Template:Starfighter-Current The Druui Assault Bomber was a Hapan fighter craft that was produced by Olanji/Charubah from 3971 and saw extensive servive during the last three decades of the Hapan civil war. In the 3980s, Druiis were regarded with respect and fear by every naval officer, but the production difficulties and newer types of fighters available from the outside galaxy eventually resulted in decommissioning of the fighter by King Andrew I.
History
Development
The idea of a tactical bomber spacecraft appeared after the Battle of Lorell in 3966 between the Draconian Union and non-Hapan mercenaries hired by the Sword Confederacy. While the Union was clearly superior to the ragtag enemy fleet, the pirates utilized suicidal bombing runs on the Quasars and crippled the System Defence Force. While the Miy’cal was an excellent anti-fighter spacecraft, the Union needed something heavier to assault the enemy battleships. For three years this subject was debated among the houses and eventually the council decided to test the idea.
Service
After the suggestion from the Draconian Union, Olanji Shipyards produced the first prototype squadron of Druui in 3970, and 1st Heavy Assault Squadron was ready for active duty in 3971. Armed with two heavy lasers and two proton torpedoes, Druui was the first Hapan design to be used for this particular purpose, and changed the tactical mentality of the Fighter Command drastically. While it was very effective and durable in the battlefield, the major setback of the Druui was its high cost which was becoming a heavier burden on the sides of the Civil War. Especially after the arrival of new fighters like Z-95 and R-41 Starchasers to the Consortium, the production of Druui Bombers went down. At the end of Civil War the Druiis were only reserved for the best and heaviest fleets in action, while cheaper R-41s were utilized more widely. Eventually during the standardization of the Hapan Navy by King Andrew I, the obsolete Druiis were completely replaced by R-41s, and currently the use of the bomber is solely limited to pilot training.
Ship Stats
Design & Hull
Druui is a proto-Hetrinar craft and the designs of these two fighters clearly resemble each other. The guns of the ship are located under the wings while the pilot’s seat is at the front. The hull of Druiis were famous to be stronger than all the other fighters and most of the freighters, giving them the nickname “Flying Fortresses”.
Armament
The ship’s armament consists of two heavy cannons and two proton torpedoes located under the wing. For ground attack models the topedoes were replaced with tactical missiles. Since the purpose of the craft was to assault the enemy, the heavy cannons were limited to a minimal role, only used when attacking fighters or freighters.
Shields
The Druuis were equipped with non-Hapan shielding technology as the ship was already too heavy for carrying any of the Hapan shield devices. This became problematic in late-War as the replacement parts were becoming harder and harder to find. At the end of the war more than half of the Druuis in action did not have full shielding because of that.
Engines
Druii Assault Bomber was equipped with a hyperdrive capable of level 3 speeds and a sublight engine with a maximum of 40 MGLT speed. Later models lacked the hyperdrive to make the craft less costly than it is.
Famous Druui Assault Bombers
Phoenix Squadron
Phoneix Squadron was a squadron of Druiis stolen by Phoenix Movement commandos and brought back to the main Phoenix Fleet. Pilots were quickly trained for these ships and the squadron became a part of the Guard of Andrew Starfrye. The squadron annihilated a line of Quasar Cruiser in the Battle of Gallinore, which changed the course of war.
Blood Raven
The modified Druii of the “Baroness of Blood”, Vali Trini’qar, this craft had replaced the hyperdrive with two additional sublight engines, which boosted the speed to 60 MGLT, even higher according to some observers. The Blood Raven was the only Druii to take an Interceptor role, since it could easily outgun any fighter on the enemy forces. Daring with his fighter, Trini’qar was responsible for the destruction of 320 enemy fighters, 14 battleships, 38 troop transports, 2 space stations and the capture and death of many Confederacy and Phoenix officers, including people’s hero Damar Cantii.
