D77-TCG Pelican

The D77 TCG Pelican, otherwise known as the Heavy Pelican or Heavy Pelican Gunship, is a variant of the standard Pelican that is armed to the teeth.

Appearance
The D77 TCG Pelican is very similar in appearance to the standard pelican, but features a few notable differences. The most obvious of these differences are a pair of yellow stripes that line the back end of the craft, going from wingtip to wingtip. This alone denotes the pelican as being different from the standard craft, but there are some other notable differences as well, which are visible externally. If one looks closely at the DCG, one can make out not two rocket pods, but four that hang from the wings, two on each wing. In addition, it is equipped with a chin mounted .50 cal chaingun, which is quite prominent, extending below the craft. In the back of the pelican, a flip-down turret is mounted, which can be crewed by marines or be controlled by a computer, but which can also fold up into the top of the troop bay for storage. Another difference is that the cockpit glass is not tinted, and can be viewed from both the outside and inside.

Weaponry
All weaponry on the D77-DCG is externally mounted, save the 7.62mm turret in the back of the craft. The four rocket pods the pelican each carry 32 missiles, a large step up from the standard rocket pods, which carry eight. While it is true these missiles are smaller with a slighty lower yeild and range, it's sheer firepower is enough to level many enemies. The chainguns are not particularry remarkable weapons, being variants of weapons seen on other craft. The back turret is a variant of the M247 GPMG, and the chin turret is the same model of the one seen on Pelicans during the Second Battle of Earth.

Field Usage
The D77-TCG was first introduced in late 2552, during the Siege of Sigma Octanus Four. The first ever model of the class was used to transport the SPARTAN-IIs to the surface of the planet, and was later used to evacuate everyone. The second usage of the transport was during the battle of Reach, where a significant amount of the transports were deployed by the Pillar of Autumn, which carried a large store of them. Most of these were destroyed in the battle, and the model never entered full production, as the siege of earth drew humanity's resources away from it. By the time of the end of the battle, it was deemed overkill, as the new modern D77-TCI pelican had similar armament.