"Blue" Dolphin
Dolphin Class (Fleet Dolphin) GXC Heavy Cruiser. The Dolphin is the first class of disodium heavy cruisers. The Dolphins are 36 decks deep with a hull as wide as it is long.
The Dolphins are built with the advances in technology and comfort. They can carry 1000 beings in comfort to the most dangerous places in the Galaxy and bring them back. This class is considered a general replacement for the Planet class cruisers. A good idea that was simply too expensive. Also unlike the Manta Class the Dolphin has the bridge on deck one. A design concession to Admiral Hailey. However the bridge module is built flush with the hull. The Dolphin is build with two major power systems. It can be built with either the Disodium HE system (Blue Dolphin), which is preferred by the horned fleet, or in a standard disodium system (Fleet Dolphin) favored by Starfleet. Performance curves are similar for both systems.
Background[]
"Fleet" Dolphin
In the Early 2370s Starbase 600 achieved full Starship Construction capability. While Construction of Manta Class and Stingray class was adequate, the next question was what to do for a heavy multi-role cruiser. Although the Galaxy class was successful, it had a few issues making it less than ideal for Ane users.
The Sovereign class Was also considered, but the assumptions of humanoid body form and control systems were stronger in the Sovereign than in the Galaxy. (It is noted that the Sovereign was heavily pushed by the "Good Old Boys" party of Starfleet.)
An idea floated up from somewhere (Today no one remembers who originated it) to use the successful Manta class hull and size it up, using the assumptions of Ane form users and controllers.
The initial design seemed sound and it was quickly finalized and put into production.
The USS Dolphin was loaned to the Tabooists to seek Rishian artifacts. When it became plain that Federation sensors turned off Rishian artifacts the Tabooists politely declined her further use. USS Dolphin patrols the Far Sector. She is the prototype so her operations are being carefully observed to develop the statistical information of how the ship wears and goes through spare parts and so on*.
The first year of operations allowed a list of proposed design changes to be made. The Y-Models of the Dolphin Class are the next four' the USS Abraham Dannon, the ADF K'talan, USS Lexington, and the USS Sigma Seven These ships incorporated design changes intended to allow ease of use and better functionality.
Further changes were made to production block 1. As each ship goes through production it is customized to address specific functions or problems. No Dolphin class ship will be identical to any other.
The second thing about the Dolphin class is the fact that it is the first Ane design adapted for use in Starfleet proper. DiSodium was assumed in the design phase of this class as the research was advanced at the time. Ergo when the first diSodium warp cores were ready the Dolphin was ready to receive them.
The Fleet Dolphin as it is known uses a standard DiSodium system The quarters are aggressively configurable to accommodate any member of the Federation, current or future. It still has larger Ane friendly areas that other Starfleet designs.
In 2408 the Dolphin class was superseded by the Amani class. A developmental daughter class.
Auxiliaries[]
- Two Crane class runabouts located on the dorsal spine forward of engineering.
- One Nelson class scout ship as the Captain's Yacht located between the Runabout bay and the bridge on the dorsal spine.
- 25 shuttles of various classes.
- 6 workbee type berks
Enterprise-D Scale[]
- Science capacity 1500 -- larger and more capable labs, sensors in the Class 20 range.
- Crew Comfort 1500 -- The vessel is larger but carries no larger a crew.
- Duration 2000 -- Bigger matter stores, more fuel. More capable of self repair and maintenance.
- Medical facilities 1200 -- Same sized crew more space in the medical department and the capacity to expand that as needed.
- Tactical maneuvering 1000 -- no better or any worse than the E-D
- Strategic Speed 18,000 -- cruise. Wf Ds7 Max wf Ds9 cruse speed is 18 light years a day.
- Defense 2000 -- Class 12 shields as well. More radiators to stay in the fight longer.
- Offense 2000 -- Class 12 phaser banks, more torpedoes and ion cannons.
- Versatility 1000 -- Performs the same mission much the same way.
- Internal Security 2000 --An RI computer system closely monitors the ship.
2410 Refit[]
A major rebuild of the Dolphin class as they come in for service. New nacelles and power systems, new phasers. They are upgraded to the specs of the Amani class.
One of the things the refit adds is frozen matter storage. Using the Rrell system of freezing transporter buffer patterns on disks. It takes a lot of energy, but fragile and non replicatible items can be stored on small disks. The amount of space that the colony kits and engineering storage takes is massively reduced. Antimatter storage is up 50% from the Dolphin class. But, she does not have A colony kit. She has dozens in toaster sized boxes, just add energy. If you have the extra elemental mass you can cut down on the energy needed by supplying mass as well. Need a colony kit? Do some transporter mining, unfreeze a colony kit.
Enterprise-D Scale[]
- Science capacity 1600 -- larger and more capable labs, sensors in the Class 20 range.
- Crew Comfort 1600 -- The vessel is larger but carries no larger a crew.
- Duration 2500 -- Bigger matter stores, more fuel. More capable of self repair and maintenance.
- Medical facilities 1400 -- Same sized crew more space in the medical department and the capacity to expand that as needed.
- Tactical maneuvering 1000 -- no better or any worse than the E-D
- Strategic Speed 6,000 -- cruise. Wf Ds9 Max wf Ds9.9 cruse speed is 18 light years a day.
- Defense 2200 -- Class 14 shields as well. More radiators to stay in the fight longer.
- Offense 2200 -- Class 14 phaser banks, more torpedoes and ion cannons.
- Versatility 1000 -- Performs the same mission much the same way.
- Internal Security 2000 --An RI computer system closely monitors the ship.
Related Ship types[]
- Falcon class cutter -- System patrol and police use.
- Manta Class Heavy Frigate -- Break things and be very fast getting to where things will be broken. Used for patrol in possibly hostile areas.
- Stingray class light frigate -- Upscale of the Falcon. Sector patrol, Search & Rescue, breaking things.
- Basking Ray class scout -- High resolution mapping, fleet reconnaissance. A development of the Stingray.
- Covenant class light cruiser -- Look and go see. First in exploration.
- Tigris class science cruiser -- Direct replacement of the Euphrates class. Third tier in depth science missions.
- Amani class Heavy Cruiser -- Replacement for the Dolphin after 25 years in production.
- Eagleray class -- Next generation stingray class.
Ships[]
The class is being used throughout the Federation, mostly in the fleet configuration. Three Blue Dolphins serve in Regular Starfleet.
Ane Defense Force[]
All ADF ships are of the Blue Dolphin configuration with diSodium HE warp drives and G5 crystalmind computer systems. The Blue Dolphin now consists of about a tenth the total Ane ship strength. All Ane Heavy Cruisers serve under Stafleet Command unless otherwise noted.
- Dolphin CA-121 -- Built: 2375 -- Refit: 2379, 2399, Originally assigned to the Tabooists. It was returned to normal Starfleet duty when it was found it destroyed Rishan artifacts by scanning them.
- USS Abraham Dannon CA-122/NCC-79546 -- Built: 2376 -- Refit: 2390, 2410 Commissioned as a Starfleet vessel. She still has her ADF hull number however.
- K'talan CA-123 -- Built: 2376 -- Refit: 2386, 2406
- Sharlin CA-124 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2386, 2406
- Kongo CA-126/NCC-101710 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2387, 2407 Commissioned as a Starfleet vessel. She still has her ADF hull number however.
- Diversus Infucatus Equus CD-127 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit 2408. Diplomatic cruiser designation. Otherwise Noted. The "Equus" is reserved by Gensilan.
- Seeker CA-128 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Nia CA-129 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Clerk Maxwel CA-130 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Stephen Hawking CA-131 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Alpha Partha CA-132 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Mtafuta CA-133 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Beta Hydrosis CA-134 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Beta Partha CA-135 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Gryphon CA-136 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Savensu T'nar CA-137 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Succor CA-138 -- -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Accord CA-139 -- -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Concord CA-140 -- -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- El Nanth CA-141 -- Built: 2377 -- Refit: 2392
- Gamma Partha CA-142 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Krosiban CA-143 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Zasilan CA-144 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Unity CA-145 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Zoliban CA-146 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Admirable CA-147 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Galaban CA-148 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Shield CA-149 -- Built: 2379 -- Lost: 2388 in the Kliges'chee implosion zone. Maakan attack believed to be the cause.
- Calilan CA-150 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Concordant CA-151 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Alpha Hydrosis CA-152 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Galaia CA-153 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Agreement CA-154 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Valiant CA-155 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Farban CA-156 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Tanziban CA-157 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Nebula CA-158 -- Built: 2379 -- Refit: 2393
- Corvin Strong CA-159 -- Built: 2381 -- Refit: 2401
- Utaka NeBono CA-160 -- Built: 2381 -- Refit: 2401
- Corona CA-161 -- Built: 2383 -- Refit: 2403
- Sundog CA-162 -- Built: 2383 -- Refit: 2403
- Nakilan CA-163 -- Built: 2385 -- Refit: 2405
- Farlban CA-164 -- Built: 2385 -- Refit: 2405
- Michael Faraday CA-165 -- Built: 2387 -- Refit: 2407
- Edmund Hailey CA-166 -- Built: 2387 -- Refit: 2407
- Shield II CA-167 -- Built: 2390 -- Refit: 2410
- Jabir ibn Hayyan CA-168 -- Built: 2390 -- Refit: 2410
- USS Urafiki CA-170/NCC-118554 Commisioned: 2407 -- Latest of the Blue/Fleet Dolphins. Refit ISS Abraham Dannon (M) The Last Dolphin.
Starfleet[]
All vessels built for Starfleet are of the "Fleet Dolphin" variety with standard diSodium warp drives and Isolinear computer designs. This is not a complete list. 5680 Fleet Dolphins were built. They are also not the only diSodium heavy cruisers in Starfleet. They were considered a glamour posting. With new designs coming into service they are moving down. Those listed here are "PC" ships.
- USS Lexington NCC-79000 -- Built 2376, Refit: 2396
- USS Sigma Seven NCC-79620 -- Built 2376 Refit: 2396
- USS Crystal City NCC-80003 -- Built 2377 Refit: 2397
- USS Savensu T'ness NCC-101734 -- Built 2379 Refit: 2399
- USS Atlantis NCC-101842 -- Built 2379 Refit: 2399
