The evolution of starship design, easily traceable in Federation vessels, has been suprisingly indiscernable amongst the different capitol ships of the Klingon Empire. Recently declassified information from the Klingon Empire now identifies the L'ntch-class frigate as the hithertoo missing design link between the otherwise vastly-dissimilar K't'inga, B'rel, and V'orcha-class vessels. Read the history of the L'ntch

The L'ntch has in common with the K't'inga the overall layout and, in earlier versions, similar engines. Some versions of the L'ntch have wing-mounted disruptors, similar to the B'rel. And like the V'orcha, the L'ntch has a central weapons pod at the end of a forward boom, an upper-hull command deck,oversized cooling fins, and an aft-mounted sensor suite. Later versions were also equiped with similar engines.

This early variant features K't'inga-technology engines and downward-canted wings. The neck has also been positioned higher along the main hull.

The "Dreadnaught" variant has three K't'inga-technology engines along with B'rel-style wing-mounted disruptor pods. Note the additional sensor array just beneath the upper engines. The prototype for this design was identical except that it had no dorsal engine. The earliest L'ntch variants had a single dorsal-mounted engine, like the dorsal-mounted engine in the "Dreadnaught"here.

This version is similar to the V'orcha in that the wings have been mounted horizontally and newer technology engines have been installed.

Decoration

Earlier variants tended to be darker, later ones, lighter, although there was much individual expression apparent. For early versions I recommend a start with a base coat of FS 34079 Dark Green or FS 34092 European I Dark Green, optionally varying it with small amounts of FS 15050 Blue Angel Blue, FS 35237 Medium Gray, and/or FS 35164 Intermediate Blue. Over this base coat airbrush a mottled pattern of FS 34227 Pale Green or light gray. Later versions tended to be lighter, so start with a base coat of FS 34227 Pale Green or an even lighter mixture of green and light gray, mottling with the basecoat cut 50% with white. The armour on the wing-bottoms was often painted Bronson Red, which is Insignia Red to which Insignia Yellow was constantly applied until the red almost becomes orange. "RLM 23 ROT" ModelMaster Enamel is very similar. It must be reiterated that slight differences in both decoration and equipment amongst variants were not uncommon. Through the years L'ntch's have at times been equiped with auxiliary sensor pods, radically different weapons arrays, experimental or oversized impulse engines, and enlarged hanger decks.

History

Introduced in 2310 to complement the aging K't'inga-class battle cruiser, the L'ntch-class frigate was designed with a degree of modularity that enabled it to undergo six major revisions and remain in production for 80 years. The initial design showed an obvious influence by a speculated but never built destroyer-variant of the K't'inga. However, it incorporated many improvements that were a result of a philosophical change as much as technical advancement, and it revealed a constant Federation influence that was to provide impetus for modification throughout it's subsequent production. For instance, an unprecedented concern for crew safety yielded an improvment in reactor shielding, allowing the crew to be quartered throughout the ship instead of concentrated far to the front, and making the ship safer and less stressful for long missions. The offensive capabilities in turn benefitted from the parallel lines of disruptor fire that resulted from centrallizing the offensive weaponry in a pod extending from the bow. This was one of several design features later used in the Vor'cha-class attack cruiser but pioneered on the L'ntch, including the dorsal sensor pod and the oversized cooling flanges.

The first L'ntch's featured a single ventrally mounted KWF-4 warp engine, and was superior in every respect to the K't'inga. Nevertheless, the overall designed-in modularity - an under-appreciated feature of this vessel - appeared to demand the indulgence of those who wanted the faster and more powerfull.

Thus, after only twenty vessels, the Mk. I was quickly succeded in 2311 by the Mk.II, which mounted a pair KWF-5 engines on two downward-canted wings. Additional improvements included relatively huge reactor cooling flanges, required by the installation of an additional reactor.

All of 460 of the Mk.II's were built by 2342, making it the second most common variant, when the first of 44 Mk.III's was introduced. Borrowing from the B'rel, the Mk.III had limited-traversal wing-mounted disruptors, utilizing the same power feeds hithertoo running to the engines. The engines were moved to pylons astride the shuttle bay, in an arrangement reminiscient of Constitution-class federation vessels. The sensor suite was repackaged into a compact pod mounted just in front of the engine pylons. Characteristically, the additional firepower was welcomed enthusiastically, despite the loss of sensor capabillity - the more strategically-minded ship captains preferred the Mk.II.

Fielded in 2351, the Mk.IV was arguably the most impressive L'ntch, and the least successful. The Mk.IV was a conceptually minor modification of a Mk.III. The third engine, mounted to a ventral pylon, was not accompanied by any additional power generation capabilities, making the Mk.IV fast and powerfull, but not both at the same time. 8 were built, four ending their careers as ambassadorial couriers.

Advances in warp technology led in 2355 to the Mk.V, which had a single ventrally-mounted KWG-2 warp engine, the precursor to those later installed on the Vor'cha. This ship was faster than the Mk.IV and much more reliable, owing to the simplified design and reduced power requirements.

Only 30 of the Mk.V's were produced before the first Mk.VI was launched in 2357. The wings were repositioned horizontally, and each supported one of the new engines. The sensor suite and hangar were moved up over the cooling fins, offerring superior sensor spread. The weapons, concentrated again in the nose array, were improved. By far the most common L'ntch variant, 520 were eventually produced. Return to top

Detailed Comparison

	Mk.I	II	III	IV	V	VI
Superstructure Points	8	18	20	22	16	18
Length	325m	375m	375	375	375	375
Cargo Units	120	150	150	130	200	180
Transporters
- 6-person	4	5	5	5	5	4
- 22-person	3	4	4	4	4	5
- Cargo	4	5	5	4	5	5
Crew	412	480	485	520	380	390
Troop Capacity	300	300	300	150	450	400
Shuttle Craft	5	12	12	10	12	12
Total Power Units Available	52	80	80	80	80	80
Movement/Point ratio	5/1	6/1	6/1	7/1	6/1	8/1
Warp Engine
- Type	KWF-4	KWF-4	KWF-4	KWF-4	KWG-2	KWG-2
- Number	1	2	2	3	1	2
- Power Units Avail.	25	36	36	36	50	70
Impulse Engine Type	KIC-4	KIC-8	KIC-8	KIC-8	KIC-8	KIC-8
Beam Weapons
- Type	KD-12	KD-12	KD-12	KD-12	KD-12	KD-12
- Number	4	6	10	10	6	6
- Firing Arcs (p/s)	4f	4f,2a	8f,2a	8f,2a	4f,2a	4f,2a
- Maximum Power	7	8	8	8	8	8
- Damage Modifiers +3	1-7	1-7	1-7	1-7	1-7	1-7
- Damage Modifiers +2	8-15	8-15	8-18	8-18	8-18	8-15
- Damage Modifiers +1	16-20	16-20	19-25	19-25	19-25	16-20
Missile Weapon
- Forward Pod	KP-6	KP-6	KP-6	KP-6	KP-6	KP-7
- Aft	KP-6			KP-6	KP-6
- Wing (2)		RPL-4	RPL-4	RPL-4	RPL-4
- Power to Arm	2	8	2	12	8	8
- Damage	22	22	22/28	22/28	22/28	25
Deflector Shield
- Type	KSO	KSP	KSP	KSP	KSP	KSQ
- Point Ratio	1/2	1/3	1/3	1/3	1/3	1/4
- Maximum Power	15	16	16	16	16	17