Galactica (TRS)

For the Original Series Galactica, see Galactica (TOS). For the Video Game Galactica, see Galactica (Video Game).

File:Bsg-gal-1.jpg

Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica is the most famous warship in the Colonial Fleet. Built in time to participate in the Cylon War she remained the only military vessel without integrated computer networks. Without networked computers, Galactica never upgraded to the new integrated defense system software developed by Dr. Gaius Baltar and his team. Because of this and other fortune, she became one of only two battlestars to survive the renewed Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies, some 40 years after the end of the first war.

Fleet Details

Designation: warship, battlestar type, original battlestar class (class name unknown).

Deployment: Formerly an element of 75th Battlestar Group

Current Status: One of two remaining Colonial military units. Galactica is commanded by William Adama.

History

Galactica was one of the first battlestars to be laid down by the Colonials. As such, she is some 50 years old (Mini Series). Following the outbreak of Cylon hostilities, several more battlestars were built, giving the Colonials a battlestar that represented each of the Twelve Colonies. Galactica's first commander was Peter Dash (Mini-Series).

The first original battlestars were all designed with non-integrated computer systems to avoid the Cylons demonstrated ability to override or subvert networked command and control systems early in the war (Mini-Series). Rather than technological sophistication, the battlestar depended on its sheer bulk and defensive / offensive capabilities to ward of any threats to itself or the Colonies.

Following the armistice with the Cylons, and their withdrawal from Colonial space, Galactica and her sister ships continued to serve the Twelve Colonies in a wide variety of roles. While her surviving sister ships were scrapped or upgraded to match the systems capabilities of more modern Colonial vessels, Galactica continued in service without her systems being fully networked or integrated, making her unique among Colonial military vessels (Miniseries).

With her active career drawing to a close, a decision was taken to retire Galactica and decommission her from service. Colonial Fleet chose not to scrap her, but to turn her into a combination of living museum to the original Cylon War and an educational center, with her conversion being overseen by her final commander, William Adama (Miniseries).

At the time of her formal decommissioning ceremony, Galactica was stripped of all but one of her operational Viper Mark VII squadrons, her munitions destroyed, and her starboard landing pod converted into a pressurized museum housing (among other things) a full squadron of 20 Mk. II Vipers (Miniseries, also in Deleted Scenes).

With the unexpected resumption of hostilities on the part of the Cylons, Galactica quickly proves her worthiness as a warship is far from over as she withstands a direct hit from a tactical nuclear missile, and then single-handedly engages two basestars after re-arming herself at Ragnar Anchorage, providing an umbrella of fire cover under which an assortment of 75 civilian ships containing the last survivors of the Twelve Colonies escape the Cylons.

Since the exodus of the Colonials from their overrun homeworlds, Galactica becomes both protector and provider for the Fleet. She provides direct fire-cover for the Fleet during Cylon attacks no fewer than 240 times ("33", "Act of Contrition"). She provides much of the Fleet with recycled water (Water) and she is the primary source of medical care, with groups of civilians routinely brought aboard for check-ups and the like (Litmus). Galactica also undertakes internal policing duties within the Fleet ("Water", "Bastille Day").

Galactica successfully goes on the offensive against the Cylons, capturing a tylium fuel mining and processing plant in the process (The Hand of God).

Equipment

Galactica shares the same overall technical specifications as other original Colonial battlestars of her class, with the following key differences:

Available Flight Pods

Only Galactica's port flight pod is in service. The starboard flight pod was enclosed and pressurised as the main museum display facility. It was violently depressurized after a Heavy Raider crashed into it (Scattered). No episode since "Valley of Darkness" addresses the status of the flight pod since its depressurization.

Turrets

An example of one of Galactica's large flak weapons.

Galacticas's defenses include an array of twenty-four large turret mounted twin-cannons, and a multitude of smaller turret mounted twin-guns located between the Galactica's "ribs". Together, these provide the Galactica with a flak field that acts as a defense perimeter against incoming hostiles (Miniseries, "Scattered").

Nuclear Warheads

Galactica had five nuclear warheads as of "Bastille Day". Dr. Gaius Baltar cannibalizes one to use in his Cylon Detector, and Commander Adama uses another to destroy a Cylon basestar in Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II, leaving the ship with three.

Vipers

Prior to the arrival of Pegasus, Galactica has at most 34 Vipers, of which at least six are Mk. VIIs.Template:Ref Galactica receives additional supplies from Pegasus since her arrival that may aid in repair or refurbishment of her fighter complement ("Pegasus").

Raptors

The number of Raptors available to Galactica has been very inconsistent in the series. We currently must assume she has at least five, and left Ragnar Anchorage with at least eight.Template:Ref

Other Craft

• Galactica currently posesses two Heavy Raiders. One crash-lands into the starboard flight pod in "Scattered" (now possibly unusable). The other returns in operational status from Caprica in "Home, Part I".
• An experimental stealth fighter, the Blackbird, is constructed using spare parts in the episode "Flight of the Phoenix".

Crew

Before the attack, Galactica has approximately 2,800 crewmen, while awaiting its decomissioning.Template:Ref When Pegasus arrives, attrition reduces this crew complement to 2,660.Template:Ref Since "Act of Contrition", Galactica's offensive capability is also greatly hampered by the number of qualified pilots available.

Running Tallies

1. Template:NoteRunning tally of Vipers:
   • With one operational flight pod, Galactica was apparently equipped with two squadrons of Mk. VII Vipers. A third squadron of Mk. IIs formed part of a museum exhibit in the starboard flight pod.
   • 20 Mk. VIIs under the command of Jackson "Ripper" Spencer, Galactica's CAG, are lost en-route to Caprica when they are disabled by a backdoor in the Command Navigation Program and subsequently destroyed.
   • At least 11 Vipers, all Mk. IIs, launch during the first attack on Galactica, one of which is destroyed.
   • Three Mk. VII Vipers are seen in formation inside the Fleet before they hook up with Galactica. These could have been left behind with the non-FTL capable ships, or could have been carried to Ragnar in other ships as Apollo was. This would help to account for the discrepancy of fighters between the Miniseries and "Act of Contrition" (see below).
   • Thirty-nine Vipers launch at the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage, of which eight are destroyed and one is severely damaged (piloted by Lee Adama), leaving 31. Some Vipers damaged in the previous engagement are possibly held for repairs.
   • In "Act of Contrition", Lee Adama states that there were 40 Vipers left on the ship. Perhaps this discrepancy can be accounted for by other Mk. VIIs that happened to find their way to the fleet at Ragnar?
   • At the end of that episode, one Viper, piloted by Hot Dog, is severely damaged, and a second, piloted by Kara Thrace, is destroyed in a crash landing on a nearby moon.
   • In "You Can't Go Home Again", Tyrol reports that due to atmospheric SAR operations, 13 Mk. II's and one Mk. VII are down for repairs, and that he's "out". Presumably the remaining 25 constitute the CAP and Alert Fighters.
   • One additional Viper is "slapped together from pieces of the others". This doesn't change the total count, since still-useable parts are just being shuffled around. The damage inflicted by the atmosphere of the moon during Thrace's SAR is apparently a matter of cleaning time, not total failure and replacement.
   • In "The Hand of God", Strike Force Two is comprised of twelve Vipers (three of which, piloted by an unidentified pilot, Chuckles, and Stepchild, are destroyed) and Strike Force One is comprised of at least seven (at least one of which, piloted by [[Fireball])], is destroyed.
   • According to the official Sci-Fi website, following Galactica's attack on a Cylon tylium mine in "Hand of God", there are 35 remaining Vipers aboard Galactica. This is consistant with the losses seen in that episode and "Act of Contrition", assuming that Hot Dog's Viper was recovered and repaired.
   • At least 18 Vipers (11 Mk. IIs, 6 Mk. VIIs, one unidentified) are launched to defend the ship in "Scattered". None are destroyed onscreen, but in "Fragged", Apollo remarks that "seven birds" are down for repairs.
   • Kat crashes Viper 591 into the flight deck in "Final Cut". It may have been salvaged - Hot Dog's Viper is damaged much more severely in "Act of Contrition".
   • Chief Tyrol declares Viper 289 a total loss and has it scrapped in "Flight of the Phoenix". This would leave 34 remaining Vipers.
   • 42 Vipers are deployed in the episode "Flight of the Phoenix", including 7 Mk. VIIs. This flatly contradicts the counts given in previous episodes and official statements, and also ignores the continued attrition of Vipers noted by Tyrol in the episode itself. This should be regarded as a visual effects gaffe.
   • 15 Vipers are launched against Pegasus in the episode of the same name.
2. Template:NoteRunning tally of Raptors:
   • No official estimate is given of Galactica's initial Raptor loadout.
   • The Raptor accompanying Ripper's squadron, crewed by Boomer and Helo, manages to escape destruction but is forced to land for repairs on nearby Caprica. It later returns intact to Galactica (Miniseries).
   • Raptors are deployed to five nearby systems in Water.
   • Two Raptors, piloted by Boomer and Stubbs, perform reconaissance duties in "The Hand of God".
   • In "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I", three Raptors are deployed to scout Kobol, but unexpectedly encounter a basestar in orbit. Raptor 3 is immediately destroyed by collision with a Raider. Raptor 1 is forced to crash land on Kobol, and only Raptor 275 survives to report back to "Galactica".
   • In "Part II", three Raptors are sent to board "Colonial One" while Boomer and Racetrack simultaneously take a fourth to deliver a nuclear bomb to the Kobol basestar. All four craft return safely.
   • In "Fragged", Raptor 305 is scrapped for parts in order to mount a two-raptor search-and-rescue mission. This seemingly takes place very late in the same day as "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II", which makes the sudden shortage mysterious.
   • Tigh orders a Raptor deployed to each ship refusing to resupply Galactica in "Resistance". At that time, these ships number at least eight, and Gaeta cites manpower shortage as the chief limiting factor. This means that either Tigh is unaware of Galactica's resources (unlikely), or the ship has or acquires 11 Raptors in total by the time they left the Colonies (which makes the equipment shortage in "Fragged" even harder to explain). At the end of this episode, Apollo escapes with one Raptor which he abandons on Cloud Nine.
   • In "The Farm", Tigh explicitly states that they have "five raptors with marine fire teams standing by". Including the two destroyed in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I" and the one scrapped in "Fragged", this implies an initial complement of at least eight. If the Raptor stolen in "Resistance" has not yet been returned, the number would be nine.
3. Template:NoteOriginal crew:
   • In the Miniseries, Adama states that he has "almost 2,000" crew on board Galactica.
   • In "Water," Baltar says there are 45,265 civilians in the Fleet. Given the stats of total fleet population in that episode, that means there were 2,693 military personnel in the Fleet at the time. It is unclear if this was a gaffe or a retcon, but the more recent figure is generally accepted.
   • In addition to the 85 killed in the flight pod fire (Miniseries), 29 Viper pilots are lost on-screen in the first three sorties, and Helo goes MIA (all events in the Miniseries). This makes for a pre-attack total of 2,808 crewmembers.
4. Template:NoteRunning tally of crewmembers:
   • Thirteen pilots are killed in "Act of Contrition". Eight are recruited to replace them, leaving a net loss of five.
   • Three crewmen are killed by a suicide bomber in "Litmus".
   • Starbuck is seen giving combat flight training to fourteen nuggets in "The Hand of God", suggesting an additional six nuggets had been selected by that point. Apollo earlier alludes to a second group of trainees in "Act of Contrition".
   • Four Viper pilots are killed in action in "The Hand of God".
   • Ten die on Raptor 3 in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II", and Sharon Valerii is revealed as a Cylon agent.
   • Eleven crew are killed in the Cylon boarding action in "Valley of Darkness".
   • Four of the crew of Raptor 1 die by the time the survivors are rescued in "Fragged".
   • Helo returns in "Home, Part I."
   • Subtracting these losses from the total given in "Water" yields no more than 2,662 crewmembers prior to the arrival of Pegasus.