Battlestar Galactica (nBSG) VS USS Saratoga (S:AAB)

[Gandalf]

The Galactica from nBSG VS the Saratoga from Space:Above And Beyond.

The Galactica is of course armed with 24 large bore chemical projectile weapons as main guns and 504 smaller "flak" guns according to the Battlestar Wiki (look at the citations).

The Saratoga weapons loadout is listed here.

Both ships have full fighter complement and the battle takes place in a star system similar to Earths. So asteroids, gas giant, rocky planets etc. No wierd space phenomena to hide in.

[AnonymousRedShirtEnsign]

Does Galactica have all it's armor like during the first cylon war, or is it as seen after the fall of the twelve collonies of Cobal? I guess I'm asking in general if Galactica is a combat ready warship, or vessel that ought to have been decomissioned a half dozen engagements ago.

[l33telboi]

Can't really say without knowing more about the weaponry and the endurance of the Stratoga. Kinetic Particle Weapon and Laser Pulse Cannons could mean virtually anything without knowing more about the details involved and what effects these things have on the target. It's the same with the torpedoe and missle launchers, without knowing how powerful they are it's quite hard to guess the damage they'd cause.

However, missiles and torpedoes could have a hard time penetrating the flak barrier of the Galactica, which could limit their overall effectiveness. As for the laser weapons, if they really are the kind that basically delivers extreme heat to the target, then it could be problematic, because the Galactica has exhibited extensive shielding against heat, as per the entire drop into the atmosphere of the planet manouver.

The Kinetic Particle Weapon sounds interesting though, because if these are basically beam weapons, then they will quite likely have an extreme velocity, which is always good when you have weaponry using kinetics to cause damage.

Of course, i'm basing all this on guesses of what the names of the weapons imply, i've never actually seen SAAB.

[Gandalf]

Does Galactica have all it's armor like during the first cylon war, or is it as seen after the fall of the twelve collonies of Cobal? I guess I'm asking in general if Galactica is a combat ready warship, or vessel that ought to have been decomissioned a half dozen engagements ago.

Galactica is in the condition you see her in at the end of the miniseries. Incidently that is her designed condition, otherwise her weapons would have restricted firing arcs when armour is put on her. There is zero evidence to suggest she was stripped of her armour prior to becoming a museum ship.

[Gandalf]

It's been a long time since I've seen S:AAB but I'll try and address these issues.

Can't really say without knowing more about the weaponry and the endurance of the Stratoga. Kinetic Particle Weapon and Laser Pulse Cannons could mean virtually anything without knowing more about the details involved and what effects these things have on the target. It's the same with the torpedoe and missle launchers, without knowing how powerful they are it's quite hard to guess the damage they'd cause.

The lasers, missiles and torpedo's were seen to be effective against Chig fighters, bombers and capital ships throughout the series. Chig capital ships being somewhat of an unknown quantity. There durabilty and firepower was unknown but a group of them was enough to destroy a sistership to the Saratoga. Chig fighters are comperable to Cylon raiders.

However, missiles and torpedoes could have a hard time penetrating the flak barrier of the Galactica, which could limit their overall effectiveness. As for the laser weapons, if they really are the kind that basically delivers extreme heat to the target, then it could be problematic, because the Galactica has exhibited extensive shielding against heat, as per the entire drop into the atmosphere of the planet manouver.

I agree that the missiles and torpedo's might have trouble penetrating the flak barrier but the Cylon Basestars only fire missiles in limited numbers. If Saratoga were to fire her missiles and torpedo's at once in a swarm it they may make it through, whether they cause enough damage is unknown. S:AAB doesn't employ nukes that I recall. The lasers may be enough to burn through the hull, in the stellar nursery enroute to the algae palnet the radiation is enough to burn through the previously damaged hull section of Galactica's port flight pod.

The Kinetic Particle Weapon sounds interesting though, because if these are basically beam weapons, then they will quite likely have an extreme velocity, which is always good when you have weaponry using kinetics to cause damage.

This weapon was primarily used for orbital bombardment. Which means that if it can be used against Galactica it can be used outside the range of the flak barrier, while the Big G's heavy guns are not limited by range they will take time to reach a stand off target and the Saratoga may be able to engage the Galactica with impunity with the KPW.

[Gandalf]

This set of blueprints, lists the lasers power in watts. So that gives us some idea of there yield but I have no idea how to convert them into kilotons.

[Jedi Master Spock]

One kiloton is 4.2 terajoules. One watt is one joule per second, meaning that 1.2 gigawatts is roughly 1/3500th of a kiloton per second (~1 kt/hour). The total laser battery would appear to have a 4.1 gigawatt cumulative output.

[Gandalf]

One kiloton is 4.2 terajoules. One watt is one joule per second, meaning that 1.2 gigawatts is roughly 1/3500th of a kiloton per second (~1 kt/hour). The total laser battery would appear to have a 4.1 gigawatt cumulative output.

So if I understand this correctly (forgive me as my scientific background is not very strong) then the Saratoga does not host very powerful weapons.

[Mike DiCenso]

Essentially... no, it's not all that powerful. At least not from a relative SF power standpoint. I'am a little skeptical of the blueprints anyway, seeing as they appear to be yet another Geoff Mandel fanwank, ala the 1970-era Star Wars star destroyer blueprint.
-Mike

[Gandalf]

Hmm, what do you know, so they are.

[AnonymousRedShirtEnsign]

So we're giving this one the Galactica because the only info we have on the Saratoga says it's shooting blanks? If that is the case I would suggest nBSG vs the Pillar of Autumn (an old UNSC cruiser from Halo:CE).