Viper (TOS)

Viper
[show/hide spoilers] Spoilers hidden in infobox by default only.
Race:	Colonial
Type:	Military
FTL:	No
Propulsion:	three sublight aft-mounted engines
Crew:	1 pilot
Capacity:
CO:	{{{co}}}
XO:	{{{xo}}}
Role:	Space superiority fighter
Weapons:	2 forward-firing laser-torpedo guns
Armaments:	{{{arm}}}
Defenses:	{{{def}}}
Aircraft:	{{{aircraft}}}
Aviation facilities:	{{{facilities}}}
Fate:	{{{status}}}
Emblem:	[[File:{{{patch}}}|175px|Ship's patch]]
Other Images:	Gallery
Dimensions
Length:	(approx) 28.54ft (8.7m)
Width:	(approx) 12.47ft (3.8m)
Height:	{{{height}}}
Weight:	{{{weight}}}
Wingspan:	{{{wingspan}}}
Other:	{{{otherdi}}}
Game Information
Cost:	{{{construction}}}
Construction Time:	{{{construction}}}
Hull Size:	{{{hull size}}}
Hull:	{{{hull}}}
Mobility
FTL Cooldown:	{{{ftl cooldown}}} turns
Speed:	{{{speed}}} m/s
Turn Rate:	{{{turn rate}}}°/turn
Armor Sum
Armor Total:	{{{armor total}}}
Armor Left:	{{{armor left}}}
Armor Right:	{{{armor right}}}
Armor Front:	{{{armor front}}}
Armor Rear:	{{{armor rear}}}
Armor Top:	{{{armor top}}}
Armor Bottom:	{{{armor bottom}}}
Armament
DRADIS Range:	{{{dradis range}}} m
Processing Power:	{{{processing power}}}
Munition Slots:	{{{munitions}}}
Munition Cooldown Period:	{{{munition cooldown}}} turns
Squadron Slots:	{{{squadrons}}}
Squadron Size:	{{{squadron size}}}
Special Abilities:	{{{special abilities}}}
Additional Information
Viper in the separate continuity

The Colonial Viper is the primary space superiority fighter and attack craft deployed by the Colonial military. Capable of both atmospheric and long-range spacial flight, the Viper is a single-pilot craft with two-forward mounted laser-torpedo guns as standard.

The Viper is capable of rapid acceleration in the form of a "turbo boost" feature, which results in greater fuel usage ^{(TOS: "The Living Legend, Part I")}. Vipers are also able to abruptly stop forward acceleration by using their reverse thrusters and braking flaps ^{(TOS: "Saga of a Star World")}.

Vipers are equipped with an onboard computer which contains a warbook, an electronic reference of ships which, in conjunction with scanners, can give the pilot information on a ship ^{(TOS: "Saga of a Star World")} and identify whether or not there are life forms onboard the said ship ^{(TOS: "The Living Legend, Part I")}.

In addition, Vipers' computer is capable of recording messages, which can be played back by Warriors or other persons who happen across an unoccupied Viper ^{(TOS: "Experiment in Terra")}.

Design and Construction

The standard Viper features the distinctive pointed nose design that has become synonymous with Colonial fighter craft. The cockpit is domed and designed to accommodate a single pilot, though it can occasionally fit a wedged-in observer in addition to the primary pilot.

The pilot's seat in a standard Viper is characteristically rock-hard, which fighter pilots consider appropriate for their profession and consistent with the spartian design philosophy of these combat vehicles.

Launch Operations

Vipers are launched from battlestars through specialized launch tubes, with pilots experiencing dramatic acceleration as their fighters "plunge down launch tubes." The launch process involves extensive preflight checks conducted by launch personnel, including Chief Warrant Officers who work closely with pilots during preparation phases. Launch CWOs are known to engage in traditional pre-flight rituals with pilots, such as tossing flight helmets to them before boarding their fighters.

Experienced pilots often develop signature moves during pre-flight preparation, such as Lieutenant Starbuck's famous "into-the-cockpit jump," a distinctive maneuver he performs when boarding his Viper.

Landing operations utilize specialized landing beams that guide the returning fighters safely back to their parent ship's landing bays.

Combat Operations

Vipers serve as the primary interceptor and escort fighters for the Colonial Fleet. They are organized into squadrons, including the elite Red Squadron, and are deployed to engage Cylon Raiders and other enemy threats. During combat operations, seasoned pilots demonstrate superior survival rates compared to inexperienced cadet pilots, who are particularly vulnerable during their initial engagements with Cylon forces.

The fighters are equipped with laser cannons capable of destroying enemy spacecraft with precise targeting. Experienced pilots like Captain Apollo demonstrate exceptional skill, with Apollo destroying three Cylon Raiders before other pilots could claim their first victory.

Variants and Modifications

• A "Recon Viper" variant has been developed, possessing greater (i.e. 2 x) speed and range than a typical Viper, but lacking any armament due to the removal of the laser pumps. It also possesses an advanced voice interface. Starbuck is the only warrior known to have flown this variant ^{(TOS: "The Long Patrol")}.
• On missions where Vipers must endure extreme heat or other environments that could endanger the pilot, specially designed shielding can be applied to the cockpit canopy. This extra layer of protection was used in the Madagon star cluster and prevented pilots from being hurt by the incredible heat and light in the region ^{(TOS: "Saga of a Star World")}.

Tie-in Material Information

• According to Encyclopedia Galactica (a non-canonical piece of merchandise published in 1979):

The Colonial Viper is the fastest spacecraft in the known Universe. Its maneuverability, too, is unmatched, enabling a skilled pilot to loop around enemy fire and attack from the blind side. High-energy turbo-lasers are the main Viper weapon. One hit can destroy a Cylon Raider, and a full payload correctly targeted can inflict severe damage on a Baseship.

The Viper's ultra-light drive puts severe stress on the pilots, and in the event of pilot blackout, the Viper can be fully controlled by its on-board Scanner Computer System.

The details of Viper squadron tactics are classified. Their goal, however, is mutual defense. The precision coordination of the best human squadrons is so great that Vipers have commonly taken on Cylon Raiders at four-to-one-odds and emerged victorious.

Re-imagined Series Crossover

This Viper model is briefly seen in the Galactica Museum exhibition in the Miniseries and later in "Daybreak, Part II."

As the Original Series Viper uses weaponry and features not seen in the Re-imagined Series, its appearance in the museum is more a homage to the Original Series itself than to suggest that these specific Vipers (and their technical abilities) existed in the Re-imagined continuity. However, the Original Series Raider, basestar and landram appear in the Re-imagined Series with updated weaponry. Given their real world status as the original Vipers, the known design of the Mark III and their more 'primitive' design; this model is perhaps erroneously assumed to be the Viper Mark I.

In the separate continuity

A Viper fleeing the Cylons after uncovering the numerous phalanxes of Raiders in waiting, precipitating the Battle of Cimtar ^{(Comics: Annihilation!)}.

The Viper is the primary space superiority fighter of the Twelve Colonies of Man, often deployed by battlestars.

These craft are prevalent and are relied on for the defense of the Fleet through the various and divergent continuities offered, starting from Marvel's comics through to the present-day Dynamite Entertainment comic book adaptations.

Variations of the Viper include:

• A variant outfitted with stealth drives, tested in a mission to Maytoria in ^{(Comics: Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 1 #1)}.
• A time travel variant created by Dr. Zee called the Temporal Viper in ^{(Comics: Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 #1)}.
• A newer model Viper variant known as the "Twister" has been developed by the foundry ship. This advanced fighter features a distinctive corkscrew design in its nose section, which gives the variant its nickname among pilots.
• An single experimental SuperViper is also created.

Notes

Often the Dynamite Entertainment comics will often swap the visualizations of the Original Series' Viper with the Re-imagined Series' Mark II Viper, either in full or in part, including the colorization of the striping (the Re-imagined Series' red versus the Original Series' orange).

Related images

• 
  A Viper with specially fitted heat shield as it is launched from Galactica in "Saga of a Star World".
• 
  A scan of a Viper, by another Viper, from "The Living Legend, Part I".
• 
  A lone Original Series-style Viper on display next to Viper Mark IIs in the Miniseries.
• 
  A goof seen in "Saga of a Star World" where the main stick is actually a video camera command stick....
• 
  ...compared to the correct prop stick seen a few seconds earlier.

Concepts

A variety of concepts were created by Ralph McQuarrie for the Viper, some of which ended up in Glen A. Larson and Leslie Stevens' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

• 
• 

Blueprints

Blueprints for the construction of the "full-size" mockups:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Notes

• In Galactica 1980, some Vipers are outfitted with stealth technologies that render the Viper craft invisible to the eye ^{(1980: "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I")}.
• A two-seater version of the Viper is seen throughout Galactica 1980. However, despite its appearances in this series, this variant may be hinted at as early on as "Saga of a Star World", when Adama is flown to Caprica in Apollo's Viper after the destruction of the Colonies. However, this variant is never explicitly seen during the Original Series' run.
• There is a scale difference between the mock-up/model kit Viper and the actual on screen SFX Viper as can be seen in this SFX-mockup overlap.