logistics Command couriers and SF Intelligence scouts.
The voluminous production run would extend to 2252 and to no fewer than 912 hulls, after which a further 833 would be manufactured for the civilian market. Many of the Star Fleet Chameleons would also be liquidated at that point by turning them into mercantile transports; the fleet would—by the fifties—be well supplied with more affordable types of light interstellar utility and liaison craft, eventually in the shuttlecraft category as well.
This is not to say that the Chameleon would have been a transitional type of little operational value. To the contrary, Project Locust in the mid-forties had seen the survey craft taking the lead in planetary prospecting operations within the sectors of the calm Romulan border and coreward wastes. Swarms of up to dozens of craft, accompanied by other interstellar scout types and a number of tenders, would quickly cover vast surface areas in search of key planetary resources. Unsuited for operations against the adversity of harsh environments, enemy harassment, or complex cultural or political issues, the craft specialized in assignments of low risk—and consequently often of low return as well. Exceptions were the norm in this business, however: many a Locust swarm ran into enemy action, often with fatal results, while others hit notable paydirt despite the modest survey gear allocated.
As losses began to mount, the Locusts were pulled back. Conversions to Marine landing craft were short-lived, due to the poor handling of the type, but retrofits to second-line utility transports were favorably received. Still, the last of the Great Projects swept away the majority of Star Fleet Chameleon assets: under Project Tradewinds, some three thousand light units of Star Fleet origin or design were transferred to boost commerce when Klingon aggression seemed to paralyze all trade.
Star Fleet withdrew its last Chameleon units from in-system utility service in 2294. None of the numerous museum pieces found across the Federation are preserved in the original Star Fleet condition, even though some have been retrofitted into such a configuration for showcasing purposes.
Gallery
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Notes
- I added the note about the operational year starting in 2242, as it seems the previous reference to 2240 resulting in a multifaceted Project Chameleon might mis-inform the operational date.
References