Gunship
Encyclopedia : G : GU : GUN : Gunship
The term "gunship" is used in several contexts, all sharing the general idea of a light vessel armed with heavy guns.
In navies, the term originally appeared in the mid-1800s as a less-common synonym for gunboat.
More recently, a "gunship" has been used to refer to helicopters to which machine-guns and similar weapons systems have been mounted, or a fixed-wing aircraft with heavy guns on board. The etymology of this usage is obvious, since pilots often refer to their aircraft as "ships." The recent application of the term for military aircraft is more specific, describing a vehicle that is capable of hovering or circling its target instead of performing attack runs. According to such a definition, the AC-130 Spectre or the AH-64 Apache are Gunships, but the B-1B Lancer strategic bomber is not.
Other
Many science fiction stories and games feature "gunship" as a class of armed spacecraft, with a high payload relative to their small size. Examples of science-ficton gunboats include Cygnus Assault Gunboat from [[Star Wars: TIE Fighter|TIE Fighter]], a Star Wars video game and the Arachnid gunboats in the Starfire-universe. Most sci-fi "gunships" appear to follow the general principles of the helicopter gunship such as the Republic LAAT/i Gunship in Star Wars.
- Gunship is a computer game AH-64 Apache simulation.
- For the Star Wars New Republic Warrior-class gunship, see the New Class program.
- A Gunship is a hostile organic helicopter in the video game Half-Life 2.
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