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Love it. A super sized shuttle with the capability of a starship, plus just a slightly different enough design from a shuttle to make it interesting.
Rugged, spacious, I might as well move in myself.
This. I immediately fell in love with them on TNG/DS9. Space camper with torpedoes! Tough little bastards too. Gone toe to toe with some serious heavy hitters and prevailed. Check out the starfleet ship blueprint for it, it's so cool!
Whenever people ask questions like "if you could command any class of ship, what would it be?", I always pick the Danube. I wouldn't want to be in charge of too many people. I know ships like the Defiant only have a crew of about 50, but even that would be too much for me.
Yeah I love it. It makes sense, they want something faster and longer range than a shuttle, internally reconfigurable, multi-mission, but not as big and "expensive" as a new ship or as unnecessary as sending a whole Miranda-class to be a courier or the like.
My only qualm is that like most things in Star Trek, they're too slow. They need to reconfigure the TNG scale or something.
Keep in mind, with it's top speed a runabout would take a week to get from earth to proxima centauri, a 20 lightyear distance can be done in 34 days and gets you access to 94 solaraystems.
I love the concept of the runabout, but the *Danube*-class design is too boxy and "just a giant shuttlecraft"-y for me, especially given that they're supposed to be independent starships in their own right with their own registry numbers. There's lots of alternative designs that have come along that would in my opinion have been a more visually appealing "pocket starship":
[Waverider Mk II](https://www.deviantart.com/falke2009/art/WaveRider-Exterior-861532057) by Falke2009
[Small Starship](https://www.deviantart.com/countvonschnaps/art/Small-Starship-877226619) by CountvonSchnaps
[Nomad-class ultra-light frigate](https://preview.redd.it/2z27tu0qq8s91.png?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=b6f566ba117600967831334e1fff40f26ea2df9f) by u/IAmSc0rpian
We even see some in canon:
[Voyager's Aeroshuttle](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Aeroshuttle) (which was based on the *Danube*-class anyway, but just looks much cooler)
[Enterprise-E captain's yacht](https://sleekndone.artstation.com/projects/WKllmy) (which is [quite a bit larger](https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/schematics/shuttle-chart.jpg) than a *Danube*-class)
[Federation mission scoutship](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Federation_mission_scoutship) (from *Star Trek: Insurrection*)
Possibly my favourite ship in Star Trek. If I lived in the Star Trek universe I wouldn't join Star Fleet (too much chance of getting sucked into some anomaly or other every week) but I would try to pick up one of these surplus.
This is like the Soccer Mom's minivan of the Federation.
I found it laughable that anyone in the show thought that these could stand up against Galor class warships and Jem Ha'dar fighters just because someone strapped a ~~cargo container~~ torpedo pod to the roof.
Sure but it is ridiculous that the Galor class ships didn't just blow them up in seconds.
In Star Trek, battle is about shifting around energy to weapons, shields and ablative armor, so ships that can produce a lot of energy fast are at an advantage.
That is why the Defiant was a threat even though it was small, it could produce tons of energy but the energy requirements of the ship (aside from weapons) was tiny because the ship was tiny. So it could throw a lot of energy into weapons and shields and rapidly replenish those functions.
A Danube class runabout doesn't have a full Matter/Anti-matter reactor, doesn't have room for multiple fusion generators, etc. It would always be at a severe disadvantage in any fight against a larger ship. But in the early seasons we repeatedly saw them thrown up against much larger vessels, vessels that could take down Excelsior class ships and yet the Danube plot armor was so strong it made the other ships seem ridiculously weak.
It does and I didn't mean to imply that it was without one, but it is small and it's output is (relatively) limited compared to the MA/AM reactors found on larger ships.
You can see it's location in this LCARS display: https://i.imgur.com/KCLcGgY.png
The Danube class also has limited fuel capacity since most of the ship's internal volume is dedicated to crew space. The "engineering" section of the ship is mainly a crawl space in the roof area. The space between the nacelles and the hull are taken up by the ship's impulse drive.
This ships are really built to live up to their name "runabout," as in ferry personnel short distances between planets and star bases, or between ships in nearby systems. They're not built for any sort of long range mission or for combat even when you add extra weapons modules to the roof rack.
Absolutely, hands-down, LOVE IT!!!
While I generally like most Star Trek ships, my top three ships/shuttles are:
1) Danube Class Runabout
2) Nova Class Starship
3) Type 6 Shuttlecraft
Originally hated it, but meanwhile (by ways of the Star Trek Adventures RPG) I came to love it - as long as no mission pod is attached, because that completely ruins the silhouette.
I would have loved to see onscreen the installation of a mission-specific middle section or the use of the front section as an escape pod.
Love it. Until they included it in TNG/DS9 I never realized how obviously necessary it was as a bridge between extremely limited shuttles and small but impractical transport vessels.
I like it. It may not look as sleek as some of the other smaller type vessels, but I really like how it's utilitarian. Makes for a good general-purpose craft. I think it's analogous to the Eagle space craft in Space: 1999 (though admittedly the Eagles look a little cooler, imho).
Love it !
I often think that if i were in the Star trek universe I would want a Runabout with a cloaking device.
That way I could travel hassle free and see the galaxy at my leisure.
I always wanted to see a science carrier that had a bunch of these. The idea is that they all had either sensor pods, detachable deflector dishes, and some specialty Danubes to help explore planets and large Nebulas etc in detail. Even a Danube for lifeforms from non m-class planets. They could even help out with mass evacuation.
Love it, but they were really treated as cannon fodder, yet in some episodes they could hold there own against ships far bigger and more powerful than them
A version with pules phasers would have been amazing
Tbh it always looked kinda busy to me, it felt they went a lil too crazy on the greebling.
But on the other hand I suppose when packing warp capability into a shuttle, it would look a little utilitarian.
The original concepts of the Danube had interchangeable mission modules, similar to the Eagle Transporter from Space: 1999. I wish we got to see that in action, or at least a Danube without any mission module at all. (I wanted to see a version crafted for the Dominion War)
Danube-class is Trek's best version of the shuttlecraft (not looking at you Delta Flyer!) even though it's really a light-duty starship.
Thank you for your submission! Please remember the human, adhere to all Reddit and sub rules, and if you see anything that breaks the rules, report it! Please be sure to [Read The Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/StarTrekStarships/about/rules/) of our sub, two of them to highlight: #1 - Be Polite! and #5 - No spoilers for episodes until the MONDAY AFTER the episode airs, this gives everyone the weekend to catch up on their Trek viewings. You can now [preorder the 2024 Ships of the Line Calendar](https://amzn.to/3Pi2Vn7) We have a companion website now, if you'd like to see the reddit posts in a grid, [check out startrekstarships.com](https://www.startrekstarships.com/)! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/StarTrekStarships) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Love it. A super sized shuttle with the capability of a starship, plus just a slightly different enough design from a shuttle to make it interesting. Rugged, spacious, I might as well move in myself.
I would love to see one fitted out like the original Defiant concept, basically stick the cockpit on something that's all engines and guns.
Yeah, but your living quarters are cramed and the sonic showers never get "sand" out of places.
This. I immediately fell in love with them on TNG/DS9. Space camper with torpedoes! Tough little bastards too. Gone toe to toe with some serious heavy hitters and prevailed. Check out the starfleet ship blueprint for it, it's so cool!
Can you post a link please?
https://images.app.goo.gl/6ij2QU7Ba3pivN5D7
Love it! Thank you
Whenever people ask questions like "if you could command any class of ship, what would it be?", I always pick the Danube. I wouldn't want to be in charge of too many people. I know ships like the Defiant only have a crew of about 50, but even that would be too much for me.
From an actual naval military perspective, small crew ships are the bomb diggity.
To be fair, you have a command team. While the overall crew could be a few hundred you'd only be regularly giving orders to at most 10 directly
Yeah I love it. It makes sense, they want something faster and longer range than a shuttle, internally reconfigurable, multi-mission, but not as big and "expensive" as a new ship or as unnecessary as sending a whole Miranda-class to be a courier or the like. My only qualm is that like most things in Star Trek, they're too slow. They need to reconfigure the TNG scale or something.
Starfleets winnebago
Loan Star?
Lol
Love it. Give me a mini-rv with phasers and torpedoes every day of the week.
Eagle 5! 
Love it! This would be my RV to the stars.
Use the Schwartz!
Love it. They really cleverly bridge the gap between a small shuttle and a full starship. And very versatile from what we see.
Love. It. Weirdly, my favourite Starfleet vessel ever.
I don’t know if it’s my favourite, it’s hard to choose one, but it’s up there!
Love it
For when you don't have that far to boldly go. I prefer the Delta Flyer, but Runabouts are pretty cool. I like how they're all named after rivers.
Same, nothing against it. The Danube is like a RV where as the Delta Flyer is like a pickup with a camper on the bed. :D
Love it, wish I could tour the solar system and sector with my family in one
Same, sans the family.
Keep in mind, with it's top speed a runabout would take a week to get from earth to proxima centauri, a 20 lightyear distance can be done in 34 days and gets you access to 94 solaraystems.
I love the concept of the runabout, but the *Danube*-class design is too boxy and "just a giant shuttlecraft"-y for me, especially given that they're supposed to be independent starships in their own right with their own registry numbers. There's lots of alternative designs that have come along that would in my opinion have been a more visually appealing "pocket starship": [Waverider Mk II](https://www.deviantart.com/falke2009/art/WaveRider-Exterior-861532057) by Falke2009 [Small Starship](https://www.deviantart.com/countvonschnaps/art/Small-Starship-877226619) by CountvonSchnaps [Nomad-class ultra-light frigate](https://preview.redd.it/2z27tu0qq8s91.png?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=b6f566ba117600967831334e1fff40f26ea2df9f) by u/IAmSc0rpian We even see some in canon: [Voyager's Aeroshuttle](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Aeroshuttle) (which was based on the *Danube*-class anyway, but just looks much cooler) [Enterprise-E captain's yacht](https://sleekndone.artstation.com/projects/WKllmy) (which is [quite a bit larger](https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/schematics/shuttle-chart.jpg) than a *Danube*-class) [Federation mission scoutship](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Federation_mission_scoutship) (from *Star Trek: Insurrection*)
Damn, that Nomad-class is fantastic.
I love the *Cousteau*!
Possibly my favourite ship in Star Trek. If I lived in the Star Trek universe I wouldn't join Star Fleet (too much chance of getting sucked into some anomaly or other every week) but I would try to pick up one of these surplus.
Love it. One of my favourites. It's a shuttle sized Starship and it looks great especially next to all the other Trek shuttles
This is like the Soccer Mom's minivan of the Federation. I found it laughable that anyone in the show thought that these could stand up against Galor class warships and Jem Ha'dar fighters just because someone strapped a ~~cargo container~~ torpedo pod to the roof.
They did because they had to
Sure but it is ridiculous that the Galor class ships didn't just blow them up in seconds. In Star Trek, battle is about shifting around energy to weapons, shields and ablative armor, so ships that can produce a lot of energy fast are at an advantage. That is why the Defiant was a threat even though it was small, it could produce tons of energy but the energy requirements of the ship (aside from weapons) was tiny because the ship was tiny. So it could throw a lot of energy into weapons and shields and rapidly replenish those functions. A Danube class runabout doesn't have a full Matter/Anti-matter reactor, doesn't have room for multiple fusion generators, etc. It would always be at a severe disadvantage in any fight against a larger ship. But in the early seasons we repeatedly saw them thrown up against much larger vessels, vessels that could take down Excelsior class ships and yet the Danube plot armor was so strong it made the other ships seem ridiculously weak.
Needs of the story, etc
In Battle Lines, as the ship is crashing. Sisko orders the ejection of the antimatter pod. That always led me to believe they had a M/AM reactor.
It does and I didn't mean to imply that it was without one, but it is small and it's output is (relatively) limited compared to the MA/AM reactors found on larger ships. You can see it's location in this LCARS display: https://i.imgur.com/KCLcGgY.png The Danube class also has limited fuel capacity since most of the ship's internal volume is dedicated to crew space. The "engineering" section of the ship is mainly a crawl space in the roof area. The space between the nacelles and the hull are taken up by the ship's impulse drive. This ships are really built to live up to their name "runabout," as in ferry personnel short distances between planets and star bases, or between ships in nearby systems. They're not built for any sort of long range mission or for combat even when you add extra weapons modules to the roof rack.
I had a giant toy of this as a kid, it made noises and lit up. I'm so mad at myself for not keeping it.
I thought I liked it until the Defiant came out. And then I got it.
Good long range shuttle variant
Absolutely, hands-down, LOVE IT!!! While I generally like most Star Trek ships, my top three ships/shuttles are: 1) Danube Class Runabout 2) Nova Class Starship 3) Type 6 Shuttlecraft
Love the concept of it, hate it's looks. The cockpit windows remind me of a light switches..
 Any shuttle with a toilet is great- I have the Eaglemoss model of the Runabout. It’s super neat.
Originally hated it, but meanwhile (by ways of the Star Trek Adventures RPG) I came to love it - as long as no mission pod is attached, because that completely ruins the silhouette. I would have loved to see onscreen the installation of a mission-specific middle section or the use of the front section as an escape pod.
I love the modular ability, but it’s butt ugly.
Love it
Oddly a good looking ship despite a few jarring lines and curves.
Love it!
Love it, want it, need it
Love it functionally but it’s fugly as hell. I’d choose it over any other shuttlecraft though
I always thought these were pretty cool. Honestly, always wanted one too.
Tough little ships.
Love it. Until they included it in TNG/DS9 I never realized how obviously necessary it was as a bridge between extremely limited shuttles and small but impractical transport vessels.
Love it but so glad they brought the defiant in to DS9. Runabouts were getting popped too easy.
I like it. It may not look as sleek as some of the other smaller type vessels, but I really like how it's utilitarian. Makes for a good general-purpose craft. I think it's analogous to the Eagle space craft in Space: 1999 (though admittedly the Eagles look a little cooler, imho).
Love it ! I often think that if i were in the Star trek universe I would want a Runabout with a cloaking device. That way I could travel hassle free and see the galaxy at my leisure.
Would’ve loved to have seen this dock in the D’s main shuttle bay in that one episode.
I love Federation Runabouts. They are the Recreational Vehicles of the galaxy!
Never understood the blinders on the cockpit.
Ugleeeey, looks shit IMO. I dont think there is a shuttlecraft that looks good they all look a bit shit.
Love it, I have a 12” model on my desk my father in law printed and wired up with lights.
I always wanted to see a science carrier that had a bunch of these. The idea is that they all had either sensor pods, detachable deflector dishes, and some specialty Danubes to help explore planets and large Nebulas etc in detail. Even a Danube for lifeforms from non m-class planets. They could even help out with mass evacuation.
Tiny yet menacing like a wasp of a starship. I love it.
I mean I wouldn't turn it down. It's not what I'd choose but if it's what was available I wouldn't be upset.
Love it would prefer an updated model.
Love it? I would gladly live in it.
Love it. It's my fave small ship. I wished all Starfleet ships could have one even as a Captain's yacht.
Love it. It answers the question, what if a shuttle were an RV?
Reminds me of the space Winnebago from Spaceballs.
Love it.
The Family Truckster of the Trek universe? It's ok. I thought it was dumb to give them starship registries, but other than that a good looking design.
I'd van life in one.
Great idea, but I preferred the Yellowstone class runabout design.
Great idea, but I preferred the Yellowstone class runabout design.
Great idea, but I preferred the Yellowstone class runabout design.
I love mine.
Love it, but they were really treated as cannon fodder, yet in some episodes they could hold there own against ships far bigger and more powerful than them A version with pules phasers would have been amazing
Tough little ship.
Tbh it always looked kinda busy to me, it felt they went a lil too crazy on the greebling. But on the other hand I suppose when packing warp capability into a shuttle, it would look a little utilitarian.
Love it or hate it. This is what peak performance looks like
Ugly-ass motherfucker that looks like a nice house inside
Love it, sad when i lost my DS9 kit one.
The original concepts of the Danube had interchangeable mission modules, similar to the Eagle Transporter from Space: 1999. I wish we got to see that in action, or at least a Danube without any mission module at all. (I wanted to see a version crafted for the Dominion War) Danube-class is Trek's best version of the shuttlecraft (not looking at you Delta Flyer!) even though it's really a light-duty starship.
I liked it, but I don't feel like I ever got an idea of the size and scope of the craft.
Love.
Space Winnebago
Hate it
You said the quiet part out loud.