The VF-8 Logan, also known as Light Veritech Fighter, was a Human-designed Veritech mecha of the Southern Cross in service during the Second Robotech War. Marie Crystal was a Logan squadron leader early in the war.
Background[]
Designed as a close support strike fighter befitting the shock troop nature of the Tactical Armored Space Corps, the Logan was among the smallest Veritech mecha fielded by Earth's armies and utilized in large numbers. The tiny profile of the fighter was designed to make it a difficult target to hit yet allowed the pilot to remain nimble. The Logan was designed for space combat, though it needed to be shuttled into orbit by a transport or warship. In order to compensate for the lack of an airbrake and also as part of the maneuvering mechanism in space, the Veritech made use of two counter-vernier thrusters on the shoulders.
In Battloid mode, the Logan retained its upward thrust in the feed and forward thrust in the main engines which were located in the rear. Its secondary mode was often mistaken for a Guardian configuration though it was actually a full Battloid despite the similar appearance. In Guardian mode, the leg joints were concave and similar to "bird legs" whilst the Battloid form stood fully erect with fully humanoid bipedal locomotion. In addition, transformed Logans folded their wings in Battloid mode. (Infopedia)
The Logan is well-armed for a ship of its size with one nose-mounted tri-barreled energy cannon and one EP-20 gun pod as standard. Each of the mecha's forearms additionally has a hardpoint to optionally mount disposable ordnance although such extra weapons must be launched or jettisoned before the Logan can transform into Battloid mode to prevent interference to the Veritech's arm movements. These weapons were implemented with the adversary reference being mechas known to have been operated by the Zentraedi, against which the Veritech was very lethal indeed. When pitted against the Bioroids and troop carriers of the Robotech Masters, however, the Logan's armaments proved unable to reliably defeat the protections afforded to these opponents. Another noted problem with the Logan was the fact that its small wings limited the amount of lift it was capable of achieving in a planetary atmosphere, thus negatively affecting its utility in an air superiority role (something admittedly it wasn't meant to take on; that task was the domain of the non-transformable FA-112 Chimera operated by both the Tactical Space Corps and the Tactical Air Force, which is relatively clumsy but brings straight-line speed and a large missile payload to the table). (Masters Saga)
Variants/armor packages[]
History[]
The Sentinels[]
During the launch of the Pioneer Expedition, a number of Logan fighters were transported onboard the SDF-3 for the planned mission to Tirol. However, a problem with the Space Fold engines meant that their journey took longer than expected and the planet was abandoned with its populace conquered by the forces of the Regent. This brought the Robotech Expeditionary Force in direct confrontation with those of the alien Invid. During initial entry into Tirol space, a pair of Logans were used to retrieve a shuttle pod that had journeyed with the SDF-3 after being sucked into the Fold vortex. To rescue the two passengers on the pod, Jonathan Wolfe and his wingman were assigned with the recovery mission which succeeded before the Invid attacked the defenseless shuttle. (Robotech II: The Sentinels)
Southern Cross[]
Alternative Logans in 2030. (Robotech: Rolling Thunder)
During the Second Robotech War, the Logan was deployed in large numbers during early engagements against the clone forces of the Robotech Masters. Among the noted pilots of these fighters was Lieutenant Marie Crystal. The Logan fared poorly as it was forced to slug it out with the much-tougher Robotech Masters war machines: the Bioroids are slow but can easily outlast the small Veritech in the ensuing war of attrition whereas the Roil Tiluvo class corvette that the Robotech Masters relied on for aerial warfare is both faster and better-armed. Within the first year of the war the TASC was forced to adapt to the new reality by replacing the Logan with the Armored Gyro Assault Chopper. (Masters Saga)
After the war[]
According to certain sources, the remnants of the ASC continued to use Logans. (Rolling Thunder)
Behind the scenes[]
- The Logan is mistakenly referred to as a version of a Veritech Drone Bomber in Robotech II: The Sentinels: The Illustrated Handbook 3, which was carried over from Carl Macek's description in Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels.
- The first edition of the RPG created the Super Logan variant.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
Secondary continuity[]
- Robotech II: The Sentinels: The Malcontent Uprisings
- Robotech II: The Sentinels comic
- Robotech Masters: Rolling Thunder
