D7 class battlecruiser

The D7-class battlecruiser is the first Klingon starship observed in the Star Trek franchise. The vessel was designed by Matt Jefferies to be distinctive and quickly recognised by viewers. As Jefferies wanted the D7-class to appear "threatening, even vicious", the design was modelled on a manta ray in both basic shape and color. The spread-wing primary hull, long neck and bulbous command module configuation of the D7-class became the basic bluepr... More

The D7-class battlecruiser is the first Klingon starship observed in the Star Trek franchise. The vessel was designed by Matt Jefferies to be distinctive and quickly recognised by viewers. As Jefferies wanted the D7-class to appear "threatening, even vicious", the design was modelled on a manta ray in both basic shape and color. The spread-wing primary hull, long neck and bulbous command module configuation of the D7-class became the basic blueprint for Klingon vessels in the later television series. Jefferies' original model for the D7-class now resides in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, along with the original studio model for USS Enterprise. The D7-class model was originally produced for The Original Series episode "Elaan of Troyius"; however, as the episodes were not aired in their production order, the vessel first appeared in "The Enterprise Incident". It is shown to be armed with several disruptor banks that fire in pulses, as well as with a torpedo launcher in the forward module. In one episode of The Animated Series, "More Tribbles, More Troubles", a D7-class battlecruiser is equipped with an experimental stasis weapon, capable of paralyzing target vessels. The vessel possesses both impulse engines and warp drive, allowing for faster-than-light travel. While Klingon vessels in the television series set after The Original Series possess cloaking devices, the Klingon D7-class does not at first. This is changed after "The Enterprise Incident", several D7-class battlecruisers are shown under Romulan control as the result of a technology exchange between the Romulans and the Klingons; these vessels do utilize a cloaking device. The appearance of the D7-class has been revisited several times in the Star Trek series; an entirely new studio model was created by Greg Jein for the Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations". With an overall green hue, this model had a significantly more detailed hull in comparison to the bland gray of the original. A D7-class ship also appears in the Voyager episode "Prophecy"; however, as a CGI model of Jein's model was not available, the ship was instead portrayed with a CGI model of the K't'inga-class battlecruiser.[1] The D7-class was again revisited for the remastered version of The Original Series, in which Michael Okuda created a new CGI D7-class model, with improved hull detail and Romulan bird markings for the D7-class vessels in "The Enterprise Incident". This remastered D7-class was digitally inserted into episodes earlier than their original appearances.[2]

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