| YA-18 Crossbow bomber | |
|---|---|
| Production | |
| Type | Bomber |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 24 meters |
| Mass | 40 metric tonnes |
| Weapons | 3 Mass Driver Cannons 2 Neutron Guns 1 Neutron Gun turret 4 Torpedoes 3 Friend or Foe missiles |
| Shield | Standard shields |
| Hull | 20-25cm armor plating |
| Speed | 370 kps |
| Crew | 1 pilot, 1 manned turret |
| Usage | |
| Affiliation | Terran Confederation |
| Appearances | |
The YA-18 Crossbow Bomber is a spacecraft found in the Wing Commander universe. Its first appearance was in Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi.
About[]
The YA-18 Crossbow Bomber was first deployed in 2667 as a potential replacement for the A-17 Broadsword heavy bomber. The Crossbow was designed to be both much more maneuverable and have greater acceleration than the larger Broadsword. Like the Broadsword, the Crossbow is also capable of making jumps. Unfortunately, even though the Crossbow was much smaller than the Broadsword bomber, the Crossbow was not small enough to operate from escort carriers. The Crossbow could be considered to have been almost as durable as the Broadsword bombers. Still, the more agile bomber's shields were not as tough as the heavier bomber, although the shields were still far tougher than those carried on any other small craft at the time. The Crossbow is also designed with a much smaller vertical cross-signature to make it a harder target to hit.
The Crossbow's main weapon array included five forward firing gun mounts. The bombers adds two neutron cannons and three mass drivers. While comparatively short ranged, this gave the bomber greater firepower than the F-57 Sabre. Due to the attempt to reduce the size of the bomber compared to the Broadsword, the Crossbow does not have any side gun turrets but does have a rear-firing turret with a pair of neutron cannons. For missiles, the bomber has seven hard points compared to eight on the Broadsword. The Crossbow has four hard points which are usually configured for anti-capital ship ordnance and three which are primarily used for regular missile.
Several prototypes of the YA-18 Crossbow were onboard the TCS Gettysburg for testing at the time of the ship's mutiny in the year 2667. During the effort to regain control of the ship, the new bombers performed exceptionally well against the mutineers' Epees and Ferrets, showing the Crossbow's dog-fighting potential. Unlike the Broadsword, the Crossbow was able to maneuver almost as well as the light fighters and could sustain heavy damage. 1
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Namesake[]
- The YA-18 Crossbow Bomber was named after the Crossbow weapon because of its shape.
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References[]
- 1 Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi Secret Operations 1 and 2
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External links[]
- Wing Commander CIC - Used as a source.
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