| STARSHIP CLASS | |
| Akira | |
| |
| Type: | Heavy cruiser |
| Length: | 465 m |
| Beam: | 317 m |
| Draft: | 87 m |
| Max. warp: | warp 9.8 |
| Armaments: | 6 Type-10 phaser arrays; 15 torpedo launchers |
| Defenses: | Deflector shields |
| Crew: | 500 |
| |
The Akira class was a Federation heavy cruiser that came into service with Starfleet during the latter half of the 24th century. One of Starfleet's more combat oriented vessels the Akira saw extensive service in the 2370s against the Borg and the Dominion.
Design features[]
An unconventional Starfleet design, the Akira has several notable features. Externally the most obvious is the catamaran engineering hull that is connected to the top of the saucer section. Between the catamaran hull at the rear of the vessel is a weapons pod containing several torpedo launchers. (Star Trek: First Contact)
Because the ship's designers tried to fit so many tactical systems into the saucer section, the earliest ships of the class suffered from highly-stressed spaceframes, and almost all of them suffered structural defects. Although these were eventually rectified, a number of the early Akira ships were retired from front-line service at the end of the Dominion War because of this reason, and used primarily for training and tactical war games. (Starship Independence: "Summon the Heroes")
Also, in the early designs, the ship's magazine was situated centrally, heavily armoured and located deep inside the saucer, with an elaborate ammunition loading system that fed clusters of launchers around the outer hull of the ship. This design attempted to maximize the valuable center space of the hull, while improving ship safety from a catastrophic loss of the ship, in the event of a fire or magazine explosion. (Starship Independence)
Each launch cluster was armoured heavily on the inside and thinly on the outside, in a way that would deflect an explosion outwards if one of the launchers was damaged in battle. (Starship Independence)
Another unusual feature of the through-deck shuttlebay located in the saucer section. The large bay had access points at the bow of the ship as well as at the rear of the saucer, located between the engineering hulls. This large bay allowed the Akira to act as a carrier for smaller craft such as shuttles and attack fighters. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 3)
External links[]
- Akira class article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
- Akira class article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.