Norway Class

With the Akira and Steamrunner design projects well under way by by the late 2340's, Starfleet felt that it had cured the problems of fleet wide obsolescence and combat deficiency that had faced it. Starfleet Command now turned its attention to the other arenas. The Akira, Steamrunner and Saber classes had been rather more combat-oriented than the average Star Fleet design; concentrating on these vessels had left a gap in the more traditional areas of Science and Diplomacy. In 2353 Star Fleet requested a new class of star ship to complement the Akira and Steamrunner classes. This new 'Norway' class was to have a 50% reduction in armament to allow two extra science labs, a set of ambassadorial quarters and a large conference hall complex to be inserted. This would allow the Norway to host multi-party talks and scientific conferences on a significantly larger scale than its contemporaries could manage.

Development of the Norway class went relatively smoothly, with the prototype launched in 2360 and series production begun later that year. The ships have a single hull of triangular profile, with the two nacelles supported on struts which project aft. In most respects the design is unexceptional; lagging slightly behind the cutting edge represented by the Akira, Steamrunner and Saber classes, the designers generally chose reliability and low maintenance over performance. The ships have proved very popular in service, largely because of the good accommodation standards. Norway's have served with great distinction throughout the Federation, playing host to countless functions and events.