Battlestar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Battlestar (disambiguation).
Battlestars are capital ships from the science fiction universe of Battlestar Galactica, depicted in the original Battlestar Galactica movie and series, the Galactica 1980 spinoff, and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series.
Image:TOS-galac.jpg Image:Battlestar Galactica - Re-imagined series.jpg
Contents |
[edit] Battlestar Galactica (Re-imagined series)
| Battlestar
<tr> <td align="center" colspan="2">Image:Battlestar1.jpg | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Mini-Series, Part 1
<tr> <th>Affiliation</th> <td>Colonial Fleet</td> </tr> |
| General Characteristics
<tr> <th>Fighters</th> <td>Vipers</td> </tr><tr> <th>Auxiliary craft</th> <td>Raptors</td> </tr><tr> <th>Armaments</th> <td>Primary KEWs | |
Battlestars Galactica, Atlantia, Triton, Solaria, Columbia, Valkrie and Pegasus are named in the mini-series. Beginning at the start of the Cylon War, twelve Battlestars were made, one representing each colony (with Galactica representing Caprica<ref name="Mini Series, Part 1">"Mini Series, Part 1." Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries. </ref>). By the time of the miniseries, there were around one hundred and twenty Battlestars. Over thirty are lost during the opening wave of the Cylon attack, a loss described by Starbuck as "a quarter of the fleet"<ref name="Mini Series, Part 1" /><ref name="Mini Series, Part 2">"Mini Series, Part 2." Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries. </ref>
[edit] Flight pods
Battlestars are known to possess two flight pods. The Galactica's flight pods retract during a FTL jump, although the Pegasus did not retract flight pods during jumps. The flight pods are landing bays for returning Vipers and Raptors.
[edit] Propulsion
The Galactica has been seen to possess 6 sub-light engine pods<ref name="Mini Series, Part 2" /> while the Pegasus is known to possess 8 engine pods.<ref name="The Captain's Hand">"The Captain's Hand." Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series. </ref> The Battlestars themselves are highly maneuverable and are able to dock with stations such as Ragnar Anchorage.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 2" />
[edit] Defense
[edit] Armor
Battlestars are armored with plate over a rib structure. The Pegasus, which had just arrived in drydock for maintenance, has a full complement of armor. In the miniseries, Galactica withstood a direct nuclear detonation with little apparent damage to its command structure and fighter bays.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 2" /> The Mercury class Battlestar Pegasus has full armor plates and withstood at least five nuclear hits while still remaining operational to inflict heavy damage to a Cylon Basestar with a salvo from its bow battery. While Galactica lost 85 lives when hit by a single nuclear missile, Pegasus lost fewer than 6 lives during its battle with three Basestars while bombarded with both nuclear missiles and conventional weapons.<ref name="The Captain's Hand">"The Captain's Hand." Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series). </ref>
[edit] Armament
Image:Battlestar Galactica - Main Guns.jpg Image:BattlestarGalactica - Smaller Turrets.jpg
- Large-calibre main guns
- The two guns on each turret fire rounds in tandem. These guns have been seen to possess at least two settings: suppression-fire mode, where they fire explosive flak rounds,<ref name="Scattered">"Scattered." Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series. </ref> and a salvo mode where the guns fire heavy anti-ship rounds.<ref name="Resurrection Ship, Part 2">"Resurrection Ship, Part 2." Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series. </ref> Firing in salvo these rounds have been shown to be highly effective against Cylon Basestars.<ref name="The Captain's Hand" />
- Point defense guns (mounting two guns apiece)
- These kinetic energy weapons are smaller than a Battlestar's main guns,<ref name="ThirtyThree">"33." Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series. </ref> and have been seen to suppress enemy fire such as nuclear ordnance fired by Cylon Basestars.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 2" /> They are also easily capable of destroying Cylon Raiders during combat.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 2" /><ref name="ThirtyThree" />
- Nuclear Ordnance
- Galactica had five nuclear warheads on board as of the outbreak of war.<ref name="Bastille Day">"Bastille Day." Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series). </ref> It is unknown how many the Pegasus carried, if any. The delivery method of these weapons is as yet unknown, but it is possible to arm a Raptor with nuclear ordnance.<ref name="Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 2">"Kobol's Last Gleaming." Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series. </ref>
- Ship to ship missiles
- The Battlestar Valkyrie was armed with at least one ship-to-ship missile tube, the fired missile was shown to be capable of destroying a Stealthstar during erratic flight.
[edit] Air group
The Battlestar Galactica was originally equipped with 80 Viper MK I air/space superiority fighters. These were upgraded to Viper MK II fighters during the Cylon war. In addition to improved maneuverability, the MK II fighters were also equipped with two light missile racks.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 1" />
Before the Cylon holocaust on the Twelve Colonies, the Galactica had its fighter squadrons upgraded to Mk VII Vipers; most of these, however, were removed and reassigned pending the Battlestar's decommission. A squadron of Galactica Mark VII vipers was destroyed by two raiders after being deactivated by the Cylon virus in the upgraded navigational program.
Galactica is also equipped with numerous jump-capable Raptor multi-role spacecraft, used for transportation, reconnaissance, scouting, and electronic counter-measures.
- At the start of the mini-series, Galactica only had its port launch bay in service. Its active squadron consisted of 20 MK VII fighters, which left the ship after the decommissioning ceremony and was re-directed to intercept the Cylon invasion fleet. The squadron was disabled by a computer virus and destroyed by Cylon Raiders.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 1" />
- As part of its museum exhibit, the Galactica also had a squadron of 40 MK II fighters which were pressed into service to defend the ship.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 2" />
- An unspecified number of MK VII fighters were seen escorting the fleet of ships gathered by President Roslin. Most likely they were homeless Vipers from destroyed Battlestars; however one was the Mark VII that Apollo flew to Galactica in originally. These Vipers were stowed and taken with the fleet when it jumped to Ragnar to rendezvous with the Galactica. Upon arrival these Vipers were transferred to the Galactica where they formed the squadron of 20 MK VIIs depicted in the escape from Ragnar Anchorage.
- Chief Tyrol took it upon himself to deal with the dwindling complement of Vipers and decided to investigate limited production within the fleet of a smaller, simpler Viper. The project prototype proved that production was impractical on even a limited basis, but the prototype did hold the redeeming quality of being nearly impossible to track with DRADIS scanning technology. Essentially, he had created a stealth fighter, the Blackbird.<ref name="Flight of the Phoenix">"Flight of the Phoenix." Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series. </ref> This was largely due to the carbon composite hull of the Blackbird, as opposed to the metal hulls of other Colonial ships.
- The Battlestar Pegasus has production facilities that enable it to produce replacement Vipers. The fleet currently has enough resources to construct two complete squadrons of 20 Vipers each.<ref name="Pegasus">"Pegasus." Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series). </ref>
- In the episode Exodus Vipers are shown launching from Galactica's Starboard landing bay. This bay had been converted to a museum but now appears operational.
- The Pegasus Vipers are transferred to Galactica after the Pegasus is destroyed. The Pegasus had four full squadrons at the time it first encountered Galactica. This number would be somewhat reduced due to the continued battles with the Cylons, but combined with the construction of replacement vipers by Pegasus it is likely that Galactica now has anywhere from four to six viper squadrons available.
[edit] Crew
Galactica's crew complement prior to her scheduled decommissioning was around 2,000.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 1" /> This figure is higher for a fully-staffed Battlestar, exceeding the 5,000 mark. After the Cylon attack, Galactica's crew complement has risen to over 2,500.
After the settlement of New Caprica, Galactica's complement was gradually reduced as crew members left the ship and joined the civilians on the planet surface.<ref name="Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2">"Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2." Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series). </ref> When the Cylons reappeared 380 days after the establishment of settlements on New Caprica, Galactica was manned by a skeleton crew that could barely launch a squadron of Vipers for training, much less fly an efficient combat air patrol.<ref name="Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2" />
After the rescue of the population of New Caprica, Galactica's crew complement is bolstered by the return of the retired crewmembers from the surface as well as the refugees from the Pegasus.
A Battlestar's crew, aside from the Marine Corps component present aboard the vessel, are Colonial Fleet personnel. As such, the crew falls into a common, hierarchical, military rank structure. This hierarchy is divided into two broad groups: commissioned officers who exercise command oversight; and enlisted personnel (including non-commissioned officers) who perform technical duties or exercise first-line supervisory authority.
So far in the series, only six commissioned officer ranks have been used: Ensign (from the episode: "Scar"), Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel, Commander, and Admiral. Ensigns/Lietenants seem to be the lowest ranking officers in the fleet, but also the most common by far. Captain seems to be a mid-level rank, coming with it command of a flight group. Lee "Apollo" Adama and Dr Cottle are the only two characters to hold the rank of major during the series. It would seem that the ranks of major and colonel are fairly similar in that they generally bring with them the executive officer position. Commanders, as the name would imply, are generally commanding officers of Battlestars. It can be assumed that "admiral" is the first in a separate category of "flag officer" ranks. However, given that the rest of the military command structure was taken out of the equation with the Cylon attack, further admiralty ranks will probably not be seen in the series, save flashback scenes.
[edit] List of Battlestars
Image:Battlestarpegasus.jpg Image:Battlestar Galactica - Valkyrie.jpg At the time of the Cylon attack, the Colonial Fleet was comprised of approximately 120 Battlestars.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 1" />
- Battlestar Galactica
- The Galactica survived the Cylon attack on the Colonies. During its service, the Galactica formed a part of Battlestar Group 75 (BSG 75), a Colonial naval force. At the time of the attack, Galactica was undergoing formal decommissioning to be turned into a museum. Commanded by William Adama.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 1" /><ref name="Mini Series, Part 2" />
- Battlestar Atlantia
- Became the flagship of the fleet after the destruction of Picon Fleet Headquarters and was subsequently destroyed herself along with most of the entire fleet. Was commanded by Admiral Nagala.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 1" />
- Battlestar Triton
- Destroyed along with the Atlantia. Crashdown's original posting.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 1" />
- Battlestar Solaria
- Destroyed along with the Atlantia.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 1" />
- Battlestar Columbia
- Former Executive Officer: William Adama. Destroyed along with the Atlantia.<ref name="Mini Series, Part 1" />
- Battlestar Pegasus
- The second season midseason cliffhanger revealed that Battlestar Pegasus also survived the Cylon attack. It is more advanced (a Mercury Class Battlestar) than Galactica. Pegasus was part of Battlestar Group 62 (BSG-62). Originally commanded by Rear Admiral Cain (Deceased), her former Executive Office Fisk (Deceased) was then appointed by Admiral Adama to command Pegasus. Unfortunately due to illegal activities Commander Fisk was murdered. After this Chief Engineer Garner (Deceased) was promoted to take command. Commander Garner was killed in action saving Pegasus from a Cylon Ambush. Last commanded by Lee Adama<ref name="Pegasus" /> until it was destroyed over New Caprica by ramming itself into a Basestar during the battle to free the colonists; the Pegasus had left its Viper squadrons to protect the fleet before jumping to help in the battle.<ref name="Exodus">"Exodus." Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series). </ref>
- Battlestar Valkyrie
- Unknown Battlestar type commanded by Commander William Adama one year prior to the fall of the Twelve Colonies. Was ordered by Admiral Corman to launch a blackops operation to penetrate the Cylon Armistice Zone to gather intelligence on Cylon battle readiness. Battlestar Valkyrie was assigned to Battlestar Group 41.<ref name="Hero">"Hero." Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series). </ref>
[edit] Creation
The re-imagined series Battlestar as well as the series' other visual effects are designed and created by Zoic Studios.<ref name="Zoic">Zoic Studios</ref>
[edit] Battlestar Galactica (1978-1980)
[edit] General information
Battlestars are the premier capital ships of the 12 Colonies; Battlestars have fought for at least five hundred yahren in the Thousand Year War against the Cylon Alliance. The hull is divided into the main hull with the bridge and propulsion systems, and winged hangar bays on the port and starboard sides. Each hangar bay typically carries many Viper Starfighters and several shuttles. The fuel for a Battlestar and its Vipers is called tylium, a mysterious material that can be found on certain planets.<ref name="Saga of a Star World">"Saga of a Star World." Battlestar Galactica 1978. </ref>
[edit] Battlestar armament
Image:Battlestar Galactics TOS -- Lasers 1.jpg Image:Battlestar Galactica TOS -- Lasers 2.jpg
[edit] Laser turrets
The laser turrets are basically the same weapon as a Viper's laser cannon based on appearances alone. There are several known types of turret. One, the anti-ship type, is a slow-tracking heavy turret found along the outer edge of both hangar bays. They have longer barrels than other turrets. Above each anti-ship turret is an anti-fighter turret. They are flatter and thinner in appearance and track much faster. Their barrels are smaller and closer together. These weapons however lack the punch to slug it out with capital ships.<ref name="The Living Legend, Part 2">"The Living Legend, Part 2." Battlestar Galactica 1978. </ref>
[edit] Forward lasers
The forward lasers have only been seen in The Living Legend Pt. 2 and The Hand of God and are often confused with anti-ship missiles. They are powerful, orange-beamed weapons solely for capital ship use.<ref name="The Living Legend, Part 2" />
[edit] Anti-ship missiles
These heavy missiles gave a Battlestar enough firepower to utterly destroy at least two Basestars. The only example of their use is in The Living Legend, Part 2. They are often confused with the forward lasers because they were fired at the same time in the above-mentioned episode.<ref name="The Living Legend, Part 2" />
[edit] List of Battlestars
Only five Battlestars were known to have survived by the time the original movie took place.<ref name="Saga of a Star World" />
- Last surviving Battlestar, built 500 yahren before the close of the Thousand Yahren War. Commanded by Commander Adama. The Galactica has about 150 Vipers aboard, a mixture of its own, some from the other Battlestars at the Peace Conference, and a great number of fighters from the Pegasus.
- Battlestar Atlantia
- Battlestar of President Adar, lost at the Peace Conference. Shown in the original pilot film.
- Battlestar Pacifica
- Lost at the Peace Conference.<ref name="Saga of a Star World" />
- Referenced in background radio chatter in the original pilot film ("... Battlestars Atlantia and Acropolis losing speed..", "...no response from the Triton and the Pacifica")
- Battlestar Triton
- Lost at the Peace Conference.<ref name="Saga of a Star World" />
- Referenced in background radio chatter in the original pilot film ("... Battlestars Atlantia and Acropolis losing speed..", "...no response from the Triton and the Pacifica")
- Battlestar Acropolis
- Lost at the Peace Conference.<ref name="Saga of a Star World" />
- Referenced in background radio chatter in the original pilot film ("... Battlestars Atlantia and Acropolis losing speed..", "...no response from the Triton and the Pacifica")
- Battlestar Pegasus
- Sole survivor of the Battle of Molecay, 2 yahren before the Destruction of the Colonies. The Pegasus was commanded by Commander Cain. Missing since the Battle of Gamoray.<ref name="The Living Legend, Part 1">"The Living Legend, Part 1." Battlestar Galactica 1978. </ref><ref name="The Living Legend, Part 2" />
- Battlestar Columbia
- In the episode "Gun on Ice Planet Zero", a Cadet Cree claims to be from the Battlestar Columbia in an attempt to foil the interrogation efforts by the Centurion Vulpa. Vulpa answers back that the Columbia was lost in the Peace Conference with the rest of the fleet.<ref name="Gun on Ice Planet Zero">"Gun on Ice Planet Zero." Battlestar Galactica 1978. </ref>
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
- Battlestar Galactica (2003, 2004–)
- Official Blueprints for the Battlestar Galactica by Zoic Studios.
- Galactica type Battlestar at BattlestarWiki.
- Mercury class Battlestar at BattlestarWiki.
- Battlestar Galactica (1978, 1980)
- Battlestar at BattlestarWiki.
- Battlestar Galactica: Technical Manual
| Battlestar Galactica spaceships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Colonial Military | |||
| Battlestars | Military Vessels | ||
| Galactica | Pegasus | Valkyrie | Viper | Raptor | Blackbird | Stealthstar | ||
| "The Fleet" | |||
| Astral Queen | Colonial One | Cloud 9 | Olympic Carrier | other.. | |||
| Cylon Vessels | |||
| Basestar | Raider | Heavy Raider | "Resurrection Ship" | |||
