"Best Science Fiction Space Fightercraft" Topic

The entries must be fictional craft which operate in space (the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter jet does NOT count).
The entries must also be "fighter" type craft— one or two (four tops) crew engaging in dogfights, etc.

Initial list, in alphabetical order by craft name:

A-wing
B-wing
Chig fighter (Space: Above and Beyond)
Chiggie Von Richtofen Advanced Chig fighter (S:AAB)
CR-001 Exo-fighter (Exosquad)
Cylon Raider (BSG original series)
Cylon Raider (reboot)
Death Glider (Stargate SG-1)
F-302 (Stargate SG-1)
Gundam (? Someone can correct the terminology on this one)
Gunstar (The Last Starfighter)
Puddle Jumper (Stargate Atlantis)
SA-43 Hammerhead (S:AAB)
Slave 1 (Boba Fett's craft)
Starfighter/Thunderfighter (Buck Rogers ‘80s TV series and film)
TIE Advanced
TIE Bomber
TIE Fighter
TIE Defender (computer flight simulator games)
TIE Interceptor
Viper (BSG original series)
Viper Mk 2 (reboot)
Viper Mk 7 (reboot)
X-302 (Stargate SG-1)
X-wing
Y-wing
Z-95 Headhunter (SW Extended Universe, computer flight simulator games)

I am not up on anime spacefighters, so for those of you who are fans, please add these!

Starfury (Babylon 5)

Some Babylon 5 Fighters

SA-23E Mitchell-Hyundyne "Aurora" Starfury
SA-23J Mitchell-Hyundyne "Thunderbolt" Starfury
Frazi Heavy Fighter
Sentri-class Fighter
Nial Heavy Fighter
Vorlon Fighter

Starfury and then original viper

X Wing or F302. I like speed and versatility.

(Smacks forehead over Babylon 5 ships)

Keep ‘em coming, guys!

I realize I should have crossposted this to SF Discussion… oops.

Hey, Bill, any chance we can do that cross post?

The excellent computer games Descent: Freespace 1&2 have a bunch of lovely designs.
My personal favorites (visually) are the Myrmidon, Medusa, and Perseus.
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Wing Commander I:

F-36 Hornet
CF-105 Scimitar
F-44 Rapier II
A-14 Raptor

Wing Commander II:

P-64 Ferret
F-54 Epee
F-44 Rapier II
F-57 Sabre
A-17 Broadsword
A-18 Crossbow
F-95 Morningstar
F-97 Wraith

Viper BSG original series.

Swordfish II – Spike Spiegel's fighter in Cowboy Bebop.

No, I'm not even remotely an anime guy, but it was a cool ship and a great series.

T-Rex in a UFO

… i.e., homemade.

The classic BSG Viper holds a lot of nostalgia for me, but after 4 decades, I'm still not sure if Starbuck is the blonde or the brunette…

Hammerhead and Chig fighters from Above and Beyond

Snoopy and his Star Wars fighters

More with his Dog House as a X-Wing
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Valkyrie VF-1 A, J, S. (Macross /Robotech)
Alpha Fighter (Mospeada / Robotech)
Beta Fighter (Mospeada / Robotech)

The Battle Riders from CJ Cherryh's Cyteen universe. They actually make physics sense instead of being airplanes in space.

SHADO Interceptor from UFO TV series.

Attack fighters of the Norweb Federation. (Red Dwarf)

The Defiant (DS9)
Jem Hadar Fighter (DS9)

For some reason, I've always preferred space battles as Hornblower in Space rather than Biggles in space, despite preferring the Biggles books over the Hornblower ones as a kid.

But let's nominate the Wraith from StarCraft.

The alien fighter from Independence Day looked pretty cool to me.

The classic Retro UFO

Also … Crashed Starfighter on a Desolate Planet. Not a specific model, but definitely the start of lots of good wargames.

Awful lot of crew for a starfighter…

Sure they're not scavengers?

I was always a big fan of the GLADIUS interceptor fighter from the old FASA game Renegade Legion: Interceptor

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" Sure they're not scavengers?"

They don't seem to be looking around at the craft, as exiting it.

Leving with their booty … I didn't say they were squatters! ;)

Ah, wreckers… lure ‘em in with pictures of Earth women, then the gravitational anomaly kicks in, and Bob-would-be-your-uncle-if-roboskeletoid-aliens-had-uncles.

They're chibi Necrons so …

Do Cyborgs dream of tea and crumpets like androids dream of electric sheep?

"Well, helloooo, Nurse" *CRASH*

They dream of very weird alien toast, like in the "toaster" in the pic.

… what were we supposed to be talking about and how did it go off the rails ..?

I love the look of the 1980s Buck Rogers fighters.

(I also liked the look of the Colonel who led them, but that's another Poll.)

"Message from Space" had "Comet Fire" and "Galaxy Runner."

However, I always thought the "Liabe" looked an awesome figher-bomber, ignoring the other two carried in its "wings."

Maybe "Spartinians" and "Walkure" from "Legends of Galactic Heroes?"

1) I likes me some anime, but hardly extensively knowledgeable.

2) I am a bit of a curmudgeon in seeing WWII based space fighters as a bit blindered… *shrug*

Don't get me started on veritech!

Doug

I really like the Buck Rogers Star Fighter, the Babylon 5 Star Fury, and the Last Star Fighter Gunstar.

I quite like General Grievious's star fighter from Attack of the Clones. It looks like an American muscle car from the seventies became a space fighter.

The Jedi fighter from Attack of the Clones and the Naboo fighters from The Phantom Menace are also quite good.

Delta Flyer (Voyager)

Calypso (Star Trek Insurrection)

Viper (BattleStar Galactica)

SA-23E Mitchell-Hyundyne Starfury (Babylon 5)

F-302 Fighter Interceptor (Stargate SG1)

X Wing Fighters (Star Wars)

I was going to add the USS Defiant (DS9) but the ship is much larger than most people realize. It has four decks and a large engineering section. The crew complement is 47.

Buck Rogers: I would add the bomber sleds of the Fighting 69th, as I thought of them as fighter bombers, and the too obvious model airplane kit bashed Scorpion. Draconian Hatchets looked too much like they should be large ships, and I won't discuss Hawk's.

As an aside, Ardalla's ship, similar in shape to the Hachet, surprised me on closer examination of its bow.

SG:A Puddle jumpers always tended to feel similar ST Runabouts, either shuttles or 'gunboats.'

Doug

PS I just ran into the claim that the Quad/Thunderfighter was originally a design for Vipers, replaced then repurposed. Feel free to jump on the 'everybody knows that' if you wish. ;->=