Guide:Introduction
Introduction
This guide is intended to provide the reader with information on the technical, historical and political aspects of the United Federation of Planets Starfleet and its starships. To this end, it chronologically lists and to some depth describes a hundred of these starfaring vessels and some of their ancestors in the pre-Federation fleets, as well as a large number of smaller ships and craft, in the process outlining Starfleet history and sociopolitical and technical developments during the past 400 years. Thus, the guide is not a simple ship recognition manual. Visual identification of ships without extensive computer assistance has not been a viable combat procedure for centuries; this work mainly caters for the enthusiastic hobbyist seeking both in-depth information and wide perspective on Starfleet and its starships.
The actual ship listing is divided into three main parts describing in chronological order first the large starships, then categorically the smaller interstellar vessels like corvettes and couriers, and finally the shuttlecraft and other auxiliary craft in Starfleet service. By necessity of history, each part also includes ships that served before the founding of the United Federation of Planets and its Starfleet in 2161 – the historical perspective is necessary to understand the technological, operational and political reasons behind the creation of each of the UFP Starfleet vessels mentioned here.
Three appendices are provided to help the reader navigate the jargon-filled text. First, a typical ship statistics and specifications chart is presented and explained in detail. Next, a short glossary on starship terminology and some common abbreviations is provided. Finally, a combined timeline/index lets the reader move between entries in an organized manner. Ship lineages are here presented according to ship type, and one can access the appropriate entry by clicking the timeline bar featuring the desired ship class name. The reader is encouraged to begin by examining the first two appendices, then to proceed in roughly chronological order to get full advantage of the format of this guide. Later, the guide can also be used as a simple manual, disregarding chronology.