Enterprise subclass

The Enterprise subclass of heavy cruisers debuted in 2273 and were among the first Federation starships outfitted with linear warp drive. 

Eight of the nine starships of this class were refits — USS (which was rushed into service to deal with the V'Ger crisis), USS, USS Excalibur, USS Exeter, USS Farragut, USS Hood, USS Krieger and USS Lexington. Only USS was a new-build ship.


 * The novel:  states that the replacement USS, commanded by Captain Suvuk, had some of the improvements of the Enterprise subclass refit before the Enterprise itself was launched.