Shiloh Class Starship

SHILOH CLASS


The Shiloh class is a class of large, heavily armed Battle Cruisers in service with the United Federation of Planets Starfleet. The lead ship, USS Shiloh, was authorised as part of the Federation Council's Defense Appropriation Act of 2368, which authorised Starfleet to begin research into a large, well armed starship for use against the Borg.

GENERAL CHARACTORISTICS
Length: 705 Meters

Beam: 325 Meters

Decks: 36

Crew: 650

Weapons Systems: 18 Type XII Phaser Arrays, 8 Photon Torpedo Tubes

Performance: Warp 9.95 Maximum

Ships Ordered: 33

Ships Built: 33

Ships Lost: 6

Ships In Service: 27

BEGININGS
In 2369, Starfleet decided that it would be easier and take less time to develop Shiloh, then known as the "Intermediate Battle Cruiser", from a design either in production or in pre-production. After a several month review, the Advanced Starship Design Bureau chose to base Shiloh on the Soveriegn class, of which the first three ships (Soveriegn, Enterprise, and Veroto) were already under construction.

Starfleet designers modified the design considerably, but also drew upon early ideas for the class. in late 2369, the design was finalised, and in January 2370, the keel was laid for USS Shiloh.

EARLY SHIPS
The Shiloh class was intended as a limited run class, and like Defiant, as few as 6 of the ships would be built. Shiloh's keel was laid in 2370, followed shortly thereafter by three sister ships: Lake Champlain (March 2370), Chancellorsville (April 2370), and Cowpens (May 2370). Interestingly, the four ships each shared their names with ships of an equally revolutionary class of US Navy ships, the Ticonderoga Class Guided Missile Cruisers. These ships also set a trend, as the majority of the Shiloh class starships would be named after 20th Century battles, most involving the United States of America.

In 2372, with war on the horizon, Starfleet began a military build up in preparation for a Dominion invasion. Utopia Planitia Fleet yards, so far the only builder of Shiloh class Starships, laid keels for six of the Battle Cruisers, even as the first four were nearing completion. Anteres Fleet Yards laid down five more keels that same year. When the Federation authorised the expansion of the yards, another six keels were laid and work progressed at a fever pace. by the start of 2373, Shiloh and Lake Champlain were conducting Space Trials, while Chancellorsville and Cowpens were in their final fitting out phase. By the start of the Dominion War, all four of the original Shiloh class Starships were in service, with another 20 under construction.

DOMINION WAR
With the start of the Dominion War, Starfleet had six active Shiloh Class Starships: the first four, plus the newly launched USS Normandy and USS Leyte Gulf. Though untested in combat, they were put immediately to use. Three ships, Shiloh, Chancellorsville, and Normandy, were dispatched to the front lines. Cowpens and Leyte Gulf were sent to guard Anteres ship yards, while Lake Champlain joined the Sector 001 Garrison.

Under command of Captain (Brevit Commodore) Jim Phaserman, Shiloh, Chancellorsville, and Normandy formed the Shiloh Combat Action Group and undertook many combat expeditions during the first year of the war. Most notably, the three ships provided heavy and accurate fire support during Operation: Return, the retaking of Deep Space Nine. During that operation, the Cruisers of the SCAG engaged in a harrowing 12-on-3 Melee with Dominion and Cardassian Cruisers. The action resulted in the destruction of 10 enemy vessels, and 2 out of action. Unfortunately, all three ships also took heavy damage. Shiloh remained on station at Deep Space Nine while Chancellorsville and Normandy headed to Anteres for refit. Cowpens and Leyte Gulf were dispatched to replace the Chancellorsville and Normandy in the Bajor sector.

By April of 2374, six more Shiloh class starships had joined the fleet. Two were assigned to Earth, with the other four being sent to various fleets, each badly in need of heavy firepower. As the war bogged down into a stalemate, more Shiloh class starships came online. By early 2375, 15 of the 20 starships in production at the start of the war were in service. The Battle of Chin'Toka marked the next major operation for the Shiloh class Starships.

Six Shilohs participated in the first true attack against Cardassian space. HC-1, led by Shiloh, also comprised of Cowpens and Leyte Gulf, were assigned to the fleet's right flank. HC-2, with the Chancellorsville, Normandy, and the Princeton, took up on the left flank. During the battle, a Jem'Hadar Attack Ship attempted a suicide run on the Klingon Battlecruiser Negh'Var, only to be swatted down by broadsides from Shiloh and Cowpens. General (later Chancellor) Martok would later remark that the Shiloh class starship is a credit to the Federation.

No Shiloh class starships were lost during the 1st Battle of Chin'Toka. The second battle, however, was a different story. USS Normandy remained in Chin'Toka as part of the garrison force. when the Dominion counter attacked, she led a valiant charge to turn the enemy's flank. Normandy began the allied Counterattack, and also earned the distinction of being the first victim of the Breen energy dampening weapons. Normandy was lost, with 237 officers and crew.

By the end of the war, the Shilohs were serving on every front. 24 vessels fought in the war, making major contributions throughout the conflict. Normandy was the first Shiloh class starship to be lost, but not the last. Two more, Jutland and Gallipoli, were lost during an attempted retaking of Betazed. USS Belleau Wood was lost with all hands defending Risa.

OPERATION FINAL ASSAULT
The final campaign of the war saw the largest concentration of Shiloh class Starships to date. 12 of 20 surviving Shiloh class starships joined the Allied Fleet that left Deep Space Nine. Admiral Ross campaigned for all 20 to be assigned to the fleet, but Starfleet Command stated that such powerful ships would be needed elsewhere.

During the initial battle, several lightyears from Cardassia Prime, the Shilohs again proved their worth. Four Shiloh class starships engaged and defeated a Dominion Battleship (Later confirmed as the ship that destroyed USS Valiant). During the fighting, however, USS Cowpens collided with a Jem Hadar Cruiser, resulting in the destruction of both ships. During the final stages of the battle, USS Waterloo became the final Shiloh class starship to fall during the war.

POSTWAR
With the end of the Dominion War, Starfleet was left in bad shape. However, production on most warship classes ended with the end of the war, so new Shiloh-class starships were not ordered. However, six were under construction at the time of the treaty of Bajor, and these ships were completed.

By 2378, when Voyager returned, Starfleet once again had 24 Shiloh class starships in service. However, tensions in the Alpha Quadrant were still high, and Starfleet C-IN-C Admiral Ross requested permission to continue the Shiloh class. On 01 January, 2379, the keel was laid for USS Valley Forge, the first of the Improved Shiloh class. Over the next several years, building continued. in 2385, the last Shiloh class starship, USS Bunker Hill, was launched from Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. 27 Shiloh Class starships serve throughout Lima Fleet. three are built to the Improved Standard, with more powerful warp and impulse engines. 12 of the 24 earlier ships have since been refitted to this standard. All three of the surviving "First Four" have been refitted. Currently, Shiloh and Valley Forge are assigned to Lima Fleet.

UPGRADES AND MODERNIZATION
When originally built, the Shiloh class resembled a larger, re-arranged Soveriegn class. However, to make production easier, the ship was built with 2360's era computers and fire control systems. While still quite capable, it became by the end of the war a liability for the starships.

At the end of the war, several of the older ships were upgraded with more modern sensors and computers (Bio Neural Gel Packs, Etc.), although it wasn't until 2378 that the ships began to recieve major upgrades.

In 2378, Shiloh became the first ship, aside from the new build Valley Forge, to recieve a comprehensive warp and impulse system overhaul. This included a new warp nacelle design (A larger version of the nacelles used on the Prometheus class.), a more powerful warp core, and more resiliant impulse engines.