The
Bode Class entered Starfleet service in 2236. This large (for its time)
scout was one of the last major warship classes built without the benefit of
dilithium moderated warp drives.
The Bode class
was designed to act as a Battlefleet Scout, and quite often was deployed in
task forces alongside a Baton Rouge Class Cruiser. The Baton Rouge Class
ship being the flagship of the force, and the Bode it’s eyes and ears.
The
Mk1 Bode class featured protected warp nacelle bussards, on an engine that
in terms of design owed much to the design used on the Mann class cruiser.
Initially the protective ring only enclosed half of the bussard, but later
this ring was extended around the whole circumference of the bussard scoop
to try to boost efficiency.
The Bode was
popular with its crews, as although only lightly armed with lasers, it did
include a single FAC2 accelerator cannon, which meant that the Bode could
easily damage then evade a more powerful opponent. The ample power of the
engines and excellent maneuverability of the design allowed the Bode to
choose its combats.
The Class was later supplanted in its fleet role by Hermes, Monoceros
and Nelson class scouts, but it was retained in use supporting second line
fleets. With the outbreak of the Four Years War, many Bode class vessels
were pressed into service scouting ahead of convoys.
The failure of
the diminutive Hale class in service, and its withdrawal from operational
use in early 2253, meant that the
Bode assumed greater importance. The other
common scout class, the Sawyer, was deemed to be too small for the role, and
production of Hermes and Nelson class vessels was being deferred in favour
of Destroyers of the Larson and Saladin classes instead.
Accordingly
20 Bodes were quickly re-equipped with Dilithium moderated warp drive, which
gave a maximum speed of warp 8, however this was at the expense of a 20%
loss of installed power. To compensate for this loss of available power, the
shields were upgraded to the FSD binary system, which more than made up for
the loss. As part of the upgrade the L14 computer replaced the old L3, but
uniquely the class retained the old FNSP-5B impulse drive as it was felt
that the operational profile of the class did not suffer from the lower
maximum speed (0.25c) of the engine compared to the newer generation of
impulse drives (0.5c).
Following the
withdrawal of the Sawyer Class scout from service in late 2253 the Bode was
for a short time the main fleet scout. When sufficient numbers of Nelson and
Hermes class scouts became available in 2254 the Bode was withdrawn from
operational service, as although it was a capable vessel problems with
maintenance meant that the class was very man power intensive to maintain in
service.
Additionally,
as with the experience with the Sawyer and Hale classes, Starfleet was
uncomfortable with the level of losses that these light scouts were
suffering given the crew shortages that Starfleet was suffering as a result
of the war.
Most surviving
Bodes were mothballed at the Morena Yards, and would have been recalled to
service if the strategic
situation had deteriorated further, but in the event this was not
required. Four Bode class ships remained in limited service attached to the
Academy.
A proposal to
refit the Bodes with Phasers, Photon Torpedoes and new impulse drives was
made after the end of the war to allow a return to service, but it was felt
that refitting newer classes was far more cost effective.
The Bodes
attached to the Academy survived in service until 2262. Most
of the Bodes that had been stored at Morena were later expended in trials of
the new FP4 torpedo system
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