# What Class are all the Enterprises? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 21, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337 "2004-10-21T03:14:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/1 "2004-10-21T03:14:32Z")
Ok, from the info I have, the various Enterprises break down into these classes… Enterprise (Archer) - NX Class Enterprise (Kirk) - Constitution Class Enterprise-A - ??? Enterprise-B - Alaska (I heard this once but have no confirmation) Enterprise-C - ??? Enterprise-D - Galaxy Enterprise-E - Soverign Anyone one know if these are right and what the A and C are? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/2 "2004-10-21T03:18:38Z")
Enterprise-C was an Ambassador class. Enterprise-A was also a Constitution class, just refitted. Enterprise-B wasn’t an Alaska, but an Excelsior. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/3 "2004-10-21T03:21:26Z")
[Cite for jayjay’s statement](http://rcum.uni-mb.si/~uvp00479b/StarWars/Eterpris/E-lagacy.htm#NCC-1701-A) ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/4 "2004-10-21T17:45:18Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Enterprise-A was also a Constitution class, just refitted. According to some sources, the refitted Constitution class is supposed to be called the “Enterprise class”, since the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 was the first starship with those refits. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/5 "2004-10-21T18:17:40Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > Enterprise-B - Alaska (I heard this once but have no confirmation) The Enterprise-B was always an Excelcior class, but the C was called an Alaska class for a time in some fan publications, including a poster that my friend had on his wall. [Here is a subspace transmission on the matter.](http://enterprisehistory.home.att.net/1701-c/faq.html#alaska) ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/6 "2004-10-21T19:10:13Z")
\*\*jayjay \*\*is right about the ships listed in the OP but there’re five other Enterprises unaccounted for: the E-F; E-G; E-H; E-I; and E-J. All classes are unknown though and probably always will be. > [@tracer](#): > > According to some sources, the refitted Constitution class is supposed to be called the “Enterprise class”, since the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 was the first starship with those refits. Which is just wrong. For one, there’s absolutely no precedent for a starship refit to be the basis for a new ship class. Otherwise, the Excelsior class would be an Enterprise class too… the ship in _Generations_ different from Sulu’s Excelsior. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/7 "2004-10-21T19:14:45Z")
Ignore that “for one” at the beginning of my reply to **tracer**. I was originally going to post a couple reasons why it’s wrong but decided my stated reason alone was enough. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/8 "2004-10-21T20:17:49Z")
But was it just a refit? Deckard tells Kirk: “She has been completely redesigned you don’t know her a tenth as much as I do.” Kirk even find himslef wandering down wrong hallways. At what point is it merely a refit or a completely new design? I meant they added turbolifts and switched around hallways! ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/9 "2004-10-21T20:30:18Z")
Do you consider the White House to be the same building today as it was a hundred years ago? If I remember correctly, Truman had the interior completely revamped and the exterior is the only thing that’s the same. To me, they’re the same. To use a less extreme example, would you consider a building that’s had elevators added, wiring completely revamped, and offices moved from floor to floor the same? I would. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/10 "2004-10-21T20:35:34Z")
> [@kingpengvin](#): > > But was it just a refit? Deckard tells Kirk: “She has been completely redesigned you don’t know her a tenth as much as I do.” > > Kirk even find himslef wandering down wrong hallways. At what point is it merely a refit or a completely new design? I meant they added turbolifts and switched around hallways! Decker was never on the “A”. He’d already melded with the bald woman and the machine before the 1701-A was unveiled. The sequence is: ST:TMP, STII, STIII: The original NCC-1701 Enterprise from the TV show, with snazzier trappings to show off new SFX technology. STIV: The NCC-1701-A is unveiled at the end. The majority of the movie the crew is flying a Klingon bird-of-prey. STV: 1701-A STVI: 1701-A STGenerations: The maiden voyage of the 1701-B (it gets delivered Thursday). STTNG episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise”: 1701-C Ambassador class. STTNG _ibid_, ST:Generations: 1701-D Galaxy Class, destroyed in Generations. ST: First Contact, ST: Insurrection, ST: Nemesis: 1701-E Sovereign Class ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/11 "2004-10-21T20:41:43Z")
We were talking about the refit, not the E-A. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/12 "2004-10-21T20:44:50Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > We were talking about the refit, not the E-A. Augh! You’re right. My misreading… ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/13 "2004-10-21T20:46:11Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > \*\*jayjay \*\*is right about the ships listed in the OP but there’re five other Enterprises unaccounted for: the E-F; E-G; E-H; E-I; and E-J. Novels, or somewhere else? > [@](#): > > which is just wrong. For one, there’s absolutely no precedent for a starship refit to be the basis for a new ship class. Otherwise, the Excelsior class would be an Enterprise class too… the ship in _Generations_ different from Sulu’s Excelsior. This paragraph makes no sense to me. Enterprise B was an Excelsior class, not the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/14 "2004-10-21T20:53:40Z")
_Enterprise_. Crewman Daniels takes Archer to the 26th Century in the final episodes of S3 to show just how fucked up the current timeline is. They are on board the E-J and if there’s a J, there has to be an F, G, H, and I. And the second paragraph was me refuting the theory that tracer mentioned. If the Enterprise refit and E-A are going to be \*Enterprise \*Class simply because the Enterprise was the first ship to recieve such a major upgrade, then the E-B, which is different from the original Excelsior in appearance, should be an \*Enterprise \*Class as well. Or something else entirely if the E-B wasn’t the first to get the upgrade. To rename ships based on refits is madness. ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/15 "2004-10-22T00:01:07Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > _Enterprise_. Crewman Daniels takes Archer to the 26th Century in the final episodes of S3 to show just how fucked up the current timeline is. I thought he took Archer to what the future was _supposed to be_. For instance, he tells Archer that there are Xindi officers serving on the Enterprise-J, which is in the middle of a pivotal battle against the sphere-builders. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/16 "2004-10-22T00:09:18Z")
He did. That’s what I meant by him showing how fucked up the current (ENT S3; the Earth/Xindi War) timeline is. Sorry if I was too vague. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/17 "2004-10-22T00:15:37Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > STGenerations: The maiden voyage of the 1701-B (it gets delivered Thursday). \ Tuesday. \ ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/18 "2004-10-22T00:17:32Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > if there’s a J, there has to be an F, G, H, and I. Not nececelery. They might’ve skipped “I”. What with it looking too much like a “1” and all. I’ve seen ampitheater seating where they skip right from H to J. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/19 "2004-10-22T08:33:18Z")
The original Enterprise was identified as simply “Starship Class”, by the dedication plaque on the bridge. Bjo Trimble has supposedly claimed credit for suggesting to Gene Roddenberry in 1968 that the other “classes” of ship likely existed within the Star Trek universe, though whether she or Roddenberry or a third party came up with “Constitution” is unclear. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337/20 "2004-10-22T11:41:00Z")
Okay, giving myself away as an incredible star trek geek here… (big surprise,) but… The final section of the ‘enterprise D technical manual’ talks about future plans, and speculated that the next enterprise after D would be Nova class (IIRC), which was just on the drawing board. Presumably that didn’t come to pass because enterprise-D was totalled so unexpectedly in ‘generations’ and Picard used his connections to get them to christen a sovereign-class as Enterprise-E. so maybe Enterprise-F will be Nova class?? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-class-are-all-the-enterprises/270337.md?page=2)