"The Jalthi's big guns"

[Ghost]

Nope - oh, irony, the Hellcat was . The Thunderbolt was actually the oldest (except maybe for the Arrow, which has no known designation):

F-66 Thunderbolt
F/A-76 Longbow
F-86 Hellcat

So you are basing how old is a fighter because of his number registry?
IIRC it was discused this matter in an older thread, and i believe that someone quoted something from a book that stated the Thunderbolt was pretty new in the WC3.

 

[Quarto]

As far as I know, the designation numbers are usually the best indication of age. As for the Thunderbolt, the WC3 novel describes it as a "reliable old" fighter, which really could mean anything. The WC4 novel may have said something different about it, but I don't remember offhand any Thunderbolt age references in it.

 

[Ghost]

This from an old LOAF´s post:

This may not be entirely accurate, as I'm writing it from my desk at work rather than at home where I have manuals and notes and so forth. I may well be forgetting some very important facts -- lets get a dialogue going regarding this list...

Wing Commander:
Hornet class Light Fighter (?)
CF-105 Scimitar class Medium Fighter (2526*)
Rapier II class Medium Fighter (2654)
Raptor class Heavy Fighter (2639*)

Wing Commander II:
P-64 Ferret class Patrol Fighter (2639*)
F-54 Epee class Light Attack Fighter (2654*)
F-57 Sabre class Heavy Attack Fighter (2634*)
A-10 Broadsword class Heavy Bomber (2648)
Wraith class Medium Fighter (2667)

Wing Commander III:
Arrow V class Light Fighter (2654*)
F-86 Hellcat V class Medium Fighter (2654*)
F-66 Thunderbolt VII class Heavy Fighter (2668)
F/A-76 Longbow class Heavy Fighter (2654*)
F-103 Excalibur class Heavy Space/Atmospheric Fighter/Bomber (2669)

Wing Commander IV:
F-104 Bearcat class Heavy Fighter (2673)
F-107 Lance class Heavy Fighter (2672)

Armada:
Phantom (?)
Gladius (?)
Banshee (?)

Wing Commander Prophecy:
F/A-105 Tigershark class Multi-Role Fighter (?)
F-106 Piranha class Scout Fighter (?)
F-108 Panther class Space Superiority Fighter (?)
F-109 Vampire class Space Superiority Fighter (?)
F-110 Wasp class Interceptor (?)
TB-80 Devestator class Torpedo Bomber (?)
TB-81 Shrike class Torpedo Bomber (?)

A few technical commentaries...

An asterix marks the first time a ship has been known to be in service. No asterix means a specific service entry date. A question mark means we've only seen said ship referenced as early as whatever game it appears in (Prophecy ships all first appear in 2681, Armada ships 2668, so forth).

The Phantom and the Gladius seem to be developments of the Raptor class ships.

There is an interesting theory regarding the Hellcat and its appearince in WCA (giving it the 2654 date) -- it has been suggested that this may be its predecessor, the Action Stations' era *Wildcat*... which would explain the Hellcat statue at the Academy grounds. I'm definately in favor of this, although it's not directly supported anywhere.

 

[Quarto]

Hmm, well, it's more than possible that there's an age reference in there that I don't recall. I still would be inclined to disagree with a 2668 date for it (it seems more likely that this was the date for the entry of the latest model of the Thunderbolt). However, I don't feel strongly enough about it to bother trying to hunt down that age reference in a book .

 

[TCSTigersClaw]

Arrow,Epee ? 2654.... ? hm...We see something like an Epee...and something like an Arrow in the WCA but.....maybe they are too their predecessors....

We dont have enough info for anything......... and thats good cause anyone is free to believe whatever he wants