Changes: USS Yorktown (23rd century)

Revision as of 19:41, 4 July 2015

For 24th century starship with the same name, please see USS Yorktown (NCC-20045).

The USS Yorktown was a 23rd century Federation starship operated by Starfleet.

History

In 2268, the Yorktown was scheduled to deliver vaccines bound for the colony on Theta VII after a rendezvous with the USS Enterprise. (TOS: "Obsession")

In 2286, the Yorktown was under the command of Captain Joel Randolph. While deployed near the Sol system, the Yorktown was one of the many vessels disabled by the Whale Probe near Earth.

In Randolph's distress call to Starfleet Command, he noted that the ship had lost all power and that all non-essential crew were given hiber-sedatives to slow down consumption of life support reserves. Meanwhile, the chief engineer attempted to deploy a makeshift solar sail so as to focus and absorb radiation from a nearby sun they were orbiting, with the hopes of generating power to keep the crew alive. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

In 2293, Tuvok's father was a Starfleet officer serving aboard the Yorktown. (VOY: "Flashback")

Yorktown personnel

USS Yorktown personnel

Appendices

Background information

The USS Yorktown was the name of the central starship in Gene Roddenberry's first Star Trek proposal to NBC in 1964. The ship was named after the USS Yorktown (CV-5), a World War II American aircraft carrier, which in turn was named after the last major battle of the American Revolution, won in 1781 by a combined Franco-American army commanded by Gen. George Washington. (Star Trek Encyclopedia 2nd ed., p. 572) Coincidentally, the historical World War II Yorktown was a class sister of the historical USS Enterprise (CV-6), after which Roddenberry ultimately named his starship. (The Making of Star Trek, p. 164)

Gene Roddenberry, in a nod to his original name choice from 1964, suggested that the Yorktown was renamed as the USS Enterprise-A at the end of Star Trek IV, explaining why the latter ship seemed to be launched so quickly at the end of the movie. (Star Trek Encyclopedia, 3rd ed. p. 572) The season four internal studio document, Star Trek: The Next Generation Writers' Technical Manual (2nd ed. p. 6), co-written by Michael Okuda, emphatically stated this to be the case, reaffirmed in the later officially endorsed Star Trek Fact Files and the 2010 reference book USS Enterprise Owners' Workshop Manual. This was further validated when, in the later Encyclopedia, Mike Okuda described the Yorktown in 2293 as the second ship to bear this name. The Starfleet practice of renaming a vessel for a very deserving other vessel was later canonically established in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes "The Changing Face of Evil" and "The Dogs of War", when the USS Sao Paulo was rechristened as the USS Defiant, when the original Defiant was destroyed in the Dominion War. Star Trek Encyclopedia (co-written by Okuda), Star Fleet Technical Manual, and all other reference works confirm the Yorktown was a Constitution-class heavy cruiser. The producers of Star Trek: The Original Series had the name included on their final fourteen ship list at the start of its second season, belonging to the Constitution-class, then still referred to as "Starship-class" by them. (The Making of Star Trek, pp. 164-165)

NCC-1717 was the registry number given to the Yorktown by Gregory Jein in his influential "The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship" article, published in the April 1973 issue 27 of the T-Negative fanzine. [1] Okuda took his cue from Jein's article and further propagated the registry in his reference work writings, most notably the Star Trek Encyclopedia. NCC-1704 was the registry number assigned to the Yorktown by Franz Joseph in the unofficial Star Fleet Technical Manual.

Apocrypha

The comic book series Star Trek: Romulans - Schism featured the Constitution-class Yorktown, endowed with Jein's registry number NCC-1717.
The FASA sourcebook Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual listed a USS Yorktown (NCC-2033) of this era which belonged to the Excelsior-class.
In the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel Crossover, the Yorktown was revealed to have become a museum exhibit on a starbase, but its bridge has been replaced with the original bridge of the first Enterprise. In the story in question, Captain Montgomery Scott stole the Yorktown to rescue Spock, recently captured by the Romulans, and fitted it with an ancient Romulan cloaking device (the one acquired in "The Enterprise Incident"). The mission proved successful, but aid was still required from the USS Enterprise-D for Spock, Scotty and the Unification movement to escape.

External link

USS Yorktown (Constitution class) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{sidebar starship
-The '''USS ''Yorktown''''' was a [[Federation]] [[starship]] that was in service during the latter half of the [[23rd century]].
+|image      =
+|Name       = USS ''Yorktown''
+|dt         = USS ''Yorktown'' (23rd century)
+|owner      = {{Federation}}
+|operator   = [[Starfleet]]
+|Status     = Active
+|Datestatus = 2293
+|image2     = Joel Randolph.jpg
+|imagecap2  = The commanding officer of the USS ''Yorktown'' in 2286, Captain Joel Randolph
+}}
+{{disambiguation|24th century starship with the same name|USS Yorktown (NCC-20045)}}
+The '''USS ''Yorktown''''' was a [[23rd century]] [[Federation]] [[starship]] operated by [[Starfleet]].
+==History==
 In [[2268]], the ''Yorktown'' was scheduled to deliver [[vaccine]]s bound for the [[colony]] on [[Theta VII]] after a rendezvous with the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}}. ({{TOS|Obsession}})
-In [[2286]], the ''Yorktown'' was under the command of [[Captain]] [[Joel Randolph]]. While deployed near the [[Sol system]], the ''Yorktown'' was one of the many vessels disabled by the [[Whale probe]] near [[Earth]].
+In [[2286]], the ''Yorktown'' was under the command of [[Captain]] [[Joel Randolph]]. While deployed near the [[Sol system]], the ''Yorktown'' was one of the many vessels disabled by the [[Whale Probe]] near [[Earth]].
 In Randolph's [[distress call]] to [[Starfleet Command]], he noted that the ship had lost all power and that all non-essential crew were given [[hiber-sedative]]s to slow down consumption of [[life support]] reserves. Meanwhile, the [[chief engineer]] attempted to deploy a makeshift [[solar sail]] so as to focus and absorb [[radiation]] from a nearby [[sun]] they were [[orbit]]ing, with the hopes of generating [[energy|power]] to keep the crew alive. ({{film|4}})
@@ Line 12: / Line 25: @@
 * [[USS Yorktown personnel|USS ''Yorktown'' personnel]]
-==Background==
+==Appendices==
+===Background information===
-According to an article by [[Greg Jein]] in a 1970s [[fan fiction|fanzine]] regarding starship registries, he assigned the number NCC-1717 to the name ''Yorktown''. This registry has been further propagated by being included in the writings of [[Michael Okuda]], such as the ''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'', which also references the ''Yorktown'' as a {{ShipClass|Constitution}} starship.
+The USS ''Yorktown'' was the name of the central starship in [[Gene Roddenberry]]'s first ''[[Star Trek]]'' [[Star Trek is...|proposal]] to [[NBC]] in 1964. The ship was named after the {{w|USS Yorktown (CV-5)|USS ''Yorktown''}} (CV-5), a [[World War II]] [[United States of America|American]] [[aircraft carrier]], which in turn was named after the last major battle of the [[American Revolution]], won in 1781 by a combined Franco-American army commanded by Gen. [[George Washington]]. (''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'' 2nd ed., p. 572) Coincidentally, the historical World War II ''Yorktown'' was a class sister of the historical {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6| (CV-6)}}, after which Roddenberry ultimately named his starship. (''[[The Making of Star Trek]]'', p. 164)
+Gene Roddenberry, in a nod to his original name choice from 1964, suggested that the ''Yorktown'' was renamed as the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-A|-A}} at the end of ''Star Trek IV'', explaining why the latter ship seemed to be launched so quickly at the end of the movie. (''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'', 3rd ed. p. 572) The season four internal studio document, ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Writers' Technical Manual]]'' (2nd ed. p. 6), co-written by [[Michael Okuda]], emphatically stated this to be the case, reaffirmed in the later officially endorsed ''[[Star Trek Fact Files]]'' and the 2010 reference book ''[[USS Enterprise Owners' Workshop Manual]]''. This was further validated when, in the later ''Encyclopedia'', Mike Okuda described the ''Yorktown'' in 2293 as the second ship to bear this name. The Starfleet practice of renaming a vessel for a very deserving other vessel was later [[canon]]ically established in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episodes {{e|The Changing Face of Evil}} and {{e|The Dogs of War}}, when the {{USS|Sao Paulo}} was rechristened as the {{USS|Defiant|2375}}, when the original ''Defiant'' was destroyed in the [[Dominion War]]. ''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'' (co-written by Okuda), ''[[Star Fleet Technical Manual]]'', and all other reference works confirm the ''Yorktown'' was a {{class|Constitution}} [[heavy cruiser]]. The producers of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' had the name included on their final [[Constitution class#Footnotes|fourteen ship list]] at the start of its [[TOS Season 2|second season]], belonging to the ''Constitution''-class, then still referred to as "''Starship''-class" by them. (''[[The Making of Star Trek]]'', pp. 164-165)
-The ''Yorktown'' was listed as a ''Constitution''-class starship, with the [[registry]] NCC-1704, in [[Franz Joseph]]'s ''[[Star Fleet Technical Manual]]''. However, much of the information in that manual that wasn't used on screen in some form is considered non-[[canon]].
+NCC-1717 was the [[registry number]] given to the ''Yorktown'' by [[Gregory Jein]] in his influential "[[The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship]]" article, published in the April 1973 issue 27 of the ''[[T-Negative]]'' [[fanzine]]. [http://flare.solareclipse.net/cgi2/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=002739;p=3] Okuda took his cue from Jein's article and further propagated the registry in his [[reference work]] writings, most notably the ''Star Trek Encyclopedia''. NCC-1704 was the registry number assigned to the ''Yorktown'' by [[Franz Joseph]] in the unofficial ''Star Fleet Technical Manual''.
-The USS ''Yorktown'' was the name of the central starship in [[Gene Roddenberry]]'s first ''[[Star Trek]]'' proposal to [[NBC]] in 1964. The ship was named after the {{w|USS Yorktown (CV-5)|USS ''Yorktown''}}, a [[World War II]] [[United States of America|American]] [[aircraft carrier]], which in turn was named after the last major battle of the [[American Revolution]], won in 1781 by a combined Franco-American army commanded by Gen. [[George Washington]].
+===Apocrypha===
-Gene Roddenberry, in a nod to his original name choice from 1964, suggested that the ''Yorktown'' was renamed {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-A|-A}} at the end of ''Star Trek IV'', explaining why the latter ship seemed to be launched so quickly at the end of the movie. The ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Next Generation]]'' fourth season writer's technical manual also indicates this to be the case. However, there is no primary evidence to confirm this theory. If the NCC-1701-A was refit from a ship from the TOS era, that would mean that the ''Yorktown'' was renamed after over ''20 years of service'' &ndash; a seemingly disrespectful violation of starship naming parlance. However, if the ''Yorktown'' Roddenberry spoke of was a ''brand new'' ship, then why would it have been decommissioned only seven years later in {{film|6}}? Scrapping a relatively new [[cruiser]] seems like a waste.
+*The comic book series ''[[Star Trek: Romulans - Schism]]'' featured the ''Constitution''-class ''Yorktown'', endowed with Jein's registry number NCC-1717.
+*The [[FASA]] sourcebook ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual]]'' listed a USS ''Yorktown'' (NCC-2033) of this era which belonged to the {{class|Excelsior}}.
+*In the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' novel ''[[Crossover (novel)|Crossover]]'', the ''Yorktown'' was revealed to have become a museum exhibit on a starbase, but its bridge has been replaced with the original [[bridge]] of the first ''[[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|Enterprise]]''. In the story in question, Captain [[Montgomery Scott]] stole the ''Yorktown'' to rescue [[Spock]], recently captured by the Romulans, and fitted it with an ancient Romulan cloaking device (the one acquired in {{e|The Enterprise Incident}}). The mission proved successful, but aid was still required from the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} for Spock, Scotty and the Unification movement to escape.
+===External link===
-A third possibility is that the ''Yorktown'' Roddenberry meant was '''neither''' aged nor young: Presuming the TOS ''Yorktown'' long-since retired, it could've been replaced by a ''Constitution'' ship of the [[Star Trek films|movie]]-era several years hence. This would mean considering the TOS-era ship and the [[2280s]] ship as two separate incarnations.
+*{{mbeta|USS Yorktown (Constitution class)|USS ''Yorktown'' (''Constitution'' class)}}
-A fourth, closely related, possibility is that the original ''Yorktown'', after being refit in the early 2270s, was retired in the early 2280s along with most of the other refit ''Constitution''-class ships in preparation for the launch of the new ''Excelsior'' and ''Constellation'' classes. The refit ''Yorktown'' would have been replaced by a new (''Miranda''- or ''Constellation''-class ?) ship. When two operational vessels (first the ''Reliant'', then the ''Grissom'') were lost in 2285, Starfleet would have needed a short-term replacement until new vessels could be constructed. The original ''Yorktown'' would have been pulled out of mothballs to fill this short-term role, but since there was already a new ''Yorktown'' in service (seen in ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home''), a new name would have been needed for the original vessel. Because the original ''Enterprise'' had been destroyed over Genesis, and its ''Excelsior''-class replacement (NCC-20XX) was still seven years away, the original ''Yorktown'' was renamed ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701A.  In spacedock, the then-building ''Excelsior''-class ''Enterprise'' would have been renumbered NCC-1701B. This possibility allows the original ''Yorktown'' to be renamed without any disrespect to the crew that suffered the probe-induced power loss in ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' (i.e., why would admiralty take a starship away from the captain who just saved his entire crew after its encounter with the whale probe, and give it to an officer who'd been demoted for insubordination?). It also allows that the ''Enterprise-A'' would have been a 40 year old vessel pressed back into service on a temporary basis, and that Tuvok's father would have served aboard the newer ''Yorktown''.
-A fifth possibility is that one of the writers totally missed something along the way, and, in trying to account for fan fiction in his drunken state, screwed up.
-If the ''Yorktown'' was indeed renamed as the ''Enterprise-A'', then Tuvok's father's ship must be a different ''Yorktown''. However, if you disregard Roddenberry's behind-the-scenes commentary, there is no on-screen evidence that contradicts the three 23rd century mentions of the ''Yorktown'' name all being the same vessel.
-The [[FASA]] sourcebook ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual]]'' lists a USS ''Yorktown'' (NCC-2033) of this era which belonged to the {{ShipClass|Excelsior}}; the book, however, is not considered canon.
-In the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' novel ''Crossover'', the ''Yorktown'' is revealed to have become a museum exhibit on a starbase, but its bridge has been replaced with the original bridge of the first ''Enterprise''. In the story in question, Captain [[Montgomery Scott]] steals the ''Yorktown'' to rescue [[Spock]], recently captured by the Romulans, and fits it with an ancient Romulan cloaking device (the one acquired in {{e|The Enterprise Incident}}). The mission proves successful, but aid is still required from the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} for Spock, Scotty and the Unification movement to escape.
-[[Category:Federation starships|Yorktown]]
 [[de:USS Yorktown]]
 [[es:USS Yorktown]]
+[[ja:USSヨークタウン(NCC-1717)]]
+[[Category:Federation starships|Yorktown]]