Tardis

New to Doctor Who or returning after a break? Check out our guides designed to help you find your way!

READ MORE

Tardis
Advertisement
Tardis

ImagesAvailable

The War-Wheel was a massive battlecruiser used by the Sontarans.

Armament and specifications[]

War Wheel and Shuttle

A War-Wheel launching a shuttle. (HOMEVID: Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans)

The ship looked like an axle with two wheels on its ends. It was heavily armed with two space cannons (and quite possibly other forms of deadly weaponry), carried a single Sontaran Boarding Craft, and was usually commanded by a high ranking Sontaran Fleet Admiral. (HOMEVID: Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans)

History[]

War Wheel firing on Tiger Moth

The War-Wheel firing upon the Tiger Moth. (HOMEVID: Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans)

While this bizarre and unusual class of Sontaran warship was not encountered very often, one such War-Wheel was encountered in the 26th Century. The War-Wheel battle cruiser, was first seen being used in the pursuit of a single Rutan Spy. It moved to every intersection point where the Rutan might be.

The War-Wheel eventually caught up to the human solar sail vessel, the Tiger Moth, and fired a few warning shots, before sending a boarding party led by Sontaran Commander Steg. After launching the Sontaran Boarding Craft, the War-Wheel then immediately left and proceeded towards the next interception point afterwards. (HOMEVID: Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans)

References[]

Sontaran Commander Steg intended to open a wormhole above Sentarion and send a War-Wheel through it to Ruta III, where it would kill the Rutan Queen. The Seventh Doctor closed the wormhole and trapped the War-Wheel inside. (PROSE: Shakedown)

Mr Kamen salvaged a host of technology from the wreckage of a War-Wheel on Earth. In addition, he found a Sontaran survivor who he would have modified to serve him as a mercenary in the 2010s. (AUDIO: Portrait of a Lady)

Behind the scenes[]

  • The War-Wheel resembles the ships of the Cyberman fleet seen in The Invasion, of which an homage design appeared in The Pandorica Opens and A Good Man Goes to War, with the former appearance being alongside a Sontaran flagship.
  • The original Sontaran War-Wheel Battle Cruiser physical filming miniature model was actually designed and built by modeler David Brian, who also designed and built both the spacecraft models of the Tiger Moth and the Sontaran Boarding Craft for “Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans”.
Advertisement