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!)
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!!!!
Klingon 'Warbirds'
Moderator: thunderchero
- marhawkman
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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
- marhawkman
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