Daedalus class

The Daedalus-class was a series of United Earth cruiser starships in Earth Starfleet service around the time of the 22nd century. The Daedalus-class was first utilized by the United Earth Starfleet around the 2140s and was later maintained in service by the Federation Starfleet throughout the latter half of that century. 

History
By the mid-2150s the Daedalus-class was considered somewhat outdated, superceded by the newer and advanced  designs. However, the growing conflict with the Romulan Star Empire gave the class a new lease on life. Daedalus-class ships, uprated with technology from the NX program, could be built at roughly three times the rate as vessels, as well as refitting existing ships to the new standard. With wartime pressures on Starfleet to emphasize numbers over quality, the refitted Daedalus design was put into full production. 

Daedalus-class vessels would go on to serve as a primary exploratory starship for the fledgling Federation Starfleet following its Refit in 2161. One Daedalus vessel was awaiting completion of its Retrofit in that year, and was of sufficiently advanced characteristics that its command was a sought after posting for several Earth captains. The Daedalus-class would serve with distinction until they were finally retired from service in 2196. 

Despite being retired from service, at least one Daedalus-class vessel remained in service by the mid-23rd century. The USS Lovell was taken from a Federation surplus depot and was repaired and refitted by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and was used to transport them to various assignments where their technical and engineering skills were needed. 

Specifications
In 2159, these vessels were equipped with five phase/laser banks and two spatial torpedo and photonic torpedo launcher banks, and were protected by polarized hull plating. 

Known vessels

 * USS A.G. Robinson
 * USS Adirondack (Daedalus class)
 * USS Anson
 * USS Archon (NCC-189)
 * USS Armstrong (Daedalus class)
 * USS Bach (NCC-174)
 * USS Benjamin Franklin (NCC-013)
 * USS Carolina (Daedalus class)
 * USS Cowpens
 * USS Daedalus
 * USS Discovery (Daedalus class)
 * USS Drake (Daedalus class)
 * USS Dykstra
 * USS Essex (NCC-173)
 * USS Franklin Roosevelt (NCC-217)
 * USS Gettysburg (Daedalus class)
 * USS Heinlein (Daedalus class)
 * USS Heisenberg (Daedalus class)
 * USS Horizon (NCC-176)
 * USS Jein
 * USS Kearsarge (Daedalus class)
 * USS Kon-Tiki
 * USS Lindbergh (Daedalus class)
 * USS Lovell (NCC-470)
 * USS Nez Perce (Daedalus class)
 * USS Nightingale (NCC-192)
 * USS Okuda
 * USS Olympus (Daedalus class)
 * USS Pilgrim (NCC-178)
 * USS Probert
 * USS Ptolemy (Daedalus class)
 * USS Republic (Daedalus class)
 * USS Shepard (Daedalus class)
 * USS Stephen Decatur (Daedalus class)
 * USS Valley Forge (Daedalus class)
 * USS Wakefield
 * USS William Clark
 * USS Yeager (NCC-76) (NCC-76)
 * USS Yorktown (NCC-108)
 * USS Zefram Cochrane

Background
No explanation is given for these vessels' Federation Starfleet-style registry numbers and their use of the "USS" name prefix, despite existing years before the inception of the Federation.

The game software for Legacy included numerous other names for ships of this class that were not prepared to be used in gameplay, and are hidden in the game's source code, including USS Achernar, USS Acrux, USS Archon, USS Belknap, USS Bellatrix, USS Binar, USS Boston, USS Capella, USS Caspan, USS Decatur, USS Deneb, USS Durret, USS Explorer, USS Helios, USS Homer, USS Lexington, USS Lubien, USS Merrimac, USS Monitor, USS Olympic, USS Daedalus, USS Potemkin, USS Republic, USS Rigel, USS Saratoga, USS Sirius, USS Wasp and USS Yorktown. Possibly, these vessels were intended for some feature of the game that was not completed. For example, none of these ships are coded with registry number graphics like those the included ships possess.