Gunboat (Red Alert 1)

The Gunboat is the Allies' small, versatile vessel whose main role is reconnaissance and support of larger, more cumbersome vessels.

Background
Faced with the impending invasion, the Allied navy, a navy that consists of many nations with varied capability, require an ad interim design quickly to support the resistance effort. The gunboat was the resulting stopgap solution as it was the most inexpensive unit that could engage Soviet submarines.

The gunboat is not the Allies' main naval unit; it served as the Allies' interim response to a Soviet naval assault until Destroyers could arrive on the scene. Gunboats were deployed to patrol nearby waters for Soviet submarines or providing limited naval fire support.

Tiberium Universe
It was further used by the Global Defense Initiative in the First Tiberium War to provide fire support to their ground forces operating close to shore with its cannon and depth charges replace by Tomahawk missiles.

Red Alert Universe
Gunboat, along with its medium counterpart were replaced by the new Destroyer of the Third World War.

Game unit
The gunboat's weapon is a bow-mounted 2 inch (50.8 mm) gun and a single depth charge launcher. It is lightly armoured and can match Soviet submarines only in superior numbers. The 2-inch gun is of limited use for shore bombardment due to its short range, which puts the gunboat at risk of being fired upon from land units such as tanks.

The gunboat is the first tier of the Allied Navy, being inexpensive and available early in the game. However it is weak and of limited capability. A gunboat will easily lose a one to one engagement against a Soviet Submarine, however Allied commanders can take advantage of the gunboat's lower cost to enjoy numerical superiority over submarines.

Allied commanders will switch to destroyers once they become available, which while being more expensive and slower, are stronger and more powerful. Destroyers are also much more versatile, as their anti-surface capability has a much longer range, as well as having anti-aircraft capabilities.

Trivia

 * The unit bears a vague resemblance to the Osprey 55-class gunboat.