Colonial Fleet

The Colonial Fleet, together with the Colonial Fleet Reserve, was the naval arm of the military of the United Colonies of Kobol. It was founded during the Cylon War, when the military forces of each of the Twelve Worlds were integrated under a new federation. In peacetime its primary role was as a deterrent against any Cylon invasion, and at its height it boasted some 120 battlestars. A single Cylon software exploit reduced that force to the battlestars Galactica and Pegasus in the opening minutes of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.

Founding and the battlestar#

The Colonial Fleet was formed around fifty two years before the Fall as part of an urgent response to the Cylon uprising and a strategic necessity, since worlds such as Caprica boasted an advanced military while others such as Aquaria were limited or even nonexistent. The first major shake up came several years into the war, when Cylon hacking grew increasingly successful at disabling or hijacking the fleet's cruisers. A new classification of capital ship, the battlestar, entered service to replace these losses and assumed a range of fleet responsibilities.

Perhaps to celebrate the Articles of Colonization, an initial order of twelve battlestars was constructed, each representing a particular colony. In Galactica's case that colony was Caprica. By the end of the war the fleet operated a number of different battlestar classes, and during Operation Raptor Talon three battlestars were sent out without the need for fleet support ships.

Postwar service#

Though the war ended around 1960 with the Cimtar Peace Accords, the political situation demanded continued vigilance. The next shake up came in 1980, when a new generation of battlestars entered service and many ships rushed through construction during the war were retired or pulled back to interplanetary transport, as was the case with Galactica. In 1998 the Adar administration ordered Galactica decommissioned within two years and handed to the Ministry of Education, its antiquated design representing too great an operating cost.

Also in the 1990s, further advances took place, with renewed focus on networking ship computers. The defense researcher Gaius Baltar foresaw a fleet using sophisticated computer technologies everywhere from Mercury class battlestars to the Mark VII Vipers. This defense project drew the attention of Humanoid Cylon spies, and one agent, Caprica Six, seduced Baltar and rewrote his crowning Command Navigation Program to include a backdoor that let Cylon hackers bypass firewalls and disable ships instantly.

The Fall#

On the day of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, a large force of basestars jumped into orbit around all twelve worlds. Although they were immediately detected by the planetary divisions, such as the 5th Combat Division over Aerilon, the CNP backdoor exploit disabled and destroyed some thirty battlestars, a quarter of the fleet, in the first minutes. This allowed the basestars to begin bombarding the colonies virtually undisturbed, while Raider squadrons armed with ten kiloton nuclear warheads destroyed orbiting facilities such as the Scorpia shipyards.

With the bombing of Picon destroying Colonial Fleet HQ, Admiral Nagala assumed command of the fleet and ordered all remaining ships to rendezvous with Atlantia over Virgon. By the end of the day the Colonial Fleet had been reduced to Galactica and Pegasus. The concept of a Colonial Fleet continued under Admiral Helena Cain and later Admiral William Adama, but following the loss of Pegasus during the Exodus from New Caprica it was a meaningless formality.

Weaponry#

The weaponry of the Colonial Fleet, and by extension the Colonial Marine Corps, fell into several categories. Kinetic energy weapons were mounted primarily on large Colonial vehicles and warships, including the Mercury class Secondary Battery and the Jupiter class Point Defence Battery. Autocannons were used mainly by small Colonial vehicles, including the Thraxon MEC-A6 mounted on the Viper Mark II and the turret weaponry of the Colonial APC. Missile weaponry included nuclear warheads and HD-70 Lightning Javelin ship to ship missiles, while man portable small arms ranged from the Colonial Sidearm and Picon Five seveN to the Leo Storm Carbine and Milirem 700.

Composition#

Proportionally, the Colonial Fleet would have fielded around forty five large battlestars of the Mercury and Jupiter classes and seventy five of the smaller Valkyrie class, alongside a range of supporting vessels.