Gunship

Type of military aircraft

A gunship is a military aircraft armed with heavy guns or autocannons primarily intended to serve as a loitering base of fire for direct-fire attacks upon ground targets, either as a dedicated airstrike or to provide close air support for friendly land forces. The term "gunship" originated in the mid-19th century as a synonym for gunboat, and might also refer to the heavily armed ironclad steamships used for blockades during the American Civil War. In modern usage, the term gunship refers specifically to fixed-wing aircraft with laterally-mounted heavy armaments (typically installed only on one side) firing out from the side of the fuselage (similar to the broadside battery of Age of Sail warships), which are harmonized to target the apex of an imaginary cone formed by the aircraft's flight path and the ground when performing a pylon turn (banking turn).

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