[CODA-SS] Burke Class Frigate (TOS/SFB)

Howdy. Some of you might remember me. I'm doubting it, though. Anyway, I rediscovered 2 of my 3 core books (Narrator's Guide and Starships for CODA) while cleaning recently, and also stumbled upon some SFB minis at my local game shop. I was inspired, and here's the result: the SFB Federation frigate done in CODA. I'm doing the original 2230 version, and a 2360 refit, as well as a version of the "Ramius" class "battle frigate" from SFB, as well.

Burke Class Frigate

In the mid-2220s, the Federation was experiencing a shortage of modern vessels for use in patrol and research missions. As such, Starfleet approached the Federation Council, requested, and received, permission to commission a new class of frigate, so long as the design would be capable of both scientific and tactical missions.

The Federation's Science Bureau, along with Starfleet, sat down to work out the specifications of the new frigate class. Both groups wished to to use a simple saucer shape for the primary hull, with warp nacelles slung underneath, and an impulse drive aft, creating a compact, easy to construct ship. There, however, was the last point the two sides agreed upon.

The Science Bureau were far more concerned with making sure the new frigate would have ample space aboard for science laboratories, numerous researchers and scientists, and excellent sensors. Starfleet, meanwhile, wanted to make sure the new frigate would be able to oppose the Klingon Raptors making incursions into Federation territory, as well as to be able to police Federation space, opposing Orion pirates and slavers.

The resulting frigate, dubbed the Burke class, was a study in mediocrity. When the first ship of her class, the Burke herself, left spacedock, the one thing everyone could agree upon was that the Burke was remarkably...lackluster.

Fitted with an SBD-a series impulse engine, the Burke had decent acceleration, thanks to her compact size, and sufficiently powerful navigational deflectors to manage 0.6c though, in practice, they rarely exceeded a 0.25c when operating at sublight speeds. The PB-16 series warp engine was brand new at the time, and considerable debate was waged between the Science Bureau, who insisted on using the new warp engines, and Starfleet, which wanted to use the older, tried-and-true PB-8 series nacelles. In the end, the higher warp speed promised by the PB-16 proved persuasive, and the new warp engines were successfully fitted to the Burke class.

Both the Science Bureau and Starfleet agreed that the PFF 2 series deflector grid would be installed on the Burke class, but Starfleet wanted to go further by reinforcing the Burke's structural system and outer hull, whereas the Science Bureau was concerned that the extra hull plating would prevent the Burke from mounting sufficient sensor arrays, and protested that the additional internal reinforcement would reduce the internal volume available for scientific laboratories. Arguments were waged back and forth, until a compromise was finally reached: the Burke would get most of the structural reinforcement, but would lose the additional hull plating.

Weaponry also proved problematic. Starfleet wanted to use the Burke as a platform to test the new Type I shipmount phaser mounts, but nobody was sure how the new weapons would work, and the first series of mounts were, frankly, far, far smaller than previous shipboard weapons systems. As such, Starfleet wanted to make sure they had a solid, reliable backup system in the form of the older, reliable PC-30 phase cannons. Unfortunately, this precluded the inclusion of photon torpedo launchers, as there simply wasn't enough room to mount phase cannons, phasers, and torpedo launchers, will still carrying sufficient laboratory space for the Science Bureau. Worse, power drain from both the phase cannons and phasers was such that powering both systems at the same time was nearly unworkable, limiting the Burke's available firepower, making it hard-pressed to deal with contemporary threats.

Burke class frigates served with a complete lack of distinction from 2230 until the 2240s, when they began being slated to secondary roles by the newly-constructed Saladin class destroyers in tactical roles, and Hermes class scouts in scientific missions. Attempts were made to refit the Burke in 2260, at which point the vessel's weaponry was completely replaced with Type III phaser banks, and the deflector grid upgraded to the new PFF 2a standard. Unfortunately, the Burke was simply too small and compact to effectively mount the new PB-32 series warp drive, limiting the refit Burke to missions close to home, and leaving ships like the Saladin and Hermes class to join their larger Constitution class cousin in patrolling and expanding the boundaries of Federation space.

Concerns about an increasingly aggressive Klingon Empire spawned more serious refit of the Burke was attempted in 2265, with the USS Marko Ramius and a limited number of other Burkes refitted to carry a third PB-16 warp nacelle, an expanded engine room, and upgraded tactical systems at the expense of most of their science laboratories. These vessels were redesignated the Ramius class, and reclassified as heavy frigates, and served in second-line defensive roles closer to the core Federation worlds, allowing the Saladin class destroyers to serve on the frontlines. Detailed information on the Ramius class can be found in its own entry.

After the successful refit of the Constitution class cruiser USS Enterprise in 2272, proposals were made to also upgrade the Burke class frigates using state of the art technology. However, by this time Starfleet had begun producing the new Miranda class cruisers in large numbers, which began taking over many of the tactical roles previously filled by the Saladin class destroyers. Oberth class science vessels, meanwhile, were biting at the heels of the Burke and Hermes class vessels from the other direction, fufilling missions for the Science Bureau far more effectively than either vessel. As a result, only a handful of Burke class frigates were upgraded, with the USS Burke itself, now more than four decades old, not among them.

UFP Burke Class Frigate - 2230 Config

Hull Data
Structure: 25
Size 4
Decks: 10
Length/Height/Beam: 120/40/95 meters
Complement: 100

Operational Data
Atmosphere Capable: No
Cargo Units: 40
Life Support: Class 3 (D)
Operations Systems: Class 3 (D)
Sensors: Class 3 (+3/D)
Separation System: Yes (Emergency Warp nacelle jettison)
Shuttlebays: 1 foreward ventral
Shuttle Craft: 4 Size Worth
Tractor Beams: 1 aft dorsal
Transporters: 2 standard, 2 emergency

Propulsion Systems
Impulse Engines: SBD-a (0.6c) (C)
Warp Systems: PB-16 (5/6/7 OCU) (C)

Tactical Data
Beam Weapons: Type I Phasers (x3 / A), PC-30 Phase Cannons (x1 / A)
Beam Penetration: 2/2/2/0/0 (phasers), 2/2/1/0/0 (phase cannons)
Missile Weapons: None
Deflector Shields: PFF 2 (A)
Protection: 12
Threshhold: 2

Maneuver Modifiers: +1 Command, +1 Helm, +0 Tactical
Traits: Nimble


Notes: Used 47 spaces total, leaving 4 available. For 2260 Refit, replace all beam weapons with Type III Phasers (x3 / A), with beam penetration 3/3/2/0/0. Upgrade deflector shields to PFF 2a with protection 13, threshhold 3, reducing available space to 1 point.

(Been a while since I did this, think I have everything right, so if I made any glaring errors, please let me know)