Standard
Universe : |
Prime Timeline |
Affiliation : |
Klingons |
Class Name : |
K'T'Inga Class |
Type : |
Light Cruiser |
Unit Run : |
IKC Amar - Destroyed [1]IKC B'Moth [2] - Active IKC T'Acog - Destroyed [3]IKC T'Ong [4] - Retired Qo'noS One [5] - Retired plus 823 others built in total. 313 have been lost in all. 287 have been retired from service. |
Commissioned : |
2269 - 2304, class remains in service |
Dimensions : |
Length : 246 m [6] Beam : 160 m [7] Height : 68 m [7] Decks : 9 |
Mass : |
490,000 metric tons |
Crew : |
510 |
Armament : |
2 x Mark 10 disruptor cannon 12 x Mark 8 disruptor cannon, total output 8,500 TeraWatts 2 x High Power photon torpedo tube with 230 rounds |
Defence Systems : |
Standard shield system, total capacity 108,000 TeraJoules Heavy Duranium Double hull plus 3 cm High density armour. Standard level Structural Integrity Field |
Warp Speeds (TOS scale) : |
Normal Cruise : 5.5 Maximum Cruise : 7 Maximum Rated : 8.8 for 12 hours.
|
Strength Indices :
(Galaxy class = 1,000) |
Beam Firepower : 170
Torpedo Firepower : 160
Weapon Range and Accuracy : 80
Shield Strength : 40
Hull Armour : 340
Speed : 356
Combat Manoeuvrability : 6,040 |
Overall Strength Index : |
172 |
Diplomatic Capability : |
None |
Expected Hull Life : |
90 |
Refit Cycle : |
Minor : 2 year
Standard : 2 years
Major : 30 years |
Notes
The K'T'Inga class battle cruiser was fielded by the Klingons during the 2270's to replace the D7 class as the Klingon's premiere combat vessel. The Klingon intelligence service had learned in 2263 that Starfleet was soon to engage on a major rebuild of the Miranda and Constitution class ships which would, among other things, equip them with the latest weapon and propulsion technology. Since the Miranda class had always been the approximate equal of the D7 one-on-one, and the Constitution had always been considered somewhat superior, the prospect of these ships becoming significantly more powerful was not one the Klingons welcomed.
The Klingon high command judged that developing and building an entirely new class of battle cruiser would take at least five to ten years, leaving nearly a decade when they would be vulnerable to attack. It was therefore decided that the new vessel would be based around the hull of a standard D7, which after more than a century of service was one of the most well proven designs in the history of any military force. Although the K'T'Inga is therefore almsot a wholly new ship internally, externally it
bears a close resemblance to the D7 refit. The major external differences lie in the hull detailing; the clean lines of the D7 refit have been lost in the K'T'Inga [1] in favour of a hull more reminiscent of the original D7. [8] The Armament of the K'T'Inga was upgraded throughout. A new heavier model torpedo was installed, cutting the number of torpedoes carried from 260 to 230. A Mark 10 disruptor cannon was mounted directly above each torpedo tube. The Mark 7 disruptors of the D-7 were replaced with Mark 8 models, of which an extra pair was worked in to the design. A higher power warp core and new nacelle design allowed a higher top speed and greater efficiency for longer range across all flight regimes.
The first of the K'T'Inga class was launched in 2269; by the time the USS Enterprise was due to completed her refit in 2271 - the first Constitution to complete this procedure - there were six K'T'Inga class vessels in service. Records of the time indicate that the Klingon High Command seriously considered launching an offensive against the Federation at this point; General Melkarr proposed sending two major attacks into Federation space, one headed for Earth and the other for Vulcan. Each attack would comprise thirty ships, twenty seven D-7s led by three of the K'T'Inga class. These forces were actually assembled while the council debated the matter, but before a decision was made reports reached the High Command of a large energy cloud penetrating Klingon space. The K'T'Ingas from the Earth attack fleet were dispatched to investigate,
but as soon as they intercepted the cloud all three were destroyed by plasma weapons from within by the entity which was at the heart of the cloud. [1]The loss of half of their newest battle cruiser fleet in the space of minutes threw the high command into a near panic; the attack on the Federation was postponed and the fleet was ordered to escort the anomaly out of their space from a safe distance. When the USS Enterprise apparently succeeded in destroying the intruder, the Klingons concluded that the new Constitution design was far more powerful than they had assumed and cancelled the attack altogether. By the time the truth behind the V'ger incident emerged, Starfleet had upgraded its fleet sufficiently to make a new attack unfeasible in any event.
Colour key
References
Comments
The K'T'Inga is one of the standard Klingon ships in regular service from 2271 (in "Star Trek : The Motion Picture") through to the late 2370s (in DS9 "The Way of the Warrior" and beyond). For details of this and other Klingon battlecruiser variants, see my article on the
Klingon Battlecruiser.