GTB Athena

The GTB Athena was one of the oldest, most commonly used class of bomber during the 14-Year War. When the Shivans arrived with their outpowering warships, the need arose for larger, more devastating bombs, which the Athena was not large enough to carry.

Being the lightest bomber of all known Terran bombers, the Athena provided a reasonable efficiency against incoming hostile fighters, while it was not worth a fighter-class.

FreeSpace 1 Ships Terran ships Fighters Bombers Transports and freighters Cruisers Capital ships Installations Misc Ships Sentry Guns Cargo Containers Vasudan ships Fighters Bombers Transports and freighters Cruisers Capital ships Misc Ships Sentry Guns Cargo Containers Shivan ships Fighters Bombers Transports and freighters Cruisers Capital ships Sentry Guns Cargo Containers Notable ships of FreeSpace 1

FreeSpace 2 Ships Terran ships Fighters Bombers Transports and freighters Cruisers and corvettes Capital ships Installations Misc ships Sentry Guns Cargo Containers Vasudan ships Fighters Bombers Transports and freighters Cruisers and corvettes Capital ships Misc ships Sentry Guns Cargo Containers Shivan ships Fighters Bombers Transports and freighters Cruisers and corvettes Capital ships Misc ships Sentry Guns Cargo Containers Notable ships of FreeSpace 2

The GTB Athena

Description:

FS1 Tech Room Description

The smallest bomber in the fleet, the Athena has oftentimes been mistaken for a fighter. However, one should not be fooled by its small size. The Athena can carry light bombs, and most missiles. It also has the ability to dogfight well. Its strong shielding and hull make it the favored "Lightning Bomber" of the GTA.

Developer Notes

Excellent for hit-and-run bombing. Good speed for its size, with a high capacity afterburner reserve.

Veteran Comments

I always wanted to love the Athena, but it's lack of a any serious anti-cap ship capablity made it a non-choice when going against anything bigger than a transport.

The Athena is the ultimate tool for a fighter pilot. But not a bomber pilot. It has higher speed then the Hercules, good manuverabilty, and can haul an equal if not greater amount of ordance. It has a thin target profile from the the sides and front-back. Its gun setup is the best for dogfighting or bomb interception ever seen in a Freespace game, more then compensating for its inablity to carry the Prometheus or Banshee. If you want to carry real bombs, though, you'll have to get a Medusa.

If it could carry the Prometheus or the Hornet, I would prefer it to the GTF Hercules as a heavy fighter, but the lack of these and any proper bombs means theres always a ship better than it for most missions. On the other hand prior to the more advanced ships and weapons it does make a good heavy complement to the Apollo and the Valkyrie

Performance:

Statistics

Type	Light Bomber
Manufacturer	Dynamic Metamer
Manuverability	Average
Max Velocity	60.0 - 75.0 mps
Max Afterburner Velocity	120.0 mps
Armor	Medium
Hitpoints	250
Shields	500
Length	20 m

Armaments

• Gun Mounts

Freespace 1
Bank	Guns	Standard Loadout
1st	2	Avenger
2nd	2	Flail
Compatible Primaries
ML-16 Laser, Distruptor, Avenger, Flail, Leech Cannon, S-Breaker

• Missile Banks

Freespace 1
Bank	Capacity	Standard Loadout
1st	80	Phoenix V
2nd	80	Synaptic
Compatible Secondaries
D-Missile, Fury, Phoenix V, Synaptic, Stiletto, Interceptor, EM Pulse, Cluster Bomb