Guide:Pyotr Velikiy/Beowulf
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| Pyotr Velikiy / Beowulf | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | Heavy cruiser / support cruiser |
| Operational | |
| Constructed | 28 total |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 250.3 m |
| Beam | 169.1 m |
| Height | 36.5 m |
| Mass | |
| Performance | |
| Cruise Speed | w 5 |
| Max Speed | w 8.3 |
| Endurance | 3 years |
| Complement | |
| Officers | 80 |
| Enlisted |
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| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons |
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| Missile Weapons |
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| Shields |
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| Laboratories |
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| Transporters |
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| Auxiliary Craft | Heavy cruisers (Mk I)
Support cruisers (Mk II, III)
|
| Historical | |
| Ships of Note |
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| Canonicity | |
| Design | Starfleet Museum/Masao Okazaki |
| Name | Starfleet Museum/Masao Okazaki, Marco Palmieri Vanguard:Declassified, LUG, Diane Carey Wagon Trail |
| History | Starfleet Museum/Masao Okazaki, Marco Palmieri Vanguard:Declassified, LUG, Diane Carey Wagon Trail
|
The light cruisers of Amchitka class and the medium cruisers of Rochester class were insurance
against the strategic consequences of a possible crippling delay of Project Starship. Star Fleet also
had to cover its bases against other types of setback, though. The smaller cruisers were to ship
partial Starship armament on a compact spaceframe with low-risk but also low-performing engines
and powerplant. If instead it was the ambitious structural solutions and the dilithium reactor that
failed on the Constitution, though, Star Fleet might be left with perfectly working PB-30 engines,
'Wolf' torpedo launchers, and heavy lasers, but without a starship large enough to accommodate
them or the vast conventional reactor needed to stand in for the hoped-for Constitution powerplant.
To ensure that a new heavy cruiser of some sort would be in service with Star Fleet by 2242, Admiral Shrelev IV of Andor suggested that a second Starship project involving less risk be undertaken with a reactor expected to be available in the near term rather than half a decade away, if ever. The sights would not waver from the goal of carrying full Starship gear, though: the main navigational deflector and sensor suite, armament, deflector shielding and defensive systems, command superstructure, life-support systems, and even major computer systems and programs would be common to both heavy cruiser efforts.
Conservative Andorian warp field theorists still felt that the greater cruising efficiency of a warp field with a minimal frontal profile outweighed the disadvantages of lower rates of roll, pitch, and yaw in comparison with the dual-lobe warp field favored by Earth designers. Accordingly, USS Pyotr Velikiy (NX-1670) featured a bulbous command hull reminiscent of the Mann one, with nacelles barely protruding from its shadow on extremely short lateral supports. A complex arrangement of overlapping truncated ellipsoids appeared an odd and expensive choice for the shape of the dorsal hull surface, yet was marketed by the warp engineers as ‘beneficial for the boundary layer transhull dynamics of the close-hugging warp field.’ Others saw here an effort by structural engineers to regain at least some of the volume lost to warp streamlining by adding a bulge here, another there whenever field shapes allowed. Certainly the single-lobe field of the Pyotr Velikiy was more forgiving in this respect than the two-lobed Constitution one that was giving endless headache to Project Starship hull shape designers.
The main navigational deflector traded a large frontal profile for a longer resonance tunnel and was attached to the front ventral part of the command hull. The SSWR-XIIIB forcefield focus m/am reactor was too large to be integrated into the command hull and was placed, along with its associated fuel stores, in a separate engineering hull connected directly aft by a short, thick neck. Twin main shuttlecraft bays straddled the root of the neck, while a third, smaller bay was placed at the stern of the engineering hull mainly for fuel transfer purposes.
Because the Pyotr Velikiy, like the Constitution, was intended to operate far beyond the borders of the Federation on independent missions, sustaining high warp for extended periods of time, maintenance of warp capability far from support facilities was a primary concern. Because the SSWR-XIIIB reactor needed to operate at higher percentages of maximal output to achieve desired cruising speeds, constantly risking failure, the warp drive was designed to retain operability at lower speeds (wf 3.2) on fusion power alone. The ‘impulse’ system was abnormally large and powerful and was supplied by two large deuterium tanks in the rear ventral command hull. If the antimatter drive were to experience irreparable malfunction or complete failure, the now-redundant engineering hull would be detached to decrease weight. The nacelles, which were attached directly to the command hull, could continue emergency warp operations with power from the fusion reactor. The fusion reaction could also be used to supplement the m/am reactor to achieve higher warp speeds. Such conservative redundancy made the Pyotr Velikiy an exceptionally large and heavy vessel for its time, rivaling the largest Geering battle cruisers in hull mass.
The development and construction was allocated to Salazaar, and proceeded quickly and without major difficulties. Indeed, the Pyotr Velikiy had already been flight-tested at warp speeds with temporary ‘Merlin II’ nacelles and power from its fusion reactor alone in December 2238, less than 2 years into development. In April 2239, the main m/am reactor arrived from Hellas Planitia and was installed in the secondary hull, followed by PB-30 ‘Sabre’ nacelles in September 2240. Full-up testing culminated in November 2240 in a sustained speed of warp 7.7. Armament was then installed, paralleling the Constitution arsenal in most respects but featuring a lighter, two-tube version of the ‘Wolf’ torpedo launcher. The Pyotr Velikiy was officially handed over to Star Fleet above San Francisco in March 2241, justifying by mere months the project’s status as a remedy for Constitution delays.
As the competing inaugural Starship in 2242 retired to recover from her early combat experiences, the Pyotr Velikiy got the chance to prove herself in service with the 4th Fleet. She undertook the first survey mission beyond the Hammadi-Burke Hollow, an area of dense interstellar matter impenetrable to long range sensors. She charted 15 star systems and made successful first contacts with two neighboring, newly warp-capable races, the Laag and the Konnir, previously unknown to the Federation and even to each other. Yet exploration prowess was relatively far down the list of Star Fleet priorities at the time, and the Salazaar builders struggled with rationales for the completion of further Pyotr Velikiy units beyond the five that filled in for the recuperating Constitution and her admittedly somewhat delayed sisters. The Andorian government was asked to intervene to purchase the remaining 15 keels for national defense purposes, but the competing and highly successful Loknar project undermined any arguments about shortcomings in the national self-defense scheme, and in any case it was Chiokis with its sterling export successes that had the government’s antennae for the time being.
The fifteen did end up being built, but with Terran rather than Andorian patriotism coloring their naming choices; to add insult to injury, the proud heavy cruisers were immediately relegated to missions of combat transport and Marine landing support. In many ways, they were eminently suited for these tasks. There was interior space to spare in the portly hull, despite the requirement for 20% more operating crew than a Constitution even in full deep space rig would call for. Fuel and consumables reserves originally intended for the depths of unexplored space were available for sharing, too. Even lack of agility was something of an asset, making the Pyotr Velikiy a steady and stalwart platform for orbital bombardment. Defense Command was a satisfied customer and purchased a further eight hulls in 2248.
In the 2250s, the Pyotr Velikiy units were given smaller and more powerful SSWR-XVB reactors to bring their performance closer to modern cruiser standards. There was little change in propulsive specifications, but the new powerplants made a world of difference for shields and energy weapons, and allowed top-notch phasers to be fitted. In some ships, designated Mk II but often known as the Beowulf subclass after the first of eight newbuilds, the large engineering hulls were retained, and the spaces vacated by the more compact reactor arrangements were converted to other uses, such as assault barge and cargo stowage. In others, the engineering hull was completely removed, leaving only the bobbed stump of the connecting neck. Decreasing the displacement by some 50,000 tons significantly improved the impulse performance of these Mk III vessels. This was not translated to combat agility, though, but was utilized for towing twin cargo containers in planetary assault support duty.
Although individual ships continued to perform important missions of diplomacy and exploration, Defense Command never released the Pyotr Velikiys to deep space adventures en masse. Having performed their originally planned role as backups for the Constitution with distinction in 2240-45, they went on to justify their series production with equal merit in forty years of (admittedly steadily diminishing) supporting roles, releasing more capable units to serve as Star Fleet’s frontline heavy cruisers.
USS Dauntless (NCC-1697) was badly damaged in combat at Xarant in 2259 and saw extensive repairs at Starbase 7. A further engagement with Klingon rogues in 2268 required virtual rebuilding at Starbase 11; the beleaguered ship subsequently tackled the Feline Xindi in two major battles, and after a brief respite, rejoined the Beowulf combat tender force just in time to see action in Operation Grey Ghost, then retired with exceptionally full honors in 2278. USS Salah Ad-Din (NCC-1683), the last original Pyotr Velikiy to be retired, is now on display at the Star Fleet Museum.
Gallery
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USS Pyotr Velikiy in her prototype configuration -
Pyotr Velikiy Mk I/II (bow) -
Mk I/II (dorsal) -
Mk I/II (stern) -
Mk III tug (side) -
Mk III (bow) -
Mk III (dorsal) -
Mk III (stern)
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External Sources
- Vintage Starships: "2241 - Pyotr Velilkiy": includes 3D viewer
- Vintage Starships: "2250 – Pyotr Velilkiy": includes 3D viewer
Notes
- The September 2240 arrival of the PB-30 ‘Sabre’ nacelles occurred after the (original source) warp test in July, so the warp test month was changed to November.
- The original source indicates the Beowulf sub-class ships were labeled as "support cruisers", but since they were actually modernized, the "support" title will only be applied to the Mk IIIs.
- The source indicates 16 were converted to Mk II status and 6 to Mk III; however, this would exceed the total number of Mk Is, so the Mk II conversions are limited to 14.
- Following the completion of the first five ships, Star Fleet has some hesitancy to purchase the remaining 15 planned vessels. Salazaar attempts to get the Andorian Imperial Guard to commit to the remaining ones; instead, Star Fleet fully commits (after a delay), though without any Andorian names (or livery) and focused on combat transport and Marine landing support missions.
- Late in the (original) article, it suggests the first five Mk Is were operated by the AIG vice Star Fleet, but nothing in the preceding narrative supports that. That statement is being removed.
- The first ship to be converted into the Mk III configuration should lend it's name to the sub-class.
- The original Pyotr Velikies (i.e., Mk I) were all converted to Mk II or Mk III configurations by 2255, therefore the operational range for the Mk Is is being changed to reflect that (from 2268. An operational range of 2250 to 2268 is being added for the Mk IIIs (which, by the way, are all converts, with no newbuilds). Note: technically, the last (full) Mk I ceases to operate when it enters drydock for conversion, so the range will probably cease prior to 2255.