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This article is about the ship. For the person it was named after, see George S. Hammond.

"My next position is to take command of our new Daedalus-class ship. ...We're renaming it the [George] Hammond."
Samantha Carter[src]

The U.S.S. George Hammond or simply Hammond is the sixth BC-304 produced by the United States of America, and the fourth operated by the United States Air Force, assigned to the Second Tactical Wing. The ship was slated to be named Phoenix, but was renamed in honor of the late Lt. General George S. Hammond, who'd passed away around the time its construction was completed.

After commissioning, the George Hammond was stationed at Atlantis during the conflict with Queen Death and participated in several battles with the Wraith, including the final battle of the war. It later returned to Earth and aided in the battles against the Lucian Alliance.

Crew[]

Commanding officers[]

First officers[]

Known crew[]

History[]

Commissioning[]

The George Hammond became the sixth of the 304 class of ships built by the Tau'ri. The name was chosen by Colonel Samantha Carter after the sudden death of General George S. Hammond in order to keep him in the Stargate Program going forward even in spirit after everything that General Hammond had done for it. (SGA: "Pleasure Cruise")

As it neared commissioning, General Jack O'Neill was supplied with a list of names of possible commanding officers for the ship, top of which was Colonel Carter. Carter became aware that she was going to be offered command of the Hammond but had doubts about whether she wanted to take it. After an encounter with an alternate timeline version of herself in 2492 BC, Carter decided to accept command of the ship.

The George Hammond is eventually launched from Area 51 in a ceremony attended by the Secretary of State, a mixture of dignitaries and construction crew, O'Neill and SG-1. After making a speech, the Secretary of State breaks a bottle of champagne against the Hammond's bow and the ship is launched into space. (SG1: "Moebius Squared")

Atlantis on Earth[]

During the time Atlantis was on Earth, the Hammond was being outfitted for her launch. As Atlantis was not returning to the Pegasus galaxy, the Hammond and the Daedalus would take shifts in the Pegasus galaxy battling the Wraith. As part of their ploy to force the IOA to allow Atlantis to return to the Pegasus galaxy, Carter had any Atlantis personnel who were transferring transfer to the Hammond where she could easily transfer them back when the IOA caved. She also offered a position on the ship to Ronon Dex to help her in fighting the Wraith, an offer she revealed was real if he chose not to stay on Atlantis. While Ronon took the offer before Atlantis was allowed to return to Pegasus, he chose to stay on Atlantis afterwards but appreciated the chance for a new life Carter's offer had given him. The Hammond later transported Rodney McKay and Jennifer Keller with their things back to Atlantis since they didn't have time to get there by normal means. Along with the Daedalus, the Hammond saw Atlantis off when it took off from Earth and Colonel Carter stated that the Hammond would follow a couple of weeks behind the Daedalus to Pegasus. (SGA: "Legacy: Homecoming")

War with Queen Death[]

Main article: Raid on Bright Venture

Shortly after Lt. Colonel John Sheppard brings the salvaged Lantean cruiser Avenger to the city, the George Hammond arrives at Atlantis on its maiden voyage. After repairs are done to the Avenger, it is decided to have the George Hammond escort the Lantean cruiser to the Genii homeworld. Due to the George Hammond's faster Asgard hyperdrive, the ship arrives twenty-two minutes before the Avenger and its appearance is taken as a threat to the Genii before the Avenger arrives and Dahlia Radim calls down to her brother to let him know that all is well. Afterwards, the George Hammond returns to Atlantis where Sheppard has one of the ship's doctors give Doctor Radek Zelenka a eye exam in an attempt to get around the IOA's regulations.

Due to the situation with the kidnapped Doctor Rodney McKay, Colonel Samantha Carter decides to keep her ship at Atlantis for a few days in case they hear anything about McKay's whereabouts from either the Genii or Guide. After Guide gives them the coordinates to Queen Death's hive ship Bright Venture along with the information that the ship will be vulnerable since it will be dormant as it consumes raw materials, the George Hammond is launched to rescue McKay and hopefully destroy the hive ship and with it, Queen Death. As Sheppard's team searches the hive ship, the George Hammond launches an attack with her railguns, raking the lateral and dorsal sides with fire and causing massive damage. The ship comes under attack from Wraith Darts however and suffers physical damage to the aft starboard ventral shield emitter which eventually blows out, leaving the George Hammond without a rear shield. With Bright Venture waking up and its defensive systems activating, the George Hammond is forced to retreat into hyperspace, beaming out Sheppard's team without McKay who has been transformed into a Wraith himself. The ship's engineers determine that the entire shield emitter has been blown away and while they can rebuild it with help from Atlantis, it will take at least a week. (SGA: "The Lost")

Main article: Battle of the Frozen Planet

Eventually, Queen Death launches an attack on Atlantis with a hive ship and a Wraith cruiser. As Atlantis lacks the power for its shield, the Daedalus and the Hammond are launched against the enemy. To their surprise, the 304s find the Wraith ships shielded, but not nearly as well as them. An F-302 is able to disable the cruiser's life support, but the Daedalus is disabled. To protect her sister ship, the Hammond engages the hive ship alone, using the cruiser as a shield. As the hive ship turns its attention to Atlantis, Colonel Carter decides to take the badly damaged Hammond on a suicide run. The crew is beamed out but before can she set the autopilot, the Daedalus reenters the battle. With the Hammond near-powerless, Carter diverts all of its remaining power, including from life support to the railguns and fires on the hive ship's damaged stern as it turns to face the Daedalus. The Hammond is only able to fire five rounds before it loses power, but the Hammond's attack on the hive ship's damaged stern destroys the enemy ship. Carter is left adrift on the powerless ship facing death due to the lack of life support, but the Daedalus beams her off in time. (SGA: "Allegiance")

Following the battle's end, repairs are begun to the Hammond and the Daedalus. As Atlantis no longer has a ZPM to contact Earth and the Hammond's hyperdrive is down, the Daedalus leaves for Earth to inform them of the situation, leaving the Hammond alone to protect Atlantis. Before leaving, the Daedalus takes on all of the Hammond's critically injured and transfers her F-302 wing to the Hammond to bolster her combat capabilities. The Hammond undergoes extensive repairs, but is able to beam a team trapped in a nearby Ancient facility out after they get trapped. After the Hammond is repaired and the crew is capable of duty without having to return to Earth, another mission is launched to rescue McKay. With Teyla and Guide aboard Queen Death's hive ship and Just Fortune backing them up, the mission is believed to be more successful than the last time the Hammond attempted to rescue McKay. Arriving at the coordinants of Death's hive ship, the Hammond launches a cloaked Puddle Jumper containing the rescue team and engages the hive ship and its Darts. Despite being outgunned, the Hammond proves to be incredibly effective in battle using superior tactics. The Hammond is able to cause significant damage to the hive ship, taking out half of its weapons arrays before long. However, Wraith reinforcements arrive and even with the aid of Just Fortune, the Hammond is no match. The Hammond attempts to get close enough to beam the team off of the hive ship, but is unable to. Eventually the crew gets word that Sheppard's team is on Just Fortune and quickly recovers their F-302s. Their shields failing, the Hammond flees to hyperspace as the enemy hive ship explodes from a ZPM overload. Returning to Atlantis, they are distressed to find out that Ronon, Keller and McKay did not make it aboard the hive ship as they had believed. (SGA: "The Furies", "Secrets")

Main article: Second Battle of Atlantis

Once again, the Hammond undergoes repairs for the damage she sustained in battle, docking with Atlantis during this time. When word of Queen Death's impending attack reaches Atlantis, the Hammond, the only Earth ship in range, is prepared for battle. To aid in the fight, SG-1 travels to Atlantis with Cameron Mitchell and Teal'c joining the crew as extra F-302 pilots. In the battle that follows, the Hammond engages Queen Death's fleet and attempts to beam McKay out of his Puddle Jumper before he flies into the sun, but are too far away. Later, McKay is transported aboard the Hammond by an Ascended Doctor Elizabeth Weir to the crew's bewilderment. The Hammond fights side-by-side with Atlantis, the Pride of the Genii and Guide's fleet against Queen Death, ultimately losing five F-302s and having six crewmembers injured before the battle ends when Teyla kills Queen Death and the remainder of her forces surrender to Alabaster. For much of the battle, the Hammond engages in direct combat with Queen Death's personal hive ship but is outmatched. (SGA: "Inheritors")

The Battle of Icarus Base[]

"Our shields are holding but we're not the target."
Samantha Carter[src]
Main article: Battle of Icarus Base
P4X-351

George Hammond arrives in orbit of P4X-351.

Later in 2009, Lt. General Jack O'Neill and Dr. Nicholas Rush beamed Eli Wallace aboard the George Hammond, which was orbiting Earth at the time, with the intention of revealing to him the existence of the Stargate Program after he solved an Ancient mathematical proof. The proof Eli solved was believed to allow for the activation of the Stargate's ninth chevron. The efforts of those stationed at Icarus Base on the planet P4X-351 had been devoted to accomplishing such a task for months. Therefore, Eli was to be taken to Icarus Base to see the fruits of his labor and to further persuade him to join the Stargate Program. However, as P4X-351 contained a radioactive Naquadria core, which had the potential to become unstable after the dialing of an incoming wormhole, the Hammond was used to transport Rush, Eli, Senator Alan Armstrong and Chloe Armstrong in lieu of a Stargate.

Unfortunately the Asgard plasma beams had not been repaired when Icarus Base later came under attack by three Lucian Alliance Ha'taks, the George Hammond, which was still in orbit at the time, intercepted a portion the weapons fire from the enemy fleet and used Railguns to repel the attacking force.

Battle of Icarus Base 2

George Hammond defends Icarus Base from orbit.

However, numerous smaller craft, including Death Gliders and a Troopship, were able to escape the battle and descend onto the planet's surface. To deal with these craft, F-302s were launched from the Hammond, which accompanied the F-302s stationed at Icarus Base. While the Hammond's shields were able to protect the ship against the onslaught, the Hammond still incurred moderate damage.

During this engagement, the Alliance weapon fire that bombarded the planet from orbit steadily destabilized P4X-351's Naquadriah core, inadvertently causing it to reach the point of explosion. Moments before the core went critical (leading to the destruction of P4X-351), the Hammond recalled all fighters and retreated into hyperspace, leaving all enemy ships to be destroyed by the explosion. During the attack and evacuation of Icarus Base, bunker-shielding technology inhibited the Hammond's ability to beam personnel off of the planet, necessitating evacuation via the Stargate instead. Shortly after the engagement's conclusion, Colonel Samantha Carter informed General O'Neill of the battle and the unknown status of Icarus Base's personnel, who had dialed the ninth chevron address instead of Earth's during the base's evacuation. (SGU: "Air, Part 1", "Incursion, Part 1")

Lucian Alliance invasion of Destiny[]

"Unfortunately the complex inside [the pyramid] is shielded against beaming technology. We'll have to go in with ground forces from the outside."
Samantha Carter[src]
Main article: Lucian Alliance invasion of Destiny
Incursion, Part 1

The George Hammond over the Alliance outpost planet.

Later in 2009, the Hammond was in orbit of Earth when Dr. Nicholas Rush went undercover as Colonel David Telford in an attempt to infiltrate the Lucian Alliance using the Ancient Long-range communication stones. However, when his cover was blown and he was captured by Alliance commander Kiva, the Hammond was unable to beam Rush out of the area due to a jamming device. Sometime later, the Hammond was sent to the Lucian Alliance outpost (having gained the location from Telford) to stop the Alliance forces from dialing Destiny, a task which they forced Rush to help them accomplish. After dropping out of hyperspace, the George Hammond scanned the planet and discovered that it had a Naquadria core similar to that of the planet P4X-351, on which Icarus Base resided, thus providing sufficient power for the Stargate's ninth chevron to be dialed.

After discovering that jamming devices were once again being utilized by the Lucian Alliance in their outpost on the planet's surface, a wave of F-302s were launched as to allow for an assault by ground forces to capture the Alliance forces and save Rush. However, in response to the F-302 attack, Kiva ordered the Stargate's ninth chevron be dialed and ordered her troops to proceed through the Stargate and invade Destiny. After several minutes, as the planet's core became unstable, the entire planet exploded. Barely managing to escape the blast, the Hammond was forced to retreat into hyperspace, but not before recalling all fighters back from the surface. However, the crew of the Hammond was forced to leave two F-302s behind lest the Hammond itself be destroyed in the explosion. (SGU: "Subversion", "Incursion, Part 1")

Further duties[]

The Hammond continues doing regular trips to the Pegasus Galaxy, even after the war with Queen Death is won. During one such trip, the Hammond is at Atlantis when the Pride of the Genii goes missing. Lt. Colonel John Sheppard suggests sending the Hammond to search along the Pride's course, similar to how the Apollo had searched for Atlantis after the city was forced to abandon Lantea. However, while Colonel Samantha Carter admits that it's a good idea, the Hammond's hyperdrive is undergoing a maintenance check and it will be twelve hours before the ship could be ready to go, longer than they should wait to begin the search.

Later, after it's discovered that the Genii's artificial ATA genes on the ship has been sabotaged, Carter decides to recall Sheppard and take the Hammond, which is almost ready, to search for the Pride. However, Sheppard's team finally locates the ship before this action can be undertaken. (SGA: "Pride of the Genii")

On another trip, the Hammond is ordered to ferry the clone of Jack O'Neill back to Earth where the IOA wants him for their own purposes. Carter, working with the original O'Neill, offers to have the clone "escape" from the Hammond on the way home, but he doubts that the IOA would buy that. Instead, Jack starts a new life on Sateda while O'Neill and Carter report that he'd been fed on by a Wraith and his body discarded. (SG1: "Behind Enemy Lines")

While returning from a journey to Atlantis, the Hammond encounters the same ship that had chased the Prometheus into a gas cloud five years earlier. Despite being far more powerful than the Prometheus, the Hammond is easily defeated by the alien ship and all of the crew except for Carter beamed away. Alone on her ship, Carter eventually deduces that both encounters are tests by the aliens which began communicating with Carter using the images of Sheppard and General George S. Hammond himself. While Carter had passed the first test, the second was prompted by the Tau'ri and their ships like the Hammond having even more advanced technologies at their disposal such as that taken from the extinct Asgard.

After the test is over, the aliens return the crew and depart and apparently comply with Carter's request that they repair the damage that they did to her ship. Carter orders the crew to resume course for Earth once the alien ship is completely gone. (SGA: "Pleasure Cruise")

Alternate timeline[]

"Barely off the assembly line. Half the Asgard systems weren't finished, the other half weren't working."
Rodney McKay's hologram construct[src]
Main article: Phoenix Campaign
Phoenix Campaign

The Phoenix in battle.

In an alternate timeline, the Phoenix was the sixth Daedalus-class warship produced by the United States of America.

It was finally deployed to support the Atlantis Expedition in their efforts to repel Michael's assault on the human populations of the Pegasus galaxy, after a strong petitioning by Colonel Samantha Carter. Due to the urgent nature of this situation, the Phoenix was rushed into service, with many of the Asgard systems not fully operational by the time it arrived in Pegasus. As such, many members of the Expedition "worked day and night" to get the ship in working order and combat-ready including the Atlantis Expedition's Chief Science Officer, Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay.

As soon as the new ship was in full working order, Colonel Samantha Carter began an unsupported campaign to destroy Michael's fleet of commandeered Wraith Hive ships, and therein save the threatened human populations on planets throughout the Pegasus galaxy. Using guerrilla warfare tactics, Carter succeeded in destroying many of Michael's Hive ships by emerging from hyperspace, unleashing a volley of Asgard plasma beam weapon fire, and fleeing back into hyperspace before the Phoenix itself was able to incur any serious damage, in most instances.

Phoenix Campaign 3

The Phoenix explodes, taking 3 Hive ships with it.

However, after Michael's fleet had sustained substantial losses from the Phoenix's campaign, he distributed disinformation among his ranks and ambushed the Phoenix with three hive ships over a planet that the Phoenix had intended to liberate. During the ensuing battle, the Phoenix became badly damaged and the engines were going critical. Knowing that destruction was inevitable, the crew was beamed down to the surface of a planet by Col. Carter. In a last ditch effort, Carter set a collision course and rammed the badly damaged Phoenix into one of the Hives. The resulting explosion destroyed the Phoenix and created a shock wave powerful enough to destroy all three of Michael's hives that had participated in the battle. (SGA: "The Last Man")

Specifications[]

Current timeline[]

The George Hammond was an upgraded version of 304-class with the most recent generation of features the 304s possessed. Though built along the same lines as the other ships of the class, the George Hammond was described as having a more heavily armored superstructure around the bridge as well as larger and wider 302 Bays. The ship possessed improved reverse thrusters, making it much easier for the George Hammond to land in smaller spaces than the Daedalus, Odyssey, or Apollo. She also possessed a new series of railguns as part of her armaments. When talking about the ship with Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, Colonel Samantha Carter stated that the George Hammond made the Prometheus look like a Wright glider. The Wraith also considered the George Hammond to be deadlier than any of the other Tau'ri ships that came to the Pegasus Galaxy before without ever having engaged the ship in battle and having simply learned of it from a spy amongst the Genii. (SGA: "The Lost")

Alternate timeline[]

As the Phoenix was the first BC-304 to be produced after the Tau'ri was gifted the entire knowledge of the Asgard, it received several upgrades not present on other 304s. (SG1: "Unending")

As such, the Phoenix featured an Asgard terminal on the bridge in place of a star map, as well as a room similar to the Asgard computer core room on board the Odyssey. These features, however, are not present on the Hammond in the current timeline. (SGU: "Air, Part 1")

Major campaigns[]

Appearances[]

Appearances for George Hammond

In chronological order:

Behind the scenes[]

Wiki2
Stargate Wiki has a collection of images related to George Hammond/Phoenix images.
  • The origin of the name "Phoenix" comes from the legendary bird of the same name. The Phoenix was said to live a long life then after its death, would burst into flames and be reborn again.
  • The ship was originally going to be named the Phoenix in the current timeline. However, after the death of Don S. Davis (and consequently the death of his character, Lt. General George S. Hammond), the ship has been renamed in his honor.
HammondBridgeDisplayAirPart1
  • The large display console located on the bridge of the George Hammond is illuminated in orange light. Compared to the display on other BC-304s, the Hammond's display protrudes forward far less, and is more reminiscent of the panel on Prometheus, however turned sideways.
  • During the Battle over the Outer Rim Planet, the George Hammond attempts a suicide run before the Daedalus is repaired. Its alternate timeline counterpart the Phoenix did the same but did not survive as the Hammond did.
  • Despite losing the Asgard plasma beam weapons in battle with the Wraith and not repairing them for the rest of the conflict with Queen Death, the Hammond proves to be extremely effective in battle against Wraith hive ships. During the Battle over the Outer Rim Planet, the Hammond becomes the first Earth ship to destroy a hive ship without using nuclear weapons or plasma beam weapons. It also does so while practically crippled. Later, the Hammond goes one-on-one against another hive ship and does significant damage due to the crew's better tactics. The hive ship is stated to have lost half of its weapons arrays to the Hammond's attack and sustained heavy damage before the Hammond is forced to retreat when Wraith reinforcements arrive.
  • While stationed at Atlantis, the Hammond repeatedly receives heavy damage that is never fully repaired as it can't be without going back to Earth. As a result, it lacks its plasma beam weapons for most of the conflict. The ship also has a problem with its dorsal shield due to their inability to fully repair the ship. Every time the ship's damage is mostly repaired, it is sent back out on a mission and receives even more damage that has to once again be repaired without help from Earth.
  • During the final battle with the Wraith, Colonel Cameron Mitchell and Teal'c briefly came aboard the Hammond as F-302 pilots to aid in the battle.
  • During the Legacy series, the Hammond replaces the Daedalus as the main ship servicing Atlantis. This is mainly because one of the ships has to leave to report to Earth and the Hammond's hyperdrive is disabled at the time. The Daedalus is unable to return in time for the end of the conflict, but leaves its F-302 wing to aid the Hammond in the battles against the Wraith.
  • During the Legacy series the Wraith are shown to refer to the Hammond as "the vessel of She Who Carries Many Things", their name for Carter.

Links and navigation[]

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Tau'ri Battlecruisers
BC-303 Prometheus
BC-304 Apollo · Daedalus · George Hammond · Korolev · Odyssey · Sun Tzu
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