Guide:Proxima

Proxima
Class Overview
Category	battle cruiser
Operational	2226-2260
Constructed	20
Dimensions
Length	270.0 m
Beam	149.8 m
Height	60.0 m
Mass	520,000 tons
Performance
Cruise Speed	w 4
Max Speed	w 7.1
Endurance	5 years
Complement
Officers	34
Enlisted	323
Tactical Systems
Beam Weapons	4x phaser VII emitters (2 twin banks) (dorsal primary hull) 4x phaser VII emitters (2 twin banks) (ventral primary hull) 2x phaser VI emitters (single banks) (dorsal secondary hull) 24x plasma cannon (2.0 GW) (quadruple mounts) (dorsal hull) (removed in 2250) 24x plasma cannon (2.0 GW) (quadruple mounts) (ventral hull) (removed in 2250)
Missile Weapons	2-4x fwd medium torpedo tubes (w/40 photorps) (dorsal module) 2x aft medium torpedo tubes (w/40 photorps) (dorsal module)
Shields	2-layer conformal forcefield Navigational deflectors (central hulls)
Laboratories	2x GP 1x planetary sciences 1x astrophysics
Transporters	4x GP (6-pad); Mk II 1x cargo; Mk II 2x emergency evacuation (22-pad); Mk II All ships brought to Mk III standard in 2257-59
Auxiliary Craft	2x heavy shuttles 6x medium shuttles 6x light shuttles 1x special environment craft
Historical
Ships of Note	USS Aquitania USS Cancer USS Proxima USS Newton (NCC-1127) USS Truman (NCC-1115)
Canonicity
Design	STXI (ST: Legacy computer game)
Name	ST: Legacy computer game
History	ST: Legacy computer game, own

The high cost and high performance in the Detroyat heavy destroyers were relative things, measured against the changing absolutes of the Klingon threat. The 2220s saw growing desperation as Starfleet’s stratagem of quality over missing quantity proved insufficient: the two main lines of destroyers were spread too thin on the battlefronts to amass to decisive strength, the cruisers in the wrong place in the wrong time. By 2224, the decision was made to crank up cruiser production by any means necessary and available. The result was a series of ‘war cruisers’, vessels of meager protection and hard punch that naturally fit in the traditional slot of battle cruisers.

A changing of guard: USS Truman (NCC-1115), command ship in anti-Klingon actions for most of the 2240s and 50s, departs Deep Space K-5 as the newly refitted USS Farragut (NCC-1702) stands by to dock.

The design bureau started by literally cutting corners. For the novel battlewagon, half a saucer would suffice: a primary hull nearly 150 meters in beam featured heavy particle and plasma armament in an intimidating forward arc, yet terminated at the bridge, only extending aft in the form of a central powerplant block that ended in a slightly boosted SAB-A impulse engine. Thin longitudal booms supported the major innovation of the class, the gargantuan PB-28 warp nacelles of 188 m length, above ship centerplane. The nacelles were further braced by a horizontal pylon structure that facilitated contingency sharing of plasma and featured a torpedo launcher in the middle. This secondary armament, a semi-commonalized unit capable of housing four to six Selenia Mk 1 launchers and originally intended for destroyer and frigate use, actually contributed relatively little to the firepower of the battle cruiser.

Even though many of the classic deep space cruiser elements were trimmed off the design, sensor capabilities were maintained at the state of the art. Two secondary hulls were rigged beneath the warp engines but not directly connected to them; rather, their attachment was by pylons angling up to the power block. High output navigational deflectors got direct primary power feed from the block, and for their part enabled the decisively high top speed of warp 7.1. Advanced navigational and targeting sensors were incorporated in the hulls, while each also held a stern shuttlebay with hangar facilities for a dozen light craft. Various assault missions could thus be undertaken when necessary.

Modular construction in which secondary hulls were separately produced allowed the completion of USS Proxima by late 2225, and commissioning to combat duty followed in January of 2226. The some 350 crew were now proud operators of the most potent attack machine ever built by Earth. Two phased particle cannon, a dozen quadruple plasma cannon and four heavy lasers controlled the forward firing arcs, while paired torpedo tubes in the pod were available both for forward and aft firings. Tolerable acquisition costs allowed the construction of twenty such ships in total, and the cutting of corners enabled four to be completed within 2226 already. Starfleet confidently took the spearhead force to battle.

The side view of USS Newton drives home the enormousness of the PB-28 engines in comparison with the three hulls.

Early engagements at Hromi and Wazn met with success, largely predicated by the inability of the Klingons to provide ships that could qualitatively challenge the Proximas. Yet the battle of β Thoridor, intended to secure the support of the local Rakelli against the Klingon Empire, ended in a humiliating withdrawal in face of superior Imperial firepower. The D-6 and D-7 battle cruisers, in short supply in the Empire, were able to make an appearance in force at β Thoridor. Their superior shielding allowed them to persist in close combat with their Federation counterparts, and resulted in near-disastrous damage to USS Aquitania and USS Cancer. The former had to be scrapped after several years of fruitless repair attempts, and the latter only returned to service with severe limitations imposed on her warp performance.

Rather than invalidate the design, the casualties suffered supported Starfleet’s dedication to the Proxima concept. The two wounded ships were cheaper to replace than Baton Rouges would have been, and the replacements could be constructed faster. In comparison, it was believed that putting together a warbird of D-7 caliber would take the better part of a decade; some intelligence sources even believed that several key arts pertaining to that ship class had been lost in the years of internecine fighting, and that the Empire would not be able to recover from its losses at all if Starfleet managed to keep up the pressure. A second attempt at forcing β Thoridor was again thwarted, but use of battle cruisers in larger formations made up for their shortcomings in overall defense and rear sector weapons coverage. Klingon forces were sent to disarray on several fronts.

A decline in Klingon activity in the following decade allowed Starfleet to vector some of its Proximas to general exploration duties. Their equipment standards were not comparable to those of Baton Rouges, but their sensors and shuttlecraft facilities could make a useful contribution, essentially providing Starfleet with the capabilities of two Pythea in one spaceframe. The high cruise speed of the PB-28 gave the class operational flexibility, although recall times from long exploration sorties could still be on the order of a full year.

USS Proxima shown with the PB-31 engine quartet and the associated new pylons, but also with an enlarged primary hull, and lacking a torpedo arch. This (II) configuration was an intended intermediate step in further upgrading the ship to the so-called Proxima (III) standard, with LN-64C engine pairs. A bow cutout was later applied to accommodate heavy torpedo launchers, while a medium torpedo pod was also reinstated on a pylon-mounted arch. Note the heavy array of forward phasers, to be repositioned in the final ships. This behemoth of a vessel would have challenged the Deneb class in the deep space defender role, had not the needs of the nearspace fronts been so pressing.

The return of the Klingon threat at Axanar found the Proximas at a disadvantage. Their massive, unique engines had been difficult to modernize or replace, and their propulsive performance had not increased apace with other cruiser types. Even modern ‘war cruisers’ of affordable construction, such as Rochester or Kearsarge, would reach the battlefields faster, never mind first-rate, ‘post- Starship’ ships like Constitution or Surya. The Proxima class still formed an important part of Fleet fighting strength, though, at 18 surviving vessels. Remedial action was launched in 2259, resulting in a propulsive upgrade of intriguing scope. Four PB-31 engines were to be bolted on, two per pylon, to give the battle cruisers an acceptable cruise speed of warp six, and a top speed of warp nine. The only vessel to undergo the experimental modification to the Proxima (II) variant, the original class ship, failed to enter operational service. The considerable expenses of the program did not result in a ship that would have been either more powerful or more affordable than the Federation dreadnoughts, let alone an efficient continuation of the battle cruiser philosophy.

Disappointed, Starfleet mothballed the aging battle cruisers. From 2260 onwards, the surviving specimens languished decommissioned on surplus depots, and the venerable class name was freed for use and promptly applied on a brand new Achernar cruiser. Yet on the verge of scrapping, the veteran combatants found unexpected support. In the 2270s, several ambitious programs to construct a new generation of dreadnoughts were launched. Of these, the Komsomolsk class and its all-new, 185 m primary hull and multiple secondary hulls bore a striking conceptual resemblance to the Proxima (II) class. Its propulsion arrangement of three LN-64C nacelles was intended to yield a sustainable speed of warp eight; by using four of the engines, in the paired arrangement pioneered by the Proxima, the old battle cruisers might well be coaxed to similar speeds. This major performance upgrade, ultimately usurping the Komsomolsk project in its entirety, is described in a later, separate entry.

See Also

• Guide:Proxima refit

Notes

• Text's stated top speed of w 8.1 has been lowered to fit the sidebar's w 7.1.

Gallery

• 
  Proxima (I) bow
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  Dorsal
• 
  Proxima II stbd
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  Bow
• 
  Dorsal
• 
  Port dorsal view
• 
  Stern
• 
  Ventral
• 
  Intended Proxima III configuration, port view
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  Bow
• 
  Dorsal view
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  ST: Legacy

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