Battlestar (reimagining)

Infobox Fictional Spacecraft
name = Battlestar


caption = "Galactica", a Battlestar
first = "Battlestar Galactica"
affiliation = Colonial Fleet
armaments = Gun batteries
Point-Defence KEWs
Nuclear missiles
Ship-to-ship missiles
auxcraft = Colonial Raptors
fighters = Colonial Vipers
propulsion = Sub-light engines
FTL driveA Battlestar is a space battleship in the reimagined science fiction television series "Battlestar Galactica". The reimagined series' Battlestars, as well as the series' other visual effects are designed and created by Zoic Studios for "Battlestar Galactica".cite web| url=http://www.zoicstudios.com/Web/Creations/Showcase.aspx?ShowType=16&ShowID=29| title=Zoic Studios - Visual Evolution in VFX]

The Battlestars "Galactica", "Atlantia", "Triton", "Solaria" and "Columbia" are named in the miniseries; Battlestars "Pegasus" and "Valkyrie" are seen during the subsequent television series. Initially, twelve Battlestars were built at the start of the Cylon War, one for each of the Twelve Colonies, "Galactica" represented the colony of Caprica.cite episode| episodelink=Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries)| title=Mini Series, Part 1| series=] The fleet has grown by the time of the miniseries, as over thirty are lost during the opening wave of the Cylon attack, a loss which one character describes as "a quarter of the fleet".cite episode | episodelink = Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries) | title = Mini Series, Part 2 | series = ]

Design

Flight pods

Battlestars are seen to possess two flight pods. Those of "Galactica"'s retract during an FTL jump, though the same is not true of "Pegasus". The flight pods serve as landing bays for spacecraft and are normally two-story decks, with the top deck being an open-ended landing pad for Vipers, Raptors, and small civilian ships like Colonial One. Vipers and Raptors move to a side elevator lift and descend to the lower hangar bay, where they are maintained. The launch tubes for Viper egress is also located on the lower level. Once in launch position, an airlock closes behind the Viper and the front of the tube is open-ended, exposing the Viper to space for launch. The Mercury class battlestars, like "Pegasus", have a third storey on each flight pod. There is a second landing bay that is upside down. Vipers approaching this deck roll 180 degrees ("on their backs") prior to landing on it.

Propulsion

"Galactica" is shown to possess six sub-light engine pods while "Pegasus" has eight.cite episode | episodelink = The Captain's Hand (Battlestar Galactica) | title = The Captain's Hand | series = Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series | serieslink = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)] Battlestars are highly manoeuvrable and are capable of docking with space stations, such as the Ragnar Anchorage.

Defence

Armour

Battlestars of "Galactica"'s class are protected by armour plate covered by ribs designed to catch and detonate incoming ordnance away from the armour. Newer battlestars are covered with smooth armour plating. The miniseries shows "Galactica" withstanding a direct nuclear detonation with little apparent damage to its command structure and fighter bays. The newer "Mercury" class Battlestar ""Pegasus"" is apparently more resilient and withstands at least three nuclear hits during a Cylon ambush; not only does Pegasus remain operational, she inflicts heavy damage to a Cylon Basestar with her forward batteriescite episode | episodelink = The Captain's Hand (Battlestar Galactica) | title = The Captain's Hand | series = Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series | serieslink = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)] .

Armament

Gun batteries: Two guns on each battery fire rounds in tandem. The guns are stated to possess at least two settings: suppression-fire mode, where they fire explosive flak rounds,cite episode | episodelink = Scattered (Battlestar Galactica) | title = Scattered | series = Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series | serieslink = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) ] and a salvo mode where the guns fire anti-ship rounds, which have demonstrated a high effectiveness against Cylon Basestars.cite episode | episodelink = Resurrection Ship (Battlestar Galactica) | title = Resurrection Ship, Part 2 | series = Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series | serieslink = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) ] .

Point-defence guns: The primary function of these guns is in an anti-fighter/missile role, such as destroying incoming ordnance or Cylon Raiders.

Nuclear warheads/missiles: "Galactica" has five nuclear warheads on-board as of the outbreak of the war.cite episode| episodelink=Bastille Day (Battlestar Galactica)| title=Bastille Day| series=Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)] By the time "Galactica" has reached the algae planet, her stockpile has increased to at least seven nuclear missiles and at least ten launch tubes.cite episode | episodelink = The Eye of Jupiter (Battlestar Galactica) | title = The Eye of Jupiter | series = Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series | serieslink = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) ] .

Ship-to-ship missiles: Both Battlestars "Valkyrie" and "Pegasus" are fitted with ship-to-ship missile tubes. It is unknown if Galactica is also equipped with anti-ship missiles.

Air group

The Battlestar "Galactica" was originally equipped with 80 Viper Mk. I fighters. During the First Cylon War these were replaced with the Mk. II version. In addition to improved manoeuvrability, the Mk. II fighters are also equipped with two light missile racks.

Before the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, "Pegasus"'s fighter squadrons were flying the newer Mk. VII Vipers. Most of "Galactica"'s Mk. VIIs had been reassigned with the Battlestar's pending decommission; her single remaining squadron of Mk. VII Vipers were sabotaged by the Cylon virus in the upgraded navigational program and annihilated.

Following the outbreak of the Second Cylon War, the Vipers in the ship's starboard hangar museum, mostly ageing Mk. II's, were pressed into service. These fighters, supplemented by a small number of retrofitted Mk. VII's, gave "Galactica" an effective air group of roughly 40 craft. Attrition over the following months reduced this number somewhat as the ship and her fleet of civilian craft were pursued by the Cylons. cite episode | episodelink = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)#Season One | title = Season 1 | series = Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series | serieslink = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)] The arrival of "Pegasus" with her mostly intact squadrons and Viper production facilities were a huge boost to "Galactica"'s dwindling air group. With the destruction of the "Pegasus" her squadrons were subsequently transferred to "Galactica", giving the latter a full complement of fighters that were largely Mk VII Vipers.cite episode | episodelink = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)#Season Three | title = Season 3 | series = Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series | serieslink = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)]

"Galactica" is also equipped with numerous FTL jump-capable Raptors, multi-role spacecraft used for transportation, reconnaissance, scouting, and electronic countermeasures.

Crew

"Galactica"'s crew complement prior to its scheduled decommissioning was around 2,000. This figure would be much higher for a fully-staffed Battlestar, exceeding the 5,000 mark. After the Cylon attack, "Galactica"'s crew complement rises to over 2,500 as civilians join the service.

After the settlement of New Caprica, "Galactica"'s crew is gradually reduced as personnel leave the ship and join the civilians on the planet surface. cite episode | episodelink = Lay Down Your Burdens (Battlestar Galactica) | title = Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2 | series = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) ] When the Cylons reappear 380 days after the colonization of New Caprica, "Galactica" is manned by a skeleton crew that struggles just to achieve combat readiness, let alone engage the Cylons.

After the rescue of the civilian population from New Caprica, "Galactica"'s crew is bolstered by the return of the retired crew members from the planet as well as the survivors of "Pegasus". It is implied that the most if not all the "Pegasus" crew escape the loss of their ship, bringing "Galactica"'s crew close to full strength.

A Battlestar's crew, aside from the Marine Corps component present aboard the vessel, consists of 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.

Combat Performance

When separated from their Raider groups (which are superior in numbers to a battlestar's Viper complement), the basestars appear to be no match for the battlestars in purely ship-to-ship combat - throughout the series, Colonial battlestars have demonstrated a marked superiority over their Cylon counterparts in this area. In the season two episode "Resurrection Ship, Part II", with both sides' fighter groups engaged elsewhere, the battlestars "Galactica" and "Pegasus" successfully engage and destroy at least one basestar and heavily damage a second (possibly destroying it as well). The battlestars used the tactic of circling one basestar while firing upon it until destroyed. A similar tactic is used in the battle of New Caprica in which the "Galactica" uses diversions to occupy the Cylon Raiders elsewhere, and is able to fight four basestars simultaneously (albeit with heavy damage). With the later arrival of "Pegasus", three basestars are lost - the first by fire from "Pegasus"'s main batteries, the second when the crippled Pegasus is deliberately rammed into it, and the third due to collateral damage from the resulting explosion and debris.

The role and performance of the basestars indicate that they are not nearly as well armoured or armed as battlestars. Their offensive and defensive capabilities are dependent mainly on their Raiders, although they do possess missile silos used in ship to ship combat. Deprived of their Raiders, basestars are extremely vulnerable to Colonial warships. In contrast, while Galactica is heavily dependent on its Vipers for defence, it is heavily armoured against nuclear and conventional weapons and has several batteries capable of maintaining a much higher volume of fire than a basestar can achieve. Additionally, a basestar appears to be much less manoeuvrable than a battlestar. It is possible to surmise that the design of a basestar is intended to exchange armour, firepower and manoeuvrability for additional space in which to store Raiders. Battlestars, conversely, trade size for increased manoeuvrability, firepower and armour.

List of Battlestars

At the time of the Cylon attack, the Colonial Fleet was composed of approximately 120 Battlestars.

; Battlestar "Atlantia" : Becomes the flagship of Admiral Nagala and the surviving Colonial Fleet after Picon Fleet Headquarters and much of the navy are destroyed during the first wave of the Cylon assault. Like almost all of its sister ships, "Atlantia" was subsequently destroyed.

; Battlestar "Columbia" : The first Battlestar "Columbia" served during the First Cylon War and was destroyed during Operation Raptor Talon, the last battle of that conflict. William Adama was involved in this action on his first mission as a Viper pilot, and witnessed the ship's destruction. This "Columbia" appears to belong to the same ship class as "Galactica". cite episode | episodelink = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)#Razor Flashbacks | title = Razor Flashbacks | series = Battlestar Galactica, 2004 series | serieslink = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)] : The second Battlestar "Columbia" was destroyed along with the "Atlantia" during the Second Cylon War. "Columbia"'s executive officer some time before the events depicted in the show was William Adama.

; Battlestar "Galactica" : The "Galactica" survives the Cylon attack on the Colonies. During its service during the original Cylon war, the "Galactica" was a part of Battlestar Group 75 (BSG 75). At the time of the attack, "Galactica" is the last ship of its class and is undergoing formal decommissioning, to be turned into a museum. The "Galactica" is commanded by William Adama.

; Battlestar "Pegasus" : The second season mid-season cliffhanger reveals that the Battlestar "Pegasus" also survived the Cylon attack. It is more advanced (a "Mercury" class Battlestar) than "Galactica" and was part of Battlestar Group 62 (BSG-62). Originally commanded by Rear Admiral Cain, her former Executive Officer, Colonel Fisk becomes commander of "Pegasus" following her death. Commander Fisk is murdered in a conflict related to his illegal black market trading activities and is replaced by Chief Engineer Garner. Garner himself is killed in action shortly after, saving "Pegasus" from a Cylon ambush. "Pegasus", under its final commander Lee Adama, is crippled over New Caprica during the battle to free the colonists; in a final act of defiance, the dying "Pegasus" rams a Cylon Basestar. cite episode | episodelink = Exodus (Battlestar Galactica) | title = Exodus | series = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) ]

; Battlestar "Solaria" : Destroyed along with the "Atlantia".

; Battlestar "Triton" : Destroyed along with the "Atlantia". Triton was part of Battlestar Group 39 (BSG-39) and she was Crashdown's original posting. cite episode | episodelink = 33 (Battlestar Galactica) | title = 33 | series = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) ] Starbuck also served on the Battlestar Triton once. cite episode | episodelink = The Son Also Rises | title = The Son Also Rises | series = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) ]

; Battlestar "Valkyrie" : Commanded by William Adama three years prior to the fall of the Twelve Colonies. "Valkyrie" is ordered by Admiral Corman to launch a black operation to penetrate the Cylon Armistice Zone to gather intelligence on Cylon battle readiness. The operation ended in disaster, and Adama was 'downgraded' to command of "Galactica" to oversee that ship's retirement (and his own). Battlestar "Valkyrie" was assigned to Battlestar Group 41 (BSG-41). The Valkyrie's fate is unknown at present but is presumed destroyed. cite episode | episodelink = Hero (Battlestar Galactica) | title = Hero | series = Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) ]

References

External links

* [http://www.shipschematics.net/bsg/images/colonial/battlestar_galactica.jpgOfficial Elevations] of the Battlestar "Galactica" by Zoic Studios.
* at BattlestarWiki.
* at BattlestarWiki.