Aquila

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.

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The Aquila was a naval warship during the Seven Years' and American Revolutionary Wars, which earned herself the nickname "Ghost of the North Seas". During the American Revolution, the vessel was captained by the Assassin Connor, with Robert Faulkner as his first mate.

Under their command, the Aquila helped to bring the rogue-Continental captain Nicholas Biddle to heel, who had been raiding locations along the coast. They also patrolled several trade routes along the Eastern Seaboard and the Caribbean Sea.

History

The Aquila was constructed in Brest, France, in the year 1749, and soon became the flagship of the Assassin navy. While small in design, the Aquila was able to carry a large variety of artillery.

In 1754, after being engaged by a Templar warship, the Assassins spread the word that the Aquila had been destroyed in a storm. In reality, she had only sustained minor damage, and was soon refitted for combat. Over the next decade, the Aquila plagued the Templar fleets, earning herself the moniker of "Ghost of the North Seas"; an illusion spread both by the ship avoiding major harbors, and partially due to the exceptional sailing ability by her acting captain, Robert Faulkner.

Eventually, the Templars uncovered the fact that the Aquila had not been destroyed and, in 1768, three British frigates ambushed and nearly but destroyed the ship. Both the Aquila and Faulkner survived however, and managed to escape to the Davenport Homestead, where they would remain until the arrival of the Assassin Connor, who had decided to pay for the vessel's repairs.

Once repaired, Connor and Faulkner, who had found a crew for the Aquila, sailed to Martha's Vineyard in search of cannons and officers. Faulkner recruited some of his old shipmates as gunnery officers, and also tutored Connor in how to sail the Aquila as captain. After practicing to fire the cannons at an old shipwreck, the Aquila saw her first fight in years, against a patrol of British gunboats and a frigate.

Following this, the Aquila went on to investigate an attack on Martha's Vineyard, which led to an eventual confrontation with the first Admiral of the Continental Navy; the Templar Nicholas Biddle. The ship also served as transport for her captain, when Connor sought out the hidden treasure of Captain William Kidd.

Armaments

Although relatively well built, even when initially repaired by Connor, the Aquila underwent several major improvements during his captaincy. In addition to the warship's standard round shot and swivel guns, the Aquila was eventually upgraded to include several more projectile types; chain-shot to destroy a ship's sails, disabling them; grapeshot to target the crew; and heated shot to start fires among the hull.

As well as the ability to be upgraded with new ammunition and an additional row of cannons, the Aquila also received improvements in her hull strength and the addition of a naval ram.

Fully upgraded, the Aquila is armed with 60 main cannons, 30 on each side. This would have made her equivalent in firepower to a 4^th-rate ship of the line (i.e. amongst the smallest ships of the line, but larger than a frigate). Most contemporary 60-gun ships carried those guns on only two decks, but the Aquila carries them on three.

Trivia

"Aquila", the Latin word for "eagle", is a reference to the eagle motif of the Assassins.
- Continuing the eagle theme, the Aquila has an eagle-shaped figurehead.
"Aquila" is also the name of a constellation, with its brightest star known as "Altair"; which is also the namesake of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.
In an interview, Mission Director Philippe Bergeron stated that Connor could freeroam the seas with the ship between missions. However, this is not possible in the final version of Assassin's Creed III.
The Aquila had lifts attached to her central mast, shaped as an Assassin insignia.
Faulkner states the Aquila's stop speed to be 14 knots, but her actual in-game speed is closer to 60 knots, which was not reached by any real ship until 1911.