Omega class destroyer
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| Omega class | |
|---|---|
 Tigerclaw presents a classic Earth Alliance profile |
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| First appearance | Episode Point of Departure |
| Affiliation | Earth Alliance |
| General Characteristics | |
| Class | Destroyer |
| Fighters | 36 Starfuries |
| Armaments | 6 Heavy Particle Beam / Lasers 6 Heavy Pulse Cannons 12 Particle Beam / Lasers 12 Pulse Cannons 2 Missile Launcers |
| Defences | 0.8 to 1 meter armored hull 18 Mk.II Defence Interceptors |
| Propulsion | 4 Ion Particle Drives Jump Engines |
| Power | 4 Fusion Reactors |
| Mass | 1.6 million metric tons |
| Length | 875.3 m |
| Width | 324.5 meter |
| Height | 275.4 meter |
The Omega class destroyer is the primary warship used by the Earth Alliance in the science fiction series Babylon 5 in the late 23rd century.
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[edit] Omega Class
The Omega class is a heavy cruiser which serves many of the primary functions for EarthForce, the Earth Alliance military. It is a heavily-armed front line destroyer that also carries several squadrons of Starfuries for fighter support. The class was developed following the Earth-Minbari war and is based heavily on the design of the older Nova class. However, the Omega-class destroyers are significantly longer than the dreadnought due to the addition of a central rotating section that provides a 1-g, simulated gravity environment. Built upon a hollow magnetized driveshaft, the rotating central section is used for habitation. It contains the crew quarters, medical bay, main computer systems, and the ship's three control centers. The forward and aft sections are zero-g, and consist of the Hangar (forward) and Engineering (aft) sections.
Omega-class destroyers are heavily armed with weapons developed during and after the Earth-Minbari War. Their arsenal includes 18 pulse cannon turrets and 18 X-Ray particle/lasers based on technology the Narn stole from the Centauri Republic and sold to the Earth Alliance. The two forward hangar racks have sufficient capacity to carry up to 36 Starfuries of varying types.
The crew complement for an Omega may vary from 360 to more than 1000 (EAS Cerberus' crew was 360, and in the episode Endgame Franklin states there may be 1000 people on each destroyer.) Also death toll of the Roanoke was stated at 547. Those variations may be crew requirements due to mission profile (ie: additional troops).
The Omega was the central combat vessel to both sides of the Earth civil war, in which forces led by John Sheridan attempted to overthrow President Morgan Clark.
[edit] Shadow Enhanced Omega Class Ships
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The factual accuracy of this section is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.(March 2008) |
Referred to as the Omega-X class, these warships were developed to test experimental technology acquired by President Morgan Clark's regime prior to the Earth Civil War of 2261. Excavations of ancient Shadow vessels found on Mars and Ganymede had yielded a few technological advancements far beyond standard Earth Alliance technology despite many workings of the Shadow vessels being completely beyond the comprehension of every scientist assigned to study them. Most notably, fusion beam weapons and aspects of shadow organic armor were successfully reverse-engineered.
The arrival of the White Star fleet and the rebel faction's string of victories forced Clark to order his engineers to send the experimental testbed warships into action against Sheridan's forces. These ships were still incomplete, possibly with inexperienced crews; however, their weaponry and new armor proved to be nearly a match for the White Stars sent up against them. A fleet of thirty White Stars suffered heavy casualties, (only 7 surviving and Ivanova injures were life threatening as a result of her White Star getting hit) but were able to completely destroy 6 modified Omegas.
After this engagement, no additional Omega-X destroyers were built. Following their destruction, Earth's methods of producing Shadow bio-armor were lost, but other advancements were built into the subsequent generation of Warlock-class vessels.
The understanding gained here was used to create a powerful bio-warship that was running wild during the exodus of the Technomages. This bio-ship destroyed the EAS Cerberus and later self-destructed. The only survivor of the incident was one Ensign, Matthew Gideon, later Captain of the IAS Excalibur in Crusade.
[edit] Appearance
The Omega destroyer bears a close resemblance to one other ship seen in science fiction, the Alexei Leonov from the 1984 film 2010. The design could also very loosely be compared to one Star Wars design, the Medical Frigate from The Empire Strikes Back, which shares some general similarities in profile with the Omega, while lacking the rotating midsection.
The Omega contains a red-lit docking bay (sometimes details of yellow and black diagonal "warning" striping can be seen inside the hangar opening) in the bow, a common feature in Earthforce starships as well as the Babylon Stations. The inward-angled ventral portion of the ship's prow is reminiscent of the cheek-guards of a soldier's helmet of the Greco-Roman era. The advanced Omega destroyers engaged by Ivanova's White Stars were similar to standard Omegas, but had black semi-organic hulls and spines reminiscent of the Shadow warships from which they derived their technical advances.
The ship's name could be seen in black block lettering enclosed in a black rectangle upon the upper left and upper right side surfaces of the hangar section, while its initial was displayed at the lower corner of each side of the hangar section as a large white block letter (similar to the large white numerals carried on the hulls of most 20th century military vessels for identification purposes).
[edit] Known Omega-class Vessels
- EAS Acheron - Delivered Captain Elizabeth Lochley to Babylon 5 in 2262 so that she could assume command of the station following Captain John Sheridan's election to the post of President of the Interstellar Alliance.
- EAS Achilles - First Omega destroyer built.
- EAS Agamemnon - John Sheridan was the Captain of this ship before being reassigned to the command of Babylon 5. He later commanded the final battle of the Earth Civil War from this ship.
- EAS Agrippa - Captained by Dexter Smith, one of four ships sent by President Clark to seize Babylon 5 on 4-14-2260 to prevent its secession from the Earth Alliance. Destroyed on 4-15-2260 when the EAS Alexander fires on it point-blank. Sheridan offered to take on survivors, but the Agrippa exploded before this could occur (note that Sheridan incorrectly identifies the Agrippa as the Roanoke in that scene, despite the fact that earlier, the Roanoke had been rammed and destroyed by the Churchill).
- EAS Alexander - One of the key vessels involved in the Earth civil war of 2260 - 2261. Commanded by General William Hague, then by Major Ed Ryan upon Hague's death in combat.
- EAS Anubis - Mentioned by General Thompson in 2267.
- EAS Apollo - General Lefcourt's flagship during the final stages of the Earth Civil War in 2261. Led a fleet of Earth destroyers to oppose Sheridan near Mars. Saved Sheridan by destroying the orbital defense platform he was about to ram.
- EAS Cadmus - Fought for President Clark in the Earth civil war. Commanded by Captain Leo Frank.
- EAS Charon - Captained by Leonard Anderson. Fought on the side of President Clark during the Earth Civil War in 2261. Later, Anderson took over command of the Victory during Babylon 5: A Call to Arms.
- EAS Churchill - Captained by Sandra Hiroshi. One of the ships on the resistance side of the Earth civil war. Destroyed on 4-15-2260 when her captain rammed her into the EAS Roanoke after taking heavy damage defending Babylon 5 from President Morgan Clark's forces. The Churchill's only appearance was in the Season 3 Episode "Severed Dreams".
- EAS Damocles - Fought on the side of President Clark during the Earth Civil War in 2261. Disabled in battle near Beta IX.
- EAS Delphi - Fought for President Clark in the 2261 Earth civil war.
- EAS Furies - Involved in the 2261 blockade of Proxima III. She decided to stand down rather than fire on Sheridan's forces. She joined Sheridan's forces following the battle.
- EAS Heracles - One of two vessels that attacked civilian vessels attempting to leave Proxima III in 2261. Flagship of the Proxima III blockade force. Commanded by Captain Trevor Hall, who was later relieved of command by his executive officer, Commander Sandra Levitt. Taken to Beta IX for repairs following liberation of Proxima by Captain John Sheridan. Commander Levitt kept the Heracles a neutral ship for the rest of the war.
- EAS Hermes - Flagship of the fleet that fought the Drakh during the Battle of Earth, 2267.
- EAS Hydra - Fought for President Clark in the 2261 Earth civil war.
- EAS Juno - Involved in the 2261 blockade of Proxima III. Withdrew without engaging Sheridan's forces.
- EAS Medusa - Stationed near the rebellious mining colony at Regula 4 in 2267.
- EAS Nemesis - Involved in the blockade of Proxima III in 2261, where she was disabled and surrendered to Sheridan’s forces. However, she is seen amongst General Lefcourt's fleet at Mars near the end of the Earth Civil War, so it seems the ship rejoined Clark’s forces following after-action repairs.
- EAS Nimrod - Sent by President Clark to support the seizure of Babylon 5 on 4-15-2260. Retreated following Delenn's arrival.
- EAS Olympic - Sent by President Clark to support the seizure of Babylon 5 in 2260. Retreated following Delenn's arrival.
- EAS Orion - Fought on the side of President Clark during the Earth Civil War in 2261, when she was disabled in battle near Beta IX. In 2267, was stationed with EAS Medusa at Regula 4.
- EAS Persephone - Lost in action following the Drakh attack on Earth in 2267. Pursued and forced a Drakh ship down on Ceti 4, but was destroyed when battle damage caused the fusion reactors to overload. Only a message drone survived.
- EAS Pollux - One of two vessels involved in illegal attacks on civilian vessels in 2261. She was destroyed in 2261 when a severely damaged White Star vessel collided with her.
- EAS Pournelle - On Mars patrol in the 2250's and saw action during the 2258 Mars Rebellion, where she shot down Abel Horn's escape ship. However, it is indicated on screen that this is not a destroyer, but rather a cruiser. It is therefore possible that the Pournelle is a different ship based on the Nova/Omega heritage. However, it should be noted that the ship is mentioned when Talia Winters performs a scan on Abel Horn. Not being an Earth Alliance officer she might not know the ship class.
- EAS Roanoke - Sent by President Clark On 4-14-2260 to seize Babylon 5. Destroyed by EAS Churchill which, on fire from earlier combat, rammed into the Roanoke broadsides, destroying both vessels. (In a later scene, Captain Sheridan offers to take on survivors from the Roanoke, but it had already been destroyed. Sheridan was actually referring to the Agrippa.)
- EAS Talos - Supervised decommissioning of Babylon 5 in 2281.
- EAS Theseus - Part of Sheridan's fleet during the assault on Earth's Planetary Defense Network near the end of the Earth Civil War in 2261.
- EAS Vesta - Involved in the 2261 blockade of Proxima III. Commanded by Captain Edward MacDougan. Refused to fire on civilian refugees, and stood down rather than fight Sheridan. Following the battle at Proxima III, the Vesta joined Sheridan's fleet and fought in a number of engagements against Clark's forces.
- EAS Zeus - Part of General Lefcourt's fleet near Mars near the end of the Earth Civil War in 2261. ("Endgame")
