«Last Updated – May 21, 2023»
From Ship Recognition Manual-The Federation (1st Edition) – David Tepool, illustrated by Mitch O’Connell
NOTES:
The Laweya class freighter is a fairly standard cargo vessel operated both privately and by Star Fleet. It has no provisions for passengers, although it can and has been used as a transport for Federation Marines in emergencies. It is one of the largest atmospheric operating vessels in the Federation. Although a Starfleet design (Andorian to be exact), the vessel is available commercially both inside and outside Federation territory. Few corporation, let alone individuals can afford to maintain these large ships once the have purchased it. To ensure commercial success, these vessels are normally found on “milk runs” which allow for guaranteed sold cargo.
The Mk I was commercially available as it was unarmed. A total of 620 were built before construction ended. Over 250 were eventually converted to the Super Laweya class. Despite often being used far from hostile borders, the Laweya were not immune to being attacked by pirates and a number were damaged during raids. None the less, many remain in service despite their age.
The Mk II was fielded as an armed version to operate closer to the Klingon, Romulan and Triangle borders. Despite being armed, some frontier shipping companies were give special dispensation to field these vessels. A total of 490 of these ships were built under contract to Starfleet. As they aged, a number of these were eventually were eventually converted to Super Laweyas as well.
The MK III was the final variant built and was used exclusively along more hostile borders for a number of years. Unlike the Mk II, the Mk III was used almost exclusively by Starfleet until well into the 2300 when many were converted to Super Laweya or sold to commercial concerns.
| Construction Data: | |||
| Model Number — | Mk I | Mk II | Mk III |
| Ship Class — | IX | IX | IX |
| Date Entering Service — | 2272 | 2276 | 2280 |
| Number Constructed — | 620 | 490 | 364 |
| Hull Data: | |||
| Superstructure Points — | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| Damage Chart — | C | C | C |
| Size: | |||
| Length — | 245.8 m | 245.8 m | 245.8 m |
| Width — | 174.7 m | 174.7 m | 174.7 m |
| Height — | 44.8 m | 44.8 m | 44.8 m |
| Weight — | 121,415 mt | 125,355 mt | 125,245 mt |
| Cargo: | |||
| Cargo Units — | 2,550 SCU | 2,550 SCU | 2,550 SCU |
| Cargo Capacity — | 127,500 mt | 127,500 mt | 127,500 mt |
| Landing Capacity — | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Equipment Date: | |||
| Control Computer Type — | M-2A | M-2 | M-2 |
| Transporters: | |||
| Standard 6-person — | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Cargo — | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Other Data: | |||
| Crew — | 65 | 68 | 72 |
| Shuttlecraft — | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Engines And Power Data: | |||
| Total Power Units Available — | 19 | 32 | 34 |
| Movement Point Ratio: | |||
| unloaded — | 4/1 | 4/1 | 4/1 |
| loaded — | 7/1 | 7/1 | 7/1 |
| Warp Engine Type — | FWE-1 | FWE-2 | FWE-2 |
| Number — | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Power Units Available: | 8 ea. | 13 ea. | 13 ea. |
| Stress Chart – | G/K | G/K | G/K |
| Max Safe Cruising Speed – | |||
| unloaded – | Warp 6 | Warp 6 | Warp 6 |
| loaded- | Warp 4 | Warp 4 | Warp 4 |
| Emergency Speed – | |||
| unloaded – | Warp 8 | Warp 8 | Warp 8 |
| loaded – | Warp 5 | Warp 5 | Warp 5 |
| Impulse Engine Type – | FIC-2 | FIC-3 | FIE-2 |
| Power Units Available – | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Weapons And Firing Data: | |||
| Beam Weapon Type – | – | FH-5 | FH-10 |
| Number – | – | 4 | 4 |
| Firing Arcs – | – | 1 f, 1 f/p, 1 f/s, 1 a | 1 f, 1 f/p, 1 f/s, 1 a |
| Firing Chart – | – | R | W |
| Maximum Power – | – | 4 | 7 |
| Damage Modifiers: | |||
| +3 | – | (-) | (1-10) |
| +2 | – | (1-8) | (11-17) |
| +1 | – | (9-16) | (18-20) |
| Shield Data: | |||
| Deflector Shield Type – | FSC | FSJ | FSN |
| Shield Point Ratio – | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1/2 |
| Maximum Shield Power – | 6 | 11 | 16 |
| Combat Efficiency: | |||
| D – | |||
| unloaded – | 52.2 | 64.2 | 84.2 |
| loaded – | 49.2 | 59.2 | 73.2 |
| WDF – | 0.0 | 13.2 | 29.2 |
Design Notes:
When Brad recently posted his Super Laweya class, we immediately realized we never did the Laweya class from the 1st Edition Ship Recognition Manual. And of course we immediately ran into problems while converting. Luckily, most 1st Edition ships are easily converted to 2nd Edition stats with few major issued. Surprisingly, the Laweya major issue is it’s cargo capacity. It lists the cargo at 25,500. This appears to be the number of cargo units which is insane! 25,500 SCU would be 1,275,000 mt of cargo…which would put the ship at nearly TWICE the maximum weight capacity of the 2nd Edition design tables. The simplest answer is to knock off a zero which is what we did. Since most unarmed freighter are simple fodder – something to be protected in most scenarios – we also wanted to make a few versions that would give a pirate crew pause before trying to beam off some cargo. We had to change the shield listing and the impulse engine as well, but all in all – I think it’s a good design. And of course we used Brad’s Super Laweya as our spring bord to tie in a slightly expanded back story. Hopefully you enjoy!