Freedom Class

Universe :	Prime Timeline
Affiliation :	Federation
Class Name :	Freedom Class
Type :	Destroyer
Unit Run :	USS Freedom - Active NCC 68711 [1] USS Concorde [2] - Active NCC 68723 USS Firebrand [1] - Destroyed [3] plus 56 others built in total. 46 have been lost in all.
Commissioned :	2335 - 2350, class remains in service
Dimensions :	Length : 453 m [4] Beam : 231.6 m [5] Height : 119 m [5] Decks : 31
Mass :	2,169,000 metric tons
Crew :	370
Armament :	6 x Type VIII phaser arrays, total output 22,500 TeraWatts 2 x Standard photon torpedo tube with 120 rounds
Defence Systems :	Standard shield system, total capacity 1,039,500 TeraJoules Standard Duranium / Tritanium Double hull plus 0.4 cm High density armour. Standard level Structural Integrity Field
Warp Speeds (TNG scale) :	Normal Cruise : 5 Maximum Cruise : 7.6 Maximum Rated : 9 for 12 hours.
Strength Indices : (Galaxy class = 1,000)	Beam Firepower : 450 Torpedo Firepower : 250 Weapon Range and Accuracy : 735 Shield Strength : 385 Hull Armour : 140 Speed : 792 Combat Manoeuvrability : 3,000
Overall Strength Index :	423
Diplomatic Capability :	7
Expected Hull Life :	100
Refit Cycle :	Minor : 1 year Standard : 1 years Major : 20 years

Notes

The Freedom was designed at the same time as the Niagara class as a smaller, shorter ranged counterpart to that vessel. Unusually for a Federation vessel the Freedom has a single nacelle; [6] this reduces the efficiency of the warp field and leads to a significantly reduced average cruise speed. The Freedom is therefore generally deployed only within Federation borders.

The elimination of the Engineering hull required many changes in order to move the warp core and fuel supply into the saucer section, but Starfleet has accomplished this transition successfully with several other classes and few problems were encountered with the Freedom. There is a reduction in the volume available to other applications within the Freedom, and several accomodations sections and science and diplomatic facilities have been removed. This has led to a reduction in the crew compared to the Niagara.

The Freedom initially proved reasonably successful in service, but their low speed was more of a limiting factor than had been predicted. The planned run of over 200 was cut down to 100, then to 70, before production was finally terminated at 61 ships completed. The Freedom fell a little behind the state of the art in the late 2350's and early 2360's, and by 2365 it was decided to refit the class with Galaxy-class nacelles. This project went remarkably smoothly, and all ships were so modified by was completed by 2370. The change increased the ships speed, and they have played a more prominent role since this time.

The Freedom class USS Firebrand was lost to the Borg at Wolf 359 [5]; other ships have participated heavily in the Dominion war, where they have suffered heavily.

Colour key

References

#	Series	Season	Source	Comment
1			Star Trek Encyclopedia
2	TNG	7	All Good Things
3	TNG	4	The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2
4			Speculative	Scaled so that the primary hull is equal to that of the Niagra Class in size.
5			Generic official information
6			Visible on the shooting model

Comments

The Freedom is another of the Kitbash ships from the Wolf 359 graveyard. We know little about it, but that it has a Galaxy Nacelle and Niagara saucer. The idea that it was refitted is to support having two such different technology levels. Most "backstage" info comes from the Fact Files.

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Last updated : 31 Jul 2004

Series :	TNG Season 7
Episode :	All Good Things

Series :	TNG Season 4
Episode :	The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2

Source :	Speculative
Comment :	Scaled so that the primary hull is equal to that of the Niagra Class in size.