The History of USS Warspite

Four different ships have carried the name Warspite during the Federation's history. Traditionally they have all been primarily warships or associated with the military element of Starfleet. An abridged history of each is included below.

USS Warspite
Class: Constitution Class
Registration: NCC-1708
Commissioned: 2246
Refitted: 2271
Retired: 2295
Comments:
The first Federation starship to carry the name Warspite was laid down in the San Fransico yards in 2241. At the time the likelihood of open warfare between the United Federation of Planets and Klingon Empire was very high, so it was decided to fit out a number of vessels exclusively for warfare and hold them in reserve squadrons to be deployed against any potential invasion force. The Warspite was the first such ship constructed. She was equipped with some 15% more firepower than a standard Constitution class ship and her shields were approximately 5% stronger. Additionally, her diplomatic and some of her recreational facilities were sacrificed for extra munitions stowage space and a small Marines barracks. The name Warspite - originating from an early 20th century Royal Navy dreadnought battleship - had been considered by the Federation for some time, but had remained unused up to that point as it's militaristic associations were held to be at odds with the Federation's peaceful ideals.

The Warspite saw her first action at Axenar in 2250 under the command of Captain Garth. She performed excellently and the battle was won. The Warspite saw considerable further action thoughout the 2250's and 60's. The fact that she was never defeated in combat - despite sometimes receiving crippling damage - earned her the nickname "Old Ironsides."

She was refitted along with the bulk of her remaining sister ships in 2271, however - despite being being put in a state of readiness at numerous critical periods - she never again fired her guns in anger. She was relegated to training duties in 2291 and decommissioned in 2295. She was to be retained as a museum ship, but the decision was turned over in favour of the USS Good Hope - another famous Constition class starship with a less warlike past - and she was scrapped.

USS Warspite A
Class: Constellation Class
Registration: NCC-2852
Commissioned: 2295
Refitted: 2300
Retired: 2332
Comments:
The USS Warspite A was constructed to be a direct replacement for her predecessor. With this in mind she too was given an augmented weapons and shields fit at the cost of reduced diplomatic facilities. However, the Constellation class was to prove a troublesome design with severe problems with the warp core. Governing equipment had to be fitted which dramatically reduced the power output of the core, which left the class as a whole underpowered - a particular problem in the Warspite's case.

In 2300, the Warspite A was equipped with a prototype Warp Core which returned her power output to some 98% of the original designed output. The unit was carried over onto a further five vessels for trials and evaluations, but was not adopted in wide scale service on the grounds of cost and unreliablity fears. The Warspite A remained stationed at Earth for most of her remaining career, only occassionally being posted to the outer edges of the Federation on Flag showing missions. She was decommissioned in 2332 and scrapped.

USS Warspite B
Class: Nebula Class
Registration: NCC-60083
Commissioned: 2355
Lost: 2367
Comments:
By the time the Warspite B was commissioned the Starfleet warship squadrons had long been dispanded, however Starfleet command chose to respect her history and assigned the Warspite B to military research duties. The Warspite was the test bed for many weapons systems and upgrades, including the Enhanced Weapons Module designed for the Nebula class as a whole. Most of her duties from this period remain highly classified and will not be published in the forseeable futre.

She was released from these duties in 2366 and was requipped with a sensor suite module for scientific duties. However, her career in this new role was cut tragically short when she was mysteriously lost with all hands whilst investigating a gravimetric anomaly in the vicinity of the M'pak system.

USS Warspite C
Class: Sovereign Class
Registration: NCC-74357
Commissioned: 2373
Comments:
Like her predecessors, the Warspite C has been configured primarily as a warship - although more of necessity than choice. With the tension increasing between the Federation and Dominion, it was decided to speed the completion of at least two of the Sovereign class Battlecruisers under construction by leaving out the diplomatic suites and some of the asscociated creature comforts. No other alterations were made and the Warspite has rolled off the slips just in time for the Dominion war. The other modified Sovereign - provisionally named USS Cerberus - will follow shortly.