Changes: USS Yorktown (23rd century)

Revision as of 20:29, 9 October 2013

The USS Yorktown was a Federation starship that was in service with Starfleet from the mid-to-late 23rd century.

History

In 2268, the Yorktown was scheduled to deliver vaccines bound for the colony on Theta VII after a rendezvous with the USS Enterprise. (TOS: "Obsession")

In 2286, the Yorktown was under the command of Captain Joel Randolph. While deployed near the Sol system, the Yorktown was one of the many vessels disabled by the Whale Probe near Earth.

In Randolph's distress call to Starfleet Command, he noted that the ship had lost all power and that all non-essential crew were given hiber-sedatives to slow down consumption of life support reserves. Meanwhile, the chief engineer attempted to deploy a makeshift solar sail so as to focus and absorb radiation from a nearby sun they were orbiting, with the hopes of generating power to keep the crew alive. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

In 2293, Tuvok's father was a Starfleet officer serving aboard the Yorktown. (VOY: "Flashback")

Yorktown personnel

USS Yorktown personnel

Appendices

Background information

According to an article by Greg Jein in a 1970s fanzine regarding starship registries, he assigned the number NCC-1717 to the name Yorktown. This registry has been further propagated by being included in the writings of Michael Okuda, such as the Star Trek Encyclopedia, which also referenced the Yorktown as a Constitution-class heavy cruiser. The comic book series Star Trek: Romulans - Schism also featured the Yorktown with the same number and class.

The Yorktown was listed as a Constitution-class starship, with the registry NCC-1704, in Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual. However, much of the information in that manual that was not used on screen in some form was considered non-canon.

The USS Yorktown was the name of the central starship in Gene Roddenberry's first Star Trek proposal to NBC in 1964. The ship was named after the USS Yorktown, a World War II American aircraft carrier, which in turn was named after the last major battle of the American Revolution, won in 1781 by a combined Franco-American army commanded by Gen. George Washington. (Star Trek Encyclopedia 2nd ed., p. 572)

Gene Roddenberry, in a nod to his original name choice from 1964, suggested that the Yorktown was renamed USS Enterprise-A at the end of Star Trek IV, explaining why the latter ship seemed to be launched so quickly at the end of the movie. The Next Generation fourth season writer's technical manual also indicated this to be the case. This was further validated when, in the Encyclopedia, Mike Okuda described the Yorktown in 2293 as the second ship to bear this name.

Apocrypha

The FASA sourcebook Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual listed a USS Yorktown (NCC-2033) of this era which belonged to the Excelsior-class.

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel Crossover, the Yorktown was revealed to have become a museum exhibit on a starbase, but its bridge has been replaced with the original bridge of the first Enterprise. In the story in question, Captain Montgomery Scott stole the Yorktown to rescue Spock, recently captured by the Romulans, and fitted it with an ancient Romulan cloaking device (the one acquired in "The Enterprise Incident"). The mission proved successful, but aid was still required from the USS Enterprise-D for Spock, Scotty and the Unification movement to escape.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{sidebar starship
-The '''USS ''Yorktown''''' was a [[Federation]] [[starship]] that was in service during the latter half of the [[23rd century]].
+|image      =
+|Name       = USS ''Yorktown''
+|owner      = {{Federation}}
+|operator   = [[Starfleet]]
+|Status     = Active
+|Datestatus = 2293
+}}
+The '''USS ''Yorktown''''' was a [[Federation]] [[starship]] that was in service with [[Starfleet]] from the mid-to-late [[23rd century]].
+==History==
 In [[2268]], the ''Yorktown'' was scheduled to deliver [[vaccine]]s bound for the [[colony]] on [[Theta VII]] after a rendezvous with the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}}. ({{TOS|Obsession}})
-In [[2286]], the ''Yorktown'' was under the command of [[Captain]] [[Joel Randolph]]. While deployed near the [[Sol system]], the ''Yorktown'' was one of the many vessels disabled by the [[Whale probe]] near [[Earth]].
+In [[2286]], the ''Yorktown'' was under the command of [[Captain]] [[Joel Randolph]]. While deployed near the [[Sol system]], the ''Yorktown'' was one of the many vessels disabled by the [[Whale Probe]] near [[Earth]].
 In Randolph's [[distress call]] to [[Starfleet Command]], he noted that the ship had lost all power and that all non-essential crew were given [[hiber-sedative]]s to slow down consumption of [[life support]] reserves. Meanwhile, the [[chief engineer]] attempted to deploy a makeshift [[solar sail]] so as to focus and absorb [[radiation]] from a nearby [[sun]] they were [[orbit]]ing, with the hopes of generating [[energy|power]] to keep the crew alive. ({{film|4}})
@@ Line 12: / Line 20: @@
 * [[USS Yorktown personnel|USS ''Yorktown'' personnel]]
-==Background==
+==Appendices==
+===Background information===
-According to an article by [[Greg Jein]] in a 1970s [[fan fiction|fanzine]] regarding starship registries, he assigned the number NCC-1717 to the name ''Yorktown''. This registry has been further propagated by being included in the writings of [[Michael Okuda]], such as the ''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'', which also references the ''Yorktown'' as a {{ShipClass|Constitution}} starship.
+According to an article by [[Greg Jein]] in a 1970s [[fan fiction|fanzine]] regarding starship [[registry|registries]], he assigned the number NCC-1717 to the name ''Yorktown''. This registry has been further propagated by being included in the writings of [[Michael Okuda]], such as the ''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'', which also referenced the ''Yorktown'' as a {{class|Constitution}} [[heavy cruiser]]. The comic book series ''[[Star Trek: Romulans - Schism]]'' also featured the ''Yorktown'' with the same number and class.
-The ''Yorktown'' was listed as a ''Constitution''-class starship, with the [[registry]] NCC-1704, in [[Franz Joseph]]'s ''[[Star Fleet Technical Manual]]''. However, much of the information in that manual that wasn't used on screen in some form is considered non-[[canon]].
+The ''Yorktown'' was listed as a ''Constitution''-class starship, with the registry NCC-1704, in [[Franz Joseph]]'s ''[[Star Fleet Technical Manual]]''. However, much of the information in that manual that was not used on screen in some form was considered non-[[canon]].
-The USS ''Yorktown'' was the name of the central starship in [[Gene Roddenberry]]'s first ''[[Star Trek]]'' proposal to [[NBC]] in 1964. The ship was named after the {{w|USS Yorktown (CV-5)|USS ''Yorktown''}}, a [[World War II]] [[United States of America|American]] [[aircraft carrier]], which in turn was named after the last major battle of the [[American Revolution]], won in 1781 by a combined Franco-American army commanded by Gen. [[George Washington]].
+The USS ''Yorktown'' was the name of the central starship in [[Gene Roddenberry]]'s first ''[[Star Trek]]'' [[Star Trek is...|proposal]] to [[NBC]] in 1964. The ship was named after the {{w|USS Yorktown (CV-5)|USS ''Yorktown''}}, a [[World War II]] [[United States of America|American]] [[aircraft carrier]], which in turn was named after the last major battle of the [[American Revolution]], won in 1781 by a combined Franco-American army commanded by Gen. [[George Washington]]. (''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'' 2nd ed., p. 572)
-Gene Roddenberry, in a nod to his original name choice from 1964, suggested that the ''Yorktown'' was renamed {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-A|-A}} at the end of ''Star Trek IV'', explaining why the latter ship seemed to be launched so quickly at the end of the movie. The ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Next Generation]]'' fourth season writer's technical manual also indicates this to be the case. However, there is no primary evidence to confirm this theory. If the NCC-1701-A was refit from a ship from the TOS era, that would mean that the ''Yorktown'' was renamed after over ''20 years of service'' &ndash; a seemingly disrespectful violation of starship naming parlance. However, if the ''Yorktown'' Roddenberry spoke of was a ''brand new'' ship, then why would it have been decommissioned only seven years later in {{film|6}}? Scrapping a relatively new [[cruiser]] seems like a waste.
+Gene Roddenberry, in a nod to his original name choice from 1964, suggested that the ''Yorktown'' was renamed {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-A|-A}} at the end of ''Star Trek IV'', explaining why the latter ship seemed to be launched so quickly at the end of the movie. The ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Next Generation]]'' fourth season writer's technical manual also indicated this to be the case. This was further validated when, in the ''Encyclopedia'', Mike Okuda described the ''Yorktown'' in 2293 as the second ship to bear this name.
+===Apocrypha===
-A third possibility is that the ''Yorktown'' Roddenberry meant was '''neither''' aged nor young: Presuming the TOS ''Yorktown'' long-since retired, it could've been replaced by a ''Constitution'' ship of the [[Star Trek films|movie]]-era several years hence. This would mean considering the TOS-era ship and the [[2280s]] ship as two separate incarnations.
+The [[FASA]] sourcebook ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual]]'' listed a USS ''Yorktown'' (NCC-2033) of this era which belonged to the {{class|Excelsior}}.
+In the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' novel ''[[Crossover (novel)|Crossover]]'', the ''Yorktown'' was revealed to have become a museum exhibit on a starbase, but its bridge has been replaced with the original [[bridge]] of the first ''[[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|Enterprise]]''. In the story in question, Captain [[Montgomery Scott]] stole the ''Yorktown'' to rescue [[Spock]], recently captured by the Romulans, and fitted it with an ancient Romulan cloaking device (the one acquired in {{e|The Enterprise Incident}}). The mission proved successful, but aid was still required from the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} for Spock, Scotty and the Unification movement to escape.
-A fourth, closely related, possibility is that the original ''Yorktown'', after being refit in the early 2270s, was retired in the early 2280s along with most of the other refit ''Constitution''-class ships in preparation for the launch of the new ''Excelsior'' and ''Constellation'' classes. The refit ''Yorktown'' would have been replaced by a new (''Miranda''- or ''Constellation''-class ?) ship. When two operational vessels (first the ''Reliant'', then the ''Grissom'') were lost in 2285, Starfleet would have needed a short-term replacement until new vessels could be constructed. The original ''Yorktown'' would have been pulled out of mothballs to fill this short-term role, but since there was already a new ''Yorktown'' in service (seen in ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home''), a new name would have been needed for the original vessel. Because the original ''Enterprise'' had been destroyed over Genesis, and its ''Excelsior''-class replacement (NCC-20XX) was still seven years away, the original ''Yorktown'' was renamed ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701A.  In spacedock, the then-building ''Excelsior''-class ''Enterprise'' would have been renumbered NCC-1701B. This possibility allows the original ''Yorktown'' to be renamed without any disrespect to the crew that suffered the probe-induced power loss in ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' (i.e., why would admiralty take a starship away from the captain who just saved his entire crew after its encounter with the whale probe, and give it to an officer who'd been demoted for insubordination?). It also allows that the ''Enterprise-A'' would have been a 40 year old vessel pressed back into service on a temporary basis, and that Tuvok's father would have served aboard the newer ''Yorktown''.
-A fifth possibility is that one of the writers totally missed something along the way, and, in trying to account for fan fiction in his drunken state, screwed up.
-If the ''Yorktown'' was indeed renamed as the ''Enterprise-A'', then Tuvok's father's ship must be a different ''Yorktown''. However, if you disregard Roddenberry's behind-the-scenes commentary, there is no on-screen evidence that contradicts the three 23rd century mentions of the ''Yorktown'' name all being the same vessel.
-The [[FASA]] sourcebook ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual]]'' lists a USS ''Yorktown'' (NCC-2033) of this era which belonged to the {{ShipClass|Excelsior}}; the book, however, is not considered canon.
-In the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' novel ''Crossover'', the ''Yorktown'' is revealed to have become a museum exhibit on a starbase, but its bridge has been replaced with the original bridge of the first ''Enterprise''. In the story in question, Captain [[Montgomery Scott]] steals the ''Yorktown'' to rescue [[Spock]], recently captured by the Romulans, and fits it with an ancient Romulan cloaking device (the one acquired in {{e|The Enterprise Incident}}). The mission proves successful, but aid is still required from the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} for Spock, Scotty and the Unification movement to escape.
-[[Category:Federation starships|Yorktown]]
 [[de:USS Yorktown]]
 [[es:USS Yorktown]]
+[[ja:USSヨークタウン(NCC-1717)]]
+[[Category:Federation starships|Yorktown]]