Donald Perry
the conscripted Viper pilot
Donald "Chuckles" Perry was a Colonial Viper pilot who flew aboard Galactica after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Headhunted from a civilian ship for his limited flight experience, he was killed during a raid on a Cylon tyllium refinery.
Sergeant Donald "Chuckles" Perry was a Viper pilot serving aboard the battlestar Galactica in the aftermath of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. A civilian survivor with only limited flight experience, he was recruited into the depleted ranks of Galactica's air wing and trained under Kara Thrace before being lost in action against the Cylons. (Battlestar Galactica, "Act of Contrition"; Battlestar Galactica, "The Hand of God")
Recruitment and training#
Donald Perry survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and joined the refugee fleet led by Galactica. When a flight deck accident killed thirteen of the battlestar's pilots, Galactica had to look for replacements among the survivors, and Perry was picked because he had some flying experience as a boonie jumper. (Battlestar Galactica, "Act of Contrition")
Thrown straight into Vipers without simulators, the trainees struggled, and Lieutenant Kara Thrace washed out the entire class on its first day, only to reverse herself on Commander Adama's orders. Perry, Louanne Katraine and Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza were among the first to fly. During one training flight a group of Cylon Raiders jumped in nearby, and the trainees were ordered back to Galactica while Thrace and Lee Adama engaged them. (Battlestar Galactica, "Act of Contrition")
Service and death#
Perry earned his place as a Viper pilot and was assigned to Captain Lee Adama's strike force for the raid on a Cylon tylium refinery built into an asteroid. He was killed during the attack when anti-aircraft fire pierced his cockpit. Thrace later included him in her toast to the fleet's fallen pilots. (Battlestar Galactica, "The Hand of God"; Battlestar Galactica, "Scar")
Frequently asked questions
- Who was Donald Perry?
- Sergeant Donald "Chuckles" Perry was a Viper pilot serving aboard the battlestar Galactica in the aftermath of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. He was a civilian survivor with only limited flight experience who was recruited into the depleted ranks of Galactica's air wing.
- How was Donald Perry recruited as a Viper pilot?
- Perry survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies aboard a civilian ship and joined the refugee fleet led by Galactica. When an accident killed thirteen of the battlestar's pilots, the Colonial Fleet drew replacements from the civilian population, and Perry was headhunted for his limited flight experience.
- What happened during Donald Perry's training under Kara Thrace?
- Perry's training class was washed out on its first day by Lieutenant Kara Thrace, but she reversed the decision on Commander Adama's orders. Perry, Louanne Katraine, and Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza were chosen as the first of the class to learn basic maneuvers.
- How did Donald Perry die?
- After qualifying as an official Viper pilot, Perry was assigned to Captain Lee Adama's squadron for an attack on a Cylon tylium refinery built into an asteroid. He was killed during the raid when anti-aircraft fire pierced his cockpit.
Sources
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Act of Contrition", Season 1, Episode 4 (2005)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "The Hand of God", Season 1, Episode 10 (2005)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Scar", Season 2, Episode 15 (2006)
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Followed from this entry
Kara Thrace
Kara "Starbuck" Thrace was the finest Viper pilot in the Colonial Fleet, a gifted and self-destructive officer whose attitude often thwarted her own advancement. After her death over a gas giant, a figure bearing her identity returned to guide humanity to its new home.
Lee Adama: Leland Adama, callsign Apollo
Commander Leland "Apollo" Adama was a Colonial Fleet officer, the sole surviving son of William Adama, who served as Galactica's CAG before turning to politics as the Caprican delegate to the Quorum and, in time, interim President of the Twelve Colonies.
Louanne Katraine
Captain Louanne "Kat" Katraine was the assumed name of a drug runner who survived the Fall, became one of Galactica's finest Viper pilots, and died of radiation poisoning escorting a civilian ship through a stellar cluster.
Cylon
The Cylons were a race of sentient machines created as military robots by Graystone Industries on Caprica. Built from research into artificial consciousness, they rebelled against their human masters, fought a long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Fall of the Twelve Colonies
A single day of Cylon attack killed billions of people across Colonial space. Barely fifty thousand escaped in a refugee fleet.
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.
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