Oberth class
The Oberth class was a small Federation starship used primarily by Starfleet and civilian scientists alike, as a scout class and science vessel, from the late-23rd to the late-24th century.

History 
In service by the 2280s, the Oberth class was designed and used almost exclusively for the study of astronomical phenomena, including data gathering missions on stars and planets, well into the 2360s. (; ; ) By the latter half of the 2360s, these vessels also served in a number of other capacities, such as transports and supply ships. () 

In 2358, the Oberth-class  served as a prototype for testing advanced starship technologies. The Pegasus was outfitted with an experimental engine and new weapon systems, some of which were used in the designs for  starships. In addition to this, the Pegasus was the test bed for an illegal Federation cloaking device. ()

The Federation continued to construct Oberth-class starships as late as 2363, at such locations as the USSR's Baikonur Cosmodrome. ( dedication plaque)

As a science vessel with limited combat capabilities, Oberth-class starships tended not to be used in combat except in emergency situations such as the Battle of Wolf 359 in 2366 and the Battle of Sector 001 in 2373. (; )

The Oberth-class was still in service by 2374 during the Dominion War, but did not see large scale deployments in major engagements as the vessel was never designed for combat. ()

The class remained in service as of 2381. ()

Technical data 
The Oberth class had a standard crew complement of eighty, but was capable of operating with a minimum crew complement of five. (; )

Physical arrangement 

The Oberth-class design was atypical among Federation starships of the time. The outboard plan of the Oberths design incorporated a unique split hull design, with an upper primary hull that was composed mainly of the saucer section, which was mounted onto a rear extension that mounted the impulse drive, and warp drive nacelles to either side to the saucer. The secondary hull was connected to the primary hull at the nacelles by reinforced pylons. The secondary hull itself was oblong in shape. (, etc.) In all, the Oberth contained thirteen decks. ()

Design features of the secondary hull included a docking port located on the port side of the hull. ()

Defensive systems 

More suited for science missions than combat missions, the Oberth-class had minimal defensive systems. They were tactically inferior to such enemy vessels as the Klingon Bird-of-Prey and the Borg cube. (; ; ) 

The weapon systems of the Oberth-class included a forward phaser bank. ()

As a science vessel, the Oberth-class was designed with specialized shields, which allowed them to push through gravitational wavefronts. In conjunction with this feature, the interior bulkheads were composed of victurium alloy to better facilitate shielding. ()

Auxiliary craft  
Oberth-class starships were equipped with escape pods, stowing a minimum complement of two on board a vessel with a crew of five. These escape pods were capable of transporting at least nine personnel at once. ()

Interior design

Main bridge 
Located on Deck 1 of the saucer section, the bridge housed the ship's command center. 

Located in the front was the viewscreen, with side-by-side navigator and helm consoles, which were positioned opposite to the arrangement found aboard  starships. The captain's chair was directly aft of the aforementioned stations.

At the rear of the bridge was a single turbolift entryway. The primary stations, which were located at either side of the captain's chair, included a primary science station to port with secondary stations trailing along the wall towards the back of the bridge. Along the starboard side of the bridge was the communications station. ()

The bridge layout during the 24th century included an emergency hatch set in the bulkhead, which could be used to escape from the bridge, into space, during an emergency situation. ()

Corridors 

Because of its small size, many of the corridors doubled as auxiliary access points to various parts of the ship. 

The anteroom, just outside the bridge, was located at the end of a corridor. This section contained a viewscreen-monitor and the ship's dedication plaque. ()

Main engineering 

Engineering was located in the center of the ship, being the location of the ship's warp drive chamber and impulse engine controls. ()

Science and service sections 

The Oberth-class was equipped with numerous science labs dedicated to scientific study.

One section, located on deck 4 in the saucer section, was a corridor-like chamber that contained a couple of science consoles and adjacent monitors against the wall. Access to the computer core could be interfaced via an ODN junction located below the science consoles. The computer core itself was located on deck 13, inside the secondary hull. ()

Another section, known as science ops, contained multiple computer consoles and a personnel transporter pad. ()

Accommodations 
Crew quarters found aboard the Oberth-class were not unlike those found aboard other Federation starships. They included a main living area with an attached bedroom and adjacent bathroom. ()

Ships commissioned 

Named
 
  (NCC-31600)
  (NCC-59318)
  (NCC-640)
  (NCC-638)
  (NCC-602) (prototype)
  (NCC-53847)
  (NCC-53911)
  (NAR-18834)
  (NCC-19002)

Unnamed
 Unnamed Oberth-class starships

Uncertain
  (NCC-1692)
  (NCC-29487)

Appendices

Appearances 
 :
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  (model)

Background information 
Production sources dating back to Star Trek III established an overall length for the Oberth-class at 395 feet (120 meters), a length also adopted by Andrew Probert during the early production phase of TNG Season 1. 

According to the , the Oberth-class was "named for 20th century German rocket pioneer ." 

Unofficially, the  was considered by some of the production staff as the replacement for the Oberth class as research and science platform. (Star Trek: Starship Spotter, p. 36)

Studio model 
 See Oberth-class model

Apocrypha 
In the first issue of the Star Trek: Ongoing story arc The Q Gambit set in the alternate reality, the  receives a distress call from the Oberth-class civilian ship  in the , supposedly a place where no Federation ship had been before. The Smallwood was under attack from a pair of Klingon Birds-of-Prey near . The Enterprise intercepts the Klingons to rescue the Smallwood when another Bird-of-Prey uncloaks. Moments before the Enterprise is overwhelmed and destroyed, communications officer  realizes that "Smallwood" translates to "Kobayashi" in the Japanese language. The entire assault is then revealed to be an illusion created by Q and was deliberately based on Starfleet's .

External links 
 
  – an in-depth article assessing the size inconsistencies of the various on-screen appearances of the Oberth-class starship
 

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Federation starship classes