Federation U.S.S. Knox class Frigate (Star Trek):

From: Ships of Starfleet and Starfleet Prototype

This design is meant for the times between the movies Star Trek Two: Wrath of Khan and Star Trek Six: The Undiscovered Country. This could easily also be used in Next generation times as ships pulled from Mothball/Reserve fleets to cover the huge losses incurred while fighting against the Borg and Dominion.

The Federation uses frigates to fill many roles that cruisers would be considered to be too expensive to perform. Most cruisers carry larger crews and have more research facilities and are better suited to most general purpose roles. While most frigate classes carry comparable firepower, their lower manning requirements make them better suited to tactical roles and military patrols within Federation borders. This also suits the fact that most Frigates carry less fuel and supplies than most cruiser designs.

The Knox class was an attempt to construct a lighter frigate class while retaining most of the firepower of a heavy frigate. The design is very similar to the previous Daran class Fast Frigate but has the addition of two Mega-Phasers and has a reduction in hanger facilities. The Knox class was one of the first major starship designs that mounted Mega-Phasers instead of a torpedo armament. The vessel's designers considered that the Mega-Phasers were the equal of torpedo launchers although many captains criticized this because the Mega-Phasers require far more power and do not have the range that torpedoes do. Even so, the class has performed well in action especially when paired with vessels that carry photon torpedo launchers to make up for the Knox class deficiencies. Plans are to operate the Knox class frigates paired with the new Pharris class strategic frigate. As more Knox class frigates have entered Starfleet service, Daran class fast frigates have been transferred to reserve forces.

The ship’s weaponry is centered around the two Mega-Phasers which gives the ship an incredible beam firepower compared to most vessel classes of its size. These Phasers are capable of destroying other starships in just a few shots. For secondary weaponry, the ship carries six banks of normal Phasers. These Phaser banks are used to both augment the Mega-Phasers in the anti-ship role and used in the point defense role. The ships carry advanced sensor and electronics although they carry very limited flag facilities. Later ships in the class carry greater automation which allows for a greater reduction in crew compliment.

These ships carry a smaller fighter compliment than the Avenger class heavy frigate and carry a small contingent of marines for landing parties and shipboard defense.

This design is written to be able to interact with modified phase world rules. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World / Three Galaxies for more details. There is a lack of hard detail on this ship. Some materials have suggested accelerations that are simply beyond scope. I have taken a moderate level in writing up this starship for Phase World because otherwise the ship would either be far too powerful or far too weak for Phase World. Warp speeds are far slower than the FTL speeds for Phase World but they are very close to those from the original series and Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual. Also, a note on the mass of starships. The original sources indicated much smaller masses for starships than Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual does and where possible, both masses are listed for the gamers to choose which one seems most appropriate.

Model Type: NCC-1940.
Vehicle Type: Frigate (By Phase World terms would be considered to be a Cruiser)

Crew:	NCC-1940:	350 (90 officers and 260 enlisted)
	NCC-1956-60:	338 (88 officers and 250 enlisted)
	NCC-1961-65:	330 (87 officers and 243 enlisted)

Troops: 40 Marines, 30 fighter pilots

Vehicles:
Fighter Compliment:

	8	Tycho class light interceptors.
	8	Arco class attack sleds
	4	Argus Class warp fighters

Shuttles:

Standard Shuttles

M.D.C. By Location:

	Mega Phaser Cannons (2, above primary hull):	1,200 each
	Siege Phaser Cannons (6 banks of 2 each):	800 each bank
	Warp Nacelles (2, under primary hull):	15,000 each
	Small Craft Hanger Door (2):	2,500 each
	Impulse Engine:	8,000 each
	[1] Primary Bridge:	12,000
	[1] Auxiliary Bridge (Also used as Flag Bridge):	12,000
	[2] Main Body (Primary Hull):	35,000
	[3] Variable Force Field:	6,000 a side (36,000 Total)

Notes:
[1] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon to hit the bridge through the ship’s armor. This ship does have an auxiliary bridge. Even if both of the bridges are destroyed, the ship can still be piloted from engineering but the ship is -3 to dodge and all weapon systems will be at local control. Weapon hits near the bridges that do not penetrate the ships integrity can injure crew members on or near the bridge.
[2] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the Frigate out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
[3] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (1,800 M.D.C.) per melee round.

Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 60 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 0.9 percent of light per melee round.
As an alternative, the starship can reach .99 of the speed of light but is normally restricted to slower speeds so that starship is not affected severely by time attenuation that occurs at the higher sublight speeds.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Cannot travel within an atmosphere efficiently.
Stardrive: Uses a warp engine that allow the ship to travel at Warp Factor 7.6 on cruise (0.050 Light Years per Hour),
Warp Factor 9.7 Flank (0.104 Light Years per Hour), and Warp Factor 11.4 Emergency (0.169 Light Years per Hour).
Warp speed is raised to the third power to figure out how many times the speed of light the ship travels. These speeds are very slow when compared to Phase World ship, so if used in that universe, they could be increased enough to operate within Three Galaxy speeds but should not exceed them.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by either drive system. The ship carries about two years worth of supplies on board and a small hydroponic section.

Statistical Data:
Length: 798.6 feet (243.4 meters)
Height: 173.2 feet (52.8 meters)
Width: 463.3 feet (141.2 meters)
Mass: 136,000 metric tons standard (133,000 mt light, 139,000 mt full load) [Ships of Starfleet Volume One]
Power System: Primary power system is Anti-Matter with a 20 year life span. Ship normally only goes 5 years between refueling
Cargo: Cargo holds are scattered about the ship that allows for carrying up to 6,000 tons of cargo in addition to standard compliment of supplies and ammunition.
Market Cost: 3.1 billion to construct. As far as it is known, the Federation does not sell their starship designs to other interested parties.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

Two (2) Emperor class Mega Phaser Cannons: Located above primary hull and used as anti-capital ship weapons and can take out frigates in one shot or do large amounts of damage to bases or larger ships. The Phaser cannons can be combined or used separately. They cannot be used faster than the speed of light. Weapons have standard penalties to hit fighters and small targets. The barrels can be fired either forward or behind and can be rotated 30 degrees horizontally or vertically.
Maximum Effective Range: 93,300 miles (150,000 km) in space. and 93.3 miles (150 km) in an atmosphere.
Mega Damage: 1D4x1000 M.D.C. each and can be combined for a damage equal to 2D4x1000.
Rate of Fire: Maximum of Two (2) times per melee per cannon.
Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
Six (6) banks of 2 Siege Phaser Cannons: Secondary energy weapon system with three banks on the top and three banks on the bottom of the primary hull. The weapon's damage is about equal to laser cannons used by the CAF but the Phasers have a greater rate of fire. The phasers are also slightly shorter ranged but only slightly. Both Phaser Cannons in each bank can be linked or can be fired separately. They cannot be used faster than the speed of light. Weapon system has half the normal penalties to hit fighters and small targets.
Maximum Effective Range: 12,437 miles (20,000 km) in space and 12.4 miles (20 km) in an atmosphere.
Mega Damage: 2D4x100 M.D.C. each or 4D4x100 for both in a bank.
Rate of Fire: Maximum of Three (3) times per melee each cannon.
Payload: Effectively Unlimited.

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Technical information sourced partially from Starfleet Prototype.

I would like to recognize Henning Rogge as giving assistance with the revision of the Star Trek starships.

Image drawn and copyrighted by Mischa (E-Mail Mischa). Click on line drawing for a better view.

Mischa has no art home page at present but many other items on my site.

Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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