The Bonaventure was the first Federation Designed Warp Powered ship, all
other designs had been underway before the foundation of the Federation. An
experimental vessel, the Bonaventure was used as a showpiece for Federation
technology, and was one of the first vessels sent on long duration
exploratory missions. She was designed as a smaller counterpart to the
Battle Cruiser Prototype. Tragically she was lost on her third mission,
although the USS Enterprise located her in 2269, and it was established she
had been pulled into a parallel universe of some type.
Only the Bonaventure was built, partly due to her unexplained loss, and
partly because Starfleet felt that a larger number of
smaller vessels could perform the exploration role more effectively. This
position did not change until the Klingons became a greater threat in the
early 23rd century.
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