Bluejay Transport

**Key Features** | »» Cockpit w/ surround windows for maximum view»» Seating for infantry»» Aerodynamic firing slits»» Extra fuel storage»» Declaration of Sovereignty leaflets

*Air cav on call!*

- Common radio greeting by Bluejay pilots
## Tactical Analysis

* **Screamin' Eagles:** The Bluejay Transport is a versatile military helicopter dating back to WW2. It is capable of carrying 4 Continental soldiers with ease and transporting them quickly across the battlefield. The Bluejay Transport is by itself, unarmed. However, it has fireports that enable troops inside to fire out.

* **Death from above:** The options for filling Bluejays are quite varied. If filled with Minutemen, its the best interceptor the Continentals will ever get. Fill it with Marksmen for anti infantry work, or even put Dixie in it and really go to town. And if the enemy brought anti-air the crew can dive and hover slightly above the ground, avoiding anti-air attacks and hiding within any PAWI field.

* **No discounts:** The Bluejay is very expensive, especially if it is carrying a full load; Losing a fully loaded Bluejay is usually a big setback.

* **No Frills Please:** The crews of Bluejays are still highly disciplined former US Army soldiers, and their superiors still frown upon unofficial modifications.

## Operational History

When the United States joined with the Allies for World War II, they brought along with men and supplies a whole new branch of warfare. Within days, the Soviets feared the American 5th Airborne Cavalry. Soviet tank units couldn't fight helicopters when they flew above them, nullifying the Soviets main advantage. MiGs could shoot them down, but the Allies were gaining air superiority at this point.

Soviet bases often fell when Allied soldiers were dropped into the centre of them. At other times they hovered above battlefields, where soldiers inside gunned down Soviet troops who were unable to effectively respond. The air cavalry units often conducted operations to rescue Allied soldiers trapped behind enemy lines, raising morale and saving skilled soldiers and pilots. The air cavalry's mount was the Bluejay Helicopter, one of the first transport helicopters ever made.

 File:Bluejay with escort.png
After the war, the Peacekeepers excelled at the air cavalry concept, mounted in the modern Cardinal, so the 5th Airborne Cavalry was sent back to their home base in Idaho, where they sat out World War 3, waiting to be activated. The 5th's commander, Brigadier General Collins, saw this as a mild insult, but nothing compared to his commander in chief and fellow Idahoan, Howard Ackerman, being attacked by Allied usurpers. The 5th sped to join Ackerman at Mount Rushmore, but arrived too late, though the 5th did evacuate the few loyalists left.

Refusing the order to turn himself in, and fully supported by his men, Brigadier General Collins and the former 5th deserted from duty, moving whenever Peacekeepers came near and scavenging supplies any way they could. When they heard the Federalist Party was rising up against the Allied occupiers, the former 5th flew to Dallas to join them.

Almost immediately, Peacekeepers were being hit by airborne cavalry attacks when they advanced without air cover. Icarus Platforms had to be transferred from Europe to the United States to protect endangered units, which themselves were vulnerable to Continental ground troops, and even that wasn’t enough as Bluejay crew, thanks to Continental modifications, and now dive and hover off the ground to avoid anti-air, or worse hide within the dreaded PAWI field. While currently the rogue military unit is wanted by the US Army to be courtmartialed for desertation of their posts, to this day the former 5th is a fast, hard hitting punch to the Continental cause, and even one helicopter can be enough to turn the tide against the Allied aggressors.

## Behind the Scenes

The Bluejay is based on the Bell HSL anti-submarine helicopter.