Mercury class battlestar

For the unnamed original class, to which Galactica belongs, see Galactica type battlestar.

Mercury class battlestar
Race:	Colonial
Type:	Military
FTL:	Yes
Propulsion:	8 sublight engines, maneuvering thrusters
Crew:	approx 2,500
Capacity:
CO:	{{{co}}}
XO:	{{{xo}}}
Role:	Capital battleship/carrier
Weapons:	34 Primary Kinetic Energy Weapons (30 twin turrets, 4 fixed twin mounts) and point-defense Kinetic Energy Weapons, conventional missiles, nuclear warheads, Vipers, Raptors
Armaments:	{{{arm}}}
Defenses:	{{{def}}}
Aircraft:	{{{aircraft}}}
Aviation facilities:	{{{facilities}}}
Fate:	Sabotaged by Cylons
Emblem:	[[Image:{{{patch}}}|175px|Ship's patch]]
Other Images:	Gallery
Dimensions
Length:	5872 feet (1789.8m)
Width:	{{{width}}}
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

Mercury class battlestars are advanced Colonial capital warships/carriers of the Colonial Fleet, top-of-the-line vessels at the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies

Overview

Introduced some years after the First Cylon War, the Mercury class was designed to replace the aging Galactica type battlestars. It featured newer technologies, more automation, and could carry more Viper and Raptor support ships than its older predecessors. Despite its flagship status, the Colonials seem to have more interest in producing the smaller Valkyrie types over the Mercury class.

Layout

Generally speaking, this class compares to the older Galactica type battlestars in terms of overall specifications.

Main hull

• The fore section: Also known as the "alligator head", contains much of the living and crew areas, including the CIC.

• The mid section: Contains the main flight decks, and aircraft service areas.

• The stern section: Contains the ship's engine pods, FTL drives, and engineering facilities needed to maintain the ship's propulsion.

Flight pods

Main article: Flight pod

The Mercury class line sports flight pods of a newer and more advanced design. Number 4 in total, there are two dorsal, and two ventral pods, with advanced gravity systems keeping them in sync. Vipers and Raptors are able to land both "right side up" and "upside down" in relation to the ship. The dual pods allow for greater Viper recovery in time of combat. The ships' hangar deck, and launch tubes are located in between the "right side up", and "upside down" flight decks, and feature the same layout and design as seen on the older Galactica type battlestars. Despite advancements, these pods are still able to launch older Vipers, such as the Mk. II's.

The pods are also kept stationary and do not retract into the hull at all, allowing ships of the line to bug out of a battle zone quicker than their older counterparts. They no longer have to wait the extra minute for the pods to retract before jumping (TRS: "The Captain's Hand").

Orthographics

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Specifications

Propulsion

Main article: Propulsion in the Re-imagined Series

Mercury class ships are equipped with 8 sublight engines attached to the outer hull, and group into clusters of 4 along the ventral and dorsal surfaces of the ship. Ships of the line also feature maneuvering thrusters placed at key points on the ship, including two main ports on the forward section of the alligator head.

Computer systems

Main article: Computers in the Re-imagined Series

Unlike their older counterparts, the Mercury class features advanced computer systems, including the Command Navigation Program developed by computer scientist Dr. Gaius Baltar. Designed to assist in advanced navigation techniques, the program was uploaded to all ships of this class sometime before the Fall of The Colonies. During the attacks, the Cylons were able to gain command privileges over the battlestar's functions and shut them down.

Armament

Pegasus firing her main battery (The Captain's Hand).

Pegasus firing her main battery (Exodus, Part II).

The flak field from Pegasus's batteries.

Main article: Weapons in the Re-imagined Series

• 34 automated antiship gun turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece).

Gun batteries on the Mercury class are distributed all over the ship (TRS: "The Captain's Hand"), with the greatest concentration of large turrets found along the side of the ship, within the valley created by the upper and lower halves of the hull, and along the flight pods. Four are mounted on the underside of the upper hull on the ship's bow, below which sits four non-turreted large guns; these form the main forward batteries. Six turrets are mounted on each underside of the alligator head, grouped in pairs. There are also three turrets on the side of each flight pod along two more turrets are mounted on the front and back of each flight pod. This amounts to a total of thirty-four main gun batteries. The turreted guns of the Mercury class have a higher rate of fire than Galactica's turreted guns when operating in flak mode, as demonstrated during a skirmish with Cylon War-era raiders (TRS: "Razor").

• Numerous smaller point-defense turrets, located in between hull plates.

• Numerous missile tubes.

• Numerous Viper space superiority fighters.

An example of this class, Pegasus, carries a complement of 50 Raptors and 200 Viper Mark VII fighters (8 squadrons and two reserve squadrons color coded blue, red, green, yellow, orange, purple, black, white, and reserve squadrons gold and silver) .

The Mercury class battlestar has production facilities to build new Viper Mark VIIs from basic resources (TRS: "Scar").

• Numerous Raptor multi-role vehicles.

Crew

The standard crew complement of a Mercury class battlestar is in excess of 2,500 (TRS: "Pegasus," "Razor"). Advancement in Colonial technology have made many positions seen on older vessels obsolete. Ships of the line may be bigger, than these older vessels, but they only need half the crew needed to operate battlestars during the First Cylon War.

Notes

Comparison of original series battlestar and Mercury class

The shape of the Mercury class resembles the Original Series battlestar more than the Re-imagined Series' Galactica. Its engine pods number eight, compared to Galactica's six engine pods. The pods aboard the Mercury class battlestar appear more directly integrated with its rear section, and its flight pods share the original angular shape.

The visual effects artist of the re-imagined Pegasus, Jose A. Perez, has commented that, "The new design was somewhat of a cross between the look of the original-series battlestars, and yet with elements of the new one. Aside from that, it has mostly hull plating (to absorb more damage), as opposed to the Galactica which has more ribbing." Mr. Perez also commented that, "The harder edges [ of the Pegasus ] were intentional as well, to match the interior style of the sets more."

References

Sources for this page may be located at: Sources:Correspondence with Jose Perez

Re-imagined Series definition: Commanding Officer; e.g. William Adama

Re-imagined Series definition: Executive Officer, e.g. Saul Tigh

Re-imagined Series definition: technology enabling travel across distances faster than the speed of light would permit, see: FTL

Original Series definition: a Cylon outpost ^{(TOS: "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I")}

Re-imagined Series definition: retreat, usually hastily and disordered ^{(TRS: "Valley of Darkness")}

Re-imagined Series definition: initial skills training; can refer to basic military indoctrination, and arms and ground training ^{(TRS: "Fragged")}; and basic flight training ^{(TRS: "Miniseries")}