Editing Fireship

{{Era|Weapons}}{{WP-REAL|Fire ship}}
{{Spoilerhd|16 February 2024|[[Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR]]}}
{{Quote| If we nick some gunpowder and pine pitch, we can build a fire ship and send it straight at the blockade, blasting it to smithereens.|Edward Kenway planning to break through the Bloackade of Nassau, 1718.|Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag|The Gunpowder Plot}}
[[File:ACAC Fireship.png|200px|thumb|Fireship at Tyre's harbor]]
A '''fireship''' was a [[wood]]en [[Ship|vessel]] deliberately set on fire, or rigged to explode, to be used against enemy ships. Employed throughout naval military history, its use declined with the adoption of metal-hulled ships.<ref>{{WP|Fire ship}}</ref>

==History==
In 1190 [[Tyre]], the [[Templars]] used a fireship in order to halt the advance of [[Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins|Levantine Assassin]] [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]] after he overpowered and killed [[Basilisk]]. As the fireship rammed into the ship he was on, the [[Assassins|Assassin]] narrowly leapt into the water for safety as it exploded.<ref name="ACAC">''[[Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles]]'' – [[Always an End]]</ref> 

In 1718, the [[British Empire]] hoped to curb [[piracy]] in the [[Caribbean]] and regain control of the port of [[Nassau]]. In order to do this, they, by way of Governor [[Woodes Rogers]] and Commodore [[Peter Chamberlaine]], set up a [[Blockade of Nassau|blockade]] and gave the local pirates a choice to take a pardon or be executed.<ref name="We Demand a Parlay">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[We Demand a Parlay]]</ref> [[Edward Kenway]] hatched a plan with [[Charles Vane]] to steal British supplies of [[gunpowder]] and pine pitch to repurpose [[Jack Rackham]]'s ''[[Royal Phoenix]]'' into a fireship.<ref name="Gunpowder Plot">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[The Gunpowder Plot]]</ref> They managed to break through the blockage and escape from Nassau unharmed.<ref name="Fireship">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[The Fireship]]</ref>

[[File:ACRogue Fireship.png|left|200px|thumb|A couple of French fireships]]

The [[French Navy]] also made use of this tactic against the British, during the [[Seven Years' War]], during both the [[Siege of Louisbourg]]<ref name="Men o' War">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[Men o' War]]</ref> and the [[Battle of Quiberon Bay]].<ref name="Quiberon Bay">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[The Battle of Quiberon Bay (memory)|The Battle of Quiberon Bay]]</ref> In the first event, a small fleet of fireships, headed by the ''[[Experto Crede]]'', attempted to stop the British from reaching [[Louisbourg]] but efforts were rended useless by the actions of the [[HMS Pembroke|HMS ''Pembroke'']], who managed to sink enough fireships to clear the way for the British reinforcements to push through.<ref name="Men o' War"/> During the latter, the French decided to try and break through the British blockade installed off the coast of [[France]] with their flagship, the ''[[Formidable]]'', leading numerous fireships. Again, their efforts were thwarted by [[Shay Cormac]], this time captaining his own ship, the ''[[Morrigan]]''.<ref name="Quiberon Bay"/>


During the [[American Revolution]], the use of fire ships was frequent. The {{Wiki|HMS Augusta (1763)|HMS ''Augusta''}} of the [[Royal Navy]] was lost to a number of [[Patriots|Patriot]]-released fireships while {{Wiki|Battle of Red Bank|sailing}} the {{Wiki|Delaware River|Delaware}}, with the explosion being heard up to 50km away.<ref name="Nexus DB">''[[Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR]]'' – [[Database: Explosion hazards]]</ref>

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR]]'' {{Mdat}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Ships]]