D7 class

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference

Revision as of 02:32, July 15, 2007

Type:	Battle Cruiser
Length:	228 meters
Crew Compliment:	430
Maximum Speed:	Warp 9
Armaments:	2+ heavy disruptor cannons, 1 magnetic pulse/photon torpedo launcher, phaser emitter
Defenses:	Deflector shields
File:D7BCProfile.jpg
Profile
File:D7aft.jpg
Aft view

The D7 class battle cruiser was a type of warship that was originally built by the Klingons in the 2260s that was later used by the Romulans.

History

The D7 class Klingon battle cruiser served as the backbone of the Klingon Imperial Fleet for several years during the 23rd century.

By 2267, they were prominently featured in the Klingon-Federation Cold War, where they posed a serious threat to the security of Starfleet and the Federation. (TOS: "Elaan of Troyius"; TAS: "More Tribbles, More Troubles")

The Romulan Star Empire later acquired the design, in exchange for their improved cloaking device, after a brief alliance in 2268. (TOS: "The Enterprise Incident")

The K't'inga-class battle cruiser would begin to replace the D7 class during the 2270s. The D7 would finally be "retired decades" prior to 2377. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture; VOY: "Prophecy")

Interest in these vessels by the Federation would continue to appear well into the 2370s, as data on this class would commonly be found within numerous Starfleet files. (TNG: "The Naked Now", "The Last Outpost", "Conspiracy"; VOY: "Drone", "The Voyager Conspiracy")

Technical Data

Physical Arrangement

The D7 class was almost predatory in its appearance, with a spread-wing primary hull, long neck and head-like command pod.

The bulk of the ships overall mass was incorporated in the aft section of the ship. The bridge was located on a bulbous head, which was separated from the aft section by a relatively thin neck that flares out into the wings. Jutting from below these wings were a pair of outboard warp nacelles. The ship's impulse engines were located on the caudal section of the ship.

This design had evolved from a classic design lineage dating back well into the 22nd century with the early D5 class battle cruisers. (ENT: "Judgment") In terms of dimensions, it was comparable in size to the Federation's Constitution- class starship. (TAS: "The Time Trap")

Tactical Systems

Firing phasers

Firing magnetic pulse

Firing photon torpedoes

During the mid 23rd century, Klingon D7's armament consisted of dual wing-mounted disruptor cannons, a forward-mounted phaser emitter, as well as a forward launcher capable of firing photon torpedoes, as well as magnetic pulses. (VOY: "Prophecy"; TOS: "Errand of Mercy"; TAS: "The Time Trap", "More Tribbles, More Troubles")

While never shown in use, D7's presumably possessed an aft torpedo launcher in addition to a forward launcher, as seen in preceding and proceeding classes.

In 2269, the Klingons developed a prototype weapon, first tested on board the IKS Gr'oth, which was described as a projective stasis field. The weapon, which extremely powerful, was capable of completely paralyzing an enemy vessel, including all vital systems, proved to be equally crippling to itself.

This potential threat was analyzed by the crew of the USS Enterprise, during an encounter near the Klingon-Federation border on stardate 5392.

During the confrontation, the Gr'oth successfully disabled the Enterprise. Further analysis by Science Officer Spock determined that after prolonged use of the weapon, the cruiser's power cells were too quickly drained. This required the ship a few hours for the weapon to recharge to full power. Ultimately it was determined that the use of this weapon aboard D7s was impractical in standard combat. (TAS: "More Tribbles, More Troubles")

By the late 24th century, these vessels were considered rather antiquated, and identified as being inferior in firepower to a Federation Intrepid-class starship. (VOY: "Prophecy")

Cloaking Device

Like its predecessor, the Romulan Bird-of-Prey, the Romulan D7 was equipped with cloaking technology.

Klingon D7s were outfitted with cloaking devices as late as 2269. One of the first Klingon vessels to acquire the new technology was the IKS Klothos. (TAS: "The Time Trap"; DS9: "Once More Unto the Breach")

Propulsion Systems

Engine room, with tribble.

Klingon D7s were equipped with an S-2 graf unit, which was roughly equivalent to the warp drives in the Federations' Constitution-class starships. (TAS: "The Time Trap")

These vessels could utilize a speed of at least warp 7 in an attack run, whereas Romulan D7s, using the same technology could surpass warp 9. (TOS: "Elaan of Troyius", "The Enterprise Incident")

The only glimpses we have seen of the D7 engine room was shown in "More Tribbles, More Troubles".

Other Systems

Romulan D7s were outfitted with food synthesizers. (TAS: "The Practical Joker")

Interior Design

Crew Complement

The average crew compliment of a Klingon D7 is comparable to a Constitution-class, and consists of around 430. (TOS: "Day of the Dove")

The interiors of the Romulan ship seen in "The Enterprise Incident" were the corridors of the Enterprise set with all wall props removed and a different lighting scheme.

Main Bridge

Referred to by the Romulans as "Control Central", the bridge is the nerve center of the D7 class. (TOS: "The Enterprise Incident")

Romulan Bridge, 2268

Romulan Bridge, 2270

Viewscreen, 2270

Klingon Bridge, 2377

Klingon Bridge, 2377

Viewscreen, 2377

Conference Room

conference room

The conference room is used as a meeting place for the ship's senior staff for mission briefings.

It contained a triangular table embossed with the emblem of the Klingon Empire, with each side of the table having its' own set of chairs. Surrounding the table are various computer consoles. (TAS: "The Time Trap")

Ships Commissioned

Named

• IKS Gr'oth
• IKS Klothos

Unnamed

• Unnamed D7 class starships
  • Kang's battle cruiser
  • Kohlar's battle cruiser
  • Kuri's battle cruiser

Appendices

Appearances

Background

Name origins

The term "D7" remained the speculated designation for the Klingon battle cruiser for many years, with origins rooting to an incident Gene Roddenberry recalls in The Making of Star Trek, which is linked to how he likened the cast's relationship to that of a family:

"I went to the stage one day, and they were all ready and waiting for me, because they knew I was really exhausted from some long rewrite sessions. As soon as I walked up to the set, Bill and Leonard blew a scene, but they blew it on purpose and began arguing very violently. Bill was shouting at the top of his voice, "Leonard! What do you mean saying this is a D-7 Klingon ship! It's a D-6!" Leonard shouted back, "No, you idiot, the D-6 has four doors over here and the D-7 only has two!" Bill immediately shouted back, "No, no, no--it's the other way around. You've got it all wrong.""

"While all of this is going on, I'm standing there, beginning to get frustrated, watching the minutes tick by and mentally counting the money we're losing in expensive crew time, because the cameras aren't rolling. And as the argument continued, I'm thinking to myself, "What are they talking about? They've gone too far!" Then I remembered thinking that I should remember which is the D-6 or the D-7. Finally I couldn't stand it any more, and so I walked in between them and said, "Come on, fellows, it really doesn't matter. Let's get on with the scene." Then the whole crew broke up laughing. This was their way of saying to me, "Hey, time is not that serious. Relax a little.""

The designation was not actually referenced on screen until Star Trek's 30th anniversary, in the DS9 Season 5 episode "Trials and Tribble-ations." The designation would later be written into the VOY Season 7 episode "Prophecy" by Mike Sussman (see "Inconsistencies" below).

Model

The D7 class studio model was originally designed by Matt Jefferies. Its design was explored in the Star Trek: The Original Series Sketchbook (by Herbert F. Solow and Yvonne Fern Solow) where it was explained that in Jeffries' attempt to create the D7, he "had to design a ship that would be instantly recognizable as an enemy ship, especially for a flash cut. There had to be no way it could be mistaken for our guys. It had to look threatening, even vicious." Taking an aerodynamic approach to his design, he ultimately "modeled it on a manta ray, both shape and color, and that's why it looks as it does in the original series."

Final design sketch.

The ship's design was perfected by the twenty-fourth sketch on 20 November 1967. The sketch was then sent to American Model Toy Corporation (AMT), and they returned the "master tooling model" that was used in the show. The original model for the D7 was given to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum along with the original model of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701).

In 1996, a new model of the D7-class, IKS Gr'oth, was created by Greg Jein for DS9's "Trials and Tribblations." While referenced, but not seen, in the original version of the "Trouble with Tribbles," the model featured an amalgam of detail from both the Original Series model and the K't'inga-class seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The newer model bore a pale green coloration, in line with future Klingon vessels.

Yet another model of the Gr'oth, this time built entirely digitally, was created for the 2006 "remastered" version of numerous Klingon episodes (see "Appearances" above). Seen only at a distance, the model seemed to reflect the original design of the ship, rather than the slightly revised version seen on Deep Space Nine.

Inconsistencies

The D7 from "Prophecy"

The designation of the Klingon battle cruiser that appear in the VOY Season 7 episode "Prophecy" was misidentified in the script during the ship's appearance. Writer Mike Sussman assumed that the physical model built by Jein from "Trials and Tribble-ations" would be reused, but the special effect crew instead used the low-resolution CGI model of a K't'inga-class cruiser instead. Unfortunately, by the time the writers learned of the type of model used, they were unable to change the script to correspond with the model change. As a result, this usage may be interpreted as a transitional predecessor to the K't'inga in the D7 lineage.

External Links

• The Everlasting Klingon Battlecruiser at Ex Astris Scientia
• Klingon/Romulan Battle Cruiser at Curt Danhauser's Guide to Animated Star Trek