Guide:Mustang

Mustang
Class Overview
Category	corvette
Operational	Mustang corvette: 2253 - 2279 "Colt" defense drone: see Notes
Constructed	Mustang: 70 (built 2252-2258) "Colt": >=15 (converted prior to 2308)
Dimensions
Length	Mustang: 88.6 m "Colt": m
Beam	Mustang: 47.5 m "Colt": m
Height	Mustang: 13.4 m "Colt": m
Mass	Mustang: 77,000 mt "Colt": mt
Performance
Max Speed	w 5.7
Endurance	10 months
Complement
Officers	Mustang: 6 "Colt": n/a
Enlisted	Mustang: 27 "Colt": n/a
Troops	Mustang: 20 "Colt": n/a
Tactical Systems
Beam Weapons	Mustang 1x phaser V emitter (dorsal bow) 1x phaser V emitter (ventral bow) 2x phaser IV emitters (ventral stern) "Colt": none
Shields	1-layer graviton/subspace globular forcefield 4x navigational deflector dishes (bow)
Transporters	none
Auxiliary Craft	Mustang 1x atmospheric shuttlepod 1x work pod "Colt": none
Historical
Ships of Note	USS Madahan (NCC-L803) USS Mustang
Canonicity
Design	TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
Name	SFB
History	Timo

Background: Hobbyist's Guide

The unqualified success of the Procyon corvette was somewhat curtailed by the high acquisition costs of the type. At nearly six times the total mass of a Battleaxe, the heavy corvette also embarked three times the firepower and twice the crew complement, not to mention her ability to take aboard (if not sustainably operate) auxiliary craft. When the undeniable tactical, strategic, and even financial advantages of the Procyon concept began to manifest in the late forties, Star Fleet began to ponder if it were not possible to barter at least some of these superb attributes for lower price.

Vital to the expanded mission profile of the heavy corvettes was the high speed warp drive system. The Star Fleet request for proposals in 2249 thus specified a maximum sustainable speed in excess of warp five. This implicitly ruled out gradual upgrading of the Battleaxes, since only radically new hull solutions would allow the required outsize engines to be fitted on a vessel of compact overall dimensions. Indeed, when the respective prototypes of VXT Interstellar of Voltara and Starfire of Deneva were presented for Star Fleet scrutiny in February 2251, their hulls were scarcely larger than the engine nacelles that flanked them, and were of extreme structural robustness and outward simplicity.

The VXT "CCV-50" proposal dedicated relatively little of the interior to warp power generation, and placed more drive components in the nacelles than the competing Starfire "ADSC" did. The subsequently superior warp performance of the Starfire vessel ultimately swayed Star Fleet, even though the roomier Voltaran design was considered more practical from a systems integration standpoint. In September 2251, a go-ahead was given to develop the Starfire prototype into the Mustang class compact deep space corvette.

A row of "Colt" drones at the Sinai Planum defense station. Modified by removal of the bridge, ramscoops, and life support systems and installation of 26 antimatter charge chambers within the forward hull in 2308 already, the drones had to await action for six decades. In fact, Star Fleet had never seriously expected to put these weapons to use, as the originally projected targets—large spaceborne lifeforms—were less prevalent than initially estimated. Against maneuverable or defensively-armed opponents, the drones turned out to be less than practical weapons.

The characteristic "trimaran" structure of the Mustang consisted of two 52.8 m, 35,000 ton nacelles of smooth cylindrar shape, plus a 88.6 m vertically flattened cylinder serving as the main hull. The nacelles (dubbed PB-37 in Star Fleet service) housed nine solid state warp coils apiece; ramscoops and m/am reaction chambers and antimatter tanks for plasma reheaters at bow; and a powerful stern-mounted RCS system. Drive plasma was fed via broad, high-mounted horizontal pylons from a centrally-mounted fusion reactor, from which power also flowed to twin impulse assemblies cowled on both sides of the stern.

With the essential propulsive systems in place, it was time for Star Fleet to step in and offer input on the equipment to be carried. An armored command module was placed atop the main hull, just forward of the pylon juncture. It was largely assembled from Procyon hardware and featured a five-person navigation bridge, essential communications systems, and a recorder marker dispenser. Of the four decks within the hull, the topmost was dedicated to combat and propulsion subsystems. The upper main phaser of the heavy Type V was located at upper bow, flanked by the QIK-11 long range sensors. Main fuel tanks were followed by the plasma distribution system beneath the bridge, then by paired radiator and plasma purge assemblies.

Crew amenities took up much of the lower bow, sharing the space with navigational deflectors and short range sensors yet offering significantly more room than the Battleaxe design nevertheless. Amidships, engineering functions dominated the interiors of decks 3 and 4. Housed in the tapering stern was the second "heavy corvette" feature deemed worth preserving: a hangarette with a rolling ceiling door could support one shuttlepod plus one work pod, or temporarily accommodate a pair of light shuttlecraft. The impulse cowlings straddled the lower level of the hangarette port and starboard.

A compartment directly below the hangarette, on deck 5, was reserved for a minelaying system. Flanking this were two light phasers, providing cover fire for troops disembarking via one of the three planetfall exits, one astern and two to the sides. The second main phaser was located at lower bow, directly below its dorsal counterpart. Six landing legs helped support the considerable mass of the vessel under up to 1.2 gravities, provided that the helm officer managed to find sufficiently solid ground.

In April 2253, Star Fleet representatives could sit back and enjoy a demonstration of the first three production Mustangs in carefully staged action. High speed intercepts, boardings, and strafing runs proved select aspects of Mustang prowess, but belied the limited impulse maneuverability resulting from the weight of the warp engines. Crew size and overall dimensions and mass were the three factors kept as low as originally planned; costs threatened to spiral out of control nevertheless, resulting in the omission of several pieces of mission gear. No minelaying tube was installed, for example. Phaser fire control systems were also of a less capable type than originally planned, and sufficient shielding proved difficult to achieve within the mass limitations.

Overall, the Mustang class proved a mixed success. Two batches of 35 vessels each were finished in 2253-58 and augmented the Battleaxe force in both law enforcement and local defense through the fifties and sixties. Due to the inherent shortcomings, the vessels did not quite distinguish themselves—especially since there was very little enemy action in their designated patrol areas, falling between the core worlds and the Procyon outer prowling grounds, during that period. The pirate hunts of the late sixties were the true heyday of the class, but even there its role was largely a passive one. While the Mustangs stood guard at key port systems, the excitement of combat was left to heavier types, and the intelligence gathering groundwork to significantly lighter ones.

Built around and sized for the highly specialized PB-37 system, the Mustangs were far from the ideal choice for an engine refit in the early 2270s when Star Fleet began looking for a modern light corvette type. In the end, the search proved futile, and the Mustangs were retired, their doctrinal niche finally superseded by the heavy corvette one. The last Mustang, USS Madahan (NCC-L803), was paid off in late 2279.

Somewhat morbidly, the Mustang class has achieved most of its good reputation a century after being stricken from Fleet strength. Built with robust conservatism, unlike some more fine-tuned and high-strung light combatants, the spaceframe can cater for radical interior and system modifications and shifts in mission profile. Deactivated vessels have been assigned a great variety of post-combatant roles, such as testbeds, target drones, or probes. Perhaps the most famous of these roles came with the 2367 Borg incursion of Earth, where fifteen Mustangs retired from Earth Defense Forces and converted to defense drones were flown laden with antimatter against the Borg Cube, in a last-ditch attempt that did not even fail spectacularly. The drones, attacking in formations of three, were simply vaporized by the cube.

Notes

• Construction began on the Mustangs in 2252; the sidebar and indexes were adjusted to match.

• The "Colt" defense drones were converted from the original Mustang configuration at various, undetermined points after their decommissioning from Star Fleet and probably after further manned service with UFP members, in defensive capacities. Not all of the Mustangs would be converted to these drone states.

• The only "known" NCC registry is L803 (for the Madahan). It's possible that there were some intervening corvettes between the final Procyon (NCC-L739) and the USS Mustang (NCC-L740), but I'm presuming "not" for now.

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• Back to the Table of Contents
• Corvettes, Couriers, Escorts, Perimeter Ships & Light Scouts
• Appendix A: Of Ship Statistics
• Appendix B: Glossary
• Appendix C: Star Fleet Organization - General Outline
• Appendix D: Abbreviations From Outside