Battlestar

The New Series
(The reimagined series; Caprica and Blood & Chrome)

Battlestars Valkyrie and Yashuman in orbit over Caprica.

Battlestars were a class of armoured carrier in service in the Colonial Fleet. They emerged during the Cylon War as a solution to Cylon hacking, which had destroyed numerous cruisers. The first Battlestars were specifically designed to use primitive, unnetworked computers that could not be hacked. Further, they were armoured to withstand nuclear blasts, and carried dozens to hundreds of Vipers to defend its anti-ship weaponry. By the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, the Colonial Fleet had approximately 120 Battlestars in service, divided into several Divisions and Battlestar Groups.

Armament

Battlestars are armed with a considerable amount of railguns scattered throughout the ship, each capable of firing large incendiary or explosive shells at any given target; usually enemy vessels. Battlestars also carry CIWS point-defense weapons scattered throughout the ship to defend themselves against incoming ordinance, as well as a large array of both regular (explosive) and nuclear-tipped missiles for launch at an enemy target, ground or space based.

Battlestars also serve as fighter carriers. They carry Vipers, small and manoeuvrable one-man space superiority fighters designed for dogfights, as well as Raptors, larger multipurpose craft that can serve either as missile carriers, transport craft or electronic warfare platforms.

Battlestar classes

Galactica-type

Main article: Galactica-type

Galactica, one of the initial order of twelve of this class. When constructed, however, Galactica appeared white and had more armour.

This unidentified class of battlestar was the first to be produced, and were designed and constructed during the Cylon War. Twelve of these Battlestars were initially produced, though there is evidence of later manufacturing. These ships took over the functions of other warships which had proven vulnerable to Cylon hacking and, in doing so, became a major propaganda tool. In the twenty years after the war's end, these ships became antiquated and were removed from border patrol. In the next twenty years the survivors of the original twelve were decommissioned with the exception of Galactica, which was intended to be converted into a war museum. Due to the lack of networking, Galactica escaped the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Due to the hasty construction of the original twelve, it is known that Galactica's superstructure used impure metals and, in fact, may have been a design flaw in all ships of this class. This however, only became a serious issue when the ship was close to 50 years old.

Mercury class

Main article: Mercury-class

Pegasus, a Mercury-class

At the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, the Mercury-class were the most advanced Battlestars in the Colonial Fleet. Designed at a time where networking was slowly being allowed in military service, the Mercury-class was reinforced by advanced, automated weapons systems, and possessed manufacturing warehouses to replace lost Vipers in a war. The Battlestar Pegasus was the only survivor of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, having had its CNP disabled during a refit.

Valkyrie-type

Main article: Valkyrie-type

This unnamed class of Battlestar entered service during the Cylon War and was an improvement above the initial twelve's design. Valkyrie was one such ship of this class, and was still in service during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.

Orion-class

Main article: Orion-class

The Orion-class Battlestars were constructed during the Cylon War, using the basic design of the original twelve but applied on a much smaller scale. These ships were dubbed "pocket battlestars", and were used for covert missions in Cylon-occupied territory. Unlike other Battlestars, the Orion-class could not hold out in combat with a Cylon Basestar.

Known Battlestars

• Atlantia
• Columbia
• Columbia
• Galactica
• Osiris
• Pegasus
• Solaria
• Triton
• Valkyrie
• Yashuman

Sources

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