Gunboat (Red Alert 1)

The Gunboat is a small, versatile vessel whose main role is reconnaissance and support of larger, more cumbersome vessels. It was first used in a major combat role in the Great World War II by the Allied Forces as the equivalent of the light tank on sea.

The first gunboat was a small vessel with a bow-mounted 75mm cannon and a single depth charge launcher. It was lightly armoured and could match soviet submarines only in superior numbers. It's main role was harassment and support of larger vessels against enemy submarines. (however, in some circumstances, a skilled captain could easily destroy more than 1 submarine with a Gunboat, using the ship's speed)

After the war, as technology was refined, the gunboat was upgraded, eventually replacing destroyers as main support vessels - it now possessed a rocket launcher on it's bow and outclassed the larger ship in speed. As such, the destroyers were pulled back and naval forces were built on two extremes - small, versatile gunboats (equivalent to gunships in terms of combat role) and massive battleships. They were also used in naval assaults against Nod defensive positions.

In the Second Tiberium War, naval forces were temporarily stranded in docks, as tiberium creep clogged the waterways, prohibiting any naval deployment. However, the GDI, using the Tacitus, managed to decontaminate and remove the clogs, allowing naval forces to move free once again.