Sorry it took so long to get back here -- the job hunt does not cease.
I agree with Punisher454 -- Star Wars uses a LOT of "hyper-tech". On a scale of technology ratings, where we - Earth/Terra, c.2011 - are about Tech Level 8 - 9 (there's some weird swings in the scales, but 8 - 9 is a good average), I see the Colonies at about 10 - 12. Star Wars is easily 14 - 15, verging into 16+, in places.
What that translates into is that we Terrans are maybe 100-200 years (no more than 300-500) behind the Colonies and Cylons, but we are easily 1,000 years (at LEAST) or more behind Star Wars. While a Star Destroyer could very well have 37K troops and crew aboard, I seriously doubt that the Galactica could smoosh in 1/3 of that number.
On that note, and kudo's to Punisher454 for pointing that out, while we can be fairly certain that "Solium" = "Hydrogen", we have no clue what "Tylium" is -- meaning that we do not know it's power output, handling/storage requirements, reactivity, etc. - we can't write a HAZMAT sheet for it, basically, because we have no data on it's use, beyond that it is what makes the Gal go FTL.
However, we can surmise a few things based on LL/Pt.2.
In the second part of the ep, a combined commando/raider team from both battlestars paradrop onto Gomorray to suppress Cylon defenses with a "decapitation strike" against their command center, so that a strike unit of Vipers and Shuttles can land to raid the Tylium bunkers...and we actually see the shuttle teams pouring out of the shuttles, heading into the facility to swipe Tylium.
The only equipment that the raiders are carrying appear to be something like 5-gallon buckets, and all of them are carrying at least two. Even assuming a "bucket brigade" relay, Tylium can't be that heavy in near-Terrestrial gravity, since none of the raiders are wearing any kind of strength-enhancing exoskeletons.
In the context of ship design, then, I'm fairly sure that the two big bulges underneath the Gal are Solium tanks - BIG ones...probably bigger than a similarly-sized civilian ship, since the Solium would be the real-space fuel. Assuming that Tylium is stable, but delicate (which I wrote into my "Fields" story), it won't take up that much space...
.....So, what does all this mean? Most ships designed realistically are going to be mostly fuel, especially warships, since they need to burn vast amounts while maneuvering in action. (I can post links if you
really want me to...it's pretty dry stuff.)
Additionally, since humans tend to consume a
lot of resources, you need to account for cargo spaces to store food and sundries. Civilian ships won't have massive holds crammed with food and water but military vessels
have to. (One of the few things about "a certain show" that I liked was their inclusion of water tanks.)
Then, you have to look at what the ship is supposed to do.
The Gal is a carrier with capitol ship weaponry. Her primary mission is delivery and support of Vipers and troops to a battle area, and the design is actually very well-thought out to support that mission. You're going to have more crew than a similar-sized civilian vessel, but not too many more -- not only for the reasons above, but also because you don't want too many troops in one basket, to be killed together. Any more troops/crew than I outlined above, even bumping small-ship maintenance crews up to 10/Viper or Shuttle, would end up sitting around, twiddling their thumbs and getting in the way...although I would add an additional 300-500 crew specifically assigned to Damage Control.
I can't really see a hole, there, even for a mile-long warship.
The current crew of a '
Nimitz'-type carrier is around 5,000 -- but our ships require a LOT more maintenance than I think the Colonial military would tolerate (due to lower technology), they are operating in an open, 'shirt sleeve' environment, and replenish their water supply continuously, as well as having periodic (every 1 - 3 months) at-sea/underway replenishment of food, which would be VERY tricky to pull off with the Colonial Fleet, since you can't exactly string a transfer cable across space easily...which is why is seems that the Gal usually serves what look like field rations, except at official functions.
