Guide:Benares

Benares
Class Overview
Category	hopper
Operational	2257 - 2269
Constructed	2,410 (built [[]]-[[]])
Dimensions
Length	6.0 m
Beam	4.9 m
Height	2.3 m
Mass	gunship: 37 mt troop transport: 35 mt
Performance
Max Speed	0.005 c
Endurance	2 days
Complement
Crew	gunship: 4 troop transport: 1
Troops	14 (transport only)
Tactical Systems
Beam Weapons	gunship 1x phaser III emitter (bow) 2x phaser III emitters (single dorsal turrets) 1x phaser III emitter (ventral turret) troop transport 1x phaser III emitter (bow)
Shields	1-layer conformal forcefield
Canonicity
Design	TAS
Name	Ships of the Star Fleet, Volume One (Todd Guenther, Mastercom, Boston 1991)
History	Ships of the Star Fleet, Volume One (Todd Guenther, Mastercom, Boston 1991), Timo

Background: Hobbyist's Guide

Generally, the hopper is not included in works describing small spacecraft. Rather, this vehicle type is classified as ground equipment, considering its limited spatial or even transatmospheric capabilities. The Benares class is an interesting exception, having forged its reputation primarily as a starship auxiliary of sorts.

The through-deck cruisers of Coronado class were versatile vessels, not structurally optimized for any single type of mission. In practice, their operational flexibility hinged on two factors: the ability to support the widest possible variety of small craft, and the availability of such craft. Both the requirements put demands on the craft rather than on the ships. Efforts to create the craft types needed came a step or two behind Coronado development, forcing the ships to initially sail out with non-optimal mixes of pre-existing hardware.

The Benares troop deployment hopper was the only craft dedicated to Coronado operations that could be fielded in time for the ship class inauguration. Essentially a suborbital, aerodynamic vehicle adapted for orbit-to-surface operations, the Benares carried neither impulse nor warp propulsion systems. Like its civilian counterparts, the hopper relied on gravitics and thermal thrusters alone. The modest propulsion was the greatest strength of the design, as it allowed for lightweight and compact construction wherein most of the interior of the ovoid hull was available for troop accommodation. The sub-impulse hoppers could perform the tactical mission of assault shuttles thanks to the nature of their mothership: a Coronado could literally drop them atop the enemy from low orbit, while simultaneously providing firecover. This deployment mode led to the Benares-type sometimes being dubbed a "jumpship hopper" or a "jumpship" for short.

The final N in the registry of "Fighting Vehicle 536" marks her as capable of orbital deployment, there being little to tell her apart from her suborbital sisters otherwise. The contrast to other hopper designs from the mid-23rd century is minor as well, although typically the lifting body aerodynamics yield more to the need to maximize interior volume.

A single pilot could control the vehicle, enjoying direct forward view through a single small viewport that had armored shutters. The troop accommodation was arranged with six seats on the centerline, facing outward, and four on each side facing inward. Each seat featured a basic communications hookup and a gooseneck retina projector for situational awareness. The orbital deployment models had life support umbilicals as well, with the machinery stowed under the center seats. In either version, the troops could disembark rapidly and safely through a wide rear hatch/ramp that operated effortlessly in vacuum as well as under external atmospheric pressure; the pilot would wear a pressure suit for all orbital and orbit-to-surface operations, even though the troops seldom donned full spacesuits if the intended mission was on the ground.

Apart from duty aboard the through-deck cruisers and troopships, the Benares was widely utilized as a battlefield hopper, and thus produced in four-digit numbers. The main suborbital variants typically carried a more austere navigation suite and lacked the replenishment ports for personal life support systems, but were otherwise identical to their spaceborne sisters. The squat little vehicles could maneuver into and out of tight spots, and be easily hidden between or even inside buildings, or covered in adaptive camouflage nets. Active defenses were not their forte, though. The troop transports were never given shield generators of credible combat standard, and their armament was limited to a single Type III emitter at ventral bow, lighter than assault shuttle standard and badly positioned to protect the craft from pursuit or surprise attack.

To protect the hoppers against hostile forces, Star Fleet hoped to field an impulse or subimpulse fightercraft of similarly compact dimensions. When development was delayed beyond the start of Benares operations, special gunship variants of the hoppers themselves filled the gaps. Three turreted phaser III assemblies were added, each requiring a gunner. These units never saw combat action, being replaced by Tycho fightercraft in the early sixties. The regular troop hoppers in turn served through several low-intensity campaigns in the restless Dilithium Belt sectors in 2262-68, mainly in support of peacekeeper and police forces.

The Benares survived in battlefield use in limited numbers until the 2290s. Star Fleet withdrew its final units from starships in 2269, however, briefly substituting the faster, slightly less capacious Coronet hopper. Later assault starships kept embarking hoppers, yet generally not in the orbital deployment role: a Steamrunner would typically carry some sixty to eighty such vehicles, but deliver them to the battlefield via heavy assault barges alongside skimmers, rollers, and other ground equipment. Direct deployment was deemed too risky in the threat environment of the 2290s already, with increasing medium range phaser activity all across the battlefields.

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Notes

• Timo's specificaions only indicate two versions of the Benares: the troop transport and the gunship. However, his text indicates there is a third model: the suborbital. This suggests that the original version was developed for orbital drops (from the Coronados), but a more traditional, non-spatial capable version was also developed, for delivery via assault barges (as were other hopper types).

References

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