Type III Destroyer

Class: Saladin Mk I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NCC-510

Keel Laid: September 5, 2243

Commissioned: April 4, 2244

Entered service: July 5, 2244

Commanded by: Cdr. Kie Habu (KIA 2245)

The Tamerlane was named after Tīmūr bin Taraghay Barlas, or “Tamur the Lame”, the 14th century warlord who conquered much of western and central Asia and founded the Timurid Dynasty and the Timurid Empire which lasted from 1370 until his death in 1405.

Tamerlane’s keel was laid in 2243 and she was put into service in 2244, just in time to serve in the last year of the Hapspear War, one of the many proxy wars that sprang up during the 70-year Federation-Klingon Cold War. As part of the 23rd Light Armored Combat Wing, one of the so-called “Wolf Pack” destroyer groups during the war. Despite being late to join the war, the Tamerlane replaced the badly damaged USS Darius (NCC-502) which had become a casualty in early 2244 and could not return to battle. Commanding officer Kie Habu brought the Tamerlane into the Wolf Pack of the 23rd with the intention of putting the ship in the greatest position to benefit from her newer engines. Tamerlane’s more elaborate Doppelganger warp drive allowed more speed than the other destroyers of the 23rd, which put the Tamerlane in a far better position for pursuit and infiltration.

During a pursuit with a Klingon cruiser, the Tamerlane fell victim to an ambush and she was wrecked along with three other ships. Commander Habu and all but 27 crew-members were killed in the fight. Though the Tamerlane was recovered and restored to active service, she didn’t leave drydock until nearly a year after the war ended. The Tamerlane was then put “out to pasture”, placed on permanent internal Federation patrol, her jobs limited to little more than police work.  Though she still managed to find more than one strange anomaly during her time.

Unlike her counterparts, the Tamerlane was never retrofitted after the war. Because of this, she maintained some curious relics from her wartime service. Tamerlane’s military hard dock ports located on either side of the saucer section were never removed as they had been on the other vessels of the war. She also retained her chemical-propelled military-grade bulkheads which could seal sections of the ship in an emergency. Though the latter of the two was taken offline in all but three areas during a refit in 2255.

Because of the Tamerlane’s power requirements for her military power drive, she went through seven nacelle replacement refits after the war, only one of which was actually performed in the field.

Tamerlane’s most recent captain, Cdr. Julienne Cochrane, took command of the ship in January of 2265, with the promotion of Captain Dan Summer.

During her later service, the Tamerlane gained the affectionate term “Little T” (An obvious reference to the larger ship’s being named “Big E” or “Big Y” etc).  In her recent years, she has had three Type F shuttlecraft: The Patton (510/01) Which was destroyed, the Rommel (510/02) and the Montgomery (510/03).  All three shuttles named after the major generals during the African campaign in the Second World War.