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

Contents 1 History 2 Design 3 Weaknesses 4 List of known commanding officers 5 Trivia 6 References 7 Comments

History Edit

When 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.^[1]

Upon arriving at the contested metropolis, the fleet was damaged by a large number of Equalist naval 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 and the destruction of many enemy aircraft, the entire fleet was destroyed.^[2]

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 the 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.^[3]

Design Edit

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) consist of metal tubes through which firebenders concentrate their flames, increasing their range and firepower. The intensity of the fire is enhanced to an extent that a single hit from a firebending cannon can completely destroy a biplane about five hundred meters away. However, the cannons are hindered by a long reload time, while the fire blasts are slow enough for aircraft to dodge them. Even though the firebending cannons seem ideal for fighting the large and slow airships common at the time, they 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. These waterbenders have the task to destroy naval mines and other water-based weapons. However, they proved to be unable to stop the high-speed torpedoes.

The hull also accommodates 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. These disks are aligned for the fight at a short distance and proved to be effective against Equalist aircraft. Nevertheless, due to their short range, the domes can be easily destroyed by torpedoes and bombs from great distance.

The bridges of these naval ships are filled with the activity of personnel. 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.

The battleship also possesses two masts with lookouts. These lookouts provide an excellent overview of the battlefield. General Iroh chose one of the lookouts of his flagship for his last stand against the Equalist biplanes and destroyed many of them before his position was destroyed by a bomb.

Weaknesses Edit

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 Edit

• General Iroh
• Commander Bumi

Trivia Edit

• 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.

References Edit

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