GTB Ursa

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File:Ursa320x240.jpg
The GTB Ursa

The GTB Ursa was the heaviest Terran bomber in use during the Great War. It boasted a vast amount of armor and weaponry, but it was the slowest and least maneuverable player flyable ship in either game, and easily eliminated by an interceptor-type vessel. As the FreeSpace Reference Bible put it, "[t]hese ships cost more to make than it takes to buy a small moon."

The Ursa was developed shortly before the end of the Great War, but played an important part in Terran-Vasudan victory. A wing of Ursa-class bombers participated in the final attack on the SD Lucifer. The GTM Harbinger bomb was specifically designed to be used on Ursa bombers.

Description:

FS1 Tech Room Description

The Ursa is the first bomber designed specifically for the purpose of annihilating capital ships. It carries a massive payload and is the only bomber in the GTA which can equip the Harbinger Bomb. Strong shielding and hull make the Ursa very difficult to destroy.

FS2 Tech Room Description

The GTB Ursa is the slowest bomber in the GTVA fleet. What it lacks in speed, however, it more than makes up with its massive payload. The Ursa was the first GTVA bomber designed specifically to destroy capital ships. With a rack of Helios bombs, in addition to a standard complement of Hornet missiles and Prometheus cannon, a squadron of Ursas can take out a destroyer. Ursas have the highest shielding of any bomber, along with a GTVI-designed hyper-dense hull. These help ensure that the Ursa gets close enough to deliver its payload and possibly even survive the escape.

Developer Notes

Designed to annihilate capital ships and cruisers. Slow but offers unparalleled assault bombing capability.

Name origin

In the Latin language, ursa means "female bear." The given name Ursula derives from this meaning. Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are also two real-life constellations. Their names are often translated into English as Great Bear and Small Bear, respectively.

Performance:

Statistics

Type	Assault Bomber
Manufacturer	Han-Ronald Corp.
Maneuverability	Very Poor
Yaw, Pitch, Roll	45.0 - 60.0 s
Max Velocity	90.0 ms-1
Max Afterburner Velocity	Very Heavy ms-1
Armor	550
Hitpoints	850
Shields	41
Length	{{{10}}} m

Armaments

• Gun Mounts

FreeSpace 1			FreeSpace 2
Bank	Guns	Standard Loadout	Standard Loadout
1st	3	Avenger	Prometheus R
2nd	2	Avenger	Prometheus R
Compatible Primaries			Compatible Primaries
ML-16 Laser, Disruptor, Avenger, Flail, Prometheus, Leech Cannon, S-Breaker			Subach HL-7, Akheton SDG, Prometheus R, Prometheus S, Morning Star, Circe, Lamprey, Maxim

• Missile Banks

FreeSpace 1			FreeSpace 2
Bank	Capacity	Standard Loadout	Standard Loadout
1st	80	MX-50	Hornet
2nd	80	Synaptic	Piranha
3rd	80	Tsunami	Cyclops
Compatible Secondaries			Compatible Secondaries
MX-50, D-Missile, Fury, Hornet, Interceptor, Phoenix V, Synaptic, Stiletto, Tsunami, Harbinger, EM Pulse, Cluster Bomb			MX-64, Emp. Adv, Tempest, Hornet, Tornado, Harpoon, Trebuchet, Piranha, Stiletto II, Infyrno, Cyclops, Helios

• Turrets

FreeSpace 1		FreeSpace 2
Turret Type	Amount	Turret Type	Amount
Banshee	1	UD-8 Kayser	1

Veteran Comments

Please read the Veteran Comments policy before editing this section.

The Ursa is a heavy bomber. As such, you can expect it to dogfight poorly at best. Still, it is surprisingly capable in that situation... which essentially means it will last a tiny bit longer then raw shield and armor vs. enemy damage output numbers would seem to indicate. The turret's hopeless in FS1. A Banshee just doesn't cut it. In FS2 the turret has a Kayser, which isn't all that bad of a gun, but it still isn't going to help you much.

The Ursa has two primary mounts. One is a dual mount, centerline, under the nose. (In the weapons selection screen, the small twin "chin" weapon bank is actually on the bottom. The triple side-mounted bank is the top choice.) You want to put an all-purpose antifighter weapon there, because the other mount is impossible to effectively use against anything smaller than freighter-sized. Toss your anti-hull cannons for whacking turrets or smaller capital craft in the offset triple-gun rack.

Good against heavily armored and armed warships, but only if the aforementioned warships' fighter escort is completely or mostly destroyed. If there are a lot of fighters around, then you're screwed. The Ursa doesn't have the speed to escape from anything.

The Ursa's high amount of shielding and armor are, however, no protection against interceptors. It is also to be noted that the Ursa's (and all bombers') turrets do not fire upon marauding ships, but rather fire upon the bomber's current target, making it useless against multiple targets.

This is the bomber of choice to go against large destroyer-type targets, unlike the Boanerges. If the mission defines the Boanerges as the default, switch over to the Ursa if it is available.

While many people prefer this to the Boanerges, I do not. Though the maneuverability is the same, the Ursa feels less maneuverable for some reason, and the 10 m/s speed difference seems to make a significant difference for me. Also, the Ursa has a HUGE target profile, much larger than that of the Boanerges, so expect to take the full brunt of enemy fire, including flak, which will wear down you shields over time, even on lower difficulties.

Note that bomb capacity is not that great when compared to the Medusa. The Ursa can hold 15 Tsunamis, the Medusa can hold 13 (same for the Cyclops). However, it does have the advantage of being able to carry the Harbinger and the Helios, as well as a wider variety of primary and secondary weapons. I'd take the Medusa or Artemis, unless you have the bigger bombs available.

You can actually use your primaries to defend yourself from some wandering fighters. Both banks filled with Prometheus S cannons is recommended. Its anti-capital firepower comes from its secondary banks. It's still huge and taken down easily on higher difficulty levels, but you can feel the difference in primary firepower nonetheless.

I find that if you put a Maxim in the first slot and load up on Cyclops, the Ursa is hands down the best ship in FS2 for destroying anything bigger than a cruiser.