D79H Pelican
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Dropship 79 Heavy - Troop Carrier | |
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Role: |
Multi-purpose dropship/gunship |
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Mass: |
64.7 metric tons (63.7 LT; 71.3 ST)–77 metric tons (76 LT; 85 ST)[3] |
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Maximum speed: |
671 km/h (417 mph)–903 km/h (561 mph)[3] |
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Slipspace drive: |
Not equipped |
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Armament: |
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Complement: |
15–20 personnel[2] |
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- "This was a D79-TC, one of the newer models, but they're essentially all the same: big squat green airships with a twenty-five meter wingspan and stretching about thirty meters long."
- — Edward Buck on the D79 Pelican.[6]
The Dropship 79 Heavy - Troop Carrier (D79H Pelican) is a dropship in the Pelican series designed by Misriah Armory.[1] Infrequently in service as early as 2526,[7][8] the D79 has become one of the most widely-used Pelican models in the post-war era[1] - seeing particularly notable usage among the air wing of UNSC Infinity. Despite this, it has yet to completely supplant the much more widely-used D77 Pelican.[4]
A gunship variant (the G79H-TC/MA) is also produced.[2][4]
Overview[edit]
Design details[edit]
Unlike the D77 and the D77H Pelicans, the D79 features a twin-bubble canopy akin to that of the 21st century Mi-24 Hind gunship/attack helicopter; flight controls and frontal weaponry triggers are linked to the lower seat, while the dorsal turret is manned through the upper seat. The D79 Pelican features increased hull armor and more powerful engines compared to its D77 and D78 predecessors.[2][3] It has a sleeker, more rounded fuselage which presumably improves its aerodynamics. A tall air intake is located immediately adjacent to the fuselage on either winglet, while a shorter but wider intake is mounted in front of and beneath each forward thruster; two smaller intakes are located above these. Two small maneuvering thrusters are mounted on either side of the fuselage. The Pelican is armed with a pair of GAU-53 70mm rotary cannons mounted on a gimbal, below its nose.[3] These changes to the Pelican's thruster configuration provide the D79 greater in-atmosphere handling than its D77 counterpart.[4]
Misriah's D81 Condor uses an airframe strikingly similar to the D79's, as it uses the D79H Pelican as the base. However, the Condor possesses a slipspace drive and additional thrust nozzles, in addition to substantially greater length.[5]
Variants[edit]
- G79H Pelican - a gunship model that incorporates heavier armament than the dropship version and additional weapons and ammunition racks for the resupply of ground troops.[2][4][9]
- Corp Pelican - a civilian variant used by private industry such as the Liang-Dortmund Corporation.
The G79H Pelican.
Liang Dortmund variant
Identified Pelicans[edit]
Operational history[edit]
The D79H Pelican entered UNSC service some time prior to the mid-2520s, during or before the Insurrection years. While in service, they were infrequently used as they were not cost-effective compared to their contemporaries.[10] In 2526, a D79H was used to deploy Blue Team onto Circinius IV during the Covenant attack on the planet's military academy. Towards the end of the fighting, the dropship was used to extract John-117, Kelly-087, Frederic-104 and the remnants of Hastati Squad; Thomas Lasky, April Orenski and Michael Sullivan.[7]