Truth OR Myth? Klingon Starships- The D7 Battlecruiser

A sturdy starship, the Klingon D7 Battlecruiser would be used by the Empire for centuries.

Hello and welcome to Truth OR Myth. In today’s episode, we take a look at the Klingon D7 Battlecruiser and its place in Star Trek history.

Beginning in the 2260’s, the D7 Battlecruiser would serve as the backbone of the Klingon Imperial Fleet. Having the same hull configurations but different mission profiles for each ship, it would be difficult for Starfleet to pinpoint exactly how strong the D7 actually was.

(CBS) Romulan D7 – “The Enterprise Incident” – TOS – S3x02

And by 2268, the D7 design was shared with Romulan Star Empire during a temporary alliance that had been forged between the 2 galactic powers.

The design, having proved itself to be a good one for the Empire, was later refitted and renamed the K’t’inga class Battlecruiser, but was essentially the same ship with only the technology being upgraded to compete with Starfleet’s newer starship designs.

The design, in fact, was so durable that in 2377 one was still in service traversing the Delta quadrant and encountering the USS Voyager.

Like most of the Klingon Designed Starships, the D7 was designed to look menacing, like a predator.

The bulk of ships mass was in the aft section, where most living quarters and ships operations areas were located. variants used as prison ships mostly would see an increase in the bulk of the ship’s neck, creating a more triangular design to the ship.

Comparable in size to the Constitution Class starships of the time, the D7 posed a significant threat to the Federation. Armaments included nacelle mounted disrupter cannons, forward mounted phaser emitters and a forward launcher capable of firing torpedoes and severe disruptor blasts. This launcher could also be modified to launch other things such as probes or magnetic pulses.

In 2269 a D7 Battlecruiser was modified to test a new Klingon Weapon called a projected Stasis Field. The powerful weapon was capable of emitting an energy dampening field rendering an enemy starship immobile and virtually powerless. Ultimately this weapon was considered a failure as it required far to much power to be practically used in combat, disabling the Klingon vessel as much as it did the enemy vessel.

(CBS) “Prophecy” – VOY – S7x14

Due to the Empire continually tweaking, refining and testing new systems aboard the D7, it was at times its downfall as a single barrage from a Federation Starship could destroy it. Though once systems were standardized, this was no longer the case.

Because of the temporary Alliance between the Romulan Star Empire and the Klingon Empire, Klingon ships began to be outfitted with cloaking devices, the Romulans having exchanged this tech for the specs on the D7.

The Klingon Empire quickly realized the benefits of such a technology. Because of the Treaty of Algeron, between the Romulan Star Empire and the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire also realized that the Federation was prevented from developing its own version of this technology, so the cloaking device could give them a leg up in Space arms race.

Though beginning the same, the cloaking technology of the 2 races would vary greatly as the Romulans and Klingon scientists would go in very different directions improving the cloaking device.

The D7 Battlecruisers were equipped to S2 Graf units. This provided primary warp capabilities to the Klingon Cruisers. In the 2260’s this allowed a Klingon Ships to match and at times overtake a Federation Constitution Class achieving a sustainable warp speed of warp factor 9.

The D7 also contained 4 impulse vents, this allowed for improved manoeuvrability in any combat situation.

(CBS) “The Way of the Warrior” – DS9 – S4x01

Defensive shielding was pretty standard at the time. The Klingon Empire didn’t spend a lot of resources in their shield systems and as such Federation shield technology was a bit better in this area.

The average crew size of a D7 was 430 officers and warriors. This was also comparable to the Constitution Class starships of the time.

The main control centre was located in a tower at the top front of the ship and was smaller then it’s constitution class counterpart.

Because of the Space Arms race between the Federation and the Empire the design of the D7 was refitted and upgraded and renamed the K’t’inga class. Again this ship would prove to be a great counterpoint to the Federation Starships though with the advent of the Klingon Bird of Prey, a starship specifically designed for tactical cloaking missions, the construction of this class would be scaled back.

In fact, so great was the design considered by the Empire, it wouldn’t be until a century later that the Empire would begin to phase out this design in favor of the stronger and faster Vor’Cha class. A class which in itself still contained many of the design elements included in the D7.

Versatile, strong and highly sought after by Klingon Captains, this class served the Empire with honor and distinction and would live on in various configurations well in to the later years of the 24th century…

 

Thanks for watching todays episode of Truth or Myth. Want to weigh in with your opinion on the D7? Well, leave a comment in the section below. And don’t forget to like and subscribe to the channel! Thanks again for watching, live long and prosper…

 

Watch episode 35:

 

Join the conversation

Leave A Comment

« Due to GDPR, EU users need to be logged into Facebook to read and leave comments »

Share this post

Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
Email
WhatsApp

Latest From Treksphere