One of my favourite memory Beta vessels is the Excalibur, not only is it named after
an iconic mythology that I enjoy but it had a crew that was not your standard Federation
norm, such as its captain, “the savage”, Mackenzie Calhoun. But let’s look into where
the name originated from in Star Trek lore as well as touching on real world history.
I’m a little more awake at than the last one, so hopefully I won’t jumble my dates
again. So the name obviously derives from Arthurian
legend as the name of King Arthur’s supposedly magically imbued sword. The factual history
of this weapon has been lost to time, but the myths continued to add to its value and
relevance as a weapon only wielded by the just and virtuous. Surprisingly though, the
naval history of the namesake vessels is just as ambiguous. I couldn’t dig up much on
the name Excalibur, though it is possible some ship’s stories have just been lost
with time. I was able to find references to an Excalibur
that operated prior to 1634, but only the name and that it was likely a British ship
that had canons. From the will of Randall Jenkins, a Gunner’s Mate on the ship.
There was an SS Excalibur, a cruise ship in 1931 but during the Second World War, it was
rechristened the USS Joseph Hewes AP-50 in 1942. It was primarily used under this name
as a transport vessel for troops and cargo but was sunk within a year.
It’s also the name of the M982 artillery shell… and several other projects…
We do have a first for this series, the HMS Excalibur S40 and it was not a ship, it was
a boat. It, and its sister boat, the HMS Explorer were in fact submarines launched in 1955 and
scrapped in 1968. Strange name choice for a vessel that was not even armed, though.
It was mostly used as a test bed and trial boat, later being a training vessel against
other ships as target practice... It didn’t have the most stellar reputation as the engine
room would routinely catch fire… and flood the halls with noxious fumes.
There seems to be a myriad of non-navy vessels named the Excalibur, like the Jack-up Barge
and a Tanker, but other than the couple I’ve been able to dig up, the name doesn’t seem
to be often applied to military maritime vessels. This leads me to believe that the ships in
Trek were named after the legendary sword. Kind of obvious, now I say it out loud…
being as Trek is you know, fiction, but yeah… No real way to tie in old vessels here.
So the first Excalibur that we learn of in Star Trek is potentially an NX class, pre-federation.
But it has the registry NX-03 and this was shared by the Challenger. As the original
NX vessels were named after the NASA shuttles, the latter seems to be a likelier contender
for that registry, but there may still have been an NX Excalibur. Again, Beta content
strikes with conflicting stories. There was also a USS Excalibur in 2240 under
the command of Captain Rollin Bannock, but not too much was known on this vessel besides
its involvement in the battle of Donatu 5. Not even its make.
The Constitution line has included many namesakes solidifying many Starship legacies, the Excalibur
included. The NCC-1664, (originally pencilled in as 1705) was constructed on Luna, Tranquillity
Base in 2245, after the initial 4 constitution vessels. This ship suffered a tragic fate
at the virtual hands of the M5 computer as it was destroyed by the USS Enterprise NCC-1701
during wargames where the computer usurped control of Kirk’s vessel. All 400 aboard
were lost. There are references to and Excalibur II,
a second constitution class Starship, the NCC-1711 that was built to refit standards
around the mid-2270s and in operation in 2294 under the command of Captain DeCampo. But
this is also clashes with the date of another USS Excalibur, a Miranda class in 2288 although
as the name of the former was technically the Excalibur II, there could have been both
vessels in operation at the same time, especially as the Miranda class was a training vessel.
It just seems a little confusing to have both ships out there at the same time.
The backbone of the Federation, the Excelsior class saw one of its initial ilk named USS
Excalibur NCC-2004. It served through the end of the 2200s and up until 2360 where it
was eventually mothballed. That is a long time to serve, but hey, it was an Excelsior
class and Starfleet rocked that ship for a long time.
The USS Excalibur NCC-26517 was an Ambassador Class starship. Launched in the mid-24th century,
the first time we hear of it is in 2365 under the command of Captain Morgan Korsmo. Later
assigned to Captain Al Smutko who stepped aside to allow Commander William Riker to
run mission command when it was then used as part of the Starfleet cloak detection grid
to uncover Romulan involvement in the Klingon Civil War. The next year it was attacked by
a Borg cube and lost several members to the collective. By 2373, Captain Korsmo has been
returned to the captain’s chair and his XO was Commander Shelby. It took damage in
the battle of sector 001 and underwent a refit. This is where Captain Calhoun took command
and Shelby Continued in her position as XO after being considered but denied a promotion.
It lasted until 2376 when it fell victim to a computer virus that destroyed the vessel.
The next year, there was a Galaxy class that along with the name, was granted a legacy
registry of NCC-26517-A. She was originally intended to be placed under Captain Elizabeth
Shelby, who at the time was in command of the Exeter, but instead she took command of
the Trident. Captain Calhoun, Shelby’s now husband, resumed his post after being presumed
KIA and commanded the Excalibur-A as it served in the Borg invasion of 2381.
In 2391, Starfleet commissioned the Excalibur class of Starship, suggesting the retirement
of the previous galaxy class. The namesake was chosen to honour the Constitution class
Excalibur and the lives lost as the design resembled a streamlined Connie, the first
being the USS Excalibur NCC- 94547. It was a very modular vessel, capable of handling
large refits with ease to fit different mission profiles. One feature of this ship was that
it had an overabundance of power from its Class 8 Warp core. It was a refinement of
current Starfleet technologies and could shift its excessive power to be incredibly fast
one second and hardened shielding the next. It was seen by many as the literal poster
vessel for ushering in Starfleet into the new century. It was still in use by 2410,
though lagging behind contemporary vessels. So the Excalibur, like the Exeter and Enterprise
seems to have been a constitution, an excelsior and ambassador at some stage, with a little
deviation around the late 23rd century and maybe an NX? But in the expanded stories,
went on to become a Galaxy class. Like the Exeter, it seems to lag a generation behind
the Enterprise in terms of ship class, but hey not bad for a non-hero ship. From its
mission profiles, the vessel seems to have been assigned as an all-rounder for most of
its iterations, with the Excalibur-Class taking that to a whole new level with its efficient
and excessive power-transfer systems meaning it could be a Jack of all trades, master of
one at a time. With the lacklustre history of the name in
our real history, I guess it’s down to fiction to cement the name as a worthy one, just as
the legend from which the name is pulled. Thanks for watching this video on the legacy
of the Trek Vessel, the Excalibur and if you think of other ships you want me to cover,
drop them in the comments and I’ll see what I can dig up. Thanks again and until next
time, I’ve been Ric, I’ll see you around! Goodbye!