D96-TCE Albatross

Albatross

The Albatross Heavy Dropship is a Heavy-lift dropship of the United Nations Space Command.

Background
From its general design and structure, it seems to be a dedicated cargo dropship for vehicles, crates, and raw supplies such as hydrogen for the ground units in the field, rather than possessing any combat capabilities. It appears suited more towards ferrying supplies and vehicles to a planet's surface once a landing zone has been secured, as vehicles such as the Pelican have a more aggressive nature and can also double as gunships. Once it has landed, the Albatross lowers three metal ramps, allowing its cargo to be unloaded. Both times the Albatross has been seen, it can be used as a makeshift base, indicating that it may also serve as a mobile field command post for the UNSC.

Appearances of the Albatross
The Albatross first appeared as concept art in the book The Art of Halo. It has since made appearances in Halo 2 & 3 (on the multiplayer maps Relic and Sandtrap respectively), as well as in Halo Wars. In both Halo 2 & 3, the only observed Albatrosses had crashed into a hillside and been partially buried. Its first active appearance is in Halo Wars, where it is used to ferry supplies, in from the Spirit of Fire.

The Albatross is a heavy UNSC dropship capable of transporting multiple vehicles and socketed base buildings. It is used as such on Relic, being the base for one of the teams. It is able to perform transport and command post roles alternatively, switching between these two. Its role in Halo Wars seems to suggest that it is not a combat dropship, like the Pelican, but is meant for utility operations, such as delivering supplies.

Known Albatross class dropships

 * 03: Attached to the UNSC Aegis Fate.

Trivia

 * The Albatross appears on two maps, Relic and Sandtrap. By coincidence, both maps are large, and meant for Big Team Battles, however both are crashed and unusable, only able to serve as makeshift bases and sometimes weapon caches.
 * On the UNSC Spirit of Fire artwork, several Albatrosses can be seen attached to the forward 'wings'.
 * The possible Albatrosses in the Halo Wars Announcement Trailer seem much larger than those on Sandtrap and Relic.
 * On Sandtrap, it is rumored that a yellow or orange Spartan with a Spartan Laser haunts the Albatross.
 * An Albatross is also a bird, in keeping with the animal naming tradition.
 * The Albatross has been seen in Halo Wars while in action, as footage from E3 shows it bringing down supplies from the UNSC Spirit of Fire to supply pads as part of the economic aspect of gameplay.
 * The Albatross can be seen fully in the latest Halo Wars trailer, along with Serina and the Arbiter.

Related Links

 * United Nations Space Command
 * D77H-TCI Pelican Dropship
 * UNSC Aegis Fate