Designed as a replacement for the Daedalus Class and first entering service in 2189, the Panther Class was the backbone of the Federation Starfleet for much of the early 23rd Century. The ships in this class had an illustrious service life, lasting for almost half a century, until the surviving ships in the class were decommissioned in 2236 as newer ship classes (such as the Sakura Class) made them obsolete. The decommissioned vessels were stored at Surplus Depot P64.
This would not quite be the end of the Panther Class, however. In the late 2260's, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers was planning a major overhaul of Starfleet, refitting ships and upgrading their technology. The first ship scheduled to undergo a full refit was the Constitution Class U.S.S. Enterprise, which was due to return from a historic five year mission in 2270. Before this refit was to begin, however, it was decided that there would be a test run to try out some of the new technologies that would be involved.
The decommissioned Panther Class vessels were surveyed, and the one that was in the best shape, U.S.S. Lytton, was selected to undergo a partial refit. After refitting and testing was completed, the new technologies involved were approved for use on active service vessels and the refit on Enterprise was begun. Meanwhile, rather then return U.S.S. Lytton to Surplus Depot P64 and let the work that had been done to her go to waste, she was recommissioned and reentered service as a training vessel, a capacity in which she still serves to this day, making her the oldest Starfleet vessel currently in active service.
This would not quite be the end of the Panther Class, however. In the late 2260's, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers was planning a major overhaul of Starfleet, refitting ships and upgrading their technology. The first ship scheduled to undergo a full refit was the Constitution Class U.S.S. Enterprise, which was due to return from a historic five year mission in 2270. Before this refit was to begin, however, it was decided that there would be a test run to try out some of the new technologies that would be involved.
The decommissioned Panther Class vessels were surveyed, and the one that was in the best shape, U.S.S. Lytton, was selected to undergo a partial refit. After refitting and testing was completed, the new technologies involved were approved for use on active service vessels and the refit on Enterprise was begun. Meanwhile, rather then return U.S.S. Lytton to Surplus Depot P64 and let the work that had been done to her go to waste, she was recommissioned and reentered service as a training vessel, a capacity in which she still serves to this day, making her the oldest Starfleet vessel currently in active service.
Original Configuration:
List of Ships:
NCC-340 U.S.S. Panther **
NCC-341 U.S.S. Lugash ** NCC-342 U.S.S. Clouseau * NCC-343 U.S.S. Dreyfus ** NCC-344 U.S.S. Fong ** NCC-345 U.S.S. Mancini * NCC-346 U.S.S. Edwards * NCC-347 U.S.S. Lytton NCC-348 U.S.S. Simone ** |
NCC-349 U.S.S. Claudine *
NCC-350 U.S.S. LeBec * NCC-351 U.S.S. Fassbender ** NCC-352 U.S.S. Douvier * NCC-353 U.S.S. Langlois * NCC-354 U.S.S. Sleigh ** NCC-355 U.S.S. Gambrelli ** NCC-356 U.S.S. Auguste ** NCC-357 U.S.S. LaJoy ** |
* ship lost in the line of duty
** ship decommissioned
** ship decommissioned