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I ACTUALLY LIKE HOW THE ORIGINAL BAKER LOOKS. A VERY
SOLID DESIGN . . . FOR A CRUISER!
Again, the size comparison problem with the other ships comes into
play, because the original Baker used the
saucer off the
Constitution (refit), hence the boxy secondary hull looked huge
compared to the relatively small and tubular Enterprise secondary hull.
And this ship is a destroyer, yet it should be bigger than a cruiser?
In 2007 I took the liberty of re-drawing the Baker.
Gone is the gargantuan destroyer that seems to have twice the internal volume of
the USS Enterprise, and in its place I have designed a two-thirds version
that still retains the original shape of the FASA version, but which is better
scaled to suit the Destroyer role. I also made some long overdue tweaks,
in that the location of the impulse deck on the original made no sense (it's now
at the aft portion of the secondary hull) and there were no indications of
either torpedo bays or shuttle bay(s). The original version had a
virtually blank spine, so I used that dead space for the shuttle hangar, and
like Neale Davidson before me, I deduced that the only real place the forward
torpedo tubes could be located, was in the forward portion of the saucer.
Finally, the warp nacelles are a slight modification of the nacelles I drew up
for the Constellation.
In game terms, the Baker is a nice
little TMP-era destroyer that plays well and packs a good punch. It can
handle itself against many older Romulan and Klingon cruisers, and can be
effective in numbers against most contemporary enemy vessels. A good
mixed-bag combination for game play is usually two Bakers escorting a
Reliant (Miranda) class cruiser or an
Enterprise class cruiser, versus a V-30
and some
T-10s or perhaps a late-model
D-7 or
D-10 and several
D-2 destroyers. Because of the
Baker's relative newness, as a Kirk-era vessel of the TMP mold, I added three
more versions that should make the Baker playable up to the early stages of TNG.
—
BRT
From the FASA Star Trek
FEDERATION SHIP RECOGNITION MANUAL, circa 1985
Baker Class IX Destroyer
Notes: The Baker Class destroyer has a unique development history.
When the original contracts were let out, they called for a research vessel with
limited combat capabilities. The designs for the ship were accepted by
Star Fleet Procurement, and, on Stardate 2/1403, the actual construction of the
Baker Class research cruiser began.
As the main hull neared completion,
Star Fleet decided that a destroyer was needed to supplement the Larson Class.
At this same time, the Admiralty was of the opinion that fewer research cruisers
would be needed on the frontiers. The Baker class was then dropped as a
research cruiser and re-designated a destroyer.
In order to accomplish its mission as
a destroyer, the Baker's design underwent several changes. The laboratory
facilities were removed and crew quarters and recreation areas were expanded.
The Baker class vessels are well known for these spacious quarters and crew
comforts. Another change came in the weaponry. The original design
had only four phasers, and as can be seen, the finished design, known as the Mk
II, was fitted with six phasers and two torpedoes.
On Stardate 2/1606 the Baker Class
destroyer was brought into service with the commissioning of the
USS Baker, USS Stafford, and USS Peterson. Since that
time, 224 ships of this class have been commissioned. As was intended,
these vessels are being used to replace the aging Larson Class destroyers in
more hostile areas, the latter being used more and more along trailing and
rimward frontiers.
The Baker Class has a compartmented
dual-wall internal structure to give additional protection from explosive
decompression during battle. Earlier designs with single-wall protection
often ruptured when one compartment decompressed, victims of a domino effect
that would eventually render the entire vessel incapable of sustaining itself.
Although compartmentalization is not new in ship design, double walls separated
by a pressurized dead space was. Such a dead space counteracts the forces
on the outer wall surfaces by means of sensors that detect any changes in
pressure and trigger units that regulate the pressure inside the dead space.
This system has become a standard feature on all Federation warships. The
Baker Class destroyer is the first vessel in Star Fleet to be designed with the
newer style nacelle; previous uses were all refits. The FWE-2 warp drive
system was installed to give a cruising speed of Warp 7 and temporary speeds of
Warp 8, as well as great maneuverability, making it more efficient in battle,
than many of its counterparts. The weapons arrangement of the Baker Class
is unusual by Star Fleet standards. Two of the phaser banks are capable of
firing in all quadrants except directly to the rear, unlike most other
Federation vessels on which they are usually positioned to fire in only two
quadrants.
The Baker Class remained unchanged
until an experimental model, the
USS Knutson, completed its testing of an impulse drive system that would
increase the total power output of the vessel by 25%. The Mk III went into
production on Stardate 2/1804, but was quickly replaced by the Mk IV with
upgraded FP-1 photon torpedoes. All Mk Ill's have been refitted to this
design.
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