History Main / TechnicallyATransport

** The Trade Federation's ''Lucrehulk'' warships were originally unarmed merchant ships, if incredibly massive, supposed to deal with pirate attacks simply by [[NoSell ignoring them thanks to powerful deflector shields and their sheer size]]. Then the Trade Federation turned them into troop transports and strapped some guns on them for the invasion of Naboo, as a planetary government, even a pacific one, had access to better weapons than pirates (such as the proton torpedoes that eventually took out the droid control ship), and ten years later, having had time for a more complete refit, they sport stronger shields and more (and better placed) guns, turning them into formidable warships.

* During TheAmericanCivilWar, the Confederacy salvaged the USS ''Merrimack'' and outfitted her with iron plating, renaming her the CSS ''Virginia''. To be fair, though, the ''Merrimack'' had been a frigate before that, so not really an example of this trope.

* The ''Millennium Falcon''. Originally a stock light freighter, but has since been upgraded with souped up drives, heavy-duty quad laser cannons, concussion missiles, and a sensor suite that's like seeing the future.

* Franchise/StarWars. The Millennium Falcon. Originally a stock light freighter, but has since been upgraded with souped up drives, heavy-duty quad laser cannons, concussion missiles, and a sensor suite that's like seeing the future.

* Amphibious assault ships [[AvertedTrope avert]] this entirely. The Wasp and America classes can carry enough fighters to qualify as small aircraft carriers, on top of their transported marines, in addition to considerable defensive armament, and the preceding Tarawa class even had a couple of 5" guns for fire support.

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[[AC:{{Real Life}}]]

* Most Infantry Fighting Vehicles qualify, with the general definition being an armored vehicle that can transport a squad of infantry and is also armed with a 20mm or larger cannon.

* ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}} 2142'': With the Air Transports filled with various members of a squad. Most commonly being Engineers, a Medic/Soldier, and Supports.

* During the American Civil War the Confederacy salvaged the USS Merrimack and outfitted it with iron plating, renaming it the CSS Virginia.

* The movie ThePentagonWars is about a Real Life development project that went this way: the Bradley Fighting Vehicle started out as a pure troop transport vehicle, but as development continued it acquired more and more features of a tank.

* CarWars. Big rig trucks are often armed with extensive weaponry in case they're attacked by bandits or have to engage in autodueling.
* StarFleetBattles. Many interstellar civilizations used armed transports and Q-ships to defend convoys from Orion pirates and other raiders.

* TwistedMetal: Just look at half the vehicles, you'll see it.
* ''{{Warhammer40000}}''. The Land Raider and the Wave Serpent are both transport vehicles that function at least as well as battle tanks.

Transports. We all know them. Slow. Weaponless. Altogether,quite vulnerable. But what if you could fix that little issue? In comes this thing; A humble battlefield bus turned into a substitute front-line tank. Or gunship. And it can still drop off its passengers and cargo most of the time. But who'd want to?

* Maybe not "a near unstoppable force of destruction", but a technical is a pickup truck fitted with guns (Also seen in CommandAndConquer Generals/Zero Hour, they upgrade increasing their strength through wreckage.) They're pretty cheap--regions vulnerable to the kinds of spontaneous and low-tech armed conflict that technicals show up in tend to have lots of reason (open terrain, farming) to have pickup trucks--and can pack a punch with the right armament, and not to mention can be armored with whatever scrap metal you can find. Disadvantage: The guy in the back actually manning the gun is pretty exposed.

* StarWars. The Millennium Falcon. Originally a stock light freighter, but has since been upgraded with souped up drives, heavy-duty quad laser cannons, concussion missiles, and a sensor suite that's like seeing the future.
* The Batmobiles seen in The Dark Knight Returns and BatMan Begins.

* Maybe not "a near unstoppable force of destruction", but a technical is a pickup truck fitted with guns (Also seen in CommandAndConquer Generals/Zero Hour, they upgrade increasing their strength through wreckage.)

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* CarWars. Big rig trucks are often armed with extensive weaponry in case they're attacked by bandits or have to engage in autodueling.
* StarFleetBattles. Many interstellar civilizations used armed transports and Q-ships to defend convoys from Orion pirates and other raiders.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* StarWars. The Millennium Falcon. Originally a stock light freighter, but has since been upgraded with souped up drives, heavy-duty quad laser cannons, concussion missiles, and a sensor suite that's like seeing the future.
* The Batmobiles seen in The Dark Knight Returns and BatMan Begins.
* In the ''Film/DawnOfTheDead2004'' remake, the survivors turn a tour bus into an armoured zombie killing death machine (complete with slots that let them use chainsaws to get rid of undead hitchers) in order to make a break towards the pier.
* ''Film/TheATeam'' with their modified vehicles.
* The movie ThePentagonWars is about a Real Life development project that went this way: the Bradley Fighting Vehicle started out as a pure troop transport vehicle, but as development continued it acquired more and more features of a tank.

* BattleField 2142: With the Air Transports filled with various members of a squad. Most commonly being Engineers, a Medic/Soldier, and Supports.

* SupremeCommander: A T1 or T2 Dropship loaded with T1 Light Assault Bots. The Cybrans can stick a T2 Mobile Stealth Field Generator with the LAB's to make it impossible to shoot down early without Omni-Sensors. In Forged Alliance,the UEF gets a T3 Dropship with a self-projected shield to jack survivability. The in-house term is "Ghetto Gunship"

* In the DawnOfTheDead remake, the survivors turn a tour bus into an armoured zombie killing death machine (complete with slots that let them use chainsaws to get rid of undead hitchers) in order to make a break towards the pier.
* TheATeam with their modified vehicles.