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Colonial Viper

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In the various Battlestar Galactica series, the Viper is the name of the primary fighter spacecraft type used by the Colonial Fleet.

Contents

Original Series (70s)

Original-Series-model Colonial Vipers
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Original-Series-model Colonial Vipers

In the original run of Battlestar Galactica, the Colonial Viper is the only known fighter flown by Colonial Pilots, referred to as "Warriors." There is only one known variant of Viper seen in the series, likely due to limitations caused by the need to reuse a great deal of stock footage of Vipers in action. The Viper was a single-seat craft, and interestingly, the flight helmet worn by the Warrior pilots resembled an ancient Egyptian headdress. The symbolism of this helmet was never explained, presumably as a result of the premature cancellation of the series.

The Vipers were launched from a long tube, apparently assisted by some sort of catapult mechanism, possibly magnetic in nature similar to railgun or coilgun technology. In flight, the Vipers typically used all three of their engines for powered flight, and could use a "Turbo" boost for greater speed, analogous to a modern fighter plane's afterburner. They could also reverse thrust for rapid deceleration, a useful tactic when being pursued by enemy ships who would then tend to overshoot the Viper, placing them in a vulnerable position. Vipers were capable of atmospheric as well as space flight, and could land and take off from a planetary surface.

Armament consisted of two energy beam weapons, linked together to fire simultaneously. They could also carry fire suppression equipment, shown in one episode where they were used to battle a fire on the Galactica after action against the Cylons.

Some Vipers were known to be capable of invisibility when on the ground, as seen in the apocryphal Galactica 1980 series. (In other G1980 episodes, we learn that a Colonial Warrior's uniform is meant to protect against the crushing effects of gravity, similar to an inertial dampener.) A 2-seat version of the Viper was also seen in the Galactica 1980 series, and hinted at in the first episode of the TV series.

Re-Imagined Series (2003)

A Mark II Colonial Viper from the 2003 series.
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A Mark II Colonial Viper from the 2003 series.

In the 2003 remake of Battlestar Galactica, the Viper series of starfighters are the Colonial Defense Force's primary space superiority fighter/attack craft. Capable of atmospheric flight, the Viper is a single-seat craft mounting two kinetic energy weapons, as well as having hardpoints beneath the wings for mounting missiles, munitions pods and other ordnance. There are at least seven versions of the Viper design at the point in history depicted by the reimaged miniseries.

Richard Hudolin, the Production Designer for the re-imaged miniseries, has stated that "The only things that we wanted to carry through (from the original film and series) were the Mark II ships." [#endnote_Lowdown1]

History

The Viper was introduced into Colonial service shortly before the outbreak of the Cylon War. However, it was the Mark II Viper series, designed specifically for use with the new Colonial battlestars, that is best remembered.

Mark II Viper, inside a battlestar launch tube
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Mark II Viper, inside a battlestar launch tube

The Mark II served with distinction throughout the Cylon War, proving a capable fighting vehicle. It is regarded as one of the reasons the Twelve Colonies did not suffer defeat at the hands of the Cylons.

The Mark II remained in service after the end of the war, with William Adama commenting that he last flew his 'own' Mark II Viper (N7242C), likely one of the last of its type, roughly twenty years after the end of the war. The Mark II's very long career is the stuff of legend, and subsequent models were often met by resistance by former pilots of Mark IIs who had risen to command rank and favored retaining the tough, agile Vipers of their youth to the newer designs. The result was that the first of these later models were not as widely used and enjoyed much shorter active careers.

The Mark II was subsequently superseded by newer models, with the Mark VII serving in front-line duties forty years after the end of the Cylon War. By this time the Viper design had been progressively evolved, retaining the basic structural configuration (essential for use with Colonial battlestars) but with variations in length, equipment, and capability. Very little is known to fans about the intervening designs, but by the time the Mark VII was introduced the Viper design incorporated software-based controls and fully networked systems; providing superior agility, battle management, and fight information for the pilot.

Mark VII Colonial Vipers
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Mark VII Colonial Vipers

The Mark VII was later upgraded to include Dr. Gaius Baltar's navigational software. Along with the majority of the Colonial Fleet, this software allowed the Cylons to remotely disable the Vipers during the renewed attack on the Twelve Colonies, forty years after the original war ended. The few Mark VIIs that survived the disaster were later stripped of this software, and retrofitted for manual control.

The older Mark II fighters, not equipped with the "fly by wire" systems of newer Vipers, were unaffected by the Cylon modifications to Dr. Baltar's program. A squadron of Mark IIs was present on Battlestar Galactica, in preparation for the battlestar's new role as a museum, and after the Galactica's Mark VII squadrons were destroyed by the Cylons, the display of Mark II's were refitted for combat by Galactica's deck crew. They made up the majority of Galactica's fighter corps during the Cylon sneak attack, the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage, and most of the Galactica's action prior to the arrival of Battlestar Pegasus, adding her ability to manufacture more Mark VIIs to the fleet.

Technical Specifications

Dimensions

Mark II Mark VII

Propulsion

Armaments

Sources

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑  Battlestar Galactica: The Lowdown documentary. (Miniseries)
  2. ↑  Dimensions provided by Lee Stringer, one of the VFX Animators of the Mini-Series. These are for the CGI models, which are based on, but not identical to, the full-scale props. Source: [Starshipbuilder.com forums].
  3. ↑  David Bassom's Battlestar Galactica Official Companion (ISBN 1-84576-097-2).

Vehicles from Battlestar Galactica
Colonial Military
Battlestars
Galactica | Pegasus
Military Vehicles
Viper | Raptor | Blackbird
'The Fleet'
Colonial One | Astral Queen | Cloud Nine | Olympic Carrier
Miscellaneous Ships
Cylon Vehicles
Basestar | Raider | Heavy Raider | 'Resurrection Ship'

 

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