Wizard Class VIII Tender

Federation Wizard Class

From Stardate Magazine, Issue 8 – October 1985

 
NOTES:
The Wizard class ships were designed in response to the need for a test vessel for use with new engine and weapons systems. These ships are of modular design in the engineering and weaponry area so that different types of systems can be installed and tested.

Due to this unique ability, this class of vessel enabled field tests of systems without using and risking ships of the line. The Wizard class has an advanced computer control systems that allows the ship to be flown either on a program or through the use of the Prefix Code. During any sort of testing operations, this class is escorted by a fully armed and capable vessel.

Some of the successes that can be attributed to this class of ship include the testing and certifying of the FH-10 and FH-11 phaser units as well as the FP-5 and FP-6 photon torpedoes. A variety of different warp engines have been tested aboard Wizard class ships and these engines can now be found of many Federation line vessels.

The most recent success was the testing of the experimental Transwarp Engine systems tested aboard the USS Gandalf in later 2268. While Federation attempts at a viable Transwarp drive eventually proved unattainable, the data obtained from the Gandalf did lead to significant improvements in warp drive technology, eventually leading the the introduction of third-generation warp field coils.

The Wizards class has had several failures, though. On Stardate 6251.9, the USS Oz was totally destroyed when an experimental weapons system overloaded the ship’s warp field. Fortunately the ship was being operated by the on-board computer such that no lives were lost.

The other more well known accident with this class involved the USS Sparrowhawk which was destroyed during the functional testing of a Federation built cloaking device..

The Wizard class ships are classified as Experimental, hence their “NX” prefix instead of the “NCC” as with most Federation ships of this type. During times of emergency, this class vessel can be mounted with any once bank of existing weapon system and with up to two warp engines of no more than 50,000 mt each. Beyond that size, only one engine can be mounted in the bay area of the vessel.
 

Construction Data:
Model – Mk I
Ship Class – VIII
Date Entering Service – 2263
Number Constructed – 9
Hull Data:
Superstructure Points – 13
Damage Chart – C
Size:
Length – 262.1 m
Width – 125.6 m
Height – 38.7 m
Weight – 105,060 mt
Cargo:
Total SCU – 20 SCU
Cargo Capacity – 1,000 mt
Landing Capacity – None
Equipment Date:
Control Computer Type – M-3
Transporters:
Standard 6-person – 1
Emergency 22-person – 1
Cargo – 1
Other Data:
Crew – 30
Passengers – 120
Shuttlecraft – 8
Engines And Power Data:
Total Power Units Available – 20
Movement Point Ratio – 3/1
Warp Engine Type – FWE-1
Number – 2
Power Units Available – 8 ea.
Stress Chart – G/K
Max Safe Cruising Speed – Warp 7
Emergency Speed – Warp 9
Impulse Engine Type – FIB-2
Power Units Available – 4
Weapons And Firing Data:
Beam Weapon Type – FH-5
Number – 1
Firing Arcs – 1 f
Firing Chart – R
Maximum Power – 4
Damage Modifiers:
+3 (-)
+2 (1-8)
+1 (9-16)
Shield Data:
Deflector Shield Type – FSC
Shield Point Ratio – 1/1
Maximum Shield Power – 7
Combat Efficiency:
D – 38.1
WDF – 3.1

 

Regsitry  Vessel Shipyard Laid Down Launched Commissioned Status
NCC-600 Wizard Utopia Planitia Starfleet Yards, Sol IV (Mars) 27 Nov 2261 09 Apr 2263 31 Dec 2263 I – 2292
NCC-601 Oz Arbing & Lidde Starship Construction, Westfall, Salazaar 17 Jun 2262 24 Jun 2263 25 Jun 2264 D – 2269
NCC-602 Gandalf Proxima Maintenance Yards, Proxima Centauri 22 May 2262 31 May 2263 24 Apr 2264 I – 2295
NCC-603 Neverland ASDB Integration Facility, Morena Fleet Yards, Morena 28 Jul 2263 17 Aug 2264 05 Jul 2265 I – 2295
NCC-604 Disney Hiemdahr-Gan Rixik, Andor 17 Jun 2264 02 Oct 2265 20 May 2266 I – 2295
NCC-605 Sparrowhawk Vannis Fleet Construction, New Aldras, Vannis 21 May 2266 18 Mar 2267 28 Dec 2267 D – 2268
NCC-606 Gul’agil Roseanna Assembly Yards, Cait 10 Jan 2266 21 Jan 2267 31 Dec 2267 I – 2289
NCC-607 Merlin 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards, Vulcan 29 Aug 2266 29 Sep 2267 08 Aug 2268 I – 2298
NCC-608 Allanon Gavor Shipyards, Tellar 28 Nov 2266 16 Nov 2267 07 Jul 2268 I – 2305

 

Upgarde Notes:

The The Wizard class is one of those ships from “Jaynz” that was a great idea, a nifty look – and sadly – full of errors. The largest error was the size. There was simply no way the ship was the dimensions that were printed (180 m long, 32 m wide, 22 m high.) Graphically, the ship was 1 x .45 x .1. If you went with the 180 m long, you ship would be 180 x 83 x 18. This would seem to be an awful small ships to be testing engine nacelles that are anywhere from 150 m to 200 m long. Not to mention, the hull look (whether TOS or TMP – more later) simply didn’t fit. Long story short – I decided to use the width of the top hull as my base and change the overall size to fit. This however lead to problem number 2 – what era is it from. The stated FASA launch data for this class is 2/06 – and no matter what math you use, this is WELL before the relaunch of the Enterprise class with the new TMP look…in fact – it’s in what would be the early TOS era… You could fudge and say it’s the design that was eventually used, but I figured it just needed a retro look. And finally, the original stats were created before the 2nd edition construction rules…and those rules changed a few things that affected the design. In the end, I decided to redraw the ship with a more standard look from the classic era. I embellished a little – added some “bay” doors for loading equipment and material. Added some ejection ports; that kind of thing. All-in-all I think the new look really captured what was originally intended. She’s a lot larger – almost 100 meters longer, 40 meters wider and 10 meters taller – but the new dimensions seem to fit better.