Belleau
Wood-Class Assault Transports
Diagrams

Orthographic
views Perspective
view
 

Deck plans,
part 1 Deck plans,
part 2
created by Allen
Rolfes (see notes) created by Allen
Rolfes (see notes)

Scenes

3D
model for SF Command 3D
scene
created by Jay Hagen created by Jay Hagen

History

Since the introduction of the Lancaster class of 2205, the primary hulls of most Starfleet cruisers
have contained all primary command stations, medical facilities, crew quarters, the entire fusion
reactor/impulse drive assembly, and most life support machinery and weaponry. This self-
contained functional and structural unit can be mated to a small engineering hull with a less
powerful warp reactor and standard warp nacelles. Since the resulting ship has a lower
displacement than the cruiser from which it was derived, performance at warp speeds is generally
similar while that at sublight speeds is generally improved. However, since internal hull volume is
decreased along with ships stores, research facilities, and complement, such ships are unable to
perform the wide range of missions that a full-size cruiser can. Instead, these ships are usually
designed for a single primary role, such as light shuttle carrier, light cruiser, armed transport, and
cargo tug. Alternatively, the primary hull of the cruiser can be mated to a larger mission-specific
secondary hull, resulting in such types as heavy shuttle carriers, dreadnoughts, assault transports,
and hospital ships. Because the secondary hull often carries a warp reactor at least equal in power
to that of the cruiser, performance at warp is generally similar while sublight performance is
generally worse unless a more powerful impulse drive unit is used.

The first ship type to be derived from the Valley Forge class was the Belleau Wood-class assault
transport, which was designed to serve as the command ship for landings on heavily defended
planetary surfaces. Starfleet had previously introduced several classes of shuttle carrier, but most
had been designed to carry fighters for use in ship-to-ship engagements or fighter/bombers to
attack ground-based and orbital targets. However, specialized troop landing craft and assault
carriers had not been considered necessary since the introduction of transporter-borne assault
tactics in the early 2210s. Starfleet was forced to quickly reconsider this policy in June 2224 after
127 Starfleet Marines were killed during the landings at Homunculus XX. Electromagnetic pulses
generated by stealthed minifusion warheads below geosynchronous orbit shattered the
transporter's annular confinement beams and irretrievably dispersed the matter streams. Although
matter transport was still the favored mode of vertical troop insertion, its inherent vulnerability to
disruption by most forms of radiant energy and many types of physical obstacles (even as simple
as dispersed metal particles) led Starfleet in the aftermath of this disaster to finally recognize the
importance of maintaining a credible shipborne landing capability. As a stop-gap measure, several
carriers of the Swordfish class were refitted in 2225 with facilities for Marines and a small number
of assault shuttlecraft. Then, in December 2227 work was begun on the Belleau Wood-class assault
transport, which was based upon the Valley Forge-class cruisers that had joined Starfleet one
month earlier.

           

To increase primary hull volume, the Belleau Wood class introduced a technique later used in the
Constellation-class (NCC-1974) explorer of 2270. The most dorsal and ventral decks of the primary
hull were kept largely intact while two additional decks were placed in the center of the disc. These
new decks effectively doubled the volume of the primary hull and provided space for enlarged
cargo holds, training rooms, simulators (for both troops and pilots), armories, cargo bays,
command centers, and an enlarged sickbay capable of handling large numbers of battlefield
casualties. Most research facilities were removed. The large shuttlebay could handle 24 standard
type-15 assault shuttlecraft, which could land a total of 1,000 Marines with light personal shielding
or 500 Marines with mechanized armor in a single wave.

     
     

A new 128-m-long secondary hull was designed to house the new assault shuttlecraft decks,
including maintenance bays, workshops, storerooms, deuterium storage tanks, launch/recovery
facilities, and pilot and trooper ready rooms. The aft shuttlebay held 5 type-13 heavy assault
shuttlecraft, which carried the Marines' battle equipment. To clear space at the rear of the
secondary hull, the matter/antimatter (M/AM) reactor assembly and antimatter storage bottles
were moved forward under the connecting dorsal. To allow Belleau Wood-class vessels to serve as
assault command ships, a more powerful communications array was installed in the forward
secondary hull to complement the enlarged combat command center in the primary hull.
      

Because the ships of the Belleau Wood class were always to be accompanied by escorts,
destroyers, and fighter/attack carriers and because orbital bombardment was to be performed by
specialized arsenal ships (also known as fleet monitors) or heavy cruisers, only point-defense
phasers were carried. This weaponry was intended as the last line of defense against enemy
torpedoes and fighters that had somehow penetrated the fleet's outer defensive sphere.

     
     

Ships of the Belleau Wood class took part in nearly all major Marine operations from their
introduction in April 2230 until their retirement some 45 years later. Standard procedure was to
have at least one Belleau Wood-class ship present at each operation so that shipborne landings
could proceed should transporter-borne landings be impossible or otherwise delayed. If shipborne
landings were not required, the troopers were beamed down in standard fashion. Operations in
which Belleau Wood ships landed troops by assault shuttle included those at Lisyk VIII in 2232,
Dantooine in 2241, and Theta Pegasi II in 2255. Because of their large complement of shuttlecraft
and generous interior space, Belleau Wood ships have also been involved in several planetary
evacuations and relief operations (the New Venice colony in 2238 and Filassh-B III in 2261) when
matter transport was considered too dangerous. The last Belleau Wood-class ship in service,
USS Okinawa (NCC-1552), was retired in 2276.

The Belleau Wood-class transport USS William Mandella (NCC-1562), a participant in landings at

Lisyk VIII, Thaae, and Corf I is on display at the Starfleet Museum.

Commissioned Ships

USS Belleau Wood NCC-1547 USS Argonne NCC-1557

USS Veracruz NCC-1548
USS Hellas Planitia NCC-1549
USS Iwo Jima NCC-1550
USS Bougainville NCC-1551
USS Okinawa NCC-1552
USS Quebec NCC-1553
USS Bataan NCC-1554
USS Dieppe NCC-1555
USS Saipan NCC-1556
USS Tripoli NCC-1558
USS Brandywine NCC-1559
USS Luzon NCC-1560
USS Rodger Young NCC-1561
USS William Mandella NCC-1562
USS Marygay Potter NCC-1563
USS Sevastapol NCC-1564
USS Malta NCC-1565
USS Yadalla NCC-1566

Specifications

Standard displacement:
209.098 t

  Overall 1°
Hull 2°
Hull Nacelles
Length
[m] 245.13 118.72 128.09 137.10
Beam
[m] 114.30 114.30 22.40 12.70
Draft
[m] 56.63 30.46 27.30 12.70

Crew complement: 305 (48 officers + 257 crew)

Troop complement: 500 with mechanized armor; 1000 with light personal shielding
Weapons: 6 Type VI phaser turrets (3 × 2 mounts)
Embarked craft: 5 heavy assault landing craft, 24 light assault landing craft, 2 medium personnel
shuttlecraft, 5 personnel shuttlepods
Warp drive: SSWR-XI-A spherical cavity M/AM reactor with 2 Merlin II nacelles
Velocity: wf 5.5, cruise; wf 6.5, supercruise; wf 6.7, maximum
Units commissioned: 20

Last modified: 04.06.15