Guide:Franklin

Franklin
Class Overview
Category	Scoutcraft
Operational	2075 - 2102
Constructed	129
Dimensions
Length	45.0 m (nacelles retracted) 42.5 m (nacelles extended)
Beam	18.5 m (nacelles retracted) 29.9 m (nacelles extended)
Height	11.7 m
Mass	542 tons
Performance
Max Speed	w 2.2
Endurance	6 months
Complement
Crew	4
Tactical Systems
Beam Weapons	2x plasma cannon (50 MW) on midhull module wingtips
Missile Weapons	2x rocket cassettes (w/ 250 KE rockets) on midhull module wings
Shields	none; radiation/impact armor between main body and power/propulsion block
Auxiliary Craft	None; 4x personal maneuvering units typically carried
Historical
Ships of Note	USC Bering (SC-021)
Canonicity
Design	SFC, own
Name	SFC
History	SFC

The Franklin series of warp-powered scouts holds the honor of being the first series-produced small warp vessel utilized by the UESN. The direct forebears of these vessels were created as interceptors for chasing other near-Earth warships; several designations were used for them and their subvariants, including SI-21, ST-21B and OFS-A-1, but no class name in the naval tradition was ever given. Indeed, the naval format was only slowly taking hold of space forces jargon, and aerospace phraseology was still predominant in many projects.

The craft were typical of the dozens of space fighter types that emerged on Earth in the 2030s. Despite continuing efforts to ratify the LAST III treaty against spaceborne weapon systems in the NUN, various small combat spacecraft were being built by almost all countries with access to the necessary technology, and the SI-21 interceptors were among the most advanced. Their conical pressure hulls, amidships fuel tanks and external clusters of machinery and armament were typical of the era, and bore little resemblance to the sleek shapes of later starships. The interceptors featured powerful reaction engines capable of interplanetary operations, fission powerplants located behind a radiation/impact shield, and the first working versions of craftborne inertial damping systems. Their armament featured KE rockets, particle cannon and plasma cannon in various modular mixtures.

Some typical 21st century orbital and interplanetary craft docked to an orbital replenishment post. SF-21 interceptors in NUN livery topmost, closest to the communications array.

More than 400 such interceptors were built and launched to Earth orbit between 2036 and 2049 as part of the escalation towards WW III. However, the fragmentary records from the 2050s do not tell whether the ships performed well in combat or ever even saw it. The warp-capable Franklin scouts were based on the design not because of the armament, but because of the availability of the spaceframes and their superior structural integrity and compatibility with warp power systems. Much of the equipment of the interceptors was retained, but the power system was converted to utilize the ‘Block Gamma’ version of antimatter-spiced fusion reactors detailed in the Bellnet. Two 12.5 m warp coil tubes were secured to the sides of the craft by titanium-aluminum scaffolding.

This did not much affect the external dimensions of the scout, yet naturally increased her mass, in this case almost fivefold. The reaction engines, built to move the craft across interplanetary distances and to accelerate them to intercepts of equally violently maneuvering opponents, had no trouble coping with this increase when merely tasked with boosting the craft in and out of the no-warp zones around planets. The warp tubes also did their best to assist, erecting a mass-reducing subspace field during sublight transit. They had to be mechanically repositioned for the task, making the Franklins resemble Earth’s idiosyncratic petal-fieldguided warships both in silhouette and function.

The six-man crew of the interceptors was replaced by a four-person team and provisions for extended missions of up to half a year. Navigational instrumentation was modified for the needs of long range missions, and some scientific sensors were installed in dome mounts atop and below the amidships weapons module. Plasma guns and rocket cassettes were retained, though. The mass or power consumption of extra machinery was of little concern on the generously overpowered little craft; endurance was dictated by life support consumables and psychological pressures first, overall equipment reliability second.

The colonies that emerged on Class M worlds in Earth's vicinity after the introduction of warp drive soon began adopting and supporting former NUN peacemaker and national vessels, and the conveniently sized Franklins were high on their wish list. The UESPA was happy to part with the craft, as more powerful ships were coming to its possession via the UEDP and later UESN acquisition programs. The small scouts were initially utilized by the colonists in risky exploratory missions far beyond UE-surveyed space, paving way for other explorers, traders and settlers. The Franklin class was thus the first in a long line of small craft pressed into hazardous scouting missions, extending now to the ultrafast Talon class of scoutships and forming one of the most fascinating components of Starfleet's ongoing exploration efforts.

The small crew posed serious risks, however. The isolation of a small scoutship brought about many social and mental problems. One Franklin scout, USC Bering, was assumed lost because of mental disorders among the crew, while two deaths and one near-disastrous explosion aboard UESN-operated craft were also blamed partially on mental problems and extreme neglect. As a result, ships of this size were no longer sent by the UESN to long exploratory cruises until considerably faster warp engines had been developed for small vessels. The last Franklin was stricken from Fleet strength in 2101.

Missions by colonial operators were naturally a different matter, and suffered from fewer operator imposed limitations, although practical uses of this very short-ranged craft in interstellar space were inherently limited. Typically, the colonial Franklins and their derivatives would see service as escort vessels, running shotgun to ’boomer’ transports on routes plagued by space pirates, and replenishing from these transports for extended range. Such humble escorts hardly increased the survival odds of the shipments, however. For the first two centuries of starflight, Earth and her colonies would factually lack any means to curtail or even challenge piracy – and small craft of Franklin kind would not be part of the solution found in the late 23rd century.

A colonial Franklin and a Y class transport photographed from a second escort craft at warp 1.2, somewhere between Draylax and Arcturus. Insurance premiums for escorted ECS vessels were actually higher than for unescorted ones, as the presence of additional warp cores and the possibility of warp field overlap represented a significant risk to both the transport and her supposed protectors. Escort services were thus mainly purchased by large companies operating multiple freighters, more so because the costs of Franklin operations were often prohibitive for single-ship family businesses.

Gallery

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  Nacelles retracted

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• Small Craft
• Appendix A: Of Ship Statistics
• Appendix B: Glossary
• Appendix C: Starfleet Organization - General Outline
• Appendix D: Abbreviations From Outside