Battlestar Galactica Refit

(Daedalus-class starship for comparision)

Columbia-class Battlestar (Galactica- refit subclass)

Type: Large faster-than-light capable warship
Origin: Twelve Colonies of Kobol, Caprica Orbital Shipyards
Users: Colonial Fleet
Technology Base: Colonial/Tau'ri/Asgard
Dimensions:
~Hull:
* Length: 1415 metres (4,640ft)
* Beam: 554.74 metres (1,820ft) (flight pod to flight pod - extended)
* Draft: 176.78 metres (580ft) (source: SciFi.com)
~Flight Pods:
* Length (approx.): 615.39 metres (2,019ft)
* Beam (approx.): 109.73 metres (360ft)
* Draft (approx.): 64.31 metres (211ft)
Displacement: 433,000 tons (approx.)
Crew: 1,397 (full complement: 5,000)
Powerplant: Four Mk. III naquada reactors
Propulsion:
~1 x Asgard hyperdrive assembly
~1 x FTL space fold engine and drive coils
~6 x sub-light engines
o 2 x Hull-mounted
o 4 x outrigger engine pods
~40 x maneuvering engines (10 clusters of 4 apiece)
~Anti-gravity generators
Weapons:
~36 x twin-barrel 105mm coil guns x 500 rounds each
~64 x single-barrel 50mm rail guns x 10,000 rounds each
~2 x Mk. 42 VMLS x 70 missile cells each
~40 x Colonial Fleet Systems Viper Mk. VII aerospace superiority fighters
~20 x Colonial Fleet Systems Raptor Mk. III support/utility craft
~10 x Colonial Fleet Systems Shuttles Mk. II
Defenses:
~Asgard shields
~Heavy armor plating
~Tau'ri RADAR/DRADIS jamming system
Other Technology:
~Tau'ri crystal/fibreoptic computer systems
~Colonial Water Purification Plant
~Asgard sensors
~Asgard transporters

Technical and Historical Notes:

Limping from New Caprica, the remnants of the Colonial Fleet in 2006 came across a world with a Tau'ri research center, some 6,000 lightyears from Earth. Quickly making contact, the Earth ship Columbia (a Daedalus-class starship recently commissioned) was dispatched, and eventually ferried the Rag Tag Fleet to Earth via hyperspace.

While overjoyed at finally reaching Earth, the Colonials were adamant about returning to New Caprica and rescuing their remaining 39,000 civilian population. However, the Colonials were clearly outnumbered and outgunned by the Cylons, and the Tau'ri were currently engaged with the Ori and Wraith. The Tau'ri were more than willing to set the Colonial Remnant up on a nearby, Earth-like planet (which they named "Persephone") with a Stargate, and a constant stream of logistical support. But rearming and refitting an entire combat fleet for use against the Cylons (a relatively tame enemy) was something the Tau'ri could simply not undertake at the moment.

Admiral William Adama finally proposed a deal: In exchange for a number of their vessels, and their space folding technology, the Tau'ri and Free Jaffa would help them refit the Galactica and the Pegasus. The deal was made within an hour of it's proposal. The Free Jaffa ferried a shipyard to the Sol system, and the Tau'ri provided the manpower and resources to begin the refits and upgrades.

Galactica was the first ship to undergo the refit. Much of her internal machinery was ripped out, her massive tylium reactors replaced with smaller, and far more powerful naquada generators. One of her space folding FTL drives was removed for the Tau'ri and Free Jaffa to study, and replaced with an Asgard hyperdrive. While the jump drives were excellent for short-range transits, the hyperdrive would grant the Colonials a far easier and faster (over long distances) mode of transportation. The two drives together make the Galactica an extremely mobile and valuable asset. The addition of intertial dampeners and anti-gravity wave generators made the massive ship much faster and more maneuverable in normal space, and allowed her to enter planetary atmospheres with ease, a considerable advantage over Cylon basestars.

Galactica's primary weapons were summarily removed, as well as all their cumbersome support systems. In their place were put rail guns and coil guns-All far smaller, less personnel intensive, and more powerful than Galactica's original armament. Two vertical missile launch systems were also installed, mainly filled with modified-Sparrow SAMs for use against enemy craft. And, most importantly, Galactica was given Asgard shielding technology, which would render her virtually immune to anything in the Cylon's arsenal. This, along with her new RADAR/DRADIS jamming technology and Asgard transporters, would make her the deadliest warship in the Colonial Fleet's history.

However, much of this new hardware and firepower required increased automation and computer systems-Things the Colonials, due to their experience with the Cylons, were understandably skeptical about. However, the Tau'ri were able to introduce enough safeguards into the new computer systems to make Admiral Adama happy. Among them were quadruple-redundant computer networks, fibreoptic wires that are immune to EMP damage, state of the art anti-hacking software, and manual computer cut-offs in every system. This increased automation allowed Galactica to run with half of her remaining crew effectively, and with United States Navy aircraft carrier personnel being transferred to help man the great ship, the Galactica was combat ready again in less than six months.

Her first order of business was to jump back to New Caprica, where she made quick work of the Cylon Occupation Forces. The Cylons were unable to hack the battlestar's system or pierce her shields, even with the full might of their thirty-plus basestars and thousands of Cylon Raiders. Galactica's Mk. VII Vipers had been upgraded with intertial dampeners and RADAR/DRADIS jamming technology from the Tau'ri F-302s, and had been given rail guns as their main weapons. In short order, the Cylons suffered a humiliating and extremely one-sided defeat. For weeks afterward, the moment a Cylon ship caught sight of the Galactica, she immediately fled.

After relocating the Rag Tag Fleet survivors to Persephone, Galactica was finally fully crewed with Colonial Fleet members once more. Even so, Galactica would continue to work closely with the Tau'ri, and together with the Pegasus would provide a huge boon to the Milky Way Galaxy's war against the invading Ori.