Paladin class

The Paladin class was a class of Hydran dreadnoughts that doubled as supercarriers. They could use the multi-vector assault mode. When they did, they formed three ships, each of which was capable of independent operation. The components were numbered from port to starboard. The total firepower of a Paladin-class ship could match that of a Norexan-class starship. (RIS Bouteina)

Overview

History

The basic architecture of the Paladin-class dreadnought originated in the 2280s. They were built to counter the PumwI'-class dreadnoughts the Klingons used against them. It carried a mixture of fusion beams and hellbore cannons. Like most Hydran ships it carried attack fighters, which made up a significant portion of its firepower. It was initially designed to carry twelve fighters grouped in two squadrons.

A wider variant was then designated the Monarch-class battleship and both designs had hellbore cannons, with the Monarch carrying more than the normal maximum of four hellbore cannons, due to the increased mass of the battleship, providing a more stable firing platform. It could carry 18 fighters grouped in 3 squadrons. (TOS video game: Starfleet Command)

During the next 100 years, the Hydrans have refitted their ships and the next generation of Hydran dreadnoughts, while using the same architecture, used multi-vector assault mode and modern warp cores. It was the first Hydran ship capable of doing so.

Modern-day Paladins

The Hydran Keepership was so busy with dealing with internal problems within the Hydran Kingdom that the sectorial flagship, the HMS Pinafore, has asked the Bouteina for assistance with a hanyurii poaching problem. ("Humans, Romulans and Space-Beasts")

These ships had the highest maximum evacuation capacity of any MVAM-capable starship known in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants in the 24th century, with respectively 23,700 and 29,500 people, until the advent of the Shogun class. The nature of Hydran starship designing makes them capable of holding this many people at all times. The MVAM version could also operate with eighty fighters in its shuttlebays. (RIS Bouteina: "Humans, Romulans and Space-Beasts")