Star Trek: 10 Design Secrets Behind Iconic Ships

With Star Trek: First Contact set to feature the spectacular Battle of Sector 001, the producers commissioned four new Starfleet ship classes. The most eye-catching of these was a completely novel design, the awesomely named USS Thunderchild.

Knowing that the ship would debut in battle, designer Alex Jaeger went into full military mode. A big fan of the Klingon Bird-of-Prey’s aggressive stance he adopted a similarly aggressive posture for his new ship. Another favourite feature, the Miranda-class’s distinctive ‘roll-bar’ weapons pod, was adapted to serve as a mount for the Thunderchild’s unique-to-type heavy torpedo armament.

For its most distinctive feature, the split catamaran-like hull, Jaeger adopted very specific form-follows-function thinking. In addition to being a gunship, Jaeger imagined the class as a carrier, launching shuttles or fighters from bays at the front of the saucer section and recovering them at the rear. The split-hull was intended to create a safe area for the returning craft. It also serves to protect the bridge and, to quote Jaeger, makes for “a more friendly crew environment as the engineering folks are no longer in 'the bowels' of the ship."

To Jaeger’s delight, the design proved a favourite with the production staff, earning itself a high-detail model and a prominent place in the battle. And for any sharp-eyed fans wondering whether it served as inspiration for Star Trek: Enterprise’s Enterprise (NX-01), yes, it did.