www.ditl.org

Well, the E-C wasn't launched 20 years before TNG, it was destroyed 20 years before. We really don't know exactly how long she was in service before she was destroyed. It could easily have been a decade or more (DITL puts the commissioning of the Ambassador class in 2330). So, it could have been a good bit more than twenty years between the Ambassador and Galaxy classes.

Actually, the class that really was obsoleted at transwarp speed was the Galaxy. The E-D was only around for ten years before she was replaced by the E-E. In reality this is because the producers wanted a new ship after they decided to kill the E-D in "Generations," but in universe it paints a picture of a Galaxy that was truly an intermediate stage between the Ambassador and Sovereign. Yet, between the Yamato and Odyssey and more unnamed Galaxies in the Dominion war, we've seen a lot more of these than of Ambassadors, which were state of the art for a longer period. In universe, this is harder to explain than out of universe.

A class that really hung in for a while, is the Constitution. Between the original and the refit, the Enterprise was a Connie of one sort or another for 48 years (2245-2293)!

In terms of service nothing beats the Miranda.

Captain Picard's Hair wrote:In universe, this is harder to explain than out of universe.

My guess at the reason for this is that the tech evolved from the state of the Galaxy-class to the state of the Sovereign-class more quickly, for whatever reason, than that of the Ambassador to the Galaxy. While this required a new ship - the Sov - to field the new tech, the Galaxy was built in larger numbers for the period that it was SOTA.

I would still think that the ambassador class came out at the end of one tech run and then the Galaxy and nebula classes were built around the next tech run. It was the middle child of starship design. HAHAHAHA!

In terms of service nothing beats the Miranda.

The Excelsiors and especially Mirandas certainly hung around for a while, but for many of those years they were out of date technologically (particularly in the case of the Miranda). The Constitutions seemed to remain as SOTA ships for quite a while, if you count the original and refit under the same class (which perhaps they shouldn't be, though it seems they both are taken as "Constitution class"); being State of the art for almost as long as the Excelsiors. The Mirandas, for whatever reason, were kept around long after they became outdated, while the Constitution refits weren't as far behind relatively speaking when they were decommissioned.

I suppose this does back up Teaos' idea about technological advancement accelerating, since the Constitutions and Excelsiors reigned about forty years each, the Ambassadors ??? (but certainly less than 40 years) and the Galaxy a mere ten.

Remember also that the Ambassadors were the first to field phaser arrays instead of turrets and maybe some other new tech. This tech may have heralded in a new surg in advancement.

Exactly - as advancements in tech accelerated, so to did the useful lifespan of a particular class. It would have been nice, though, to see one or two Ambassadors in the Dominion War, considering that there plenty of Excelsiors and Mirandas around.

There could be plenty of ways to explain it. Maybe it has weaker engines and are thus used for core duty. Or we just didnt happen to see any. Not to suprising since there appear to only be a few dozen at most and we only saw a fraction of Starfleets total power.

I appear to be nearly alone in liking the looks of the Ambassador

I actually think she looks better than the E-D. the E-D always felt bow-heavy to me. The Ambassadors' more compact and solid neck gives it a more solid and balanced look, and helps make it look more stately.

Teaos wrote:there appear to only be a few dozen at most

That's exactly the thing that we're trying to explain - not the explanation.

Jordanis wrote:I appear to be nearly alone in liking the looks of the Ambassador

Yep. I liked it from a continuity/TV viewer perspective, but pretty she ain't. BTW, welcome.

Mikey wrote:

Teaos wrote:there appear to only be a few dozen at most

That's exactly the thing that we're trying to explain - not the explanation.

Jordanis wrote:I appear to be nearly alone in liking the looks of the Ambassador

Yep. I liked it from a continuity/TV viewer perspective, but pretty she ain't. BTW, welcome.

Thanks. I still say she's got a stateliness to match the refit connie or the GCS.

The ambassador was made during peace time when the federation needed less ships and was complancent in its self. Thus the fewer ships built.

I actually think she looks better than the E-D.

Everything looks better than the E-D. That ship is damn ugly.
The Ambasador may be nicer to look at than the Galaxy class, but I still think it looks horrible.

Saying something looks better than the galaxy is like saying someone is more intelligent than a mushroom. Its not impressive its just expected.

You've got a point there...