COLONIAL VIPER

From the 1978 TV Series created by Glen A Larson

The imposing fighters spacecraft ‘stars’ of the ambitious TV Series created by the TV Producer and Writer Glen A Larson in the late 1970s. , ‘Galactica’was being planned long before Star Wars’ , but was quickly greenlit once Star Wars became the most popular film of all time!

The Vipers featured prominently in the series, and many of these spacecraft were carried aboard the Battlestar Galactica. The ships ‘took to the skies’ like WW2 fighter planes, via launch tubes that catapulted the ships into the action, appearing from the pontoon-like pods on either side of the giant ship. For greater speed, the pilots would engage ‘turbo’ thrust and a kinetic tail of blue flames! Viper pilots Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer and in later episodes Sheba were always in the thick of the action.

The single seater craft - sometimes customized (quite crudely) to include a passenger seat - were designed by Ralph McQuarrie, fresh from the success of designing much of the hardware in ‘Star Wars’.

Designed by Ralph McQuarrie