Star Trek: Every Starship Enterprise Ranked From WORST To BEST

7. NCC-1701-C

The Enterprise-C was designed by Rick Sternbach and built by Gregory Jein for the episode Yesterday's Enterprise. The original concept, depicted in gold on the wall of the Enterprise-D's observation lounge, was designed by Andrew Probert. The ship was seen as a natural evolution between the Excelsior and Galaxy-class models.

The original drive section was more angular, with smoother lines, closer to the Excelsior-class drive section. However, the time frame on Yesterday's Enterprise wouldn't permit the creation of that ship, so Sternbach settled on the design eventually seen on screen.

While the studio model appeared in Data's Day (redesigned slightly and renamed the USS Zhukov) and Emissary (as the USS Yamaguchi), stock footage of the Enterprise-C served as the USS Excalibur in Redemption Part 2. 

The ship was created to be destroyed, though it broke several barriers before it met its final fate. Yesterday's Enterprise managed to combine different eras of Star Trek, depict the first female captain of an Enterprise (in the form of Tricia O'Neil's Rachel Garrett), and fix a wrong in the death of Tasha Yar. While her Prime counterpart's death in Skin Of Evil was quick, brutal, and meaningless, Yar's death here manages to save millions of lives - even if it does create a slight hiccup in the form of the Romulan Sela.