P-64 Ferret

P-64 Ferret
Type	Light Fighter
Primary User	Terran Confederation
Additional Users	Free Republic of the Landreich Union of Border Worlds
General Characteristics
Length	10.2 meters
Mass	10.5 tonnes
Crew	1
Performance
Maximum Yaw	8 dps
Maximum Pitch	8 dps
Maximum Roll	8 dps
Acceleration	Good
Velocity
Cruise	360 kps
Maximum	500 kps
Afterburner
Maximum Afterburner	1400 kps
Max Acceleration	Good k/s2
Armament
Guns
Mass Drivers (2)
Default Missile Loadout
None
Defense
Shields
Fore	6.0 cm equivalent
Aft	6.0 cm equivalent
Armor
Front	6.5 cm
Rear	6.5 cm
Right	4.5 cm
Left	4.5 cm
Target Designation circa Enigma Sector 2665

History

The P-64 Ferret is amongst the lightest fighters in the Terran Confederation fleet and was commonly used as a patrol craft or in reconnaissance roles. The "D" variant of the Ferret, often called the Super Ferret, had improved avionics and carried missiles.

Specifications

	P-64C Ferret	P-64 Ferret	P-64D "Super Ferret"
Sources:	WC II Playguide Manual	Wing Commander 2	Special Operations 1
Class:	Patrol Fighter	Patrol Fighter	Patrol Fighter
Length:	10.2 meters	10.2 meters	10.2 meters
Mass:	10.5 metric tonnes	10.5 metric tonnes	10.5 metric tonnes
Max Velocity:	500 KPS	500 KPS	500 KPS
360 KPS	360 KPS	360 KPS
Acceleration:	Good
Max Y/P/R:	8/8/8 DPS	8/8/8 DPS	8/8/8 DPS
Shields (Fore/Aft):	6.0/6.0 cm	6.0/6.0 cm	6.0/6.0 cm
Armor (Front/Rear/Sides):	6.5/6.5/4.5 cm	6.5/6.5/4.5 cm	6.5/6.5/4.5 cm
Guns:	Mass Drivers (2)	Mass Drivers (2)	Mass Drivers (2)
Missile Hardpoints:	None	None	Javelin Heatseekers (2)
Missile Decoys:	N/A	N/A	N/A
Jump Capable:	No	No	No
Service Entry:

Sources

Joan's Fighting Spacecraft - 2664.128 UPDATE

• Confederation Fighters
  • F-44C Ferret

TCSNA Handbook

• In the Cockpit
  • "(The Ferret has one less display than other ships.)"
  • "Note: The Ferret is the most primitive patrol fighter in the simulator and has no left VDU in its cockpit."
  • "Note: The center VDU in the Ferret functions as the right VDU."
• Improved Targeting and Tracking System (ITTS)
  • "The Ferret and Rapier are not equipped with ITTS."
• Spacecraft of the Terran and Kilrathi Fleets
  • Epee
    • "The design of the Epee is very similar to that of the Ferret. It also demonstrates excellent acceleration and velocity, and maneuvers even better than the Ferret."
  • Ferret
    • "The Ferret is the fastest light fighter in the Confederation fleet. Only the Wraith, a Confederation ship model currently in development, will be able to fly at higher velocities than this basic fighter. The Ferret has very simple cockpit features, e.g., only one VDU, and it's the ship most graduating rookie pilots will be first assigned to. The Ferret demonstrates good acceleration and maneuverability, but it is only equipped with mass drivers and has very weak shields and armor. It is not equipped to perform rescue-and-retrieve missions or to attack capital ships."
  • Sartha
    • "The Kilrathi Sartha is a light fighter comparable to the Confederation's Epee. The Kilrathi fighter is slower and not as maneuverable as the Ferret or the Epee."

Wing Commander 2 / Academy

Wing Commander 2: Missions

• Flyable Missions
  • Gwynedd System - Series 1 - Mission 1
  • Gwynedd System - Series 1 - Mission 2
  • Gwynedd System - Series 1 - Mission 3
  • Gwynedd System - Series 1 - Mission 4
  • Niven System - Series 2 - Mission 2
  • Niven System - Series 2 - Mission 3
  • Niven System - Series 2 - Mission 4
  • Ghorah Khar System - Series 9 - Mission 1
  • Ghorah Khar System - Series 9 - Mission 2
  • Ghorah Khar System - Series 9 - Mission 4

Special Operations 2: Missions

• Flyable Missions
  • Pembroke System - Series 1 - Mission A
  • Pembroke System - Series 1 - Mission B
• Appears in Mission
  • Pembroke System - Series 1 - Mission D
  • Rigel System - Series 2 - Mission A
  • Rigel System - Series 2 - Mission B
  • Rigel System - Series 2 - Mission C

The Memoirs of Lieutenant Colonel Carl T. LaFong: The Kilrathi War's Greatest Ace (TCSN, Retired)

• Academy Years
  • For Tighter Up or Down Movements, Roll and Turn
    • "The arrangement of thrusters on Hornets, Scimitars, and Raptors produces an unusual flight characteristic: up and down movements cannot be completed in as tight a radius as a turn to the left or right. Aerospace engineers are trying to correct the flaw in the new Rapier class, but it is still unknown whether their efforts have been successful."
  • Using Your Ship's Guns
    • "Laser Cannon - At this point, the laser cannon was employed only on the Hornets, although scuttlebutt indicated that a new class of fighter, the Rapier, would use them as well. The laser's range and speed are its most important characteristics. It's the weakest gun in Terran arsenal, but it reaches its target rapidly, doesn't deplete blaster power quickly, and has a range of 4,800 mrrs (meters relative to range and speed). The range is 1,800 mrrs more than any other gun. As a pilot, this information indicates that you don't have to lead moving targets as much, can fire more shots in a burst, and can hit targets while they're far away."
    • "Neutron Guns - It eventually showed up as the second gun on the Rapier, but at the time the Raptor was the only ship that carried the neutron gun. The neutron was the most powerful gun in the Confederation's arsenal, carrying an explosive force that's 25-percent higher than the mass driver. It's effectiveness de-creases the farther away you get from your target and it uses blaster power quickly. As a pilot, it's best to get in close with this weapon, fire a few quick bursts and then wait for blaster power to reach maximum before firing again."
    • "Full Guns - On the Raptor, and eventually the Rapier, you could fire two guns at once. With the Raptor it was the mass driver and neutron. Later, on the Rapier it was the laser and neutron. Full guns really pack a wallop, but they use blaster power at an alarming rate. It's often a difficult call whether the added power is worth the drop in blaster power. Our instructors recommendations were to use full guns when you had isolated a single target or capital ship, but to stick with the neutrons in a crowded dogfight."
• The Final Assault: Preparation for Victory
  • "All available Rapiers had been ferried to the Tiger's Claw for the final battle. Technicians swarmed over the craft, making last-minute calibrations to the targeting system, loading weapons, and performing routine maintenance before the big push. Training flights were constant for the pilots who had yet to fly in the TCSN's most advanced medium fighter."
• Between Missions (Jotunheim System)
  • " "I've got to admit that the lieutenant hasn't lost a second in reflex time and he can still put a Hornet, Raptor, Scimitar, or Rapier through its paces better than anyone," he explained. "The problem is that he's taking every mission personally, and trying single-handedly to take out every enemy fighter. He's not only a danger to himself, but to his wingleader as well. You never know what he's going to do next." "

Wing Commander: End Run

• Chapter 1
  • "He cleared the energy field airlock and felt the slowing resistance of air on his wings. There was barely thirty meters of maneuver room inside the hangar and the deck was packed. To his port side was a squadron of F-54C Rapiers."
  • " "Doomsday will be squadron commander for the Sabre fighter bombers, Starlight will be in charge of the recon and patrol Ferrets. I'm taking personal charge of the Rapier squadron. Are there any questions?" "
• Chapter 2
  • "One after the other the ships went out, after the sixth recon the first three Rapier fighters, and then the second six recon Ferrets. Next went six more Rapier fighters to form the close-in combat air patrol, and by this time nearly a half hour had passed, exacerbated by the abort of two launches, one with an overheating engine, the other with a full power shutdown, made worse by several seconds of panic on the part of the pilot when he wasn't sure if he had toggled the eject system back on, or had secured it to full off.
    • The launch cycle continued and dictating in some last minute notes on his wrist-mounted memo pad Jason turned away from Doomsday, went over to his Rapier, and climbed into the cockpit."
• Chapter 4
  • "He hated atmosphere fighting, where anything much beyond a click a second was far too much. He bled off speed, watching the nav screen which was plotting out his trajectory, a thin blue line on the bottom of the screen showing the edge of the atmosphere. He felt the controls go mushy, the Rapier's computer automatically switching from thrusters to wing control surfaces. Fuel was now going to be a constant concern; flying inside the atmosphere, the hydrogen scoops would simply create too much drag. He closed the scoops and soared in."

Wing Commander: Fleet Action

• Chapter 1
  • "He was damn near hanging still in space, sparing a quick glance to his tactical display, filled now with a swarm of blue and red dots. A Kilrathi Gratha heavy fighter flashed by, followed by a Rapier. He heard Jonesy in the turret behind him, stammering out a curse as she snapped off a quick volley. His Broadsword shuddered, damage information blipping red for his rear starboard stabilizer. A spray of mass driver rounds arched up from the carrier as it twisted away, and he nudged up the throttle to follow the ship as it continued to turn."
  • "Hunter swept past the edge of the fireball, and then turned back towards Munro, ready to offer backup support for the Marine landing operation. The red blips of the few remaining Kilrathi fighters covering the carrier were winking off the screen as the Rapier squadrons finished them off."
  • " "I hate losing people, but trading a Rapier, a Sabre and two of your Broadswords for a light carrier is a damn fine piece of work in my book. I wish it had always been that easy." "
• Chapter 3
  • "He closed the door behind him and walked down the now dimmed corridors. He passed the flight ready room and had a flash memory of his first day aboard, chewing out his new pilots, and passed on into the hangar deck. The Rapiers, Ferrets, and Sabres lined the deck and it felt strange to hear the silence. No engines humming, no shouted commands blaring over the loudspeakers, the hissing roar of the catapult or the thunderclap of engines kicking in afterburners on a hot launch. It was a silence that was as complete and deeply disturbing as if he were walking through a tomb."
• Chapter 5
  • " "They had some problems getting the four, the peace commission kicked up a royal stink. We're lucky we got what we did."
    • "It figures," Jason sighed. "That commission really screwed us up."
    • "What do you mean?"
    • "That report that we'd have ten squadrons of Rapiers and Sabres, well forget it."
    • "What the hell happened?"
    • "The shipment was blocked by the commission. Seems that the Kilrathi ambassador caught wind of the deal, screamed holy hell, and the Baron even got into it, threatening to end all peace negotiations if the ships were allowed to leave Earth system. Rodham, of course, caved in. The three transports, loaded down with fighters and spare parts were blocked from leaving moon orbit. So now we've got to scrounge up whatever we can find around here." "
• Chapter 12
  • "Kevin tightened the grip on his joystick, his Rapier G jiggling slightly from his nervous hold on the stick. It was certainly the biggest strike group he had ever flown with, more than two hundred and fifty fighters and attack bombers launched from four carriers. The extra fifty heavy strike craft from Saratoga were missed, the carrier still half a system away with a main engine fuel pump acting up. Two hundred and eighty fighters were being held in reserve as protection for the fleet carriers and as a second strike wave."
  • " "This is Tolwyn. Good luck to all of you and good hunting." The image winked off and Kevin smiled. Typical Brit understatement. The forward edge of Rapiers, Raptors, Ferrets and Hornets, running ahead of the attack wave, slammed into the opposing wall of opposition defending the Kilrathi heavy carriers."