The Shran class was a 25th century Federation starship class, a light pilot escort and variant subclass of the 23rd century Magee-class escort, in Starfleet service from the 2410s decade. The class was conceived when the Advanced Starship Design Bureau (ASDB) recovered the 150-year abandoned Yard 39 and its Magee-class technology. It was equipped with a graviton displacer console. (STO - Klingon War mission: "Welcome to Earth Spacedock", STO website: Age of Discovery: The Stats of the Europa Class!)
Service history and specifications
In 2410, Ensign Elyos and Lieutenant Whetu of the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards discussed the recovery of Yard 39 and several hulks of Starfleet ships hastily abandoned there when the star TL-9139 erupted and flooded its system with baryon radiation in 2259. With the radiation suddenly diminishing, Starfleet was able to recover Yard 39 and its assets. (STO - Age of Discovery short story: "Utopia Planetia: The Mystery of Yard 39")
This included a Magee-class starship. (STO Issue 01: "U.S.S. Gagarin NCC-97930")
Starfleet was in great need of new vessels, as over 70% of Starfleet's entire fleet had been either destroyed, or so badly damaged they required a total refit, in the recent Iconian War. (STO Issue 14: "USS Shran")
Vice Admiral S.J. Hemphill spearheaded the ASDB project to develop new starship classes based on the 2259 vessels.(STO - Age of Discovery short story: "The Past Reborn")
The ASDB specifically wished to address the increasing prevalence of pirates, raiders, and attacks from enemy factions at the fringes of Federation-controlled space. They also wished to address the substantial loss of Federation escorts, amongst the catastrophic losses of starships from the recent Iconian War - a starship classification which served various critical roles throughout Federation-controlled space, and beyond. Analysts at Starfleet Tactical, and their Analysis AIs, had determined that in the era's modern reality of war, Starfleet needed more numerous amounts of smaller vessels to contend with larger, more powerful foes - tactics similar to how the Maquis had exploited Starfleet's weaknesses in the past. This was in sharp contrast to existing Starfleet strategy, where most ships deployed were larger vessels designed to operate independently. New starships designed would be designed with Multi-Ship Combat Maneuvers in mind.
The Magee-class was notable to Starfleet Engineers, amongst other recovered Yard 39 spacecraft, unfinished hulls, designs, and schematics, was the Magee's exceptional CTM, or Coil-To-Mass Ratio. This is a calculation of efficiency, where the greater the overall size of a ship's warp coils are, as compared to the overall size and mass of the ship, can result in dramatically lower energy costs to travel at warp speeds. This design inspired Starfleet Engineers to design a new class, based off the existing Magee-class starship design, and recovered starship hulls from Yard 39.
The design that came of this inspiration was classified as a light escort, capable of exceptional speeds and range. With the era's advancements in warp technology, and the exceptional CTM of this new escort design, the ship could easily produce a low-intensity subspace bubble around the ship, without taking it to warp. This had the effect of reducing a ship's apparent mass in normal space, and by adding powerful RCS thrusters, allowed for exceptional maneuverability at sublight speeds. (STO Issue 14: "USS Shran")
Additionally, the ADSB would push the Shran's engineers to add Klingon-style _targeting and navigation systems, so that the ship may better fill a roll similar to that of a Klingon Raider. (STO - Mirror of Discovery short story: "Jayce's Interstellar: Around the Galaxy")
Starfleet admiralty chose to honor Thy'lek Shran, one of the founding fathers of the Federation, as well as his namesake Magee-class vessel, the USS Shran (NCC-1413), by naming the new class of starships after him. (STO Issue 14: "USS Shran")
The Magee-class USS Shran was active in the Beta Quadrant in the 2250s decade. On stardate 1207.3, May 11 2256,[1] Captain Philippa Georgiou of the USS Shenzhou called for Starfleet reinforcements before the fateful Battle of the Binary Stars. In the battle with 24 Great Houses of the Klingon Empire, the Shran was lost, defending the Federation. (DSC episode: "Battle at the Binary Stars")
With this decision established, the prototype ship of this design was dubbed the USS Shran (NX-91413), and when the class entered full production, it was to be named the Shran-class.(STO Issue 14: "USS Shran")
On stardate 87831.2, the news publication Jayce's Interstellar reported on the Shran prototype, still undergoing developmental testing. The prototype was seen using an experimental gravimetric weapon. (STO - Mirror of Discovery short story: "Jayce's Interstellar: Around the Galaxy")
On stardate 87751.8, the Utopia Planitia Starfleet Yard hosted the commissioning ceremony of the USS Europa (NCC-97640), first of its class of the same name, and the first of the set of the new designs borne of the recovered Yard 39 assets. (STO - Age of Discovery short story: "The Past Reborn")
Upon official launch of the Shran-class, over two dozen starships of the class, including the USS Shran, were deployed simultaneously. The Shran-class immediately exceled at its roles, and all deployed ships quickly became indispensable parts of the Federation's patrol and protection strategies. (STO Issue 14: "USS Shran")
The USS Shirgat joined the Starfleet rapid reaction task force 13-47. (STO Issue 09: "USS Europa")
Livery
In the 25th century, the design of the Shran-class light pilot escort allowed its commanding officer to choose from different designs of hull materials, which could be modified further at shipyards. (STO - Klingon War mission: "Welcome to Earth Spacedock")
Furthermore, the installation of deflector shields from specific factions modified the hull appearance, including shields from the Reman Resistance, the Breen Confederacy and the Dominion. (STO missions: "Coliseum", "Cold Storage", "Boldly They Rode")
Known vessels
- USS Shran (NX-91413, later NCC-91413)
- USS Shirgat (NCC-91413)
- At least 22 unnamed Shran-class escorts
Appendices
Connections
| Magee-class starships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Federation Starfleet (primary universe) |
standard configuration | USS Amosova • USS Anaxarchus • USS Cabot • USS Jemison • USS Magee • USS Makwa • USS Shran • USS Shran (II) • USS Wright • unnamed |  
|
| variant configurations | Shran-subclass: USS Shirgat • USS Shran • Cabot-subclass: USS Cabot | ||
| Terran Empire Starfleet (mirror universe) |
standard configuration | • unnamed |  
|
| variant configurations | Cabot-subclass: • Shran-subclass: | ||
References
External links
- Shran Light Pilot Escort article at Star Trek Online Wiki.
- Star Trek Online: USS Shran article at the Hero Collector website.