D96-TCE Albatross

Albatross

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

Background
Because it has only been seen twice in any of the Halo games, little to nothing is known about the transport. The two times the Albatross can be spotted, are on Multiplayer maps (Relic in Halo 2 and Sandtrap in Halo 3). The craft is half-buried and not much can be seen of its structure; therefore design-wise, nothing is completely known about the Albatross. From its general design and structure, it seems to be a dedicated cargo dropship for vehicles, crates, and raw supplies 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, as vehicles such as the Pelican have a more aggressive nature. 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 is visible only as concept art in the book The Art of Halo. The cargo bay of the Albatross, however, is visible on the Halo 2 multiplayer map Relic, where it had crashed on one of Relic's beaches, and on the Halo 3 multiplayer map Sandtrap, where again, only the cargo bay is visible. In Relic, the rear section of the cargo bay is open, and a Warthog can be seen on a ramp leading to its cargo area. Although there is only one Warthog, the interior looks large enough to fit 3-4 Warthogs, or a Scorpion Tank. On Sandtrap, the crashed Albatross contains a Missile Pod, a Regenerator, and some Crates. If it is used to carry supplies, it most likely carried all UNSC related equipment onto Sandtrap, and the Humans moved it all.

Another theory, although less prevalent, is that the Albatross could be a mobile command post. It is used as such on Relic, being the base for one of the teams. It may also be able to perform transport and command post roles alternatively, switching between the two.

Halo Wars opens a new theory on the Albatross in that it is not a combat dropship like the Pelican but is meant for utility operations, such as delivering supplies.

Albatrosses in Halo Wars
The albatrosses have been confirmed to be in Halo Wars. They have been seen in the E3 08 hands on video for halo wars, acting like a utility dropship, ferrying supplies down from the Spirit of Fire to supply pads at UNSC Firebases. To date, it will be the Albatross's first in-game appearance where it is more than merely an inanimate object and part of the scenery.

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.
 * 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.
 * An albatross is also a bird, in keeping with the animal naming tradition.

Related Links

 * United Nations Space Command
 * D77H-TCI Pelican Dropship