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Raven-type starships were small, modular long-range Federation exploration vessels used in the mid-24th century.

Capable of functioning with a minimal crew, the USS Raven was operated by just two scientists, Erin and Magnus Hansen, while studying the Borg on a deep-space mission that ultimately carried them to the Delta Quadrant. (VOY: "Dark Frontier")

History

31st century schematic

31st century schematic

In 2347, the Hansens took the Raven on what would be a three-year-mission leading to their assimilation in 2350. The crashed wreckage of the Raven was left on a moon in B'omar space, until Seven of Nine encountered it in 2374. (VOY: "Dark Frontier", "The Raven")

While D'Erika and D'Vana Tendi were children, a ship of this type was among the wreckage at a starship graveyard on Orion. They later returned to it in 2381, and managed to barely restore it to workable condition. (LD: "Something Borrowed, Something Green")

A 31st century database included schematics of a ship of this type, brought back to 2152 by Daniels, a temporal agent, and accessed by Captain Jonathan Archer. (ENT: "Future Tense")

Technical data

Physical arrangement

Its hull was partially composed of tritanium. (VOY: "The Raven")

Although capable of being operated with a crew as small as two for extended periods, ships of this type were equipped with many of the features of a traditional Starfleet ship across five decks. The master situation display depicted: the bridge, with attached living quarters, at the fore of deck 2. A sickbay, shuttlebay, and deuterium storage were located on deck 3. The computer core extended from decks 3 through 4, while the warp core spanned from decks 3 through 5. Main engineering and the forward deflector were located on deck 4, and deck 5 included the ship's landing gear. (VOY: "Dark Frontier")

The forward section included an external entry hatch that allowed personnel to exit the ship directly. (VOY: "The Raven")

Main bridge

The main bridge, located at the forward-most section of deck 2, centered around a horseshoe-shaped helm console flanked by two sets of two seated stations along the port and starboard walls, that served as science and engineering stations. The forward viewscreen had triangular LCARS controls above and below it. The rear of the bridge recessed back, home to a master situation display, with an exit to personal living quarters to port, and corridor access to starboard. (VOY: "The Raven", "Dark Frontier"; LD: "Something Borrowed, Something Green")

In both "The Raven" and "Dark Frontier", the Raven's helm console appears to have been reused from the USS Pasteur bridge. [1] The viewscreen appeared to be a reuse of the USS Enterprise-D's battle bridge. [2]

The helm console could be fitted with an optional command chair, with additional controls built into the arms. (VOY: "The Raven")

A command chair was featured in "The Raven" at the time of the Raven's assimilation and wreckage, but was not present in "Dark Frontier" or "Something Borrowed, Something Green."

Ships commissioned

Named
Name Registry Notes Status Date
USS Raven NAR-32450 Destroyed 2374
Unnamed

Appendices

Appearances

Background information

Sternbach's changes to the Raven CGI model for use in "Dark Frontier"

Sternbach's changes to the Raven CGI model for use in "Dark Frontier"

For the Raven's first appearance in "The Raven", Rick Sternbach admitted the design was "not terribly well thought out," as it was only seen on screen in a crumpled and crashed state. The original studio model was rendered by Foundation Imaging, and unintentionally appeared to have 8 or 9 decks. For "Dark Frontier", Sternbach revised the design and had the windows rescaled so the model would have "four decks tops." (The master system display would go on to depict five decks.) Sternbach's other recommendations included the addition of four cargo bay doors, landing pads, and avoiding the use of the Starfleet arrowhead. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 1, p. 59)

Additional information on designing the Raven-type was included in Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection (Issue 66) released 17 February 2016.

Apocrypha

This type of vessel was listed in the Starships expansion volume of Decipher's Star Trek Roleplaying Game as an Aerie-class surveyor. It was also called Aerie-class in WizKids' Star Trek: Attack Wing game.

The design of the Raven also appeared in Star Trek: Armada II as a colony ship.

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