Battle bridge
The battle bridge was a secondary bridge located on Federation starships.

Configurations 

The battle bridge on  starships was located forward of main engineering in the secondary hull. In 2293, the location of the battle bridge was labeled in the  master systems display on the ship's bridge. ()

The battle bridge on  starships was primarily designed for the control of the stardrive section in saucer separation scenarios. Located on deck 8 of the secondary hull, the battle bridge duplicated the strategic functions of the main bridge, with command, conn, ops, and tactical stations oriented toward a main viewscreen; however, it lacked science and engineering stations. ()

The main bridge and battle bridge were connected by a dedicated emergency turbolift which could also be accessed from other decks. () The battle bridge could also be entered by a standard turbolift or through a corridor on deck 8. () A captain's ready room was located on the port side of the bridge, although it was much smaller than the one off the main bridge, and lacked a window. () The battle bridge could potentially be used to control the entire docked ship in the event of damage to the main bridge, but the practice on the Galaxy-class  was to coordinate recovery from main engineering. ()

To keep in tune with changing technologies, the battle bridge was modular, like the main bridge. The Enterprise-D had at least two different battle bridges installed during its lifetime. The version launched with the ship had the captain's chair in the center, with conn and ops to the front of the captain, and tactical behind. Two duty stations were located at the back of the bridge, on the port and starboard rear walls. The tactical and rear stations were separated by turbolifts: the standard turbolift on the port side, and the emergency turbolift on the starboard side. () By the time of the Battle of Wolf 359 in 2367, the battle bridge had undergone a refit. The tactical position behind the captain had been moved to the port station, replaced by expanded information displays. The turbolift alcoves at the back of the bridge were also gone. ()

Enterprise-D primary school science fair winner Paterson Supra hoped to see the battle bridge as part of a tour conducted by Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 2368, but was disappointed to learn that the most exciting areas on the tour were hydroponics and astrophysics laboratories. After Paterson and two other children – Marissa Flores and Jay Gordon Graas – showed exceptional bravery during a crisis after the Enterprise-D hit several quantum filaments, Picard decided to take the group on a revised tour, starting with the battle bridge. ()

The   had a battle bridge located on deck 18. ()

Appendices

Appearances

Background information 

Note: For the several reuses of the first refit-Enterprise bridge set, please also refer to , individual episode entries as well as the , individual ship entries.

The addition of the battle bridge to the Galaxy-class layout was at the urging of concept artist Andrew Probert, while he was planning the saucer separation of the class. () "Originally, the producers did not want a battle bridge; that was essentially my concept," explained Probert. (Star Trek: The Official Fan Club Magazine issue 60, p. 4)

One concept sketch of the battle bridge was dated . () A set plan for the area, dated 26 March of the same year, was created by Production Designer Herman Zimmerman and Set Designer Richard McKenzie. The set was built on Paramount Stage 9. (TNG Season 1 DVD, special feature "The Beginning")

Each time the battle bridge appeared, it did so with modifications. Despite the room appearing in only three episodes, the set was redressed for use as the bridge of other ships and miscellaneous rooms, multiple times. The set was built as the refit Enterprise bridge for Star Trek: Phase II, which later became . (text commentary, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition) DVD special features) It was revealed in the sketch from 23 March that the battle bridge set was an inexpensive redress of the film Enterprises bridge. Indeed, this set was the Enterprise bridge in the four subsequent  as well, until – like most of the motion picture sets – it was remodeled into the Enterprise-D sets for  in order to cut costs. By the end of the third season of The Next Generation, the battle bridge set had also been redressed as the bridge of the   in , the bridge of the   in , Starbase 173's courtroom in , and the cybernetics lab aboard the Enterprise-D in . ("Yesterday's Enterprise" and "The Offspring" audio commentaries, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray special features)

Restored by Herman Zimmerman as the  bridge, the original set had, after the bridge scenes were shot for , been temporarily stored on the outside studio parking lot, in order to make room for other, new sets for the movie – more specifically, a massive, one-time-use-only shuttlebay set. A freak weather event completely wrecked the set beyond salvation, save for some parts such as the two turbolifts and the bridge platforms. This had necessitated the build of an almost entirely new Enterprise-A bridge set for . However, once rebuilt, the set had to do double duty as the  bridge as well. It was one of the biggest reasons why Zimmerman was also brought in on the movie, as he had been responsible for the bridge redesign for the previous movie in the first place. In the process, it also explains why the Enterprise-D received a new, updated battle bridge in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II". (text commentary, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (Special Edition) DVD special features; Cinefantastique, Vol. 22, No. 5, p. 35)

Apocryphal 
According to the  "", the alternate reality  was equipped with a battle bridge.

External link 
 

de:Kampfbrücke
Spacecraft sections