The Ranger-class was a class of Federation explorer starships in Starfleet service in the 23rd century, they were Starfleet's primary exploration vehicles of the early part of the century.
History and specifications
The Ranger-class was designed by space-frame designer Marc Chausser. Years in service: 2215 - 2270. Some were still known to be in service as late as 2293, including the USS Springfield. (TOS movie: The Undiscovered Country)
Ranger-class vessels had 14 decks, and a standard crew complement of 287. It had one aft shuttlebay, with a complement of three shuttlecraft.
During its early years in service, the Ranger-class was the top-of-the-line ship for the Federation, performing everything from first contact missions to top secret missions into Klingon space. However, as it grew older, and was replaced with other ships such as the Constitution-class, it settled into a role of sector patrol and diplomatic transport.
Its computers were often under-powered, and featured a revolutionary new kind of tritanium in its hull. (Decipher RPG module: Starfleet Operations Manual)
The "Ranger-class explorer" was one of several classes of ships referred to as "Ranger Class" in the late 23rd century. It shared this name with the newer Ranger-class battlecruiser, and that class's approximate contemporary, the Ranger-class scout.
Known ships
| Ranger-class starships | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Bastion • Carolina • Challenger • Coronado • Decatur • Duncan • Explorer • Halsey • Indomitable • Orleans • Ranger • Revere • Sal'koth • Solzhenitzyn • Spann • Springfield • Valiant | 
|
Appendices
Background
- The Decipher roleplaying game supplement states that the USS Emden may be a Ranger-class starship.
