Klaa’s Bird-of-Prey was a Klingon B’rel class Bird-of-Prey in service with the Klingon Imperial Fleet in the late 23rd century. In 2287, under the command of Captain Klaa, the ship destroyed the Earth probe Pioneer 10 during an impromptu targeting practice exercise. The ship soon after attempted to intercept the U.S.S. Enterprise-A at Nimbus III in an unauthorized attempt to destroy the ship to service Klaa’s thirst for glory, and proceeded to follow the Enterprise through the Great Barrier to the planet Sha Ka Ree. There, it was commandeered by General Korrd and Captain Spock, forcing Klaa and his crew to stand down. Spock took control of the ship’s disruptors to destroy the malevolent entity on the planet to save the life of Captain James T. Kirk.

Klaa’s Klingon Bird-of-Prey | Deck 5 (2287)

The bridge of Klaa’s Bird-of-Prey was trapezoidal in shape, similar in design to many other bridges of the Klingon B’rel class. Access from a long central corridor was afforded by two large double doors at the aft of the bridge. The captain’s chair was centrally located, giving the commanding officer an unobstructed view of the large main viewscreen. A targeting scope, normally stored in a position just below the ceiling, could be lowered to connect and interface with the command chair, giving the captain direct access to the starship’s weapon systems. Banks of control stations lined the perimeter of the bridge, from just forward of the command chair to the aft of the bridge on either side of the doorway. Two freestanding consoles were directly behind the captain’s chair on the port and starboard side; the starboard console manned by the ship’s first officer.

Ship Model (Physical)

As portrayed in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (Film, 1989)

The Klingon Bird-of-Prey studio model was designed by Nilo Rodis and David Carson of Industrial Light & Magic for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. The model would go on to be used in several Star Trek productions to represent nearly thirty different Klingon Birds-of-Prey, and would influence the design of the 22nd century Bird-of-Prey seen in Star Trek: Enterprise.

Bridge Set (Physical)

As portrayed in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (Film, 1989)

For the bridge set of Klaa’s Bird-of-Prey seen in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Production Designer Herman Zimmerman designed a redress of the Klingon Bird-of-Prey  bridge constructed for the previous film, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. A new main viewscreen was designed due to the disappearance in between films of the previous set’s viewscreen. This set featured a targeting scope, designed by Nilo Rodis, that dropped down from the ceiling and connected to and rotated with the captain’s chair. This scope would later be featured on a heavily redressed version of this set in Star Trek Generations.