Viper (1980)

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This page (like all pages on this wiki) was imported from the original English-language Battlestar Wiki based on what was available in the Wayback Machine in early 2017. You can see the archive of the original page here.
For the version of the Colonial fighter in the Original Series, see: Viper (TOS).


Viper
Viper
Race: Colonial
Type: Military
FTL: No
Propulsion: three sublight aft-mounted engines
Crew: 2
Capacity:
CO: {{{co}}}
XO: {{{xo}}}
Role: Space superiority fighter
Weapons: {{{weapons}}}
Armaments: {{{arm}}}
Defenses: {{{def}}}
Aircraft: {{{aircraft}}}
Aviation facilities: {{{facilities}}}
Fate: {{{status}}}
Emblem: [[Image:{{{patch}}}|175px|Ship's patch]]
Other Images: Gallery
Dimensions
Length: {{{length}}}
Width: {{{width}}}
Height: {{{height}}}
Weight: {{{weight}}}
Wingspan: {{{wingspan}}}
Other: {{{otherdi}}}


The Colonial Viper is the primary space superiority fighter and attack craft deployed by the Colonial military. Capable of both atmospheric and long-range spacial flight, the Viper is a single-to-two-pilot craft with two-forward mounted laser-torpedo guns as standard.

The Viper is capable of rapid acceleration in the form of a rapid acceleration feature (called "turbos"), which results in greater fuel usage (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I).

Apparently in use as early as ten-yahren into the exodus from the Twelve Colonies (The Return of Starbuck), the Vipers have a large storage compartment in the undercarriage in which a lone turbine can be stored (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I) as well as an energizer powerful enough to render the Viper invisible for 24 Earth hours (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part II).

Also, a device capable of time warping, the time warp synthesizer, is outfitted in at least three Vipers: Dillon's, Troy's and one that Xaviar steals (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part II).

Cockpit layout

While the ship can be piloted by one pilot, a second person in the back seat can run scanners and other on board computron equipment. The first seat is typically the flight seat, although the second person can assume piloting duties as well, since a second set of flight controls is also available[1] ("Galactica Discovers Earth, Part III", "Spaceball", "The Night the Cylons Landed, Part I").

An on board compartment accessible through the cockpit contains space suits, which can be used when extra-vehicular activity is necessary (Spaceball).

Related Imagery

Notes

  • None of the single-seat variants of this craft are seen in use, although they are in many of the special effects scenes in the series -- as these scenes are extensively reused from the Original Series.

References

  1. Jamie Hamilton indicates this when she asks what the "turbo" button does, when seated behind Dillon in "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part III".