Klingon Starships: Cruisers

Klingon Cruisers fill a much borader set of roles and functions within the Klingon fleets than either Battleships or Warships. Warriors use those larger, combat-oriented ships for their pure offensive might, ability to intimidate enemies, and the like. Cruisers, on the other hand, possess greater maneuverability and adaptability, making them ideal for infiltration runs, raids, stealth-oriented assignments, military courier duties, and similar missions.

Starship Classes
Starfleet Explorers Cruisers Frigates Escorts Scouts Support Vessels Shuttlecraft Federation Romulan Romulan Star Navy examples Klingon Battleships Warships Cruisers Frigates Fast Attack Ships Destroyers Escorts Scouts Specialized Support/Auxiliary Cardassian Edit this nav

In battle, Cruisers typically function as support vessels, backing up larger ships and rounding out a fleet's formations. They lead squadrons of fighters and other small ships, escort and guard larger vessels, and assault the enemy's weak points while fending off the more powerful attacks from the Warships and Battleships.

During the Dominion War, Cruisers, often working together with Fast Attack Ships, frequently engaged groups of Jem'Hadar Attack Ships. By doing so they freed larger Klingon ships to fight enemy Battle Cruisers and Carriers. Cruiser crew casualties sometimes reached enormous proportions, especially during the latter stages of the War when desperation drove the Jem'Hadar to resort to use suicide ramming attacks more frequently, but thousands of Klingons served aboard Cruisers with honor, distinction, and pride, scorning the dangers for the chance to serve the Empire.

Klingons use the same standard, Heavy, Light, Battle, Assault, and Incursion (or Fast) subtypes of Cruisers common to other governments and species. Heavy and Battle Cruisers differ so little that the distinctions between them really only matter to engineers. Most Klingons describe their Assault Cruisers as "larger, more powerful fighters," and in fact they often lead fighter squadrons during battles or patrols. Some of the larger ones also function as carriers. Incursion Cruisers (similar to Starfleet's "Fast Cruiser"), the swiftest of the Klingon Cruisers, command Fast Attack Ships on raids and recon missions into enemy-held territory. Light Cruisers often perform courier and combat support duties.

Since they perform so many different types of missions, Cruisers often vary from the typical "winged shaft" Klingon ship design - so much so that the uninformed may not initially realize they are Klingon vessels. For example, the De'nat-class Battle Cruiser has a large, almost bulbous, main hull with no central "shaft" and four warp nacelles drawn in close to the body of the ship. This facilitates the ship's role as a carrier, improves the efficiency of its cloaking device, and minimizes its vulnerabilities to enemy attack. The Pa'chag provides another excellent example.

Category Classes

• De'nat Class (Battle)
• DughHegh Class
• Fel'keth Class
• Goralis Class (Incursion)
• Jen'thar Class (Assault)
• K't'inga Class
• Lotl'eh Class
• Ngapej Class
• Pa'chag Class
• QaDlej Class
• Ro'qul Class
• Tormag Class
• VodleQ Class