Universe class (J type)

The Independence class starship is a battleship utilised by Starfleet from the mid-26th century.

History
Starfleet began looking at ideas and possibilities of a new starship around 2554, as there had been no new makes since 2542. As there were more attacks against the Federation and her allies, Starfleet asked designers to create a battleship. The Independence class was therefore brought into being. Designing started in 2554, but fell foul of several design flaws. As there had been no other class of vessels built for over 12 years, designers found it difficult to come up with a starship that could be large, manoeuverable, and heavily armed.

The first ship of its kind was the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-J), which started construction four years after the original plans had been first introduced, in 2558.

Many people believed that the Independence class had reminded them of Starfleet's first warp ship, the Enterprise (NX-01), as the navigational deflector was shaped in much the same way.

The second ship had the title of it's class, the USS Independence, constructed in 2565.

In 2573, an experimental torpedo system, known as transquantic torpedoes, where installed on the Enterprise-J in 2573. They were tested several times before being installed as standard issue on Independence class ships from 2575.

The USS Arella-I, the third Independence class ship to be constructed, began its creation in 2575.

The three Independence class ships constructed by this point were proving invaluable and a stunning success, and the Federation became less and less threatened by its enemies. This led to a period when no ships were constructed, until 2595, when work began on the USS Pioneer.

The Independence class became incredibly powerful, and it was compared in firepower to the in-production Klingon D-11 battlecruisers.

Crew
Although the class of ship is very big it has a crew complement of just 700 people. Over 250 of these are security personnel.

Deck Plan

 * See: Independence class Decks