Guide:Okinawa

Okinawa
Class Overview
Category	light frigate
Operational	2260-2299 Okinawa (light frigate): 2260-xxxx Okinawa Flt II (light frigate): 2271-2299 Okinawa Flt III (survey frigate): 2290-2299
Constructed	44 Okinawa: 44 (built 2259-2264) Okinawa Flt II: 22 (converted Okinawas 2271-2272) Okinawa Flt III: 4 (converted Flight IIs 2290)
Dimensions
Length	Flt I: 164.2 m Flt II/III: 183.0 m
Beam	90.0 m
Height	20.4 m
Mass	Flt I: 230,000 mt Flt II/III: 411,000 mt
Performance
Cruise Speed	w 5
Max Speed	Flt I: w 7 Flt II/III: w 8
Endurance	2 years
Complement
Officers	12
Enlisted	78
Tactical Systems
Beam Weapons	Flight I 3x phaser V emitters (fwd/port/stbd bridge) 1x phaser V emitter (ventral secondary hull) Flight II 3x phaser V emitters (fwd/port/stbd bridge) 1x phaser V emitter (ventral secondary hull) Flight III (NCC-1257, 1269, 1285, 1292) (2290) 3x phaser V emitters (fwd/port/stbd bridge) 1x phaser V emitter (ventral secondary hull) 4x phaser IV emitters (twin banks) (dorsal secondary hull flanks)
Missile Weapons	Flights I, III: none Flight II 2x medium torpedo tubes (w/ 10-20 photon torpedoes) (ventral secondary hull)
Shields	Flight I 1-layer graviton/subspace globular forcefield 1x Navigational deflector dish (fwd secondary hull) 2x Auxiliary navigational deflector emitters (bow) Flights II, III 1-layer graviton/subspace globular forcefield 1x Navigational deflector dish (fwd secondary hull) 1x Auxiliary navigational deflector emitter (ventral primary hull)
Laboratories	Flights I, II: none Flight III (NCC-1257, 1269, 1285, 1292) (2290) 1x astrophysics/astrographics
Transporters	Flight I 1x GP (3-pad); Mk III 1x emergency evacuation (22-pad); Mk III Flights II, III 1x GP (6-pad); Mk IV 1x emergency evacuation (22-pad); Mk IV
Auxiliary Craft	2x work pods
Historical
Ships of Note	USS Avalon (NCC-1270) USS Great Lakes / USS R. L. Stevenson (NCC-1281) USS Lake Pontchartrain (NCC-1280) USS Okinawa USS Shikotan (NCC-1252) USS Uvs Nuur (NCC-1286)
Canonicity
Design	SFC II, Klingon Academy
Name	SFC II, Klingon Academy
History	SFC II, Diane Carey, Diane Duane, own

A trio of Okinawa frigates – all from the early production run, named after islands of conflict – pulls the formation tight on approach to Task Force D. Few combat units could have afforded outriders of this caliber at the height of the Klingon crisis. During the 2260s, such escorts were a regular sight. Klingon analysts at the time actually emphasized the tactical significance of light frigates over their heavier sisters, due to the latter seldom having time to participate in fleet practice maneuvers.

This three-ship of Okinawa frigates – the Lake Pontchartrain (NCC-1280) and Uvs Nuur (NCC-1286) from the lake-themed latter half of the production run, plus the Shikotan (NCC-1252) – provides interesting contrast to the previous image. The LN-23 nacelles are mounted at a slight anhedral on broad pylons, in a structurally more demanding, warp-dynamically advantageous layout. An external IMRF crystal has been added to restore impulse agility after the warp engine upgrade; less in evidence are the greatly improved sensing and shielding capabilities. Tactically, the vessels still perform much the same mission as their older sisters, in this 2276 fleet engagement deep inside Romulan space.

While the Achernar project sought to directly expand Star Fleet’s reach through export sales, the New Light Frigate initiative of 2258 made use of commercial processes in a less direct manner. The great success of the compact Procyon/Centaurus corvettes had attracted the attention of several foreign operators, and many of these had approached Star Fleet in order to secure contact with the government team of designers and shipbuilders behind the Procyon. It was in Star Fleet’s interest to moderate the foreign access to such technologies, not to block it altogether. In the early 2250s, downgraded export models were created, with Star Fleet having a say in every design aspect and choosing to limit performance and growth potential. Towards the end of the decade, the design was allowed to grow in size, speed and power instead: Star Fleet now hoped to turn it into a light frigate for its own use.

Basic Procyon elements were retained in the enlarged design, including a potent, centrally mounted antimatter powerplant; a flat layout of a saucer primary hull, aft-extending engineering section and laterally rigged nacelles; and an armament of multiple heavy beam cannon. The combination of a 90-meter primary hull, twin SAE impulse engines and two PB-38 nacelles was extremely agile at sublight and swift at warp. There was power to burn from the RMR-8 dilithium-regulated reactor, and two tactical applications to do the burning: one ventral and three single dorsal banks of Type V phasers, and a single Hycor forcefield generator. Essentially, the Okinawa (as the inaugural New Light Frigate was named at the October 2260 launch) approached the "half a frigate" doctrine of the perimeter ships from the opposite direction, being "twice a corvette" instead and sacrificing a little bit of firepower for superior endurance and versatility.

Star Fleet soon found that adding at least one torpedo launcher would be tactically desirable. Versatility in turn suffered from the lack of shuttle support facilities, but adding these would have negated the advantages of the program just as surely as installing a shuttlebay on a Kiaga PA ship would have watered down that escalation measure. With the originally chosen standard of equip, and with the perimeter ship program out of the way, the Okinawa could be constructed in significant numbers, 44 units being completed by 2265. Four of these were dedicated to training, and featured added crew berthing but commensurately reduced sensors and analysis spaces. Others saw action in star system defense duty, more or less becoming ‘rich man’s Procyon’ at priority theaters.

Throughout the decade, the Okinawas still struggled to become more than system defenders. The levels of Klingon aggression and pirate activity varied unpredictably, and so did the need for defenses – but there was a more or less constant need for fleet outriders and deep space escorts. Such assignments called for dedicated hardware: search for a suitable torpedo launcher went on in parallel with a quest for new engines. Instead of the dash prowess of PB-38, Defense Command now wanted deep space endurance; instead of the affordable reliability of the Mk 13 launchers of the gradually shaping escort fleet, it wanted decisive hitting power. As starships in this category were still being designed for export, Star Fleet could once again insert its requests for trying out various types of hardware. A series of foreign sales scandals seriously hampered this mode of search for optimal hardware, though.

Perhaps this delay was for the better, as in the 2270s Star Fleet gained access to all-new propulsion technologies of great performance. Half the Okinawa force was recalled for the fitting of LN-23 linear excitation engines that would give them warp 8 dash speed and double their warp endurance. Simultaneously installed would be Mk 14 light torpedo armament, comprising two fast-firing launchers at secondary hull bottom.

The refits were less of a success than Star Fleet had expected. Unlike Cochrane Warp Dynamics’ LN- 61, the competing Pleshun engine was robustly over-engineered for high power, high speed applications, none of which would in fact emerge for it. There was too much coil mass, too little emphasis on economy, and subsequently most of the endurance gains failed to materialize. Increased dash speed was achieved at the cost of reduced sublight agility, despite the installation of a heavy duty IMRF system.

Thus not quite capable of independent deep space operations, yet too potent to remain tied down with system defense duty, vessels of this type became integral elements of defense fleets along the antispinward and rimward borders. Essentially serving as agile destroyers, they would accompany cruiser forces on deployments, but rely greatly on starbase and tender support. In return, they would partake in some traffic control and spacelane protection; half the refitted force would in fact be flagged for the FCS. These varied operations put a wide spectrum of strain on the spaceframes and engines. As was the lot of small starships of all designs, the Okinawa class was soon facing another round of vitally important overhauls and refits.

Technological development was not to be the salvation for the class, though, but its demise. During its decade of pedestrian performance on the substandard LN-23, modern perimeter ship and corvette designs had rushed past on both sides, and the definition of light frigate had crept up to the level of Daran class, leaving the Okinawa in definite Defense Command disfavor. The former first-rate fleet outriders mostly found themselves stuck with scouting and survey missions. On such duty, the installation of onboard laboratories on select vessels at least provided an edge over surveillance-tasked corvettes, allowing four of the light frigates to serve on past the 2287 détente cutbacks.

Retirement for the veteran USS Avalon (NCC-1270) came in 2299; she had not been the last to leave dockyards at Daran V, but could thank an ultimately uneventful career for her longevity. Seven Okinawas had been lost during the 2270s adventurism, one in the preceding decade of defensive operations. In broad terms, Star Fleet had gotten exactly the sort of gap-filler it had hoped for when initiating production in 2259, and the continuing Okinawa operations in the last two decades of the century were an unexpected bonus. With similarly shaped but more optimally configured perimeter ships and corvettes now in abundance, the post-Khitomer Star Fleet was happy to donate the surviving light frigate stock to use by UFP research organizations. Individual examples continue to serve in esoteric roles even as of this writing, thanks in part to the excessive robustness of the warp engine that cost them their original career.

Gallery

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  Okinawa class
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  Okinawa class (2271 refit)
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  "Patrol From Above"
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  2-view
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  6-view

Notes

• Adrasil: The "original" view does not seem appropriate for a light frigate. It should look like a TOS ship of the refitted version, especially in profile and bow views.

• As "New Light Frigate initiative" would seem to indicate a new policy that led to the development of the Okinawa, I've moved this specific year back from 2260 to 2258.

• Clarification on the completion of the initial production of the first flight: the 44th was finished by 2265, so the range for production ends in 2264.

• The first caption says the "early production run" were named after "islands of conflict", while the second caption indicates the "latter half of the production run" is named after lakes. I've chosen to dictate that the first 22 built were the island-names, and the remainder after lakes.

• The hull number (NCC-1250) for USS Okinawa is presumed, though it must fall before NCC-1252 (USS Shikotan) and would appear to be after NCC-1249, which may be reserved for the Benning class.

• The USS R.L. Stevenson is, of course, named after Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island. The name change (from USS Great Lakes) is arbitrarily determined to have taken place in 2265.

• The following ships are confirmed to have been refitted to Flight II configuration; the asterisk indicates later refitted to Flight III:
  • USS Okinawa (NCC-1250)
  • USS Shikotan (NCC-1252)
  • (NCC-1257)*
  • (NCC-1269)*
  • USS Avalon (NCC-1270)
  • USS Lake Pontchartrain (NCC-1280)
  • (NCC-1285)*
  • USS Uvs Nuur (NCC-1286)
  • (NCC-1292)*

A total of 22 ships are refitted to Flight II configuration.

• "Star Fleet had gotten exactly the sort of gap-filler it had hoped for when initiating production in 2260" is changed to 2259, to reflect when construction actually started.

References

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• Back to the Table of Contents
• Back to "The Final Frontier"
• Appendix A: Of Ship Statistics
• Appendix B: Glossary
• Appendix C: Star Fleet Organization - General Outline
• Appendix D: Abbreviations From Outside