Praxis wrote:Additionally, the USS Defiant (constitution class) was destroyed (sorta- actually all the crew were killed and the ship was lost in another dimension, never to be recovered). There must have been very few connies
I doubt it.
Listed as destroyed or presumed lost, and/or irrecoverable:
- * USS Intrepid - destroyed by the Space Amoeba (you could say it was an intrepid virus...
sorry - couldn't help it - casualties 450 approximately, all Vulcan)
[EDIT] Incidentally this makes some interesting commentary on SFC and it's specist segregation; it's POSSIBLE that Starfleet is a NATO-esque organisation in TOS days, making an all-Vulcan crew plausible - the same way you have USN and RN ships with different crews operating in their own vessels in the North Atlantic - this is also corroborated in the line somewhere in TOS where it is stated Spock is the FIRST Vulcan to be admitted into Starfleet, which implies that the Vulcan crew and USS Intrepid was a recent addition into StarFleet. Given the rather brusque relations Vulcan had with other members, perhaps this is significant. At the very least I thought it worthy of mention, and possible discussion).
Ref. "The Immunity Syndrome"
* USS Constellation - destroyed by Kirk in an effort to destroy the Planet Killer (origins unknown, it's role was speculation made by Kirk - casualties 450 approximately [minor edit] - including the trivial loss of one of the Enterprise's shuttle wing; commandeered by decorated Commodore Mathew Decker in a suicidal attack against the Planet Killer).
Ref. "The Doomsday Machine"
* USS Defiant - entire crew driven mad, killed each other in a frenzy; ship was 'pulled' into some unknown dimension, current whereabouts unknown, presumed lost and irrecoverable (casualties 450 approximately)
[EDIT] The Tholians may be xenophobic for a reason, if the region of space they inhabit causes the loss of ships and personnel - they might think some other space faring race is responsible; from what I recall this was the First Contact between the Federation and the Tholian Assembly).
Ref. "The Tholian Web"
Damaged, but not lost:
- * USS Excalibur - entire crew killed after suffering several direct hits from the USS Enterprise while under the direct control of the M-5 Multitronic battle/control computer; trials were deemed a failure (no shit) and Doctor Daystrom was hospitalised after suffering a mental collapse (casualties 450 approximately). It is not known whether or not the USS Excalibur could be salvaged. Sulu commented "The Excalibur looks dead." On the display it showed signs of heavy damage (stock footage of the USS Constellation, I believe). It is POSSIBLE that it was salvagable and was tractored to the nearest starbase in order ro be repaired. Therefore it does not constitute as directly destroyed.
* USS Lexington - hit hard by the USS Enterprise during the same disastrous war games trial. Severely damaged, but obviously survived and was still capable to lead in battle despite it's damage; also as Commodore Robert Wesley survived it's clear the Lexington survived along with him. Therfore it is repairable (casualties 50 IIRC).
* USS Potemkin - damaged in the trials, but apparently not seriously. The USS Enterprise was expected to make a rendevous with it in an episode of season 3 (Ref. "Turnabout Intruder" IIRC; cannot verify however, and I could be thinking of something else.).
* USS Hood - participated in the same trials, and survived (so again, perhaps superficial damage was sustained or none at all).
Ref. "The Ultimate Computer"
* USS Exeter - entire crew wiped out by a virus brought up from a planetary expedition. Only survivor was disgraced Captain Tracy; the ultimate irony was that if the expedition crew had spent just a few more hours on the planet they wouldn't have brought back the virus and the crew would not have perished (I may be misremembering the episode, however). The superstructure of the ship was unharmed, and appeared to be in a stable orbit with the USS Enterprise in close proximity (conjecture: it was tractored to the nearest starbase and recrewed, hopefully with updated expedition procedures in place within SFC doctrine... one can only hope...).
Ref. "The Omega Glory"
Total Casualty list: 2'300 starfleet personnel (APPROXIMATELY - I seem to recall the crew roster of a Connie being over 400, somewhere around 430-450).
Total Connie ships destroyed: THREE.
It should be noted that the claim there were only twelve Constitution class CA starships is NOT supported by canon evidence. There WAS a chart on Commodore Stone's wall that listed twelve ship names, and they MAY have been Connies (
Ref. "Court Martial") - they MAY have been assigned to Starbase 11 as patrol ships or sector assets; the USS Intrepid was mentioned as being there for minor repairs (USS Enterprise gained priority over it's repair schedule, which leads to that conclusion). Furthermore, the USS Enterprise visited the SAME starbase in a subsequent episode (this time under the command of Commodore Mendez
Ref. "The Menagerie") and alludes to it being on it's patrol route.
If SFC possessed only twelve Connies during the entirety of TOS then that means a quarter of it's battleline assets were lost, and a further quarter needed major repairs and recrewing; depleting HALF of SF's front line warships; I have problems with that conclusion given the competitive nature of the Klingon Empire (where it would be in the Federation's best interests to maintain a parity in it's defensive forces) and the Romulan Star Empire (a rising star rapidly 'catching' up with the two local big shots). This is inconceivable given that the Constitution class was at LEAST 10-15 years old by the START of TOS and Kirk's ascension to Captaincy; Captain Pike did a 10-year mission of exploration, and before him was a Captain Robert T. April (although this isn't supported by canon evidence, apparently because ST: TAS isn't worth it). There should be more Connies out there, this is simply a canon list of how many ships were lost, damaged, or destroyed.
[EDIT] Added a few things, fixed some spelling. Gotta go now and have lunch!
[EDIT] In case any mods feel this post constitutes a thread hijack or deserves it's own separate thread devoted to discussion then I welcome it's splitting, and thank them for it.
