- For other uses, see Engle.
The Engle class was a 23rd century Federation spacecraft type, a starship class in Starfleet service in the 2250s decade. Ships of the class took part in the Battle of the Binary Stars in 2256. (DSC Collection Issue 17: "USS T'Plana-Hath")
History and specifications
23rd century
Engle class variants.
The design of the Engle-class was derivative of the NX class spaceframe. (DSC Collection Issue 17: "USS T'Plana-Hath")
The design consisted of a saucer section connected to the front parts of the warp nacelles by nacelle pylons reminiscent of twin bars. The shallow secondary hull was bleneded into the ventral saucer. This section contained the large shuttlebays at their back. A rectangular navigational deflector was inset at the bow of the saucer. A pair of impulse engines sat at the angular aft end of the saucer. (Shipyards reference: Starfleet Ships 2151 - 2293)
In the 23rd century, the Engle was classed as a fast reponse Federation starship. An experimental spaceframe of this class was constructed as early as the year 2208 as part of the starship development project Operation Next Step. It was only finished with the advent of new warp coils in 2224. In the 2230s and 2240s, Engles were among the first Starfleet ships assigned to newly-minted Federation members. This trend waned in the 2250s with the introduction of simpler designs like the Saladin- and Hermes-class destroyers. Engle-class ships were subsequently relegaqted to Starfleet Medical as emergency response ships and maintained that role until the 2290s. The prototype of the Engle class was the USS Engle (NCC-1003).
At the time of its launch, this class was equipped with the most advanced propulsion technologies, including an improved warp drive and improved impulse drive. Each warp nacelle was integrated and carried 24 indivdual warp coils. These were mounted separately on gimbals and controlled from the nacelle operations room at the for eof the nacelle. This required at least two crewmembers trained in this operation, unlike on other Starfleet ships. They operated the complex system of chiller units, subspace field guides and warp field stabilizers. At a sustained cruising speed of warp 6.5 and emergency speeds approaching warp 9, the complexity was a trade-off for the position of conventionally fastest starship in service.
An impressive sickbay, located in the extended rear section of the saucer, was a standard for the Engle class during its service as fast response vessel. Sickbay was adjacent to the ship's smaller shuttlebay and primary transporter room. This layout enabled the command crew to isolate sickbay during the treatment of infectious patients. Large bay doors opening directly into the shuttlebays allowed rapid decontamination by exposure to the vacuum of space after contagious events. Surfaces could then be scoured by a low-energy plasma beam directed from fusion cores above the affected facilities.
In the standards of the time, its main starship trait was Federation starship. Systems durability and strength were rated by Starfleet as 07 for communications, 08 for engines, 06 for structure, 08 for computers, 06 for sensors and 06 or weapons. Primary departments scored 01 for conn, engineering and medicine. The Engle-class fast response was a scale 3 vessel. Its attack weapons included phaser banks, photon torpedoes and the tractor beam. (Star Trek Adventures module: Discovery (2256-2258) Campaign Guide)
Two ships of this class, the USS T'Plana-Hath (NCC-1004) and the USS Earhart (NCC-1052), participated in Battle of the Binary Stars against the Klingons in the year 2256. (DSC episode: "Battle at the Binary Stars")
25th century
In the 2400s and 2410s, the Engle class was among hundreds of past, present and future starship classes operated by Starfleet and the Federation's partners in the Khitomer Alliance. The Engle class operated in the configuration of the tier 6-rated mirror universe Engle strike wing escort. Crossovers with the mirror universe enabled the Khitomer Alliance to acquire and retrofit the 2250s-era Terran Empire ISS Engle (NCC-1003) and its class. The ISS Engle was equipped with three key technologies: the graviton implosion charges experimental weapon, the cascading subatomic disruptions universal console and a hangarbay carrying a squadron of mirror universe shuttlecraft deployable for combat. (STO website: Age of Discovery: The Mirror Engle Leads a New Infinity Lock Box!)
In the 2410s, standard equipment was unrated and included shild array, deflector array, impulse engines and a matter anti-matter warp core. In addition to the experimental weapon, fore weapons consisted of a photon torpedo launcher and four emitter-linked phaser beam arrays. Aft weapons consisted of a pair of emitter-linked phaser beam arrays. (STO - Age of Discovery mission: "Welcome to Earth Spacedock")
In 2411, the Khitomer Alliance acquired several starship classes from the Terran Empire. This included the familiar Engle-class mirror strike wing escort and its 25th century counterpart, the Earhart-class mirror strike wing escort. Starfleet launched its own, primary universe counterpart of the Earhart-subclass. (STO website: Shadow's Advance: The 12th Anniversary Terran Bundle!)
Known vessels
| This article or subsection has an associated category. | Engle class starships |
|---|
| ship name | registry number | other registry | ship commissioning | disposition | original faction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USS Engle | NCC-1003 | NCC-1040 | 2224 | 2411 (active) | Federation Starfleet |
| ISS Engle | NCC-1003 | 23rd century | 2411 (active) | Terran Empire Starfleet | |
| USS T'Plana-Hath | NCC-1004 | 23rd century | 2256 (destroyed) | Federation Starfleet | |
| USS Cicada | NCC-1005 | NCC-1003 | 23rd century | 2256 (active) | Federation Starfleet |
| USS Toyohiro[4] | NCC-1048 | 2228 | 2265 (active) | Federation Starfleet | |
| USS Earhart | NCC-1052 | 23rd century | 2256 (destroyed) | Federation Starfleet |
| Engle-class starships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Federation Starfleet (primary universe) |
standard configuration | Andor • Cardiff • Churchill • Cicada • Decatur • Earhart • Engle • Lafayette • Macedonia • Roosevelt • T'Plana-Hath • Vancouver |  
|
| variant configurations | Earhart-subclass: Decatur • Earhart • Fort | ||
| Terran Empire Starfleet (mirror universe) |
standard configuration | ISS Engle | 
|
Appendices
Connections
Background
The Engle-class was identified via the T'Plana-Hath by designer John Eaves. Eaves also named the class, which was later confirmed after being revealed on StarTrek.com.
The Engle-class was built using the Enterprise (NX-01) as a starting reference. Many similar elements, including saucer design, and deflector dish can be seen in the final model. (Star Trek: Discovery The Official Starships Collection issue 17, p. 10)
Eaves early concept art and CGI models of this class were designated as the Saturn-class USS Chaffee (NCC-3567). (Star Trek: Discovery The Official Starships Collection issue 17, p. 12)
In the article "DISCOVERY's 'Battle of the Binary Stars' Armada Identified" by Ken Reilly at TrekCore, this class was "likely named for test pilot and eventual astronaut Joe Engle, who test-flew the joint NASA-Air Force X-15 rocket airplane - and the Space Shuttle Enterprise - before eventually commanding the Space Shuttle Columbia"
References
External links
- Engle class article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- T'Plana-Hath, U.S.S. article on StarTrek.com