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Notes
The USS
Akira is one of the very few Starfleet vessels which is heavily
biased toward the combat role. The
ships carry an extremely heavy torpedo armament of no less than 15
photon torpedo tubes. Seven of these are mounted in the large roll
bar pod, all facing forwards; the remaining eight are located in the
saucer section, two of which face directly out to port and starboard
- an unusual feature in a Starfleet vessel.
Another
unusual feature of the Akira class is the hangar bay arrangements.
There are two large shuttle bays in the saucer section, one at the
forward edge of the saucer section and one at the rear. These
are linked together through the centre of the ship, allowing large
numbers of launch and landing operations to be handled
simultaneously. During peacetime this allows the Akira to evacuate
large numbers of small survey craft, or ferry evacuees on board at a
high rate. During the Dominion war the ships often serve as fighter
carriers; in this role they can carry up to one hundred attack
fighters, although a load of thirty six fighters and a dozen utility
craft is more usual.
The USS Akira
entered service in 2363, and a rapid production run put nearly a
hundred others into the fleet over the next twelve years. Most were
assigned to units on the outer Federation territories, performing
patrol and presence missions as well as the normal mapping and
exploration duties which any Starfleet vessel is expected to handle.
More
recently the escalation of tensions at the Federations core over the
last few years has led to almost all of the Akiras being recalled to
operate nearer to Earth; thirty five where assigned to the Typhon
Sector Fleet in 2370, the remainder being assigned to the areas
adjacent to the Cardassian, Klingon and Romulan borders. Akira
class vessels featured prominently in the 2372 Borg attack on Earth;
the Typhon Fleet, together with several
reinforcement squadrons, fought a running battle with the Borg
vessel from the Typhon sector to Earth. Many
of the ships were destroyed during this battle. A notable
participant was the USS Thunderchild, NCC 63549, which participated
in the final assault which destroyed the Borg cube.
The Akiras had
been due to cease production in 2373, but with the disastrous
contact with the Dominion Starfleet decided to continue production
at an increased rate. When the Dominion war began, production of the
Akira was boosted to eighteen per year as the Federation converted
its economy to a war footing. The Akiras have now become a common
sight on the front lines, participating in most of the major
battles. |
