Klingon D4 Old Cruiser


The D4 was the main battlecruiser of the Klingon Empire at the time of first contact with the Federation and was in service as a heavy cruiser when the Klingons and Romulans fought their breif war before the alliance. These lightly armeed ships were, for the most part, either scrapped or relegated to training squadrons by the begining of the General War. 

After the establishment of the Klingon-Romulan alliance, the Romulans purchased several new D6 battlecruisers from the Empire. With some members of the High Council reluctant to ship the Romulans any of the newer D6's, a compromise was reached. The Klingons would claim delays in production would not allow immediate dilivery; they would then search for the oldest and most worn-out D6's and give them a quick-fix repair job. To pacify their allies in the meantime, the Empire sent 21 E3's (which the Klingons believed worthless) and 18 of the old D4 cruisers to the Romulans. This silenced the Romulans as they worked to get the new hulls into service. No one was amaized like the Klingons when the D4's met with great success under their new masters.

After seeing the Romulan success with their modified D4's, many were reconditioned and used for escorting intra-empire convoys and providing other more mundane police functions that might have been too difficult for the E4's, but which might not have justified pulling a newer, more well-equpiedship off the battle line. The D4 and D4C were especially suited to these duties, with their stronger disruptors and large number of transporters. They were often seen operating as support and command ships for the E3's and G2's that routinely patroled the Empire.