Battlestar Valkyrie
Adama's last command before Galactica
The Valkyrie was a Valkyrie-class battlestar of the Colonial Fleet. A veteran of the First Cylon War, she was later commanded by William Adama and was destroyed over Caprica in the opening hours of the Fall.
The Valkyrie was a Valkyrie-class battlestar in service with the Colonial Fleet. A veteran of the Cylon War, she was later attached to Battlestar Group 41 under William Adama, carried out a covert mission at the Armistice Line, and was destroyed over Caprica in the opening hours of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. (Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome; Battlestar Galactica, "Hero"; Battlestar Galactica: The Plan)
The Cylon War#
About ten years into the Cylon War, the Valkyrie was badly damaged in a battle with the Cylons near Canceron and was presumed destroyed. (Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome)
The Colonial admiralty saw a chance to trick the enemy. Instead of being written off, the Valkyrie became part of a secret ghost fleet of damaged ships hiding in Cylon-held space, her crew made to witness their own death certificates, and some of her pilots and fighters went on detachment to the Osiris. Once the Cylons had been fed false information, the ghost fleet launched the Ghost Fleet Offensive, hitting Cylon bases across several sectors. (Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome)
Interwar service under Adama#
The Valkyrie remained in service after the war. In the years before the Fall she belonged to Battlestar Group 41 under Commander William Adama, with Saul Tigh as his executive officer. Dialogue places her best-known mission about a year before the Cylon attack, when Admiral Peter Corman ordered Adama to send a Stealthstar reconnaissance craft across the Armistice Line to test Cylon resolve and gather intelligence. (Battlestar Galactica, "Hero")
Per orders, Lieutenant Daniel Novacek flew the Stealthstar across the border. An unidentified contact damaged its engines and jumped away, and two more contacts closed on the disabled craft. Rather than attempt a rescue, Adama ordered the Stealthstar destroyed so the Cylons couldn't capture proof of a breach of the armistice. Adama was moved to the aging Galactica afterwards, and came to fear that the mission had helped provoke the Cylon attack. (Battlestar Galactica, "Hero")
The Fall#
By the time of the Fall, the Valkyrie was stationed in orbit over Caprica. When the Cylon fleet appeared above the planet, she and the Yashuman moved to engage, only to be shut down through the backdoors in the Command Navigation Program before they could fire a shot. Both ships, a third battlestar of the same type and their Viper squadrons were destroyed shortly afterwards. (Battlestar Galactica: The Plan)
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Battlestar Valkyrie?
- The Valkyrie was a Valkyrie-class battlestar in service with the Colonial Fleet from the First Cylon War until the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. In the years before the Fall she belonged to Battlestar Group 41 under Commander William Adama.
- What happened to the Valkyrie during the Cylon War?
- About ten years into the war she was badly damaged in a battle near Canceron and presumed destroyed. In fact she had joined a secret Colonial ghost fleet hiding in Cylon-held space, and she took part in the Ghost Fleet Offensive that followed.
- What was the Valkyrie's black-ops mission under William Adama?
- On Admiral Peter Corman's orders, Valkyrie sent Lieutenant Daniel Novacek across the Armistice Line in a Stealthstar to spy on the Cylons. When unidentified contacts damaged the craft and more closed in, Adama ordered it destroyed so the Cylons couldn't capture proof of the incursion.
- Who commanded the Battlestar Valkyrie?
- Commander William Adama commanded the Valkyrie in the years before the Fall, with Saul Tigh as his executive officer. After the failed Stealthstar mission he was moved to the aging Galactica.
- How was the Valkyrie destroyed?
- At the Fall she was stationed over Caprica. When the Cylon fleet arrived, Valkyrie and Yashuman moved to engage but were shut down through the backdoors in the Command Navigation Program, and both were destroyed along with a third battlestar of the same type.
Sources
- FilmBattlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, Web series (2012) and television film (2013)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Hero", Season 3, Episode 8 (2006)
- FilmBattlestar Galactica: The Plan, Television film (2009)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Battlestar Yashuman
The Yashuman was a Valkyrie-class battlestar of the Colonial Fleet that led the battlestars guarding Caprica at the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. She spotted the incoming Cylon basestars but was shut down by the Command Navigation Program backdoors before she could engage.
Galactica
Galactica was a Jupiter-class battlestar that served the Colonial Fleet from the Cylon War until the discovery of Earth. Never networked, it survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and shepherded the last fifty thousand humans across uncharted space before being scuttled into the sun.
Osiris
The Osiris was an Orion-class "pocket battlestar" of the Colonial Fleet during the First Cylon War. Part of the secret Ghost Fleet, she sacrificed herself to destroy a Cylon basestar over the ice moon Djerba.
Valkyrie-class
The Valkyrie-class was one of the oldest classes of battlestar in Colonial service, a small and versatile warship believed to have served as a light strike and reconnaissance vessel from the Cylon War until the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
Canceron
Canceron was a planet of the Cyrannus star system orbiting Helios Delta, the most populous of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. A long-standing democracy of vast cities and sprawling slums, it shared an orbit with Aerilon and Hestia.
Caprica: the Colonial capital
Caprica was the richest of the Twelve Colonies, seat of the Colonial government, and the world where the Cylons were built. The Cylon attack destroyed it.
Mentioned in8 entries
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A Battlestar Group was a naval formation of the Colonial Fleet built around a battlestar. The abbreviation BSG appears on ship patches and fleet charts, and several numbered groups are known from the series and its films.
Battlestar Yashuman
The Yashuman was a Valkyrie-class battlestar of the Colonial Fleet that led the battlestars guarding Caprica at the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. She spotted the incoming Cylon basestars but was shut down by the Command Navigation Program backdoors before she could engage.
Richard Adar
Richard Adar was President of the United Colonies of Kobol and Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial Fleet at the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. His administration funded the work that the Cylons exploited to cripple the fleet, and he was killed along with nearly his entire government in the attack.
Stealthstar
The Stealthstar was a Colonial stealth reconnaissance craft with a Viper-style cockpit, used in the years before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies to probe Cylon space across the Armistice Line.
Valkyrie-class
The Valkyrie-class was one of the oldest classes of battlestar in Colonial service, a small and versatile warship believed to have served as a light strike and reconnaissance vessel from the Cylon War until the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
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