BRAD'S COMMENTS:  Clearly the best of the Klingon escorts.  Maybe because the later model actually mounts a torpedo??  Seriously, that's probably my one big complaint about virtually all the smaller warships from all three of the manuals.  Earth history has shown that the best weapon going for a small craft like a hydrofoil or a corvette is the torpedo (or missiles).  Using a torpedo, such a small ship can get into the action fast, deliver a terrible blow, and then be gone again before the bigger ships even know what is going on.  This tactic holds true in the STSTCS as well, but most of the small warships don't use torpedoes.  They should.  After all, a torp takes very little power to arm, and produces a lot of damage, so it is a tremendous investment for fighting ships of this size.  The Grim Reaper especially, which gets a major offensive gun in the form of its single torpedo bay.  Throw in the cloaking device, and the later model K-27 is awesomely effective at hit-and-run sneak attacks.  It looks cool too, with those predatory drooped wings and the lengthy neck.  I've actually seen people scratchbuild models of this design; a testament to how good it looks?

From the FASA Star Trek KLINGON SHIP RECOGNITION MANUAL, circa 1985
K-27 (Grim Reaper) Class VI Escort
Known Sphere Of Operation: Romulan and coreward borders
Data Reliability: E 
Major Data Source: Operation Dixie, Romulan Sector Intelligence
        The K-27, encountered by two of the ships from Operation Dixie, has never been reported by any other Star Fleet vessels.  Sub-space radio transmissions, intercepted during Operation Dixie, and information gained from Project Grey Ghost have supplied all the information to date.
        The bridge section and boom of the K-27 is similar to that of the K-23, and much of this forward design appears to have been borrowed completely from the early models of the more-recognizable escort.  As will be noticed in the data, the forward-mounted beam weapons are in the same locations and firing arcs as are those of the early K-23s.  The most noticeable feature of the K-27 is the single warp engine.  Mounted on a pylon at the rear of the vessel, it is capable of being jettisoned, leaving the ship mostly intact.  As of this printing, it is unknown whether the bridge section can be detached.
        The introduction of a second model around Stardate 2/19 indicates possible unsatisfactory performance by the original model.  The only change reported by Operation Dixie was the exchange of the forward-firing KD-8 disrupter for a KP-2 torpedo.  Sub-space communications also indicate that some of these vessels are equipped with the KCB cloaking device.  Please note that if the vessel is operating with the cloak activated, it will be considerably harder to detect, due to the single engine.
        Reports indicate 110 of these vessels in active service.  Reports received from Project Grey Ghost suggest that some of these vessels may be operating on the Romulan border coreward.  The manufacturing facility for these ships has not been located; however, the shipyard at Gerly is believed to be producing these vessels.
        The name derives from the Klingon mortum hesta, which translates to "the maker of the dead".

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