Klingon 'Warbirds'

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geon
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Klingon 'Warbirds'

Post by geon »

Hi everyone,

Just some food for thought

We all know that the reference to Klingon warbirds in ENT ‘Broken Bow' was supposed to be a mistake. Yet, the producers of the series then introduce the ‘Bird of Prey' and ‘Raptor' as Klingon warships. So the impression one now gets is that perhaps Klingon warships ARE called warbirds, given the avian designations of these two classes.

There is really nothing stopping the Klingons from calling their ships ‘warbirds' since ships fly through space like birds, and they are warships. We've all been conditioned to accept the term as strictly Romulan through the later series (TNG and DS9 referring to Romulan Warbirds of the D'deridex class).

Since the Romulans have not yet been fully encountered (only a brief appearance in ENT ‘Minefield) we don't know how their ships are designated at this time. Romulan ships are called ‘Birds of Prey', presumably during the Romulan War when they are seen with painted birds of their hulls. But this occurs after the time of ‘Enterprise' and after the appearance of the Klingon classes.

So, do we now assume that ‘warbird' is really a Klingon ship term which the Romulans adopted (either through early contacts or perhaps during their brief period of friendship), and which the Klingons later dropped because of its Romulan use? :?

Should we just continue to consider the Klingon attachment to the term a mistake (and reserve the term for Romulan ships) even in the presence of Klingon Birds of Prey? (Yes, I know, the Bird of Prey was originally meant to be a captured Romulan ship in the movie - but ‘Enterprise' has put that idea to rest).

If we do accept that the term could have originally been Klingon, does this then mean (and I can't believe I'm going to say this!) that the reference to Klingon warbirds in ST XI (in relation to their D7 model) is actually correct??!!!! (pardon me while I now go and wash my mouth out with soap!) 8O

Perhaps the best solution to all this is to consider ‘Enterprise', like ST XI, and alternate timeline, and wait for someone to actually do it right!!!!
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Peter1981
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Post by Peter1981 »

you've also gaotta consider who's doing the designating... as starflett may designate a ships name diffrent from the controling empires.
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Post by marhawkman »

Also wasn't it explained at some point that during the TOS era the klingons and romulans shared a lot of technological secrets? Including ship designs?
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Post by geon »

True enough Marhawkman,

But the references to Klingon warbirds in 'Enterprise' seems to be earlier than this particular technology exchange (or is it a formal alliance? It's never really made clear)
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Post by TurboC »

I thought the romulan and klingon ships from TOS were "shared designs" because they ran out of budget and had to use one for the other at some point. :roll:
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Post by geon »

If I remember correctly, it was originally planned to have the Romulan Bird of Prey from TOS 'Balance of Terror' in the episode TOS 'The Enterprise Incident'. It was either unavailable or lost, so they used the Klingon model. From that point on, talk of a Romulan/Klingon exchange or alliance took off
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Post by marhawkman »

it's possible both races used that phrase for their ships from the start.
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Post by Sela »

Due to the fact that the Romulans always associated themselves with the eagle or hawk, before they left Vulcan in fact, the term Bird-Of-Prey probobly originated with them.
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