My Excelsior 3D model Page

Excelsior Class: 2267 - Still in Service

Nearly 17 years in development the Excelsior Class was a huge success - eventually, and managed to spawn nearly nearly two hundred vessels (in several variations) over a period of some 50 years. Though the class' initiation into the field wasn't finalized until 2284 the Excelsior project had been on the table for almost two decades, and its many years of experimental trials was less than smooth. But when transwarp technology was finally withdrawn after the eventual failure of its application on the first prototype Excelsior, the Excelsior Class heralded a new era in fast, powerful long range cruisers. Being the largest vessel constructed (at the time), it was Starfleet's principal class ship, indeed The Excelsior held the title of flagship for some time. The class' overall success is demonstrated by how many were built over this period, and a second, slightly enhanced variation was introduced in around 2293 with the USS Enterprise-B. A number of the 192 ships built (of all types) are detailed below.

Variation 1

Variation 2

(Notice on Variation 2 the slightly wider, fatter secondary hull)

Footnote *

- As speculation, I've granted the Excelsior the title of Flagship after the decommissioning of the Enterprise-B.

- According to the Technical Manual, the Enterprise-B was primarily responsible for the explorations of space beyond the Gourami Sector, mapping over 142 star systems.

-The Yorktown mentioned above is speculative, and could be the 2290's Yorktown named in VGR: 'Flashback' (obviously commissioned after the decommissioning of the Constitution Yorktown, and renaming to Enterprise-A)

- Attainable velocities at warp speed have gone up significantly, even since the launch of the Enterprise-D, and it can easily be imagined that the Starship Voyager would leave it standing with its maximum cruising speed of warp 9.975. So one would surmise that Transwarp propulsion of the 23rd Century has long since been surpassed in speed and efficiency by traditional warp technology.

EXCELSIOR CLASS Upgraded Variant

The first design variant appeared in 2293, and further vessels were constructed about a decade later. Many of this class starship, an excellent servant over the years, remain in service, even though a number of the old Type 1's remain, but a lot fell victim to Dominion forces. The last vessel to be built in the class was the Crazy Horse, in 2350, as several other classes had overtaken the Excelsiors, and replaced it in many of its former posts and deployments. But some continued to be refitted, as well as recommissioned, particularly for the Dominion war effort. A short list of Type 2's and 3's are listed below.

Variation 2

Footnote *

- As you can see in the listing, the creators were care-free when thinking up registries. Again, they're all over the place. Ranging from where they do, it would suggest that this one variant was built over a period of at least 50 years, if we take actual the chronological properties of registry designations into account.

- Okuda has alluded to the fact that the USS Kongo was positioned in the background in scenes from 'Tear of the Prophets'

- I would speculate that by the early to mid twenty fifth century, the current principle Heavy Cruiser Galaxy Class would have swollen to equal, and exceed the number of Excelsior's listed above.

- Excelsior Study Models - see how the finalised version evolved through several different design stages.

KEY

*A ship would visit drydock for many reasons, including refits, repairs, servicing upgrades, preliminary trials and testing of new components, and spacedock for similar reasons, as well as crew rotation, reassignment, prep period before redeployment, and so forth.

The listed specifications for ship classes are partly hypothetical, but some data such as ship lengths, weapon stats and crew complements are in some cases canon. For an explanation on the specs, and what the Ship designations mean, see Spec Definitions.

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