Akira class

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference

Akira-class
Forward ventral view Forward ventral view
Affiliation:	Federation Starfleet
Active:	2370s
Armament:	Phaser arrays, torpedo launchers
Defenses:	Deflector shields
Aft dorsal view Aft dorsal view

The Akira-class was a class of Federation starship that was in service with Starfleet by the early 2370s. Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards was one of the sites this class was constructed at in 2371. (VOY: "Relativity")

Akira-class starships were featured prominently in the Battle of Sector 001 and the Dominion War. (Star Trek: First Contact; DS9: "Call to Arms", et al.)

Several Akira-class ships were stationed near Deep Space 9 during the war. (DS9: "The Magnificent Ferengi", "Afterimage")

As well, several were involved in most of the major battles of the war. In 2374, they saw action during Operation Return and the First Battle of Chin'toka, where at least one ship of the class was destroyed by an orbital weapon platform. (DS9: "Favor the Bold", "Sacrifice of Angels", "Tears of the Prophets") In 2375, they were involved in the Second Battle of Chin'toka and the Battle of Cardassia. (DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil", "What You Leave Behind")

Contents 1 Ships commissioned 2 Appendices 2.1 Appearances 2.2 Background 2.2.1 Design 2.2.2 Specifications 2.2.3 Technical Manual 2.3 Apocrypha 3 External links

[edit] Ships commissioned

Named

• USS Thunderchild (NCC-63549)

Unnamed

• Unnamed Akira-class starships

[edit] Appendices

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Background

[edit] Design

The Akira-class was designed by Alex Jaeger of Industrial Light & Magic in 1996, with the resulting design appearing as a CGI model in the movie First Contact. It was named after the Japanese animated film Akira. (Star Trek Encyclopedia)

This design is most notable as an inspiration for Doug Drexler's design of the Enterprise NX-01, the central ship of the fifth Star Trek series, of the same name. [1] In defending the NX class, and contrasting the two designs, Star Trek scenic artist Geoffrey Mandel, stated that "while the Akira is a rather ugly, bowlegged vessel from some angles, the NX-01 is streamlined and elegant, and looks good from almost any angle. Having been around then, I also know that [the NX-class designer] Doug Drexler and John Eaves did exactly what the producers asked them to." [2]

A design sketch of the USS Akira shows the vessel bearing the registry NCC-2497. In an unpublished interview with author Larry Nemecek, designer Jaeger said he simply used the four-digit number of his then-phone extension for that registry; to conform to Starfleet practice, the number "6" was added by Mike Okuda and the film's art department to make "62497," a number then approved by producer Rick Berman. At the same time, Jaeger said, two other ship names and registries were approved as back-ups, if needed, to the USS Thunderchild actually seen on film as NCC-65549: the USS Rabin (named after former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin) as NCC-63293, and the USS Spector, NCC-63549. The ship scale sheet showing the back-up names and registries can be found on John Eaves' blog.

Neither of the latter ships ever appeared expressly on screen, although the CGI file used for the Akira-class seen in the Voyager episode "Message In a Bottle" was numbered NCC-63549, ostensibly the Spector, and was used by the Star Trek Fact Files. The ship potentially appeared in one of the battle scenes from the sixth and seventh seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but this has not been verified.

[edit] Specifications

In parts of his Nemecek interview that were published in Star Trek: The Magazine, designer Alex Jaeger stated that he created the Akira as a sort of "carrier/gunship," armed with fifteen torpedo launchers. Visual inspection of the hull and design drawings show at least eleven.

He further stated in his July 1999 "Designing the Akira-class" interview, appearing on page 48 of the Star Trek: The Magazine, Issue 2, "This was my gunship/battlecruiser/aircraft carrier. It has 15 torpedo launchers and two shuttlebays - one in front, with three doors, and one in the back. I really got into it with this one, with the whole idea that the front bay would be the launching bay, and then to return they'd come into the back, because they'd be protected by the rest of the ship."

The scale of the CGI mesh, according to a January 20, 1998 post in the newsgroup alt.tv.star-trek.ds9, by DS9 Visual Effects Supervisor David Stipes, was 860 feet or 262.13 meters, the length used when he blocked shots in DS9. [3] However, the measurement used by Visual Effects Supervisor Gary Hutzel, according to an in-house chart dated 5/15/98, was 840 feet.

[edit] Technical Manual

The following information of specifications and defenses comes exclusively from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual:

• Production Base: ASDB Integration Facility, Antares Fleet Yards, Antares IV.
• Type: Heavy Cruiser.
• Accommodation: 500 officers and crew; 4,500 personal evacuation limit.
• Power Plant: One 1,500 plus Cochrane warp core feeding two nacelles; one impulse system.
• Dimensions: Length, 464.43 meters; beam, 316.67 meters; height, 87.43 meters.
• Mass: 3,055,000 metric tonnes.
• Performance: Warp 9.8 for 12 hours.
• Armament: Six type-10 phaser emitters; two photon torpedo launchers.

[edit] Apocrypha

• The Decipher role-playing games supplement Starships lists several Akira-class starships, including USS Geronimo (NCC-62501), USS Osceola (NCC-62743), USS Black Elk (NCC-62878), USS Nez Perce (NCC-62891), USS Mateo (NCC-63002), USS Red Cloud (NCC-63306), and USS Susquehanna (NCC-63419).
• The Activision PC game Star Trek: Bridge Commander includes the USS Devore (NCC-64088), USS Geronimo (NCC-69302), and USS Kali.
• The Activision PC game Star Trek: Armada includes the USS Jupiter (NCC-71267) and USS Templar, as well as many others. In both this game and the sequel, Star Trek: Armada II, these vessels have an advanced weapon called the "chain reaction pulsar" which bounces a bolt of energy off of enemy shields, damaging several ships consecutively. The Jupiter was also a promotional card for the Star Trek Customizable Card Game, where it was listed as being "under the command of Captain Satelk."
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Dominion Wars includes the USS Singh.
• Star Trek: Away Team includes the USS Leyte Gulf (NCC-71427).
• The USS Sentinel mentioned in DS9: "Treachery, Faith and the Great River" is described as an Akira-class starship that Lt. Commander Sonya Gomez served on during the Dominion War, according to Pocket SCE: War Stories, Book 1.
• The Millennium novel The Fall of Terok Nor mentions two Akira-class starships, the USS Bondar and the USS Garneau, both named after Canadian astronauts.
• The Akira-class starship USS Gryphon features heavily in the DS9 Relaunch novels.
• The Akira-class is featured in the game Star Trek: Starfleet Command III, where it is classified as a heavy cruiser.
• The Xbox 360 game Star Trek: Legacy allows control of Akira-class ships as cruisers with names such as USS Akira, USS Spector, USS Rabin, and USS Thunderchild.

[edit] External links

• Akira-class at Ex Astris Scientia - contains detailed notes and articles on the Akira-class
• Akira-class at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Akira-class at Wikipedia