Type-2 phaser

A Starfleet type-2 phaser from the year 2269.

A Starfleet type-2 phaser from the year 2364.

A Starfleet type-2 phaser from the year 2374.

A Starfleet type 2 phaser in the Kelvin timeline.

A type-2 phaser was a typical hand-held directed-energy weapon used by Starfleet and United Federation of Planets personnel during the 23rd and 24th centuries. More powerful and generally larger in size than the type-1 phaser, type-2 phasers were kept aboard Starfleet and Federation starships, starbases, space stations and at planetary facilities.

The type-2 phaser is a required piece of equipment for most Starfleet away teams, and is the basic sidearm of Starfleet security teams and hazard teams. (TNG video game: Star Trek: Elite Force)

Often, concerns about diplomacy would be the only reason a landing party or away team would opt to not carry type-2 phasers, as smaller type-1 hand phasers are more easily concealed and give Starfleet personnel a less threatening appearance.

The type-2 phaser pistol was introduced in The Original Series, as the replacement for the laser pistol weapon designed from TOS episode: "The Cage", and was referred to by its type name in TOS episode: "The Devil in the Dark".

Specifications

A descendant of electromagnetic weapons, laser weapons and phase weapons of the 22nd century, the type-2 phaser started to supercede the laser pistol as a common Starfleet sidearm in the 23rd century, and was standard issue aboard Starfleet vessels by the 2260s.

A hazard team member firing a type-2 phaser at Romulan targets.

Utilized primarily in defensive situations, the Phaser Type-2 had several applications, from use as a weapon to use as a cutting tool, explosive device, or energy source. Storing considerable energy, most phasers were distinguished by a roughly pistol or gun-type configuration, firing a focused energy discharge in the form of a beam or steady stream.

In the nearly two hundred years since their introduction to Starfleet personnel, several models and makes have been observed.

Type-2 phasers can cause severe to deadly injuries or phaser burns.

The type-2 phaser, while not as powerful as other particle weapons, has the advantage of not requiring ammunition in order to fire. Instead, its internal energy cells slowly regenerate themselves.

Variations

Heavy type-2 phaser pistol in use aboard USS Pompeii.

Type-2 phaser pistol in use aboard Shuttlecraft Galileo II (NCC-1701/1).

One of the earliest incarnations of the type-2 phaser was a Sestra Weapons phaser pistol used in the 23rd century, coming into Starfleet use on reference stardate 2/06. The weapon consisted of a removable type-1 hand phaser mated to a pistol grip with a power pack. This weapon fell out of use after the late 2260s after the evolution of transtator II technology was discovered on reference stardate 2/09. (TOS reference: Star Fleet Technical Manual)

In the 2270s, the Atalskes Phaser Corporation phaser IV model of type-2 phaser was introduced, again consisting of a (somewhat larger) hand phaser (known as the phaser III) mated to a pistol handle. These weapons were first issued on reference stardate 2/12 and were used well into the 24th century, despite other models being available. These weapons were used aboard many vessels, such as the Enterprise (from 2273 until 2285), Reliant, and the Enterprise-C. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Motion Picture, TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Wrath of Khan, TNG episode: "Yesterday's Enterprise")

In the 2280s, the phaser IIB was introduced, as part of the Sestra company's phaser B series, returning Starfleet to a shape similar to the 2260s type-2 phaser, with a smaller removable hand phaser, the phaser IB. These sturdy weapons were known to be traded as surplus outside of Starfleet many years after first being introduced, into the latter half of the 24th century. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Search for Spock; TNG episode: "Final Mission")

Pavel Chekov ejects a power pack from his heavy-duty type-2 phaser

By the late 2280s, another heavy-duty pistol variant of the type-2 phaser was introduced, with an adjustable emitter shield on top and a spring-like power pack ejection option. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Final Frontier; TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Undiscovered Country; TOS comic: "Debt of Honor")

In the 24th century, Starfleet began to use a variety of type-2 phasers that abandoned the familiar pistol grip, having an extension of the body of the weapon that resembled the grip of a hand phaser, with at least four distinct variations of this design used in the latter half of the century. In the early 2360s decade, the mark VI battle phaser was an example of this arrangement, commonly in use until around the year 2365. (FASA RPG module: Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual)

Uses

In 2366, two homicides were committed by Starfleet Lieutenant Dar Ableen using a type-2 phaser on level 4 (burn setting). (SCE eBook: Security)

Stats

Picard wields a phaser 2.

Settings: 1-16 (light stun to heavy disrupt)

Range: 5-100 meters

Length: 25 centimeters

Mass: 0.6 kilograms

Energy: 1,000 charges (good for 10 shots on maximum setting)

See also

• Directed energy weapon
  • Plasma weapon
    • Plasma gun
      • Plasma pistol
      • Plasma rifle
  • Laser weapon
    • Laser gun
      • Laser pistol
      • Laser rifle
  • Particle beam weapon
    • Phaser
      • Type-1 phaser
      • Type-2 phaser
      • Type-3 phaser
    • Disruptor
      • Disruptor pistol
      • Disruptor rifle