Guide:Andor
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| Andor | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | cruiser |
| Operational | 2270-2336 |
| Constructed | 14 (built xxxx - xxxx) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 278.7 m |
| Beam | 139.4 m |
| Height | 56.9 m |
| Mass | 721,600 mt |
| Performance | |
| Cruise Speed | w 7.0 |
| Max Speed | w 9.0 |
| Endurance | 3 years |
| Complement | |
| Officers | 44 |
| Enlisted | 196 |
| Troops | 40
|
| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons |
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| Missile Weapons |
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| Shields |
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| Laboratories | 1x GP |
| Transporters |
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| Auxiliary Craft |
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| Historical | |
| Ships of Note |
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| Canonicity | |
| Design | FASA, Timo |
| Name | FASA |
| History | FASA
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Background: Hobbyist's Guide
As soon as Starfleet had nominated the CWD LN-64 linear excitation engine for its newest large cruisers, a number of construction and upgrade programs featuring alternate engine types came under scrutiny. Plans on destroyer, heavy destroyer and light cruiser modernization were put on ice; in absence of immediate military threats, it was felt reasonable to allow the linear engine technology to first prove itself aboard vessels that would be built in low numbers and with maximum commitment of R&D funds and effort.
However, although all was quiet on the Klingon front, developments in and around Romulan space alarmed the local UFP member worlds. After a century of seeming hibernation, the old enemy was clearly stirring again. Actual military activities were limited to probing strikes at the moment – but wild rumors circulated of the development of polaric weapons, of manipulation of ion storms to nefarious purposes, of conspiracies, infiltrations and fifth column activities. Starfleet could hardly counter this sort of psychological warfare with deployment of conventional forces. Yet as Andor at the time carried primary responsibility for defenses in this direction, the Blue Fleet insisted on maintaining maximum readiness.
This was not the true state of Andorian Self-Defense Forces at the beginning of the seventies. The Loknar frigate force was worn down from decades of service against the Klingons. The fifties- vintage light Lenthal destroyers were creaking at the seams after four rounds of refits, and the heftier Thufirs after three. Organizational reshuffling following the Organian peace had scattered the various cruisers in ASDF service to exploratory errands. Ground forces had never before stood down to such a low level of readiness, and the Chandley strike fleet was all but idled. Yet the ASDF had a firm opinion on its preferred kind of battle, and on the hardware needed to wage it. Since it enjoyed significant autonomy within the general Starfleet budgetary framework, it was a relatively simple matter to initiate the design and construction of a new cruiser, one optimized to cover the temporary weaknesses in the Blue Shield.
In classic Andorian style, the warp engines of the cruiser would be tucked in at ship centerline, aft of the primary hull, erecting a narrow yet robust propulsive field. Main powerplant, navigational deflector and primary shield generator would be carried in a ventrally mounted engineering hull. Lateral shield generator assemblies would further protect the drive system in a typically brazen head-on attack. To make this attack count, the cruiser would sport no fewer than four forward-firing Mk 7 torpedo tubes, two per a laterally carried weapons pod. In addition, the pods featured single aft tubes plus an articulated launcher that would cover athwartship angles. Each fixed launcher would feature a large 30-shot magazine, each articulated one a ten-shot feeder. In rather sharp contrast, only one twin FH-13 Type VII phaser bank would be carried in the primary hull, a 114 meter saucer riding atop the framework of the lateral torpedo pods, the central engineering section and the trailing booms. Exhaust from the saucer trailing edge impulse engines would be licking the top surfaces of the warp nacelles; the Andorian obsession with head-on protection did not cater for thrust vectoring or high maneuverability.
Accommodation within the primary hull followed Andorian norms as well. Some 240 crew would be needed to operate the vessel, and a reinforced platoon of boarding troops was to be carried at all times. Six GP transporters would facilitate boarding action; a minimal shuttlebay at the secondary hull stern would not, since just two light shuttles could be carried. Plans were at one point made of mounting a larger secondary hull, from the standard stock of Constitution refits. As soon as it became evident that standardization was not to be a central feature of that refit project, such plans were shelved.
Despite the structural and conceptual uniqueness of the design, there was little difficulty in completing the inaugural duo of cruisers by early 2270. While propulsive trials kept USS Andor fully employed till 2272, USS Shran was already engaged in tactical exercises intended to establish the type as a core element in ASDF squadrons. Production continued at a steady pace at all available Andorian yards, resulting in fourteen vessels completed by 2275. Such an arsenal restored ASDF credibility at one stroke: an Andor would provide a standoff or warp-in ‘sucker punch’ of torpedo volleys, followed by ruthless close combat and boarding action by her frigate or destroyer consorts. Several Romulan and also Klingon interlopers were engaged, and even the heaviest opponents chose a swift retreat when thus confronted.
The major shortcoming of the Andor formations was their limited sensing and computing power. The antiquated Raakuv Ilus fire control system could handle the actual attack runs well enough, but tying it to the general battle management networks was problematic, and onboard sensors alone could not locate targets at tactically sufficient ranges. Furthermore, despite her central role in the formation, an Andor could hardly be considered a command cruiser: the crew was overworked with running the ship already, and had no special command facilities or software in its possession.
Integration of Andors to battlefleets thus was a matter of intensive training and endless exercise, and only achievable within the ASDF framework. The vessels would have had difficulty finding a role in the broader Fleet anyway, due to their low top speed of warp 9, inherent in the engine configuration. Combined with the almost total lack of exploration and research gear aboard, this confined the innovative combatants to a niche role – in which they served with distinction until the 2320s. Although collision-induced structural damage forced USS Kathosth to be retired in 2282, no combat casualties were suffered, and an orderly retirement plan spanning fifteen years subsequently allowed the ASDF to smoothly replace the Andors with modern cruiser units.
Gallery
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Andor missile cruiser -
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