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Quantradyne APOD-33 Dropship
Historical
Earliest sighting	2480
Latest sighting	2503
Decomissioned	By 2504
Physical
Race	Terran
Type	Airborne APC
Propulsion	Twin engines
Armaments	None (standard) Air-to-ground ordinance (scrapped) Door mounted weaponry (custom)
Political
Role	Transport
Personnel
Crew	1 pilot, 1 co-pilot (optional)

The Quantradyne APOD-33 dropship^[1] is a terran aerospace transport.

OverviewEdit

The Quantradyne is a heavily armored tactical transport equipped for both atmospheric and deep space flight,^[2] utilizing twin engines fed hypergolic tanks that result in plasma exhaust, said engines being capable of shifting their angles.^[1] Dropships are designed to carry anything from troops to siege tanks in both safety and speed.^[3] Landings are usually carried out conventionally—easy deployment is allowed through both aft^[4][1] and front ramps and its base can descend from the ship.^[5] However, soldiers can also rappel down using ropes.^[6] Side doors also exist^[7] and furthermore, dropships are equipped with extraction fields^[1] and maglev lines^[8] in case the terrain is too difficult to land on.

Early experiments to arm dropships (including ordnance packages for an air-to-ground role)^[9] were abandoned in favor of maximizing payload capacity.^[2] Still, soldiers can fire from the dropship themselves, such as from its bottom platform.^[5] Another example of getting around this was used by Captain Jack Larimer, who removed his dropship's side doors to make room for mounted weapons.^[7]

Dropships possess a number of shortcomings. They are difficult to maneuver and are prone to mechanical failures^[6] and aren't exactly the most comfortable transport craft, the interior's temperatures usually uncomfortably hot, even more so during re-entry. Cooling units are installed to offset this along with air scrubbers. Restraining bars are present for the transport of passengers and overhead racks for the transport of equipment and/or belongings. The dropship's power bus is also compatible with the CMC-300 combat suit. A user can 'jack in' to the power bus and view the dropship's surroundings via a sensor system, the image being transferred to the suit's HUD.^[1] Ammunition packs and stimulant dispensers are also featured.^[3] During the Guild Wars, dropships were apparently bereft of gravity accelerators,^[7] but this was rectified by the Great War.^[10] Dropship pilots can operate alone, although a nav/comm. console is set behind the pilot's seat.^[10]

Dropships are frequently attached to capital ships such as troopships^[7] and battlecruisers.^[10]

HistoryEdit

Quantradynes were designed by the Terran Confederacy and were in use by 2480.^[3] The Colonial Fleet maintained high standards for its dropship pilots, the PEB (Preferred Experience Base) requiring an applicant to possess a combat pilot certification and hot-zone certification before being allowed access to a dropship.^[11]

The Terran Dominion maintained Quantradynes until at least 2503,^[12] but they were eventually converted into medivac dropships.^[13]

Game UnitEdit

StarCraftEdit

Dropship
Unit
Race	Terran
Role	Air Transport
Properties
Size	Large
Sight range	8
Production
Minerals	100
Gas	100
Supply	2
Build time	50
Produced from	Starport
Requires	Control tower (attached)
Hotkey	D
Protection
Hit points	150
Armor	1

Dropships are too slow to outrun aerial hunters like mutalisks, scouts, and wraiths. If destroyed any units being carried are lost as well. While it has 8 slots like the shuttle and evolved overlord, the power of stimpacked infantry means a dropship can carry substantial firepower. Compared to its zerg and protoss counterparts (overlord and shuttle), the dropship has a faster speed than the overlord despite having a poor acceleration and is less fragile than the shuttle but slower.

A fleet of dropships is often used to offload units directly on top of or near an enemy base. These "drops" are a key strategy for many terran players.

UpgradesEdit

Ship Plating
Researched at	Armory
Hotkey	H
Properties
Level Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Minerals 150 225 300 Gas 150 225 300 Research time 266 298 330 Required Science facility
Notes
+1 armor to Wraith, dropship, battlecruiser, science vessel, Valkyrie per level

QuotationsEdit

See: StarCraft Dropship Quotations

DevelopmentEdit

During the StarCraft alpha, the dropship was much larger and could carry a lot more units inside. Their unit portrait bore great resemblance to what would become the character of Jem in the final product.^[14]

The dropship was once equipped with Vortex shock-bombs.^[15]

StarCraft: GhostEdit

Main article: Assault dropship

StarCraft: Ghost concept art depicts "assault dropships". The terrans also used the Grizzly as an (armed) transport.^[16]

StarCraft IIEdit

Main articles: Medivac dropship and Special ops dropship

The dropship used to be very similar to the StarCraft version. It has been given a healing ability, transforming it into the medivac dropship; thus, the dropship can no longer be built in StarCraft II.^[17]

The dropship touched down to unload units,^[18] behavior that was previously seen in the original StarCraft alpha, but not the final edition.^[19]

There was a one second delay between every dropped unit.^[20]

Blizzard was toying with the possibility of returning the dropship and making the medivac dropship an available upgrade in June 2008.^[21]

Another dropship to feature within the game is the Hercules dropship, which is used to transport thors.^[22]

Known DropshipsEdit

• Daddy's Girl
• Dropship 192
• Fat Girl
• Tango Bravo 109
• Sleepwalker
• Sweetie Pie
• Valkyrie Vixen

Known Dropship PilotsEdit

• Captain Julian Byrne
• Captain Tegis Marz
• Captain Morrow
• Graham O'Brien
• Black Morgan

TriviaEdit

The dropship's design, pilot personality, and unit quotations are heavily modelled or borrowed from the one found in movie Aliens.

ReferencesEdit