Raptor Mark IIIb Heavy
the up-armed Raptor gunship
The Raptor Mark IIIb Heavy was a heavily armed configuration of the Colonial Fleet's multipurpose Raptor. Fitted with wing-mounted kinetic weapons, ventral cannons, missile pods, and nuclear munitions, it served the post-Fall fleet as a gunship and combat support craft.
The Raptor Mark IIIb Heavy was an up-armed configuration of the modern Raptor used by the Colonial Fleet. With weapon pods and missiles fitted to its hardpoints, it turned the fleet's workhorse support craft into a gunship. (Battlestar Galactica, "Exodus, Part 2")
Role and design#
The Raptor was a compact, FTL-equipped craft built for both atmospheric and space operations. The post-Fall Colonial Fleet typically used it for reconnaissance, rescues, transport and evacuations, and it also flew with Viper squadrons as an early warning and electronic countermeasures platform, jamming Cylon transmissions and scrambling the control signals of guided weapons. Raptors were normally unarmed and made poor fighters, but they could be fitted out as attack craft when needed. The Mark IIIb Heavy was that up-armed version, built on the standard Mark IIIb. (Battlestar Galactica (miniseries); Battlestar Galactica, "Exodus, Part 2")
Armament#
Raptors had wing, wingtip and fuselage hardpoints for external weapons. Armed Raptors were seen carrying kinetic energy weapons, rocket batteries mounted on the sides of the fuselage and racks of missiles during the rescue of New Caprica, and in the final battle at the Colony, Racetrack's Raptor carried nuclear missiles. (Battlestar Galactica, "Exodus, Part 2"; Battlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part 2")
Crew and complement#
The Heavy Raptor was operated by a two-person crew, a pilot and an electronic countermeasures officer who could also act as co-pilot. Beyond its crew, a Raptor could carry around eight to ten passengers, or a squad of about eight equipped Marines in the assault role. (Battlestar Galactica (miniseries); Battlestar Galactica, "Bastille Day")
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Raptor Mark IIIb Heavy?
- The Raptor Mark IIIb Heavy was an up-armed configuration of the modern Colonial Raptor, with weapon pods and missiles fitted to its hardpoints to turn the workhorse support craft into a gunship.
- How was the Heavy configuration armed?
- Armed Raptors could carry kinetic energy weapons, rocket pods mounted on the sides of the fuselage, racks of missiles and even nuclear missiles, as Racetrack's Raptor did at the Colony.
- What roles did the Raptor perform?
- The fleet used the Raptor for reconnaissance, rescues, transport and evacuations, and as an early warning and electronic countermeasures platform for Viper squadrons, jamming Cylon transmissions and scrambling weapon control signals. Normally unarmed Raptors could be fitted out as attack craft when needed.
- Who crewed the Heavy Raptor and what could it carry?
- It was operated by a two-person crew, a pilot and an electronic countermeasures officer. Beyond its crew, a Raptor could carry around eight to ten passengers or a squad of about eight equipped Marines.
Sources
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica (miniseries), Miniseries (2003)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Bastille Day", Season 1, Episode 3 (2005)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Exodus, Part 2", Season 3, Episode 4 (2006)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part 2", Season 4, Episode 20 (2009)
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Followed from this entry
Colonial Viper
The Viper was the primary fighter of the Colonial Fleet, a name that went back to colonial air forces before the Cylon War. The Mark II and Mark VII bookended its service from the first war to the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
Raptor Mark IIIb
The Raptor Mark IIIb was a multipurpose spacecraft of the Colonial Fleet, serving as the standard combat-support vessel alongside Viper fighters and Shuttle transports. Its miniature FTL drive let it operate light years from its mother ship.
Raptor: the Fleet's workhorse
A sublight shuttle at the start of the First Cylon War, rebuilt over the interwar years into an FTL craft flying transport, recon and rescue.
Colonial Fleet: 120 battlestars
The navy of the Twelve Colonies, which fought the Cylon War. One software exploit cut it to two surviving battlestars on the day of the Fall.
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.
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