According to the
Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 2, p. 509),
"Roddenberry reportedly suggested the second USS Enterprise-A, launched at the end of Star Trek IV
, had previously been named USS Yorktown
since it seemed unlikely that Starfleet could have built a new Enterprise
so quickly. If this was the case, the Yorktown
may have made it safely back to Earth and been repaired and renamed, or perhaps there was a newer, replacement Yorktown
already under construction at the time of the probe crisis." The latter scenario could be supported by dialogue from
Star Trek V where the
Enterprise is described as a "new ship" by
Scotty, whereas the former scenario serves as a convenient rationale for the difficulties Scotty had of getting the apparently recently
refitted ship (therefore also fitting his "new ship" remark, akin to a similar remark
Will Decker had already made on the refit-
Enterprise in
Star Trek: The Motion Picture) back in operational order after the debilitating effects the Whale Probe had inflicted on it.
The season four internal studio document,
Star Trek: The Next Generation Writers' Technical Manual (2nd ed. p. 6), co-written by
Star Trek Encyclopedia Co-Author
Michael Okuda, emphatically stated the renaming scenario as being the case, reiterated in its one year later released
Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual spinoff publication and reaffirmed in the even later officially licensed
Star Trek Fact Files and the 2010 reference book
USS Enterprise Owners' Workshop Manual. This was further validated when, in later
Star Trek Encyclopedias, Okuda described the 2293
Yorktown – the one Tuvok's father served on – as the
second ship to bear the name. The Starfleet practice of renaming a vessel for a very deserving other vessel was later
canonically established in
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes "
The Changing Face of Evil" and "
The Dogs of War", when the
USS Sao Paulo was rechristened as the
USS Defiant, when the original
Defiant was destroyed in the
Dominion War. The
Star Trek Encyclopedia and all other subsequent official
reference works confirm the
Yorktown being a
Constitution-class heavy cruiser. The producers of
Star Trek: The Original Series had the name included on their final
fourteen ship list at the start of its
second season, belonging to the
Constitution-class, then still referred to as "
Starship-class" by them. (
The Making of Star Trek, pp. 164-165)/quote]
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