Battlestar
the Colonial capital ship
The battlestar was a class of armored battleship and carrier hybrid in service with the Colonial Fleet. First built during the Cylon War as a counter to Cylon hacking, battlestars relied on unnetworked computers, carried hundreds of fighters, and were armored to survive nuclear blasts.
The battlestar was a class of armored battleship and carrier hybrid in service with the Colonial Fleet. The ships emerged during the Cylon War as a solution to Cylon hacking, which had destroyed numerous cruisers, and by the Fall of the Twelve Colonies the Colonial Fleet fielded roughly 120 of them. The two most storied examples were Galactica and Pegasus, the only capital ships to survive the Fall.
Origin and purpose#
Battlestars emerged during the Cylon War as a solution to Cylon hacking, which had destroyed numerous cruisers by turning networked systems against their own fleets. The first battlestars were specifically designed to use primitive, unnetworked computers that could not be compromised. They were also armored to withstand nuclear blasts and carried dozens to hundreds of Vipers to defend their anti-ship weaponry. By the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, the Colonial Fleet had roughly 120 battlestars in service, divided into battlestar groups.
Armament#
Battlestars were armed with a considerable number of kinetic energy weapons scattered throughout the hull, each capable of firing large incendiary or explosive shells at a target, usually an enemy vessel. They also carried CIWS point-defense weapons across the ship to intercept incoming ordnance, along with a large array of both conventional and nuclear-tipped missiles for striking targets in space or on the ground.
Carrier role#
As fighter carriers, battlestars fielded Vipers, the small and maneuverable single-seat space superiority fighters built for dogfighting, as well as Raptors, the larger multipurpose craft that could serve as missile carriers, transports, or electronic warfare platforms.
Classes#
Several classes of battlestar served over the history of the Fleet. The Jupiter-class was the first class developed solely to combat the Cylon threat, serving throughout the war, after which only three examples survived; the Colonial Fleet continued to build the class until the newer Mercury-class came online. The Jupiter-class was preceded by the Artemis-class, an earlier type used in the First Cylon War about which little is recorded. The Valkyrie-class was a smaller design the Fleet produced in greater numbers than any other, while the Chronos-type, known from the single Battlestar Chronos, was destroyed in the days leading up to the Fall. The Mercury-class was the newest type, designed in the interwar period with heavy networking and automation that sharply reduced its crew requirement, and it was by far the rarest battlestar in the Fleet.
Notable battlestars#
Among the many battlestars that served the Colonies were Galactica, the Atlantia, the Chronos, the Columbia, the Prometheus, the Triton, the Valkyrie, the Archeron, the Athena, the Yashuman, and Pegasus.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a battlestar?
- A battlestar was a class of armored battleship and carrier hybrid in service with the Colonial Fleet. The ships emerged during the Cylon War as a solution to Cylon hacking, and they carried heavy weaponry along with dozens to hundreds of Vipers.
- Why were battlestars built with unnetworked computers?
- The first battlestars were specifically designed to use primitive, unnetworked computers that could not be hacked, because Cylon hacking had destroyed numerous cruisers during the war. They were also armored to withstand nuclear blasts.
- How many battlestars did the Colonial Fleet have?
- By the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, the Colonial Fleet had roughly 120 battlestars in service, organized into battlestar groups.
- What weapons and craft did a battlestar carry?
- Battlestars carried kinetic energy weapons firing large incendiary or explosive shells, CIWS point-defense guns, and a mix of conventional and nuclear-tipped missiles. As carriers they fielded Vipers, single-seat space superiority fighters, and Raptors, larger multipurpose craft used as missile carriers, transports, and electronic warfare platforms.
Sources
- WikiBattlestar — Battlestar Wiki entry
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Related entries
Battlestar Archeron
The Battlestar Archeron was a Jupiter-class battlestar of the Colonial Fleet during the First Cylon War. Attached to the Ghost Fleet, she was destroyed in a Cylon ambush during the final years of the conflict.
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Battlestar Atlantia
The Atlantia was a Colonial battlestar that became the flagship of the Fleet during the Cylon surprise attack, when Admiral Nagala took personal command aboard her after the loss of Picon Fleet Headquarters. She was disabled by the Cylon Command Navigation Program exploit and destroyed over Virgon.
Battlestar Chronos
The Chronos was a Chronos-type battlestar of the Colonial Fleet and the first battlestar destroyed by enemy fire in almost forty years. Dispatched to recover a lost reconnaissance pilot days before the Fall, she was lured into a Cylon trap and torn apart by nuclear fire.
Battlestar Columbia
The Columbia was a Jupiter-class battlestar and sister ship to Galactica, one of the most decorated warships of the First Cylon War. She was the last known Colonial ship lost in that conflict, destroyed shortly before the armistice.
Battlestar Prometheus
Prometheus was one of the first twelve Jupiter-class battlestars built to counter the Cylon threat. Over her career she served alongside Battlestar Galactica and Battlestar Columbia in at least one joint operation.
Mentioned in18 entries
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In the Original Series continuity, the Acropolis was a Colonial battlestar that fought through the Thousand-Yahren War against the Cylon Alliance. It was among the few battlestars left to attend the armistice talks over Cimtar and was destroyed when the conference proved a Cylon trap.
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Barry Garner was the chief engineer of the Battlestar Pegasus who was elevated to commander as the senior surviving officer. His rigid, engineering-minded command alienated the crew, and he died restoring the ship's drives after leading the Pegasus into a Cylon trap.
Battlestar Archeron
The Battlestar Archeron was a Jupiter-class battlestar of the Colonial Fleet during the First Cylon War. Attached to the Ghost Fleet, she was destroyed in a Cylon ambush during the final years of the conflict.
Battlestar Athena
Battlestar Athena was a Jupiter-class battlestar of the Colonial Fleet during the First Cylon War. The fifth ship of her class, she belonged to Picon and fought in some of the most desperate battles of the war.
Battlestar Group: the Colonial Fleet's core formation
A Battlestar Group was a naval formation of the Colonial Fleet built around a battlestar and its escorting warships. Battlestars rarely transferred between groups, and the most storied groups carried a prestige comparable to that of a historic infantry unit.
Battlestar Triton
Triton was a Colonial battlestar that served after the First Cylon War and was destroyed during the opening engagements of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
Cylon communications relay
The Cylon communications relay was an installation the Battlestar Pegasus attacked after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, only to find it was a staging ground for Cylon forces. The costly engagement exposed the Cylon agent Gina Inviere and cost Admiral Cain dozens of Vipers.
Cylon Raider
The Raider was the Cylons' space superiority fighter, a living organism fused to a metallic exoskeleton. Sentient, capable of resurrection, and eventually capable of refusing orders, the Raider was the counterpart to the Colonial Viper across both Cylon wars.
Cylon War
The Cylon War, also called the First Cylon War, was a twelve year interstellar conflict between the Cylons and the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. It began when the Cylons rose against their human creators and ended in a sudden Armistice that held for over forty years.
Mercury-class
The Mercury-class was the most advanced battlestar fielded by the Colonial Fleet, developed roughly two decades before the Fall to supplement and eventually replace the aging Jupiter-class. Its heavy networking proved its undoing when the Cylons attacked.
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