The Longbow was designed as a replacement for the well known A-17F Broadsword heavy bomber. It is currently the most modern torpedo bomber operated by the Confederation Navy. While Broadsword bombers were sturdy and dependable, its huge size makes it comparatively un-maneuverable as well as the heavy bomber being extremely slow in acceleration. It was perceived that the triple neutron cannons could not adequately protect the heavy bomber against fighter swarms.
Confederation BuShips thus asked several aerospace industries to develop a next generation torpedo bomber to replace the Broadsword heavy bomber. The prototype submitted by Douglas Aerospace, a bomber with greater speed and agility without sacrificing either offensive firepower or armor, was called the Crossbow and seemed likely to replace the Broadsword bomber. It had already found uses within the Special Operations division.
Surprisingly, a small up-and-coming aerospace company, McCall Industries, also submitted their own variant of a new torpedo bomber. Previously they had never developed fighter designs but instead concentrated on shuttle and other similar designs. As might be expected, their bomber design was based on a shuttle design, McCall's decades old Search and Rescue Shuttle design. Instead of cargo space, more powerful engines, a missile bay, missile hard points, and heavy armor and shields were adapted to the design.
When Douglas Aerospace engineers looked at McCall's prototype specifications, they laughed at it due to its resemblance to a standard shuttle. There executives thought that the Confederation Navy would not adopt a bomber design which looked like a cargo shuttle. They also attempted legal action against McCall Industries for using the name Longbow, stating that it was an attempt to latch onto the reputation already gained by Douglas's Crossbow bomber.
While the two companies fought legal battles and fought for the government contract for the new bomber contract, the Kilrathi sprung a surprise attack against Earth which later became know as the Battle of Terra. During the battle, Most Broadsword bombers were destroyed during ill-fated torpedo runs against Kilrathi supercarriers, most Broadsword bombers were destroyed during ill-fated torpedo runs against the Kilrathi supercarriers. Simply, the heavy bombers were not fast enough or maneuverable enough to survive the ships firepower.
After the dust cleared, Confederation BuShips launched an investigation into how to best overcome the main vulnerabilities exhibited by the bombers. The board concluded that a higher speed as well as the ability to carry more anti-fighter ordnance would vastly increase the ability for a bomber to survive. BuShips awarded the contract to McCall Industries, whose Longbow seemed more suitable than the Crossbow in meeting these new goals. This was an extreme upset to Douglas Aerospace, who though they had a lock on the contract. After rigorous testing, the Longbow prototype was given the F/A-76A designation and the bomber entered front-line service. The "F" designator was added to the design to overcome government reluctance for the new bomber, which is extremely expensive, by designating it to be a multi-role design.
While the Longbow is unconventional in appearance, the bomber carries some of the best features of the Broadsword heavy bomber while eliminating some of the heavy bombers glaring weaknesses. The biggest feature is the additional of a high performance auxiliary thruster which vastly increases the bomber's acceleration when engages although limited in duration. This vastly increases the bomber's ability to survive against Kilrathi fighters. Like the Broadsword and the Crossbow, the Longbow is jump capable.
While the bomber only has a single tail gun turret compared to three turrets mounting neutron cannons on the Broadsword, the Longbow mounts longer ranged particle beams in the rear turret. This allows the bomber to engage fighters attack from the rear much further out. To increase the Longbow's survival, the bomber carries a total of sixteen missile hard points in addition to the torpedo bays. Compared to the Crossbow mounting three mass drivers and two neutron cannons, the Longbow mounts two plasma cannons and two neutron cannons.
The Longbow bombers main offensive punch matches that of the much heavier Broadsword bomber, and the bomber carries four Lance Mk IV Ship-killer torpedoes with two in each of two bays. The Longbow also incorporates advanced targeting systems to better targeting for its torpedoes. A variety of smaller ordnance can be substituted for the anti-ship torpedoes as well. Since entering service, the Longbow bomber has a very successful service record and in addition to its high rate of success against capital ships, the F/A-76A Longbow also maintains an excellent kill-to-loss ratio against Kilrathi fighters. There are reports that Kilrathi pilots, deceived by the heavy bombers similarity to a shuttle until it is too late, being devastated by a volley of missiles coming from the bomber.
There was some resistance from pilots on giving up their Broadsword heavy bomber but the Longbow has since become a favorite of torpedo bomber pilots. Most pilots especially love the bombers ability to devastate enemy fighters with both its forward guns. Longbows are often escorted by Hellcat medium fighters and comprise the main component of a Confederation Fleet carrier's offensive striking punch. While much smaller that the Broadsword Bomber, the Longbow is still too large to be carried onboard Escort Carriers and the old Sabre fighter bombers is still retained for such vessels.
Notes of game conversion:
Because of the nature of the Video Game series "Wing Commander" and the needs to put the fighter into game mechanics, the fighter has several modification compared to the Video Game. The most important change it to change top speed to acceleration. Like fighters in Star Wars and original Battlestar Galactica, the fighters appear to act as if they are in the atmosphere even when they operating in space. This is incorrect. The Television series Babylon 5 and the new Battlestar Galactic are good series to watch to get a clearer idea on how space vehicles would probably maneuver although still not a perfect perspective. The fighter has been modified to uses my revised phase world starship rules and can hold their own against most C.A.F and Kreeghor fighters. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World for more details.
Model Type: F/A-76A Longbow Strike Bomber
Vehicle Type: Fleet Attack Bomber
Crew: Three (Pilot, Weapons Officer, and Tail Gunner)
M.D.C. By Location:
| Nose Mounted Plasma Cannons (2): | 60 each | |
| Forward Neutron Cannons (2): | 50 each | |
| Heavy Missile Bays (2): | 120 each | |
| Missile Hard Points (16): | 10 each | |
| Tail Mounted Neutron Cannon (2, in turret) | 50 each | |
| Rear Ball Turret (1) | 100 | |
| [1] Engines (2): | 500 each | |
| Landing Struts (3): | 20 each | |
| [2] Main Body: | 1,700 | |
| Reinforced Pilots Cockpit: | 450 | |
| [3] Variable Force Field: | 500 per side (3,000 total) |
Notes:
[1] Loss of an engine will reduce performance of fighter by one half
and loss of two engines will prevent fighter from performing beyond 5%
of normal (This is using maneuvering thrusters and gravitic propulsion).
Due to gravitic propulsion systems, fighter will not crash in an atmosphere
even if both engines are destroyed.
[2] Depleting the MDC of the main body will put the fighter out of
commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support
and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating
wreck. In an atmosphere, the fighter will crash.
[3] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one
shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (150 M.D.C.) per melee.
Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship
to travel up to 40 percent of the speed of light. Bomber can accelerate/decelerate
at the rate of 0.72 percent of light per melee maximum. The bomber has
auxiliary thrusters which can be used a maximum of 15 minutes before fuel
is exhausted. On auxiliary thrusters, the bomber has a maximum acceleration
of 1.1 percent of light per melee maximum.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Unlike most fighters, the bomber is
not very aerodynamic and not very maneuverable in an atmosphere. As a result,
the fighter can achieve escape velocity (Mach 32.6 / 25053 mph / 40320
kph) but cannon fight effectively in an atmosphere and is generally limited
to Mach 2.68 (1,988.4 mph / 3,200 kph) or less and flies through brute
force. The bomber also has Gravitic propulsion systems enabling it to leave
an atmosphere even at low velocities.
Stardrive: The bomber mounts a jump drive which is capable of
jumping instantly from a fixed point in a system to another fixed point
in a system. These points are weaknesses in the fabric of space and have
been mapped in most cases. The jump drive has enough fuel for two jumps
which is removed from auxiliary thruster fuel (costs six minutes of thruster
fuel per jump) leaving three minutes of auxiliary thruster fuel with two
jumps. Fuel is hydrogen and fighters can also carry buddy tanks.
Maximum Range: Effectively unlimited by internal fuel (10 year
duration) although auxiliary thruster range is limited to approximately
15 minutes. Bomber uses a very small fusion cell system for power systems.
The bomber carries three weeks of consumables for bomber's crew.
Statistical Data:
Length: 124.67 feet (38 meters)
Height: 47.24 feet (14.4 meters)
Width: 46.26 feet (14.1 meters)
Weight: 24.25 tons (22 metric tons) unloaded
Power System: Fusion power supply with a 10 year duration.
Cargo: Small Storage Space, 3.5 ft x 3.5 ft x 4 ft. Used for
emergency equipment and weapons. Does not include internal bays. Ordnance
bays can carry 6000 lbs (2724 kg) each.
Market Cost: 102.1 million credits.
WEAPON SYSTEMS:
COMBAT BONUSES: The F/A-76 Longbow Bomber is not very maneuverable compared to most fighters but is very accurate. Use the Phase World Starfighter combat (Elite or Basic) skill.
[ Phase World TM, Kreeghor TM, and CAF TM are trademarks owned by Kevin
Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and
Palladium Books Inc.]
[ Wing Commander copyright © Origin Productions]
By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).
Rifts Conversion Copyright © 2007, Kitsune. All rights reserved.