The Top 10 Lists

10. Enterprise (NX-01)

Commissioned in 2151, Enterprise was the first starship of the NX class, Starfleet's first long-range exploration vessels with a theoretical top speed of warp 5.4 by the fourth to last episode of the 4th season, considerably faster than any other Human vessels of the era.

Captain Archer made first contact with the Suliban, Tholians, Klingons, and Xindi, among others, although few of these encounters were peaceful. Enterprise established Earth's presence in previously uncharted regions of space, bringing together the Andorians and Vulcans—two species who had been on the verge of war for years.

Enterprise was pivotal in defending Earth from a dangerous alliance of five alien races from the planet Xindus known as the Xindi in 2153 through 2154. The ship suffered severe damage several times during the mission and the crew suffered heavy casualties, but managed to return home after an unexpected detour to an alternate version of 1944 in which Nazi Germany had conquered much of the eastern United States; although the vessel did not land during that mission, it was brought within tens of meters from the ground in order to help restore the timeline.

9. USS Defiant (NX-74205)

Designed in 2366, the Defiant was the first of what was to be a new class of heavily-armed Federation starship, and later reputed to be one of the most heavily-armed vessels in the entire Alpha Quadrant. Officially designated an escort, although unofficially a warship, the Defiant-class was specifically designed to counter the Borg. Soon after the first vessel was completed however, a combination of a less urgent Borg threat and several design flaws caused Starfleet to suspend the project. Among the flaws was the fact that the Defiant's engines were overpowered relative to the size of the ship – so much so that the Defiant nearly "tore itself apart" during its shakedown cruise. Benjamin Sisko became intimately involved with the project while stationed at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards after the destruction of the USS Saratoga at Wolf 359.

In early 2371, as Federation-Dominion hostility escalated, the Defiant was taken out of storage and assigned to Deep Space 9 to protect the station from the Dominion, who had recently destroyed the USS Odyssey, a Galaxy-class starship.

8. USS Yeager (NCC-61947)

The Saber-class of Federation starship was first introduced in the late 24th century, and was in full service by 2373. The ship featured a design more compact than other Starfleet vessels, and was fairly well armed despite its small size; the class has featured prominently in the Battle of Sector 001 against the Borg and in the Dominion War.

7. USS Thunderchild (NCC-63549)

A Federation starship of the late 24th century.

In 2373 the Thunderchild fought against the Borg in the Battle of Sector 001.

6. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) was the second Federation starship to carry that name.

She was constructed at the San Francisco Fleet Yards and commissioned at the Earth Spacedock facility in 2286.

Externally, the Enterprise-A was virtually identical to the refit USS Enterprise, destroyed several months prior to the launch.

The bridge was in its customary location on Deck 1. At least three different modules were used during the ship's service. They were the first bridges on a ship named Enterprise to almost completely use touch sensitive control interfaces.

The torpedo bay was on Deck 13. It was much more automated than on the previous Enterprise, and the torpedo room itself was smaller and enclosed.

No "unauthorized" hand phaser could be fired aboard the ship at a level above stun without an alarm sounding.

The shuttlebay was located at the rear of the ship's engineering section. Unlike in her predecessor, the shuttlebay was a separate and distinct area from the cargo bay. The ship had at least two (possibly five) shuttlecraft, including the Galileo and the Copernicus. Normally, a tractor beam guided the shuttle to a landing. A large net barricade could be erected to capture an incoming shuttle which was landing too fast or otherwise disabled.

Officers had crew quarters similar to those on the previous Enterprise. Enlisted crew members were required to bunk together. As many as eight crew members were assigned to a room, each assigned a storage locker. Chimes sounded at the top of every hour. Meals were prepared in a galley, although there appeared to be primitive replicators on board the ship.

The Enterprise-A had a vertical warp core similar to that of the Galaxy-class of seventy years later. The core could be accessed through main engineering on Deck 15. An isolation door could be brought down to separate the core from the rest of the ship.

5. USS Voyager (NCC-74656)

Intrepid-class Federation starship launched in 2371 under the command of Captain Kathryn Janeway. The vessel was noted for independently, and successfully, completing an unscheduled seven-year journey across the previously unexplored Delta Quadrant between 2371 and 2378.

The USS Voyager was constructed at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards orbiting Mars and was launched from Earth Station McKinley on stardate 48038.5 in 2371. At the time Voyager was considered one of the fastest and most advanced starships constructed. She was the first to test the class 9 warp drive, had a maximum warp factor of 9.975, bio-neural circuitry, and was one of the first ships to test the Emergency Medical Hologram.

Captain Kathryn Janeway assumed command shortly before Voyager left drydock. She was greeted and given a tour of the ship by Admiral Patterson.

Voyager's first assignment was to track down a missing Maquis raider, the Val Jean, commanded by former Starfleet officer Chakotay. The raider was also carrying an undercover Starfleet officer, Voyager's security chief Lieutenant Tuvok. Captain Janeway enlisted the help of Tom Paris, the disgraced son of Starfleet Admiral Owen Paris, whose knowledge of the Badlands was determined to be essential to the mission.

Shortly after departing Deep Space 9 to begin her search, Voyager encountered a coherent tetryon beam which pulled the vessel 70,000 light-years into the Delta Quadrant. The crew was subjugated to painful genetic testing to see if any crew members would be suitable to mate with the being responsible for the transfer, unfortunately for the Caretaker, none were compatible.

By the time the Voyager crew was able to make any kind of meaningful contact with the Caretaker, he was near death and unable to send them back to the Alpha Quadrant. Although Lieutenant Tuvok believed he could activate the system that could send Voyager back himself, that would have meant potentially leaving the technology in the hands of a hostile native species, the Kazon.

Instead of allowing the Kazon to seize the Caretaker's advanced technology and potentially harm the peaceful Ocampa, Captain Janeway made the decision to destroy the Caretaker's array and strand Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. After the destruction of the Val Jean during the battle with the Kazon, the Starfleet and Maquis crewmembers were forced to merge for the 75-year journey home.

4. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C)

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C) was an Ambassador-class starship. The fourth Federation starship to carry the name Enterprise, the Enterprise-C was commanded by Captain Rachel Garrett.

3. Prometheus Class

In 2344, the Enterprise responded to a distress call from the Klingon outpost on Narendra III, which was under attack by the Romulans. When the Enterprise arrived at the outpost, she was engaged by four Romulan Warbirds.

Few details are known about the actual battle. What is known, however, is that the Enterprise was destroyed with the presumed loss of all hands. Starfleet would not commission another Enterprise until nearly two decades later in 2363.
It was later revealed by Sela that the Romulans took a number of the ship's crew prisoner.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Klingons were deeply impressed by the act of self-sacrifice by a Starfleet crew to protect a Klingon outpost, and the Enterprise-C's ultimate legacy was reinforcing the relations between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets, leading to a close alliance of peace.

2. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)

A Galaxy-class starship commissioned in 2363, the fifth Federation Starfleet ship to bear the name Enterprise. She was called the Flagship of the Federation. The Enterprise-D was destroyed in 2371.  Under the command of Jean-Luc Picard, the ship represented the Federation on first contact with 27 alien species.

The Enterprise was built at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards orbiting Mars in the Sol system. Construction was supervised by Commander Orfil Quinteros. Dr. Leah Brahms was responsible for much of the Enterprise's warp propulsion system design.  In an alternate timeline, the Enterprise was the first Galaxy-class war ship constructed.

The ship's nacelle tube was the site of a multiple murder-suicide while she was still under construction at Utopia Planitia. A member of the construction team, Walter Pierce, became jealous of a former lover's new relationship. He killed the two officers, Marla Finn and William Hodges, then disposed of their bodies in the plasma stream. Pierce committed suicide in the same manner, leaving a telepathic imprint in a bulkhead that was not discovered until 2370.

Final systems completion and shakedown was conducted at Earth Station McKinley. Captain Jean-Luc Picard took command of the ship on stardate 41153.7 at the order of Rear Admiral Norah Satie.

1. USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)

A Sovereign-class Federation starship operating in the late 24th century, and the sixth Federation starship to bear the name.

The Enterprise-E was launched on stardate 49827.5 and was, at the time, the most advanced starship in the fleet. She was built at the San Francisco Fleet Yards in the orbit of Earth.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard assumed command shortly after the vessel's christening, just over a year following the destruction of her predecessor. Most of Picard's crew from the USS Enterprise-D were reassigned to the Enterprise-E.

Source: Wiki