Malcolm Rivera
The Constitution-class was a Federation Starship-class, Class I heavy cruiser that was used as a premier exploratory Starfleet vessel during the mid-23rd century. They were designed for long-duration exploration and patrol missions with minimal outside support. As of January 2267, 13 Constitution-class starships were in service. However, many of these were destroyed or suffered heavy losses over time. For example, the USS Intrepid was lost in The Immunity Syndrome, and the USS Constellation was lost in the Doomsday Machine. The USS Excalibur also took fatal hits, although it is unclear whether the ship was crippled beyond repair or only the crew was killed. The maximum warp speed recorded for this class was warp 14.1, achieved by the USS Enterprise, which was modified to reach this speed.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Constitution-class starships in service as of January 2267 | 13 |
| Names of Constitution-class starships | USS Constitution, USS Constellation, USS Defiant, USS Eagle, USS Enterprise, USS Endeavour, USS Excalibur, USS Exeter, USS Farragut, USS Hood, USS Intrepid, USS Kongo, USS Lexington, USS Potemkin, USS Republic, USS Valiant, USS Yorktown |
| Reasons for destruction | Destroyed by Klingons ("The Doomsday Machine"), lost in "The Ultimate Computer", lost in "The Tholian Web", destroyed in "Obsession", destroyed in "The Immunity Syndrome" |
| Armament | Directed energy weapon laser cannons, torpedo tubes, photon torpedoes |
| Cruising speed | Warp 6 |
| Maximum cruising speed | Warp 8 |
| Unsafe velocity | Warp 9 |
| Maximum recorded speed | Warp 14.1 |
| Extravehicular transporter | Yes |
| Command center location | Top of the vessel's primary hull, on Deck 1 |
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What You'll Learn
USS Constellation destroyed by Doomsday Machine
In the Star Trek episode "The Doomsday Machine", the USS Enterprise discovers a wrecked and crewless federation starship, the USS Constellation, whose distraught commodore is determined to stop a giant planet-destroying robot ship that killed his crew. The Constellation had been destroyed by the planet killer, a large, impenetrable, and incomprehensible rocky-looking cone with a powerful energy within it.
The USS Constellation, under the command of Commodore Decker, had previously encountered the planet killer and launched an ineffective attack that resulted in heavy damage to the ship. Decker evacuated his crew to a nearby planet, but the machine destroyed both the ship and the planet, killing everyone on board.
The episode depicts the USS Enterprise's encounter with the wrecked USS Constellation and Commodore Decker's obsession with stopping the planet-destroying machine. The episode was written by Norman Spinrad, who based the script on his unpublished novelette, "The Planet Eater". Spinrad has denied that the episode was influenced by Fred Saberhagen's Berserker series, stating that his inspiration was Moby Dick.
The USS Constellation's destruction by the Doomsday Machine highlights the dangers faced by starships in the Star Trek universe and serves as a reminder of the potential threats in space. The episode received acclaim for its writing, acting, and musical score, and is considered one of the best episodes of the original Star Trek series.
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USS Intrepid lost in The Immunity Syndrome
In the Star Trek universe, the USS Intrepid is lost in The Immunity Syndrome. The USS Enterprise receives a jumbled message from Starbase 6 containing a sector coordinate and the name USS Intrepid. Spock senses that the Intrepid, a Vulcan-manned starship, has been destroyed. The Enterprise then encounters an enormous single-celled organism that feeds on energy and threatens the galaxy as it prepares to reproduce. This organism is later established to be the cause of the destruction of the Intrepid and the Gamma 7A system.
The Intrepid's destruction is sudden, with Spock reporting that the ship has just "died" with all hands aboard. The exact cause of the ship's destruction is not explicitly stated, but it is implied that the energy-draining properties of the organism are responsible. Spock speculates that the phenomenon encountered by the Enterprise is a form of energy that is likely responsible for the deaths of the Intrepid crew and the inhabitants of the Gamma 7A system.
As the Enterprise approaches its destination, the crew hears a high-pitched whine, causing half the people on board to become ill and some to faint. Dr. McCoy reports that the crew is worsening, and Chief Engineer Scott reports a loss of power. Spock surmises that the ship has entered a negative energy field that interferes with biological and mechanical processes.
The organism is described as "an incredibly huge but simple cellular being whose energies are totally destructive to all known life." Spock and Dr. McCoy volunteer to go inside the organism in a specially equipped shuttlecraft to find a way to destroy it and free the Intrepid. Despite their efforts, Spock's power systems rapidly fade, and it is implied that they are unable to stop the organism or save the Intrepid.
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USS Hood lost in The Tholian Web
The USS Hood NCC-1703, a Federation Constitution-class heavy cruiser, was lost in The Tholian Web. The USS Hood was one of the first vessels to be upgraded to a modern standard of ship-mounted phaser weapons that replaced the older laser cannon technology.
In 2266, the USS Hood was attacked by the Kzinti, which resulted in the destruction of the bridge and the death of the command staff, including the captain. The ship was saved by Ensign Shiboline M'Ress, who sneaked aboard the Kzinti ship and sent out a distress call. In 2268, the Hood participated in war games against the Enterprise, along with the Lexington, the Excalibur, and the USS Potemkin.
In 2270, the Hood was under the command of Commodore Lyle Craig and assisted the Enterprise, the USS Yorktown, USS Exeter, and USS Majestic in preventing an experimental transwarp engine from falling into the hands of terrorists. Later, under Captain Hugo Revere, the Hood embarked on a Starfleet Intelligence mission near Tholian space to investigate the military potential of spatial interphase. The ship became trapped in the phenomenon and was subsequently ordered to be scrapped after being found by the USS Crécy.
The USS Hood was recorded as being destroyed in 2270 while battling the Tomariians. The incident nearly caused a confrontation between the Romulans and the Federation, as the Tomariian battle zone was very close to Romulan space.
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USS Excalibur lost in The Ultimate Computer
In the Star Trek episode "The Ultimate Computer", the USS Excalibur, a Federation Constitution-class starship, was destroyed by the USS Enterprise, which was under the control of the revolutionary but experimental M-5 multitronic unit. The Excalibur's entire crew perished, and the ship was pronounced "dead" or "murdered".
The onscreen evidence of the damage caused to the Excalibur is minimal, with only a fleeting, distant shot of the ship shown. The ship appears relatively intact, with both hulls and nacelles still in place. However, it is speculated that the M-5 could have used its knowledge of Starfleet computers to hack the Excalibur and manipulate the life support systems, causing the crew to die from radiation poisoning or by increasing the temperature, air pressure, or gravity. Another possibility is that most of the crew died, and any survivors left the ship in escape pods or were evacuated by other ships.
The exact fate of the Excalibur is left unclear, with the episode providing no firm confirmation of its destruction. The Star Trek Chronology, 2nd edition, stated that the ship was destroyed, while the fourth edition of the Star Trek Encyclopedia offered two possibilities: the ship was either severely damaged or accidentally destroyed.
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USS Farragut suffered heavy losses fighting a cloud creature
The USS Farragut NCC-1647 was a Bellerophon-class Federation starship operated by Starfleet in the 23rd century. The ship was named for American naval officer David Farragut and was constructed at the ground-based facility of the San Francisco Fleet Yards in California, Earth. The USS Farragut was James T. Kirk's first deep space assignment after his graduation from Starfleet Academy, where he was assigned to a phaser station.
In 2257, the USS Farragut encountered a dikironium cloud creature while exploring Tycho IV. The creature proceeded to kill nearly half the crew, some two hundred personnel, including Captain Garrovick. According to tapes chronicling the encounter, Kirk blamed himself for the incident due to his delay in firing phasers at the creature. However, the executive officer disagreed, praising Kirk for his bravery.
The USS Farragut was later decommissioned from Starfleet and was operated by the Romans of the planet Magna Roma as the USS Centurion. In "Debt of Honor", the Farragut separates its saucer section, and the engineering hull is destroyed by self-destruct after being overrun by inter-dimensional creatures following the encounter with the cloud creature.
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Frequently asked questions
Constitution-class ships were equipped with torpedo tubes and laser cannons that were powerful enough to destroy half a continent or the entire surface of a planet. However, they were also susceptible to destruction by their own weapons, as well as by other advanced technologies.
Some Constitution-class ships were destroyed by their own weapons, such as the USS Intrepid, which was lost in "The Immunity Syndrome". Others were destroyed by advanced technologies, such as the USS Constellation, which was lost in the Doomsday Machine.
Yes, some ships may have been destroyed due to their own structural limitations. For example, the USS Enterprise was modified to achieve a speed of Warp 11, but this would have eventually destroyed the ship due to the stress of that much power.
It is possible that some Constitution-class ships were destroyed due to unforeseen circumstances or enemy action. For example, the USS Farragut suffered heavy losses while fighting a cloud creature in "Obsession", and the USS Exeter lost its entire crew in "The Omega Glory", although the ship herself was intact.
