NCC-1697 was the registry number of a Federation starship that was in service with Starfleet in the mid-23rd century. This unnamed starship underwent a layover at Starbase 11 in 2267. The ship's number was seen on a chart indicating the repair status of several vessels. (TOS: "Court Martial")
The registry NCC-1697, displayed on Commodore Stone's chart.
This ship was only identified by its hull number. According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia, which was in turn, based on Greg Jein's article The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship, this registry was assigned to the Template:ShipClass heavy cruiser USS Essex.
The Star Trek Encyclopedia makes reference to a USS Essex, registry NCC-1697, as listed among the Template:ShipClass starships commissioned by Starfleet. That ship was originally mentioned in the shooting script for TOS: "Amok Time", and later included in an internal memo from D.C. Fontana, which suggested a list of possible starship names to consider for use in The Original Series. This list, published in The Making of Star Trek, was used to match the Essex with the registry NCC-1697 that appeared on the wall chart seen in TOS: "Court Martial" by Greg Jein in a 1975 fanzine article The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship. This information was later adapted for use in the Star Trek Encyclopedia by Mike Okuda, without ever explicitly stating his source.