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[Squire James]

Not originally my design, I think she was called the Proxima originally or something. I redid the light maps and the registry, and the whole background behind her etc. The basic design seems to have been a TOS styled Yamato Class.



Starship Class: Langley
Hull Class: BBX (Battleship Experimental)
Class Members:

USS Langley NX-1927 - Lead Ship, Commissioned (Starfleet R&D) June 24rd 2273, Fleet-Captain Arthur. W. Conway commanding. Recommissioned NCX-1927 (for Starfleet Service Trials) April 18th 2278, Mothballed (into Federation Reserve Fleet) as NCC-1927 August 11th 2288 under the command of Admiral (Resv) GjarosGar th'Jhas. Away on Fleet Maneuvers during the Klingon Strike on the Pearl Shipyards, February 26th 2292. Took part alongside Allied Gorn forces in the liberation of the Bernard System, March 3rd 2292. Won 2 Battle Stars for her service in the General War. Decommissioned June 7th 2293. Broken up for scrap January 2301 at 'Lucky's Yard' Starfleet Salvage Yard, Somme System.

USS Essex NX-1928 - Commissioned April 4th 2274, Captain Alexander R. Owen commanding. Recommissioned NCX-1928 (for Starfleet Service Trials) April 18th 2278, Mothballed (into Federation Reserve Fleet) as NCC-1928 August 11th 2288 under the command of Captain (Resv) Albert V. Harrison. Survived the Klingon Attack on February 26th 2292. Fought in the Battle of Pearl alongside Reserve Fleet and Allied Gorn forces. Credited with the destruction of three Klingon cruisers. Laid up at Pearl until June 2292 due to extensive repairs after the Battle of Pearl. Later formed part of the Garrison force under the command of Acting-Captain Commander Douglas C. Forsbrook outside the Subspace Slipway during the Andromeda Strike Mission of July 17th 2292. Won 3 battle stars for her General War service. Captain Harrison awarded the Purple Star and the Starfleet Distinguised Service Cross for his actions during the Battle of Pearl. Decommissioned July 29th 2293. Broken up for scrap March 2301 at 'Lucky's Yard' Starfleet Salvage Yard, Somme System.

USS America NX-1929 - Commissioned December 9th 2276 under the command of Captain George T. Lewiss. Recommissioned NCX-1929 (for Starfleet Service Trials) April 18th 2278, Mothballed (into Federation Reserve Fleet) as NCC-1929 August 11th 2288 under the command of Captain (Resv) Saurek. Present during the Klingon Attack on the Pearl Shipyards, February 26th 2292. Destroyed attempting to get underway approximately 0:830 hours. 270 survivors, almost entirely consisting of those who fled into Shipyard Pearl Minor Alpha after auxiliary lines were cut during the attempt to mobilise. Captain Saurek posthumously awarded the Federation Medal of Valour and the Vulcan Star of Surak for his gallant attempt to draw fire away from the Pearl Shipyards on the morning of February 26th 2292. 

Length: 854 m (front of saucer to far rear tip of nacelle)
Beam: 328 m (widest point, this being across the saucer)
Draught: 192 m (from ventral side of lower nacelles to dorsal of upper nacelles)

Warp Cruise: Factor 4.5
Warp Max: Factor 5.8 (24 hrs)
Warp Do Not Exceed.: Factor 6.2
Sublight Max: 1100 Kelicams per second

Decks: 35
Crew Compliment: 980 Personnel
                 90 Starfleet Marines

Armament:

Forward Arc: 6 Type A Phaser Emitters (120 Degree Arc)
             6 Photon Torpedo Tubes (90 Degree Arc)
             1 Quantum Wave Carrier Beam Projector (360 Degree Arc)

Port and Starboard Arcs: 3 Type A Phaser Emitters (120 Degree Arc)

Rear Arc: 4 Type A Phaser Emitters (120 Degree Arc)
          2 Photon Torpedo Tubes (60 Degree Arc)

History:
During the 2250s, tensions between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets steadily increased, finally culminating in the 4 Day War of 2267. While little more than a border skirmish, this minor conflict was never the less the first time in which Klingon and Federation vessels were pitched against each other since the Treaty of Beta Hydri in 2190. The effect of the 4 Day War on both Federation and Klingon ship designs was immense, and we will only be focusing on that which is relevant to this ship class in this article.

One of the most alarming factors was the utter failure of the Federation Class Dreadnought (at the time termed a Battleship, but we shall refer to it as a Dreadnought for simplicities sake) to meet design stated performance levels. Whether this was a fault in design or merely inexperienced crews (as unlike the vaunted Constitution Class cruisers and other lighter vessels, the Federation Class was rarely seen outside of fleet maneuvers) is a matter of contention even today, but the facts remain that the two Dreadnoughts on station in the sector in those four September days in 2267, the USS Organisation NCC-2111 and USS Alliance.  NCC-2113, arrived in theatre 2 days into the conflict.

Had a Klingon Heavy Strike Fleet not been delayed by a brilliant series of hit-and-fade attacks by the Federation 88th Destroyer Flotilla (under the leadership of Commander James Alexander Wightherst, later a famed Battlecruiser Squadron Fleet-Captain), would have most likely faced combat supported by a few battered Surya Class Light Cruisers and a handful of obsolete Saladin Class Destroyers. The intended support fleet, a quintet of Constitution Class vessels including the USS Enterprise, had arrived within a few hours of the declaration of war and had already engaged a significant Klingon force in the Britannia System in the Klingo-Federation Neutral Zone. Due to damage sustained (particularly to the USS Kestral) the cruiser squadron was forced to withdraw. Had the Dreadnoughts arrived, the odds would have swung far to the Federations favour and a counter offensive mounted, perhaps avoiding the costly defeat in the Paris System that lead to the final grand standoff at Organia.

As it was, the Dreadnoughts only arrived in time to partake in the aforementioned standoff, and due to events now made famous (or perhaps infamous), never fired their weapons in anger during that conflict.

The Federation Class had been an awkward compromise. Many in the Federation feared this was a return to the colonial days of the 2180s, with Federation warships discovering 'unclaimed' systems and the resulting dispute being settled at the point of a laser cannon. On the other side of the fence were the more hawkish Federation representatives who saw the militaristic Klingon Empire growing through conquest, expanding the Neutral Zone length-ways (eventually into what was discovered, disastrously for the Klingons, to be the territory of the Tholian Assembly), creating an ever widening area for the Federation to defend, and argued that a powerful flagship was required in order to deter not only Klingon, but possible Romulan invasion.

The result was one that neither hawks nor doves were satisfied with. Bristling with photon torpedo tubes and phaser arrays, no amount of science labs and sensors could disguise the warship that was the Federation Class. However, burdened down with unnecessary (for combat) equipment and personnel, what was intended as a cavalry charger had turned into a packhorse. Too slow and encumbered for combat against Klingon warships, too inflexible and expensive to act in any of the half-hearted scientific or diplomatic roles she had been saddled with, the Federation Class seemed doomed.

The Klingon Empire was of course delighted to use the failure of the most powerful warship the Federation possessed for propaganda. Not to mention her real limitations, she was also the namesake of the enemy. The Klingon state media had a field day, proudly boasting that had the meddlesome Organians not intervened, the warriors of the Empire would be toasting and feasting at the Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco. They of course didn't mention the failure of their heavy strike fleet or the embarrassing losses exacted by the 88th Destroyer Flotilla, or of course the equally disturbing revelations the short war had revealed about the KDF's preparedness to face the Federation in a total war situation.

However, those not in the know in the Federation responded in the only natural way. They panicked. Their borders weren't safe. They could be raided at will by fast, deadly and nigh invincible Klingon warships. And that's to say nothing of the Romulans. Undetectable foes that the Federation couldn't even detect, let alone defeat.

This was of course all hyperbole, but as with every piece of propaganda, there is the grain of truth in the pearl of lies. Starfleet knew that they had been caught with their pants down and that had open battle commenced, their vaunted dreadnoughts would be smouldering hulks, or worse, Klingon war prizes. Much worse, the KDF Warships they had faced were far more capable than was believed. While not as advanced or well rounded as their Federation counterparts, and often a little short-legged (giving the Federation some breathing room as the KDF could not easily mount an offensive deep into the Federation without seizing critical bases and relying on a long supply line), the technology gap was closing. Within a decade, the KDF might surpass the currently level of sophistication within Starfleet.

This lead to two emergency programmes. The first was an immediate re-examination of what could and should be improved aboard Federation starships, both in the short term (3 to 5 years) and the long term (10 to 15).  The second was a new commission contract for a quintet of new, vastly superior battleships to replace the Federation Class. The original intention for 5 ships was to provide adequate protection for both the Klingon and Romulan Neutral Zones (2 along the Klingon border, 1 along the Romulan border, and 2 in reserve on a regular rotation). It was also politically motivated, a ship for each of the 5 founding members of the Federation. It was intended for each ship to be manned by a 80/20 mix of members from a founding member homeworld and other Federation member species. It was hoped that these cultural and political motivations would help reduce criticism of an increasingly militant Starfleet.

However, once the initial "Homefront Hysteria" had died down, these two massively expensive projects were gradually scaled back. 5 ships were culled to 3, the political and cultural elements of the projects quietly shelved in the process. The main focus of Starfleet R&D was the so called "Phase II" Starfleet project, and a smaller series of systems refits for existing vessels.

In a further cost cutting exercise, Starfleet R&D realised that many of the systems being developed for the Phase II Starfleet project could be prototyped on the 3 ordered battleships. This would not only save development costs, but also provide a blank canvas for which to test said systems without having to worry about decades old technological bottlenecks and provide the Federation with 3 cutting (some might say bleeding) edge battleships, immensely useful for both propaganda and actual defense purposes.

In a nostalgic look back at the 'good old days' of civilian space exploration (and no doubt to try and avoid any controversy over the name of these behemoth battleships) Starfleet R&D termed the project "Project Langley" after the airfield where the genus of their ancestor, NASA, first performed experiments in the field of aeronautics.

With tensions with the Klingon Empire gradually easing, and the Romulan Star Empire seemingly losing interesting in raiding Federation colonies along the Neutral Zone, Project Langley gradually ground to a slow crawl. Intended to have a working prototype by the summer of 2268, a large banner was erected in the Starfleet R&D Combined Weapons Research Laboratory (SCWRL, known as the Squirrels Nest for obvious reasons) reading "Three ships-of-the-line for '69" However, more budget cuts brought the project to a virtual standstill. The prototype, the USS Langley NX-1927 was not finally completed until June 23rd 2273, 5 years overdue. The other two vessels, commissioned as the USS Essex NX-1928 and the USS America NX-1929, were commissioned a scant few years later, their construction greatly aided by the completion of the Langley.

However all was not well with the new ships. The bleeding edge technology inside their hulls failed with a depressing regularity. Their warp cores, the largest yet constructed, were temperamental and sensitive to imbalances that would barely be noticed in any other warp core of the day. Despite promises that they would be ready, the new Type B phaser emitters designed as part of the Phase II Starfleet project were barely out of the lab prototype stage. What was intended as the crowning achievement of the project, an improved and far more formidable descendant of the Kaminari II Phaser Cannon, had tragically repeated its ancestors trial run by overloading the capacitor and destroying the (fortunately unmanned drone) test ship. Worst of all, they were technological dead ends. The Phase II project, being given higher priority, had reached fruition by the time the Langley was completed. While not as efficient in theory as the all-new systems aboard the Langley, Phase II technology was gradually being installed fleet wide, with an entire refit given to the USS Enterprise, which became the flagship of Starfleet due to this new technology and the fame (or perhaps notoriety) of its crew.

Continually rejected by Starfleet for 5 years, the three "Langley sisters" remained part of Starfleet R&D. Gradually the faults were ironed out, some of the more questionable technological 'upgrades' dispensed and Phase II tech installed in it's place, and finally in 2278 the Langley, Essex and America were accepted as part of Starfleet, albeit as "NCX" ships; Ships out prototype phase, but considered non-standard and experimental. They toured Federation space, albeit more as curios and attractions than a show of military prowess.

Finally after a decade of "Educational Visits" (termed "Freak Shows" by their crews), the three Langley sisters were mothballed into the newly formed Starfleet Reserve Fleet, at last receiving the NCC prefix to their registries. Not seeing service in the Organian Conflict due to their age and lack of perceived tactical usefulness, the Langleys ended up alongside, ironically enough the ships they were intended to replace, the Federation Class. Along with other war weary and obsolete designs, either too battered or two old to refit, they formed the Reserve, the home guard of the Federation. In a fitting twist, their new captains were from three of the founding colonies of the Federation, Earth, Andoria and Vulcan.

It seemed a rather ignominious end for these proud battleships, gathering dust in a remote shipyard in a forgotten sector of the front, but fate intervened.

On February 26th 2292, a day that will live in infamy, a powerful fleet of Klingon warships battered the Reserve Fleet Shipyards in the Pearl System. With the Prime Fleet half a galaxy away in the Galactic Fringe combating the ISC, all hopes of stemming this major Klingon invasion seemed lost.

All three Langleys were scheduled to be in dry dock that day, the Langley for critical repairs to her spaceframe, and the Essex and America in for systems checks and overhauls after a series of systems failures on exercise two weeks before. However, the Langley had been checked a day early for reasons unknown, and was found to be in better repair than first though. A few minor joints needed replacement, but otherwise she was in good shape for a ship of her age. She was out on a shakedown cruise at the time of the attack.

The Essex had finished her inspection and repairs scant hours before the attack and was in system when the first wave struck the shipyards. Responding immediately, she single-handedly destroyed three Klingon cruisers (believed to be of the new Suwvl'QeH Class). A large part of her success, so claimed her humble crew, was down to the installation of a Quantum Wave Carrier (QCB) Beam Projector in the bay originally intended for the Phaser Cannon. They were fitted to all three Langleys as part of that weapons trial during 2289 and proved successfully enough in trials to warrant retaining. However, success against such overwhelming odds was fleeting, and she was forced to withdraw into a nearby nebula to avoid detection. Striking at lone Klingon warships for 48 hours, reportedly with no change in bridge or weapons crews, the Essex held out until reinforcements from the Gorn Royal Navy arrived. She was so badly damaged however that she was laid up for virtually the entire remainder of the General War. Her captain, Captain (Resv) Albert V. Harrison, was maimed by a Klingon torpedo strike on the bridge. He received the Purple Star and the Starfleet Distinguised Service Cross for his actions and was honourably discharged from the service once he had recovered from his other injuries. The condition of Pearl Shipyards didn't aid repair efforts, but finally leaving drydock under the command of Acting-Captain Commander Douglas C. Forsbrook, former 'Number One' under Harrison, the Essex formed part of the vanguard that protected the newly-constructed Subspace Slipway during the famous Andromeda Strike.

The America was not so lucky. Almost a third of the way through her inspection and repairs at the time of the strike, Vulcan Captain (Resv) Saurek attempted to conduct an emergency withdrawl from drydock. Some 300 crewmembers were either outside in IES (Inhospitable Environment) Suites working on the hull or in auxilliary gangways and arteries that had been established to ease the inspection process. Out of these, roughly 270 managed to flee into Shipyard Pearl Minor Alpha and survived the attack. The rest sadly perished, as the already weakened America was set upon by a pack of Birds of Prey. Captain Saurek was posthumously awarded the Federation Medal of Valour, the highest award in the Federation, and the Star of Surak, a rare award issued by the Vulcan people to those who exhibit sound judgment and logical thinking even in mortal danger and as such who's actions undoubtedly saved the lives of others. Had Captain Saurek not attempted to leave Shipyard Pearl Minor Alpha, the station itself would have undoubtedly become a much greater target. Due to his actions, the Klingon attackers largely ignored the shipyard, which sustained only minor damage.

In the weeks following the Attack on the Pearl Shipyards, the sole remaining serviceable Langley, also as fate would have it the sole serviceable Federation Battleship left in the Alpha Quadrant, the USS Langley, joined the Gorn Royal Navy on their campaign to liberate the conquered Federation systems. Taking part in the Battle of Bernard on March 3rd 2292, Andorian Admiral (Resv) GjarosGar th'Jhas helped liberate this subjugated system from Klingon control. With their defensive mandate, the crew of the Langley remained in Federation space as the Gorn Royal Navy cut deep into Klingon home territory.

The end of hostilities in the July of 2292 brought an end to the service lives of the two remaining 'sisters'. The USS Langley NCC-1927 and the USS Essex NCC-1928 were decommissioned in the months following the Khithomer Accords. Well obsolete and war weary to boot, the older Langley was retired first on June 7th 2293. The slightly younger and repaired Essex survived a little longer, until July 29th. The stripped hulks of these two proud warhorses were towed to 'Lucky's Yard', the nickname for the Starfleet Salvage and Reclamation Yard in the Somme System.

Fittingly, both survived to see the new century, the Langley being broken up in the January of 2301, with the Essex finally being scrapped in the March. Not a bad run for a trio of ships designed out of mass hysteria, rendered obsolete before they were finished, and deemed "Reserve Standard" 4 years before they ever fired a shot in anger.

[BLZBUB]

 Very interesting read. Although I have personally never seen the need for a 4-nacelled star ship ( Prometheus excepted).
 One question though. Why is the Max. Sublight speed listed in Kelicams per second, a Klingon measurement?

[Squire James]

Well ordinarily I agree. I usually draw the line at tri-nacelled ships, but the Yamato and this TOS Era version look pretty nice for four nacelled vessels. They don't looked tacked on or just a mirror (like the Cheyenne for example), they actually look designed that way.

As for the measurements, well, um, I forgot that's a Klingon measurement. I am unsure how to convert it to m/s or whatever the Federation equivalent is and in KA, all ship impulse speeds are rated in Kelicams So I kind of just went with using Kelicams.

I have to say, I don't know who actually sat down and designed the Yamato, Missouri etc, basically all the ships from SFC and SFA/KA, but they made some very original and yet fitting designs. Unfortunately most other ships I see from the TMP era (and TOS, for that matter) look like kitbashes of the Constitution (Refit or original) which of course, most are. As proved in several real life examples, just scaling a design up or down does not a workable solution make. The KA/SFA/SFC designs are different. The Akula for example does not have a Constitution Refit saucer, its smaller and thicker (as it would be, same sized decks as the Conny, so while the diameter of the saucer can be scaled down, the height and thickness of the saucer can't )

Anyways, that's why I like those designs :)

[BLZBUB]

 I believe that a Kellicam is roughly equal to 2 Kilometers. 

[Squire James]

I believe that a Kellicam is roughly equal to 2 Kilometers. 

That would make 1100 Kelicams/second equal to approximately 2200 Km/s, or 1367 miles per second (in other words, Europe to the US in about 3 seconds) or 82020 mph. That's approximately 107 times the speed of sound. So at maximum impulse, it would take a Langley BBX roughly 1121 hours, or 46 days (approx) to travel between the Earth and the Sun. Alternatively, about 2 hours and 54 minutes to travel between the Earth and the Moon, or from Earth to Pluto (approx) 1794 days, or 4 years 11 months.

Interesting when you use real celestial bodies eh?

[BLZBUB]

 The inherent problem wit using the Kellicams for an impulse speed value is that most impulse speeds are denoted in a percentage of light speed, or "c".
 Speeds at impulse dare not approach 1c, for the fact that the Lorentz Factor approaches infinity the closer to c one gets. I believe the maximum I have noticed for max impulse is .75c...75% the speed of light.

 Because c = 299,792,458 m/s ( 299,792.458 Kph - [ just use 300,000 ;) ]); and  1 Kellicam = 2,000 meters(2 Km) ...the given rate of 1,100 Kellicams as max. impulse converts roughly to 2200 Km/s divided into 300,000 Km/s = .73 c. This would be a perfectly good match up for impulse speed. Although high in my opinion...I personally would use a max impulse speed of .6c, it nonetheless converts easily for the purpose of your ship.

Just an aside...at velocity c, it is 1.3s from Earth to Moon and 8.3 min from Earth to Sol...so a .73c impulse speed should be 363min (6 hours) Earth to Sol, not 46 days.

 Unless my math is defunct! lol