Guide:Class G1
| Class G1 / HSI(U)-1 'Banshee' | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | heavy warp shuttle |
| Operational | 2197-2259 |
| Constructed | 203 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 15.3 m |
| Beam | 11.5 m |
| Height |
|
| Mass | 103.7 tons |
| Performance | |
| Cruise Speed | w 1 |
| Max Speed | w 1.6 |
| Endurance | 2 weeks |
| Complement | |
| Crew | 3 |
| Passengers | 3-7
|
| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons | G1, G1B: none G1S:
|
| Shields |
|
| Canonicity | |
| Design | Matt Jeffries TOS predesign |
| Name | own |
| History | own
|
The first warp-capable starship auxiliary craft could have been expected to revolutionize Starfleet
operations and the tactics used. Indeed, nothing less was the goal when VXT set out to design and
construct the Comet, later to become the Class G1 heavy shuttlecraft. By itself largely an
operational and technological underperformer, this shuttle would spawn two distinct lineages that
would each improve on one aspect of the design's dual strengths of speed and compactness.
Key to warp power lay in combining new coil materials with an ion cascade powerplant, a technology the engineers were still struggling with. Only 'medium' applications were achievable with the state of the art, but Starfleet considered it reasonable to attempt the construction of an auxiliary that would dedicate more than half the interior to power generation. Pleshun was given access to data on alien engineering solutions regarding ion powerplants, and was able to devise a reactor 24.8 tons in empty weight and approximately two by three by ten meters in size. VXT worked from these parameters to create a flattened-teardrop hull where the powerplant would occupy the aft three-fourths of a fifteen-meter hull. A broad cabin at the bow had seating for up to ten people, including two pilots and an engineer. Gullwing doors were provided on both sides, and a wide windshield-type viewport forward. There were no airlocks, cargo holds or other complications in the design, which was aerodynamically very clean and stable.
Ion power was translated to FTL propulsion via DB-20 nacelles, outriggered as in the old Montcalf runabouts on pylons whose downward kink served as the forward landing supports. An extensible aft leg completed the landing gear. Sublight propulsion comprised twin sets of nozzles on the trailing edge of the hull, venting out the exhausts of the main powerplant through impulse-type accelerators. No fusion reactor was carried, and batteries were of moderate performance since they were not needed for starting the CID reactor.
The Comet was a more or less immediate engineering success, reaching warp 1.6 smoothly enough. The practical performance of this bulky vehicle as a starship auxiliary was another matter. Only single examples could be carried by any given ship, usually at the expense of all other auxiliary contingent. In simple orbit-to-surface missions, the shortcomings of the low-ceiling, high-mounted cabin compounded the unwieldiness of the massive vehicle. However, Starfleet was determined to see a new era ushered in. The Comet would be the first step in an inevitable path of evolution; the type was pressed to active service as the Class G1 heavy shuttle, and crews of two dozen cruisers began honing their skills in flying a warp-capable vessel from a starship hangar.
Rapid development of CID systems soon allowed for miniaturization, and for hull shapes more conductive of auxiliary operations. On the other hand, dilithium-regulated antimatter power was evolving as well, and became the favored means of propelling runabout-sized liaison craft. The heritage of Class G1 was thus split in two, spawning the similarly powered medium and light warp auxiliaries and the similarly shaped true interstellar craft. Two direct modifications emerged as well: the lengthened G1B survey cutter with a dorsal observation pod, and the G1S scout armed with a Type III dorsal phaser. Both saw starship service from the 2230s to the early 2260s, but in a constantly diminishing capacity as the smaller successor designs gained in capabilities.
The last G1 craft ceased flying from aboard USS Indus in 2274, and adopted local patrol and law enforcement roles outside the UFP – testament to the realization that cascade ion power was a dead end, ill suited for the smallest and largest applications, of pedestrian performance on medium craft, and unnecessary for a civilization in possession of major natural dilithium resources.