Banshee

"Banshees of legend warned of death, and today all UNSC veterans know the cry of this glittering alien terror."

Banshee is the name applied to a series of Covenant atmospheric/exatmospheric support aircraft. The Office of Naval Intelligence has typically type-classified encountered banshee variants used during throughout the Human-Covenant War under the designation of the Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft (T-26 GSA).

Design details
A prolific aircraft, the Banshee has been used by ancient Sangheili, Covenant forces and Covenant remnants. It is usually piloted by Sangheili, though Jiralhanae pilots became common after the outbreak of the Great Schism. The cockpit, in which the pilot rests prone, is encased in a curved, reflective cowling with no discernible windscreen. The craft has two wing canards, each of which terminates in a boosted gravity propulsion drive including a jet and an anti-gravity pod; these leave a vaporous exhaust trail behind the Banshee. The craft is capable of achieving a velocity of over 100 km/h. The Banshee is capable of performing complex maneuvers such as aileron rolls and flips. The Banshee is also capable of hovering, though this ability is not often used.

Several variations on the standard design exist, though combat performance is fairly standard among all variants. A given craft's architecture is based on its functionality, the year in which is manufactured, the branch to which it belongs, and even the aesthetic preference of the one who commissions the craft. Amphibious attack and escort Banshee variants were commissioned throughout the Covenant's history for the Covenant's oceanic installations and during deep-sea artifact retrieval missions, although they have rarely been encountered by the UNSC. Incorporates design details more closely related to an aerial predator hailing from the Jiralhanae homeworld of Doisac. Many of the Banshees in Atriox's fleets have been modified with brutal and experimental weaponry, usually designed to inflict maximum damage from both a physical and psychological perspective.

Armament
The Banshee sports two weapon pods attached underneath the fuselage; each pod contains a Class-2 plasma cannon capable of firing in the 100-250 kilowatt range and a Class-2 fuel rod cannon. The plasma cannons are deadly to infantry; one bolt can instantly kill a lightly armored target. Armored targets such as the M808 Scorpion MBT can withstand only a few bolts before being destroyed. A direct hit from the Banshee's fuel rod cannon is almost invariably fatal, even to armored infantry. Repeating plasma cannons, which have a greater rate of fire than the standard armament, can be installed at the front of the anti-gravity pods.

The fuel rod cannons mounted on the Anti-Air Wraith and the Banshee use the heavier Class-3 fuel rods, which have a greater range and a capability to track heat signatures. The Seraph is additionally equipped with four fuel rod cannons, which are capable of locking onto air targets.

Types

 * Ancient
 *  – An ancient Banshee model primarily designed for and used in a stealth role.
 *  – An ancient amphibious Banshee model designed for multi-environment security and deep sea artifact retrieval missions.
 *  – An ancient Banshee originally designed by the Sangheili that visually resembled the more modern types.
 * Covenant
 * Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft
 *  – A common model of Banshee, first classified by the ONI following the initial conflict on Harvest.
 *  – A type of Banshee often used by artifact hunting Covenant fleets.
 * Sesa's Drailaac-pattern – Some Drailaac-pattern Banshees deployed alongside Sesa 'Refumee's heretic faction, where they removed the Covenant manufactured cowlings from them, revealing the Forerunner mechanisms beneath, and redesigned them so they sport the colors of Sanghelios. These Banshees can be equipped with energy shielding.
 *  – More advanced than the Oghal-pattern Banshee, this Banshee saw more use towards the end of the War of Annihilation and by Jul 'Mdama's Covenant after it ended.
 *  – An ordained version of the Is'belox-pattern Banshee. Some of which saw use with Loka 'Bandolee's forces.
 *  – A type of Banshee seen notably utilized by the Prophet of Truth's forces during the Battle of Earth and the Battle of Installation 00 in late 2552.
 *  – An exoatmospheric type of Banshee used by the Covenant en masse.
 *  – A Banshee engineered by Sangheili post-Great Schism, using features unseen in previous San'Shyuum design models.

Silver Timeline
Is'belox-pattern Banshees are used by the Covenant against humanity.

In 2552, a surviving Sangheili escaped from Madrigal on a Banshee after witnessing John-117 activate the Forerunner keystone.

Related vehicles

 * Seraph – A Covenant space fighter. Used alongside the Elsedda-pattern Banshee and in a ground support role.
 * – A seldom seen atmospheric aircraft used by the Covenant, with impressive anti-aircraft capabilities.

Trivia

 * In Celtic mythology, a banshee is a female spirit who wails for the death of a particular person before they die. Banshees must steal souls from people to continue their existence. The high-pitched sound made by the Covenant Banshee is a reference to this, especially while performing tight maneuvers making it easy to hear them before one sees them. This also fits the theme of Covenant vehicles, with the exceptions of the Excavators, being named after supernatural entities.
 * In Halo: Reach, on the Firefight map Holdout, AI Banshees have been known to abruptly dive and boost straight into one of the platforms at full speed, destroying the Banshee, and often killing a player in the process. It is unknown whether this is a programmed "suicide attack" or a glitch. Oddly enough, the Banshees at the start of the campaign level Tip of the Spear have also been known to do this, even though they are scripted to destroy the warthog and fly away.
 * The Banshee can be obtained as an avatar prop by purchasing the Halo: Reach controller for the Xbox 360.
 * Skyjacking a Banshee in Halo: Reach campaign will reward the player the achievement "Banshees, Fast and Low".
 * Banshees use anti-gravity pods on the ends of their wings to fly. However, in Halo 2, and appearing again in Halo: Reach a Banshee can have both of these pods shot off and still fly normally. It is unknown if Bungie intended for the Banshees to have an emergency propulsion system, or if this was simply overlooked in the making of the game.
 * On the cover of the Halo: Combat Evolved, the two Banshees appear to be un-piloted as the top canopy enclosing the pilot is up. Also, the two Banshees that shoot down Foehammer in the level The Maw had open canopies. In addition, the Escort Banshees used to escape Truth and Reconciliation in Keyes arrive and land in the hangar with their canopies open. These instances seem to indicate that a Banshee canopy opens during scripted events in Halo: Combat Evolved.
 * In Halo: Reach, if a player shoots or melees the Banshee to its damage threshold and attempts to turn the vehicle in the air, the Banshee will be unable to turn in midair because there are no wings to support its turns. It is possible that the pilot relies on the Banshee's rudders and the player's body weight when at this critical degree of damage.
 * A well-aimed sniper shot can go through the crack between the canopy and the body of some incarnations of the Banshee, killing the pilot without doing damage to the Banshee itself.
 * In Halo: Reach, with enough precision a rocket can be shot through the crack between the cockpit and hull and not harm the Banshee.

List of appearances

 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: Combat Evolved
 * Halo: The Flood
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Believe
 * Halo: Landfall
 * Halo: Combat
 * Halo: Last One Standing
 * Halo: Uprising
 * Halo 3
 * Halo Wars
 * The Life
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo Legends
 * Origins
 * Prototype
 * The Babysitter
 * Halo: Evolutions
 * Dirt
 * The Return
 * Halo: Blood Line
 * Remember Reach
 * Deliver Hope
 * Halo: Reach
 * ''Halo: Fall of Reach
 * ''Covenant
 * ''Invasion


 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
 * Terminals
 * Halo: The Thursday War
 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Spartan Assault
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Halo: New Blood
 * Hunt the Truth
 * Halo: Spartan Strike
 * Halo: Hunters in the Dark
 * Halo 5: Guardians
 * Halo: Shadow of Intent
 * Know Your Enemy
 * Halo: Ground Command
 * Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo
 * Halo: Tales from Slipspace
 * Halo Wars 2
 * Halo: Envoy
 * Halo: Rise of Atriox
 * Halo: Collateral Damage
 * Halo: Fireteam Raven
 * Halo: Silent Storm
 * Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual
 * Halo: Meridian Divide
 * Halo: Oblivion
 * Halo: Shadows of Reach
 * Halo Infinite
 * Halo: The Television Series
 * Halo: The Rubicon Protocol
 * Winter Contention