Battleship



The United Forces battleships are large ships used by the United Forces during naval warfare.

History
After Republic City fell to the Equalists after an extensive attack, a message was sent to a ten-ship fleet of battleships from Councilman Tenzin. The commanding officer, General Iroh, replied to the wire, stating that his fleet would be arriving in three days time and that he looked forward to winning back Republic City alongside the Avatar.



Upon arriving at the contested metropolis, the fleet was damaged by a large number of Equalist mines. General Iroh proceeded to use his ship's intercom to tell his waterbending and earthbending soldiers to get rid of the mines. As soon as he issued the command, however, his fleet of battleships was attacked by a large number of Equalist biplanes. Despite the best efforts of the United Forces, the entire fleet was destroyed.

Later on, General Iroh sent a wire to Commander Bumi, ordering him to wait for his signal before entering Republic City with a second wave of battleships. General Iroh later found out, however, that the message had been intercepted by Hiroshi Sato, and that he knew exactly where this second fleet was hiding. Hiroshi did not get the chance to attack the concealed fleet, however, as the Equalist airstrip was destroyed by Bolin, Asami, and General Iroh.

After Amon fled Republic City, Bumi's fleet of battleships arrived.

Design
Each battleship bears the characteristic insignia of each of the three nations. Battleships have Earth Kingdom insignias located on their bows and hulls, Fire Nation insignias on their guns, and Water Tribe insignias also on the hulls. The hulls are also decorated with two large, golden dragons on the bow of the ship.



Each of the ship's nine guns (five on the front deck, two on the rear deck, and two on the midsection of the top deck) consists of metal tubes that firebenders concentrate their flames through, increasing their range and firepower. While this seems ideal for fighting the large airships common at the time, it proved inadequate in fighting the new high-velocity Equalist biplanes that had not been previously seen, prompting some gunners to abandon their battlement and firebend directly at the biplanes.

The battleships' hulls have six platforms jutting out from them, providing for waterbenders an easy access to the vast supply of water surrounding the ships. The hull also accomodates numerous domes (four on each side, one at the center of the bow, and one at the center of the stern) where earth disks are stored. Earthbenders are able to launch these disks directly from the battleship at their intended target.

The bridge of these naval ships are filled with the activity of personnal. A helmsman steers the vessel while various aides and soldiers enter and exit the section. The bridge also contains an intercom system which allows a commander to relay a message to his troops quickly and effectively.

Weaknesses


Although powerful on the water's surface, the battleships main weakness comes from air and underwater attacks, especially with the latter in which they have practically no defense against, aside from their waterbenders. Due to their slow rate of fire, their firebending-powered guns, which are more adapted toward stationary or slow-moving targets, were almost ineffective against the dozens of opposing fast-moving Equalist biplanes. That, combined with their slow speed and maneuverability, allows them to be vulnerable to rapid, en-masse attacks from the enemy.

List of known commanding officers

 * General Iroh
 * Commander Bumi

Trivia

 * The ships have two bows, giving them a catamaran appearance from the front.
 * Many components of these battleships, including the bridge, mast, twin funnels, and deck layout, have a similarity to the Dreadnought battleships of the early 20th century.
 * Before the invention of the radio, Gommu used to work on these ships as a telegraph operator.