Ship specs (FreeSpace Reference Bible)

These ship descriptions are taken directly from the FreeSpace Reference Bible (pp 31-34). Please do not edit the descriptions themselves. Use the Notes section to make comments.

GTF Apollo

The Apollo fighter is the original Space Superiority Fighter in the Terran fleet. It is the first ship granted to commissioned GTA pilots and the easiest to use. With two secondary banks, it also can be used as a substitute for Assault, and thus is the most versatile ship. It's not as fast as the Ulysses or as maneuverable, and after the availability of the Ulysses, this ship will most likely collect dust. It has the least weapon compatibility out of any ship, which is its primary disability. This ship does have a slightly better hull and shields than the Ulysses.

GTF Ulysses

Developed by Vasudans and Terrans working together after the reluctant close of the 14 year T-V war. It is the best all around fighter that the Terrans get. Its primary role is space superiority, and its one major flaw is a lack of a big secondary payload. It is used in missions such as patrols, escorts, cover for assaults. Its maneuverability is great. Its speed is second only to the interceptor (GTF Valkyrie). It can't hold the Banshee or the Phoenix, or any bombs, but otherwise it has access to all weapon systems. Due to its engine configuration, this fighter can yaw faster than any other ship.

GTF Valkyrie

Originally an old design for a space superiority fighter, this fighter was outfitted with bigger engines, and turned into an interceptor. Its primary purpose, and one it excels at, is intercepting bombers, and it can get to, and destroy, bombers faster than any other ship. It only has one secondary payload bay and only one primary, which makes it far worse at dogfighting than most ships. However, this is compensated by its excellent payload capabilities. It can carry any primary weapon and any missile, most notably the Phoenix, which wreaks havoc on enemy bombers. Learning to fly this ship well requires intelligent use of its excellent speed.

GTF Hercules

AKA "The Big Momma". This is the Terran Heavy Assault Fighter. Its stopping power is second to none. A wing of four of these ships has been known to take out a Vasudan Aten Cruiser all by their lonesomes. While they can't hope to bring the full muscle of a bomber class ship against targets, this is as close as you can get without losing the ability to win a dogfight. With a load of 6 primary lasers and two full secondary banks, as well as the ability to carry almost any warhead or gun, the low speed and maneuverability of this fighter can be overlooked when it comes to quality destruction power. This ship also has the strongest shields and hull of any other Terran fighter.

GTB Athena

Dubbed the "lightning bomber" by some of its pilots, this little wonder was the mainstay of the GTA fleet before it started developing its bigger warheads. While it doesn't have nearly as much capacity for bombs or the hull strength of its younger brothers, it is still in use today for quick hit and run strikes. Its relatively small frame is carried well by its fast engines, allowing it to achieve speeds even greater than the Terran Heavy Assault Fighter. While this bomber it pretty useless against the bigger ships, it definitely hasn't outlived its usefulness against transports and freighters. Its massive afterburner fuel reserve is its biggest advantage, its lack of good primary and anti-fighter secondary weapons, its biggest weakness. This bomber is also suitable for disabling a craft.

GTB Medusa

The Medusa is the current standard issue strike bomber. It can be deployed against small targets and large, and has the ability to take out lots of little stuff, or a few big stuff. It is your typical mediocre bomber, and is used whenever available against the cruisers and freighters of the enemy. It has the ability to carry every current GTA secondary but the Harbinger, but its primaries are limited. Its speed isn't horrible, but its maneuverability leaves much to be desired. Its main weakness is its lack of disabling weapons. This bomber is meant for destruction only. As it doesn't have much anti-fighter abilities (only one primary bank), it is imperative that any operations with this bomber be covered by a fighter escort. Its single turret can only protect it for so long.

GTB Ursa

This is the biggest bomber in the Galactic Terran Alliance. With the ability to carry almost any weapon, it is almost always the weapon of choice when you just have to take out every Cruiser in the star system. This is THE Assault Bomber. With a length of 41 meters and a mass that dwarfs even the biggest of fighter-class ships, this hunk of metal can barely get enough engine power on default settings to enter subspace. While the armor and shields on this ship are the best in the Terran fleet, this craft is still just a sitting duck against enemy interceptors. Flying this ship requires either a lot of courage, or a lot of faith in your escort wing. And it's guaranteed there will be an escort wing. These ships cost more to make than it takes to buy a small moon. This is the only ship that can carry the devastating Harbinger bomb. It's a little known fact that the Harbinger was designed specifically for this angel of death.

GTFr Poseidon

The Poseidon was designed for military purposes, and is easily the strongest freight craft in the fleet. Its fast speed and good maneuvering are offset by its weak hull. It does have enough turrets to defend itself if attacked, but not for long. It's best to let this freighter help you out while you take the hits on your own shield, rather than risking the destruction of this ship.

GTFr Chronos

The massive Chronos was never designed for military uses. A civilian design, it's slow, barely maneuverable, but can move cargo around. It can barely defend itself. It's far weaker in all respects than the smaller military freighter, but its strong hull and necessity have turned this into a pretty good supply convoy craft. You can leave this thing alone for a few minutes with no risk of it being destroyed.

GTT Elysium

Since the start of space colonization, the standard transport has been used by everyone, civilian and military. While it has undergone minor changes time and time again, it remains a simple design: A vehicle meant to transport personnel from one place to another. While armored, they die easy, so watch out.

GTC Fenris

Ahh, what can we say about the mighty Fenris Cruiser? The mainstay of the Terran Fleet, these vessels have served in both strike and defense purposes. From nose to tail it measures 260 meters. With a nice array of weapon systems and a strong enough hull to withstand the strongest enemy warheads, a Fenris Cruiser can be found in almost any system that the GTA are operating in. The Terran cruiser was originally designed as a strike weapon, hence its fast speed and decent turning rate. It was later decided that a second line of cruisers would be produced, for defensive purposes, once it became apparent that the V-T war wouldn't be over in a few months. The Fenris led to the GTC Leviathan line of cruisers, produced as mobile defense battleships. Their speed and maneuverability were greatly reduced in tradeoff for stronger weapons and more powerful hull. Production was discontinued when the GTA thought they would win the Vasudan war after the Battle of Gulnara, and then the production was started up again after the terrible defeat at the Talania system. Because of the on-again off-again nature of this vessel's production, almost all of the Leviathan Cruisers have different armaments, but all of them have consistent hulls and speeds.

GTSC Faustus

The Faustus Science vessel was, and still is, a primarily civilian craft. However, in the 14 years since the Terran-Vasudan war began, more and more of these were commissioned by the GTA in order to pursue military research. However, its obvious value, poor fighting capabilities, and lack of speed make it a prime target for enemy ships; hence, you will rarely find many of these anywhere near the front lines of battle.

GTD Orion

The mother of all Terran ships. Measuring a frightening 2.1 kilometers in length, the cost to build one of these far outweighs the cost of paying the crew of this ship for 3 years. There is no more important symbol of Terran Pride than a ship like the Galatea or the Intrepid cruising past a colonized planet, patrolling the system and ensuring safety. In the course of the 14 year war, very few of these have ever been lost, and each that one was considered a horrid defeat. While a temporary stay makes any inhabitants of the system happy, a prolonged tour of duty in a system instills fear into the hearts of civilians. For the GTA would never send a Orion Destroyer anywhere near a safe system. Where these ships wander, war is certain to follow.

GTI Arcadia

Early Terran space stations were constructed much smaller, and were mostly used for zero-G research purposes. Later on, with advancements in space construction technologies, stations got bigger and bigger. When the first Arcadia-class station was commissioned, GTA decided to rename it to an Installation rather than a Space Station. Used for a variety of purposes, almost all major systems are home to at least one Installation, which is often used as the center of trade and and communications. Home to scores of small ship, including repair vessels, fighters, and transports, an Arcadia class Installation is always a safe haven for a convoy of attack ships, returning from battle. Where the Orion is the symbol of Terran power, the Arcadia is the shining beacon of stability.

Notes

Note discrepancies, inaccuracies, and trivia here

• The Valkyrie description states: "Originally an old design for a space superiority fighter, this fighter was outfitted with bigger engines, and turned into an interceptor." This is presumably a reference to the GTF Angel fighter, upon which the Valkyrie was canonically based. However, in other in-game sources (Command Briefings, Tech Descriptions) the Angel was referred to as a scout fighter rather than a space superiority fighter.