One of the most famous names on the Starfleet register is U.S.S. Hood. The current U.S.S. Hood is an Excelsior class starship launched in 2287. Hood underwent a period of extensive testing with the experimental Transwarp drive before finally being commissioned on stardate 8457.5. Her motto is taken from HMS Hood and is 'Ventis Secundis' meaning 'With favourable winds'. This Hood was launched during the time which NX 2000 Excelsior was still undergoing testing with her revolutionary new Transwarp drive. Hood was originally designed to incorporate the Transwarp drive, but initial testing revealed problems. By the 2290s, Hood had been converted to conventional warp drive and had taken her rightful place as one of the new vanguard exploratory vessels, pushing back the boundaries of the final frontier.

The first commanding officer of this new Excelsior class U.S.S. Hood was Captain Thomas Saunders. Saunders had been the Executive Officer aboard the old Constitution class U.S.S. Hood and was continuing the "family line" of the Hood. Saunders requested and received Commander Richard Hawkins from the Excelsior. Hawkins had extensive knowledge of the Transwarp system aboard the Excelsior, NX 2000 and was a little bitter with Captain Styles for replacing him with Captain Mongomery Scott for a period in 2285. Hawkins soon joined the Hood as her Chief Engineer - determined not only to whip the Transwarp drive into operational condition, but to deliberately exceed all the standards set by the Excelsior. Hawkins was on his last 5 years as a Starfleet officer before retirement and was determined to go out on the Hood: this was family.

With the declaration of Transwarp drive as a failure, both Excelsior and Hood were converted back to standard warp drive - some argue that the Hood never was actually fitted with Transwarp drive. The Hood then went on to a successful 5-year deep space mission of exploration and diplomacy, attaining First Contact with 2 races and discovering over a dozen new sentient forms of life.

Captain Júlia Sophia Araújo took command of the Hood on stardate 9523.5. The Hood was launched from spacedock after the reports on the explosion at Praxis first reached Starfleet Headquarters. Hood was sent to Starbase 24 as a back-up should the Enterprise-A not be ready. After the arrest of Captain James T. Kirk and Doctor Leonard H. McCoy, Hood was sent to find the Enterprise-A but was 'unable to locate her'. Araújo, aged just 36, was at that point the youngest commanding officer in the Starfleet for an Excelsior class starship. She would become renowned along with the Hood over the next decade.

U.S.S. Hood was a prominent player in the diplomatic moves with the Klingon Empire. The Excelsior class was the public relations face of the Starfleet, as opposed to the tactical vessel such as dreadnoughts and carriers. This was the future; Starfleet wanted to be portrayed in a progressive, advanced manner and this assignment for Araújo would be the perfect PR match. She had served aboard Constitution class vessels such as the Yorktown and Invincible along with science vessels such as the U.S.S. Ochoa.

Araújo had been a science officer and first contact specialist. She had majored in Klingon and Romulan cultures and hit her stride just at the right time for the end of the Klingon Cold War and the post-Khitomer diplomatic negotiations. With Commander Azeno, her Deltan male First Officer, she felt that she had the right resources to tackle the talks and make positive progress towards peace. Like with the Enterprise-B, the Hood had a young crew commanding her from 2293 onwards. The crew on the Bridge alone came from nearly a dozen different member worlds of the Federation and presented a PR front to match the Enterprise. Andorians, Vulcans, Aenar, Tellarites, Betazoid and Rigelian were just some of the species found on the command deck.

Along with the Excelsior, Repulse and Renown, Hood was at the forefront of diplomatic efforts with the Klingons in 2294, whilst the damaged Enterprise was repaired. The Roosevelt arrived later in the year to supplement the Excelsior class numbers. Ambassador Sarek of Vlcanwas one of the passengers on the Hood during 2294 a the Enterprise took Spock. The Terajuni Incident had damaged relations with the Klingons and both Ambassadors Sarek and Spock were eager to repair those relations.

The Hood was also active diplomatically with the Romulans. The growing relations with the Klingons had left the Romulans feeling uneasy about their neighbours. The Hood also acted as flagship for the Second Fleet and was at the forefront of clashes with a growing 'rogue Klingon' issue from 2293 onwards. The truth was this a sign that some things had not changed, they were just officially unsanctioned raids now as opposed to planned strikes. Just as Starfleet was changing with a new generation, so were the Klingons. The younger generation did not care for many of the traditions of the older generations and wanted to gain glory for themselves quicker and easier than before. Captain Klaa in 2287 had been an early example of this new Klingon.

In 2308, Captain Raekwon Okigbo joined the Hood as Captain. The mission was a co-operative one between the Second, Seventh and Eighth Fleets, patrolling the border of the Klingon Empire to study the changes fifteen years after the Khitomer Accords. The mission would be a flag-showing exercise and cultural survey, updating the intelligence reports on the Klingon Defence Force resurgence and the changes in leadership and Houses along the border.

In 2310 Admiral Júlia Sophia Araújo makes her flagship U.S.S. Hood for a mission and commits forces to the Kzinti border to quell growing incursions. Part of the Treaty of Sirius demilitarises the Kzinti on the assurance of Starfleet enforcement of the no-go zone between the two powers. The Hood and Ocean task group achieves its aims and they are deterred from crossing the border.

During the five-year mission the Hood patrolled along the Gorn border. The Hood then patrolled to the Syr'Ypt'Q border and was able to hold diplomatic talks with the Syr'Ypt'Q royalty. Along with many of the flagship vessels, the Hood was called for the Tomed Incident in 2311, seeing the last encounter with the Romulans. After repairs at Starbase 77, the Hood was able to resume her patrol along the Triangle/Borderland region.

In late 2311 the Hood was amongst the first starships to discover that Chancellor Azetbur had been challenged. In the duel, both the challenger - General Gorak - and Chancellor Azetbur both died from their injuries. Over the early period of 2312 a successor was chosen as General Kaarg. Working closely with Captain Demora Sulu on the Enterprise-B, Okigbo planned to lead the Camp Khitomer 20th Anniversary mission to Qo'noS, feeling that the Enterprise was seen as supporting Azetbur and a new ship and crew would have a more neutral appeal to the new Chancellor.





U.S.S. Hood seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 2.01 The Child.
Note this is the U.S.S. Repulse (NCC-2544), but still marked up with NCC-2541.



With the decommissioning of the Hood [Author note: this is in an as-yet unwritten event], Starfleet Command will choose to rename an under construction Excelsior class hull (then to be named Exeter) as a new Hood, NCC registration 42296. This Hood will blaze its way for the next century and once again stand alongside the Enterprise as one of the most famous ship in the fleet.





Primary Hull
This consists of 12 decks that can be summarised thus:

1 Main Bridge, Briefing Room, Ready Room

2 Emergency Life Support

3 Senior Officers Standby Quarters

4 Junior Officers Standby Quarters

5 Impulse Engines, Crew Quarters

6 Impulse Engines, Sickbay, Transporters, Crew Quarters

7 Impulse Engines, Crew Quarters, Guest Quarters (outer sections)

8 Impulse Engines, Crew Quarters, Officers Quarters (outer sections)

9 Impulse Engines, Officers Quarters (outer ring), Mess Hall / Lounge (Forward), Recreation Areas, Theatre

10 Brig, Security Office, Armory

11 Science Labs

12 Sensor Control, Science Labs

Secondary Hull
This consists of 21 decks that can be summarised thus:

13 Warp Core Deuterium Injector

14 Saucer Separation Manual Override

15 Torpedo Storage / loading

16 Torpedo Storage / loading

17 Torpedo Launcher Access, (Aft) Shuttle Bay

18 Deuterium Tank, (Aft) Shuttle Bay

19 Deuterium Tank, Warp Plasma Central Manifold, (Aft) Shuttle Bay

20 Battle Bridge, Engineering, Intermix chamber, (Aft) Cargo Conveyer

21 Engineering, Cargo Bay (aft)

22 Cargo Bay (aft), (Aft) Tractor Beam

23 Aux Deuterium Tank

24 Aux Deuterium Tank, Botanical Gardens, Crew Lounges, Rec. Areas

25 Main Deflector Dish

26 Aft Torpedo Conveyer / Loading

27 Aft Photon Torpedo Launcher

28 Engineering Support Bay, "WorkerBee" Pods

29 Engineering Support Bay

30 Engineering Support Bay, Aux Computer Core

31 Engineering Support Bay, Aft Torpedo Storage / Conveyance

32 Engineering Support Bay, Aft Torpedo Storage / Conveyance

33 Engineering Support Bay, Warp Core Antimatter Injector

34 Antimatter Storage / Loading port



U.S.S. Hood shooting model from Star Trek: The Next Generation 'Encounter at Farpoint' images Copyright © Bill George of ILM.





The previous starship Hood

Constitution class NCC 1703, was launched on March 27th 2246 - 330 years after the commencement of construction on her namesake, HMS Hood. Hood was constructed at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards and is the sister ship of the famous USS Enterprise 1701. The first Commanding Officer was Captain Richard Blake.

Like her other Constitution class sisters, Hood revolutionised the Starfleet. In 2260, when the 12 were selected, Hood was one of the first selected for the 5-year missions. Hood's 5 year mission began in 2260, 14 years after her launch. Whilst the U.S.S. Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk grabbed the headlines as Flagship of the Fleet, Hood was always a close second under Captain Mark Rosseau.

2265 saw Captain Rosseau transferred to the Lexington and command passed to Captain Timothy Oxley. The Hood was based at Starbase 25 Temperence, patrolling the Kzinti De-Militarised Zone. The Hood was attacked by a Kzinti ship and the bridge was destroyed, killing most of the command staff including the captain. Ensign Shibolene M'Ress saved the Hood by beaming aboard the Kzinti ship to send out a distress signal. The Hood underwent extensive repairs at Starbase 25 and a new commanding officer was assigned: the heroic Captain Glen Barton.

With repairs prioritised on the Hood, she led the Starfleet DMZ Task Force to deter the rapidly-developing Kzinti rebellion. The Treaty of Sirius had kept the DMZ quiet for decades, with inspections into Kzinti space keeping the creation of Kzinti warships under control. The Hood led actions with accompanying destroyers of the Saladin class to de-fang the Kzinti aggression. Barton was able to capture the Kzinti flagship in the Battle of K'Chula. The action earned Barton the Silver Palm with Cluster for Valour.

Stardate 4210 saw the Hood redirected from it's supply mission to Science Station Delta Zero Five and instead directed to Starbase 10. At Starbase 10 Federation Representative St. John Talbot boarded. U.S.S. Hood then led a fleet of Federation colony ships to Nimbus III, where they rendez voused with their Klingon and Romulan counterparts.

The Enterprise, under James T. Kirk, had encountered 'complications' involving Klingons on the planet Neural. First officer Spock had been injured and thus the Enterprise was taken off this high-profile mission and the second ship of the fleet, Hood, was substituted at the last moment. Captain Glen Barton was commanding.

Stardate 4729.4: Hood under Captain Joaquin Martinez was diverted to rendez vous with the U.S.S. Potemkin, U.S.S. Excalibur and flagship U.S.S. Lexington. Together, the four ships would perform wargames against the starship Enterprise, equipped with the new M-5 computer. The Hood was fired upon by the Enterprise during the disasterous M-5 computer trials. Along with U.S.S. Potemkin and U.S.S. Lexington, the Hood suffered casualties. The U.S.S. Excalibur was not as lucky, her crew all being killed and the ship reduced to a floating hulk. The U.S.S. Hood had to report to starbase for repairs lasting months. The paperwork following this disaster lasted even longer, involving a formal inquiry.

Martinez was injured sufficiently, both physically and mentally, that a new Captain was assigned to the Hood. Captain Kenneth Dodge, the third commanding officer of the Hood, returned to his old command of 2250 to see out his last duty as a captain. Much had changed on the Hood since Dodge first commanded from 2250 - 55, two entire rebuilds notwithstanding. The Hood was now refurbished up to Achernar subclass standards. Dodge remained in command until he was promoted to admiral in 2271.

The final commanding officer of the unrefit Hood was perhaps her finest: Captain Emma Roberts. With experiences in the Taurus Reach and having served on the Constellation, Potemkin and Invincible, she was now ready for her own command. Dressed in the new powder blue uniform with command braiding on her wrists, Roberts boarded the Hood for this last voyage before she would be due for a complete rebuild into whatever form the mothballed Enterprise 1701 would emerge as. Roberts acquired many of the command staff from the previous mission, including Andorian First Officer Commander Ch'toren and newly-promoted Chief Engineering Officer Lieutenant Commander Richard Hawkins, formerly the ship's warp field specialist.

The refit after the disasterous M-5 Computer Incident allowed U.S.S. Hood to remain in service for longer than expected. The upgrade to Achernar subclass standards put her just under the standards of the new Constitution (II) and Endeavour subclass variants. Plans were already afoot to redesign the Constitution class starships. The Enterprise was to be the first ship back into spacedock. Constitution herself suffering badly during her five-year mission. Unlike the Enterprise, Hood was never upgraded during her mission; instead she was lined up to be the next vessel refit after Enterprise and Lexington returned to Earth spacedock.

[Author's note: possibly even destroyed if the publicity material suggesting Enterprise was the only vessel to survive the 5-year mission. But I'd take that with a pinch of salt]. The upgrading of Enterprise pre-TMP was shown in a Star Trek: Phase Two vignette "Going Boldly".

In the early 2273 the refit of Hood was brought forward when the V'ger Crisis of stardate 7411 occured. Captain Emma Roberts order the ship at maximum warp for as long as possible in order to try to assist the Enterprise. Hood was almost shaken apart by the exertion, her Chief Engineering Officer, Lieutenant Commander Hawkins, was heard swearing from one end of Engineering to the other as his beloved starship was strained to breaking point. Hood never participated in the crisis itself, but arrived at Earth barely 40 hours after Admiral Kirk and the Enterprise had saved the day. Hood limped into San Francisco Orbital Yards looking the worse for wear.

Despite being offered a promotion to flag rank, as had happened with James T. Kirk, Captain Emma Roberts declined. She saw herself in the command chair of the Hood for another five-year mission, and no amount of bribery from Starfleet Headquarters would change this. Captain Roberts managed to keep most of her crew for the second mission, although Commander Singh was promoted for his own command, and she lost her Chief Engineer - Commander Richard Hawkins - for a brief stint on the U.S.S. Potemkin, although this wasn't to last as he wanted to return to his 'home' on the 'Mighty Hood '.

The Hood was involved in some classified clashes with the Romulans during the late 2270s, rumours abounded that she even fired upon a Romulan Warbird. Commodore Emma Roberts was succeeded in 2280 by Captain Elizabeth Charlotte Buckingham. Captain Buckingham was well schooled in diplomacy and was involved in a memorable encounter with Klingon Captain Koloth. The exchange between the captains is often played at Starfleet Academy as an example of the linguistic sword-play that can occur in deep space.

Hood five-year missions:

2250 – Michaela Harrari (Hood charted the Cygnia Maxima system, and discovered pre-industrial intelligent life on Cygnia Maxima IV, and declared the system off limits to all Federation shipping.)

2255 – Kenneth Dodge (first starship to make contact with the Rey on the isolated planet Gullrey.)

2260 – Mark Rosseau

2265 - Oxley (Killed by Kzintis when bridge destroyed. M’Ress saved the day)

2266 – Glen Barton (repelled planned invasion by the Kzintis, earning a promotion) Helped set up Nimbus III.

2268 – Joaquin Martinez – Ultimate Computer captain.

2269 – Kenneth Dodge (seeing out his last years of command).

2271 - Emma Roberts – took Hood back to Earth for V’ger and refit.

2275 - Emma Roberts – first of two refit missions.

2280 - Elizabeth C. Buckingham – met Koloth for the first Federation-Klingon peace talks. Took St John Talbot to Nimbus III on her first mission. Hood shuttlecraft:

01 Dundas

02 Tilburn

03 Briggs

04 Kerr

05 Pertwee



First Klingon peace talks, U.S.S. Hood NCC-1703 on Stardate 8159:

Commanding Officer: Captain Elizabeth Buckingham.

Executive Officer: Commander Thomas Saunders

Chief Security Officer: Lieutenant Commander Greg Hanson

Chief Engineering Officer: Lieutenant Commander Lee Cortini

Helmsman: Lieutenant Champ Forester

Navigator: Lieutenant (jg) Kelly Wright

Chief Science Officer: Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Hickman

Transport Chief: Lieutenant (jg) Mark Wellby

Communications Officer: Lieutenant (jg) Zh'noreng

2285 was a watershed year for both the Constitution class and Klingon-Federation relations. The damaged Enterprise was stolen, being self-destructed in a classified encounter with the Klingons. The new prototype U.S.S. Constellation had been launched and look set to succeed the Constitution class for deep-space exploration missions. Another prototype, the revolutionary Excelsior, was set to succeed the Constitution class for science, diplomacy, combat and command: this would mean the downgrading of the Constitution class from the top table. It was at this time that the peace talks with the Klingons were first done face to face between the Koloth and Buckingham of the Hood.

The meeting was to take place in the Neutral Zone. The Federation Council sent the Hood, as much for the name and histoy as the ship itself. The Excelsior wasn't ready, Constellation class starships were untried and their weren't captains as experienced as Buckingham. Kirk was in exile on Vulcan. Koloth and Buckingham had crossed swords before. Koloth had a point to make and, knowing the Federaiton would most likely send a Constitution class ship,he arrived in a brand new Accuser class battleship. The point was plain: intimidation of the aging 40+ year old Hood versus a brand new starship. He was also pointing out neither the Constellation class nor Excelsior were ready for this encounter. Dreadnoughts were never to the pacifist Federation's taste.

Hood characters:

Emma Roberts - the Captain from 2271 - 2280 and a match even for legendary James T. Kirk. Went on to flag rank and commanded Starfleet Science. Unlike Kirk, she never chose to go for the flag rank after her first five-year mission, preferring more to stay out on the frontier where the exploration and discoveries were.

Richard Hawkins - Chief Engineer and the Hood's answer to Scotty. More a cerebral, technical man than a improvising jury-rigging style. Went onto the transwarp project and the new Hood.

Elizabeth Buckingham - Captain of the Hood from 2280 - 2285. Wife of famed Admiral Charles Lawrence Buckingham, she was a shrewd tactician in Starfleet and transferred from the Merrimac to the Hood to assume command. Able to assess a situation rapidly, Buckingham soon made a name for herself on the Hood and was quickly dispelling the myth that Emma Roberts' boots were impossible to fill.







Bridge of U.S.S. Hood in 2285. Image copyright Ex Astris Scientia.





























Author's Notes on the starships Hood:

Little is actually known in canon Star Trek history about the starships named Hood. There have been two - Constitution class NCC 1703, U.S.S. Hood and later in Star Trek: The Next Generation we were introduced to an Excelsior class U.S.S. Hood. The first ship named Hood appeared once as a squadron of Constitution class vessels fought the M-5 computer equipped Enterprise. The Potemkin, Lexington and Hood were all badly damaged in the exercise, with the Excalibur being tragically lost. The history concerning the refit of the Hood in the 2270s is based upon conjecture. Established Trek art department notes infer that the Constitution class were all refit after the 2260s, Hood was therefore part of this programme. A Service Life Extension Programme [SLEP] is standard procedure for naval warships of a certain age. Iowa Class battleships and various classes of aircraft carrier [e.g. Essex class] have also undergone such programmes.

The latter Hood, as seen in ST: The Next Generation, was the previous assignment of Commander William T. Riker before he joined the Enterprise-D. No launch date has ever been officially established for the Excelsior class Hood, but the registry number, and configuration of the studio model, would suggest somepoint around the time of Excelsior in her NX 2000 incarnation. The reason for this is due to the discovery of photographs of the Hood model from "Encounter at Farpoint", disproving the long-held belief that the Hood was NCC 42296. The actual model [whose registry is far too small to read onscreen] is actually NCC 2541. The belief that this was not changed for filming is supported by the next appearance of the Excelsior studio model which was dressed up as U.S.S. Repulse NCC 2544, which would require only the simple change of the final digit in the registry number. The appearance of the Hood in DS9 as a CGI model had the incorrect registry number of 42857 - same as the U.S.S. Lakota - in error. It is therefore quite possible that except for Mike Okuda's displays, we have never seen a Hood registered as NCC 42296. The Memory Alpha website attempts to reconcile this anomaly by stating that there were two canon U.S.S. Hoods and the NCC 2541 therefore was an anomaly in filming. Given what happened with the U.S.S. Valkyrie this will probably turn into a semi-canon unseen Hood from somewhere between 2287 and 2361.

The Excelsior class Hood was commanded by Captain Robert DeSoto, and was seen in the episodes Tin Man, Encounter at Farpoint and was referred to on various occasions. The Hood was originally intended to appear in 'Encounter at Farpoint' as an Ambassador class starship, and it is therefore possible that the errant registry number of NCC 42296 was given to this vessel in anticipation of it being Ambassador class. The U.S.S. Hood appeared as a CGI model during the dramatic sixth season of Deep Space Nine, appearing in many of the decisive space battles of that series. Hood's last mention was as part of the squadron of starships racing to assist Picard's Enterprise-E against the Remans in Star Trek: Nemesis.

Author's Notes on the namesake for the starships Hood:

The namesake for U.S.S. Hood in the Original Series of Star Trek was the battlecruiser H.M.S. Hood, laid down on the day of the Battle of Jutland. Hood was the pride of the Royal Navy between the two World Wars. Hood was truly the flagship of the fleet, and it was a dramatic encounter between this legend and her nemesis, Bismarck, that placed her in the annals of history. During the fateful encounter between H.M. warships Hood, Prince of Wales and the German battleship Bismarck, a shell from the Bismarck pierced the armour of the Hood, destroying her in two dramatic explosions. Hood sank in barely three minutes, taking with her all but three of her crew. It is safe to state that the United Kingdom was in mourning and a state of utter shock and disbelief when the news was broken. It was after the destruction of H.M.S. Hood that the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, ordered every warship available to sink the Bismarck. In a matter of days this was done, and a chapter of naval history was written.

H.M.S. Hood was discovered on Friday 20th July 2001. Hood lies in three major pieces, the central portion lies inverted some distance away from the bow and stern. A memorial service was held by the final survivor of the Hood, Ted Briggs. To the left is an image of the bow section of the Hood, where the memorial plaque now lies. H.M.S. Hood is a designated war grave and it is the hope of the author of this website that the Hood is respected and left in peace. Click on the image of the Hood's bow to visit the website of the H.M.S. Hood association with all the information on the 20th century Hood that one could want.

All images of HMS Hood crest and HMS Hood bow picture are copyright © HMS Hood Association. All Rights Reserved.
The Author encourages visitors to this page to click on the picture of the bow of HMS Hood, or the button below, to visit their website.