Ulysses class super dreadnought

Ulysses-class super dreadnought:

Actual Length: 569.01m

Actual Height: 114.99m

Actual Beam: 260.51m

Decks: 32

Crew: 925 and 80 security operations.

Starfleet created a directive NXP2283DNH to produce a new class of heavy dreadnought to face up against the most tactically able threat vessel in service or predicted for the next 25 years. In 2283, new Commander-in-Chief Admiral Stephen Turner needed to convince the Federation President and the Council of a need for a heavy dreadnought, or 'super-dreadnought'. He had just seen to the authorising of the construction of five Komsomolsk dreadnoughts as replacements for the stop-gap Federation class dreadnoughts. It had taken the recent renewal of hostilities along the Neutral Zone with the Klingons to convince the President that the Komsomolsk class was needed to see off what Starfleet Intelligence called the B11 Accuser class Klingon dreadnought.

Stephen Turner came from Southern England on Earth and came from a family of naval officers and admirals. He had private schooling and was prepared for an early age for a career in Starfleet. Turner graduated in the top percentile at Starfleet Academy and had a distinguished career as an officer and captain in the 2260s and early 70s. Turner ascended the flag officer ladder rapidly in the late 2270s, making Commander-in-Chief in 2283. Admiral Turner saw the big picture: two Cold Wars with the Klingons and Romulans and border clashes with the Tholians on their border. Federation class had been introduced as a stop-gap dreadnought. What was needed was a true dreadnought, building from the Ascension class light dreadnought.

The Andorians strongly supported Turner's proposal for a heavy dreadnought and the recent Klingon aggression served to persuade the President to authorise the research and design of the Ulysses project. Authorisation for a prototype and early production would be a later debate for another presidential term. The Jupiter spacedock facilities that had developed the Federation, Ascension and Komsomolsk class prototypes was tasked with the design of the Ulysses.

Five were authorised for production in 2288. The result was the U.S.S. Ulysses, NX 7850, introduced into service in 2294, against a strong backlash from the more pacifist members of the Federation. With the signing of the Khitomer Accords in 2293 and the ratification process midway through, the launching of a super dreadnought design. The pacifists argued that the removal of the 'Klingon threat' left no need for a 'super dreadnought'. The terms of the Khitomer Accords included de-militarising the Neutral Zone and the Federation-Klingon border. The argument was that these new ships woud never be needed and that this was a waste of resources for a nation that prided itself on promoting peace and diplomacy.

The Admiralty and Andorians pressed that the Klingons are not the only danger on the borders. The Romulans, the Tholians, the Gorn: all had shown themselves to be a threat to the safety of the Federation over the years. Only a deterrant, in the form of Ulysses class, would give these nations a moment of pause. A deterrant had worked on Earth in the form of the Polaris and Trident nuclear missiles; similar opposition had been heard over the decades with those too, but the argument was shown to be sound: it works.

The Ulysses class was mothballed under the terms of the Khitomer Accords; a sign of good faith from the Federation Council and an olive branch to the pacifist members of the Federation Council itself. The Terajuni Incident showed that there was still a need to defend the Federation border and permission was granted for low-rate construction and trials on the first prototype. Admiral William Smillie championed the need for the prototype, knowing it could cost him an early retirement. President Ra-Ghoratreii showed faith in his Commander-in-Chief and endorsed the trials in the light that the Klingons still had the Sword of Kahless B-12 battleship operational. And the Klingon great Houses had not all aligned behind the peace process.

Name	Registry	Notes	Author's Notes
Ulysses	7850
Goliath	7851	Command of Admiral Lawrence Buckingham.	Named for Direct Rail Services locomotive 57301.
Molnjir	7852		Named for the legendary hammer of Thor.
Shras	7853		Named for the famous Andorian Admiral. One provision of the Andorians supporting the design.

Author’s Notes:

The Ulysses class dreadnought was seen in Klingon Academy and the Starfleet Command PC games. These are the largest class of dreadnought that the Starfleet possesses. As with any pyramid of numbers, these ships are built in the smallest number of any Starfleet ship, only five being built by 2312. Hurricane was the name of the second vessel in a simulation in Klingon Academy. There's no way Starfleet could push through more than half a dozen of these ships, big seen as the most anti-Starfleet and anti-Federation warship in the arsenal. Possessed by Starfleet because we need it, not want it.

The story of the Ulysses class is the same as the one of the British nuclear deterrent: having a dreadful weapon as deterrence against the anti-war protest lobbies and politicians. Polaris was opposed in the 1960s, Vanguard class was opposed in the 1990s and Dreadnought class Trident successor opposed in 2017. Civilised societies naturally don't want to possess dreadful weapons that would ensure hideous deaths for millions of people and the destruction of civilisation as we know it. The truth is, deterrence works. It has worked since the 1950s with the V bombers: Valiant, Vulcan and Victor, the Resolution class Polaris submarines and current Vangard class Trident submarines. Four submarines for both classes worked - and still work - in rotation (finishing mission, refit, preparing for mission and on mission) and have kept the peace. It works.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and left-wing Labour politicians, most notably Jeremy Corbyn, actively oppose the Trident programme and Dreadnought class successor design. Corbyn evn said as Prime Minister he'd never authorise the use of Trident. Truth is, no civilised person would WANT to use nuclear weapons. The threat of retaliation, the implied mutual destruction has kept the peace. I'd love the day when ALL nuclear missiles are gone, but the truth is the UK needs them as long as we are threatened by those that others have. Lastly, consider the dreadful power of nuclear missiles. Starfleet starships have photon torpedoes with anti-matter warheads: far more powerful than even the most powerful fusion bomb in history. The dreadful weapons are still there, in bigger numbers. However the chain of command behind them is far more responsible.





Real-world namesake for Goliath: