History Main / TechnicallyATransport

* Many of Germany's World War II multi-engined bombers were originally built as airliners and cargo transports, initially to get around the prohibition on operating military aircrafts (the Heinkel He 111 being designed from the ground up as a bomber and simply operating as an airliner) and later due a lack of resources to develop new bombers from scratch forcing to adapt existing transports.

** Technicals are the GLA's transport vehicle. Oddly enough, despite their ramshackle construction, they're the only transport that ''doesn't'' kill its passengers on death. They can also upgrade their weaponry increasing their strength through wreckage.

* The galleass derived from the large merchant galleys that had been used as merchant ships in the Mediterranean through the Middle Ages-and indeed, the first batch of six were merchant ships that Venice decided to stuff with 36 heavy guns (18 per side) and many smaller ones for the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto (with the commander of the League fleet, John of Austria, [[UpToEleven replacing many swordfighters of the crews with musketeers to increase their firepower]]). Compared to the galley warships normally used in the Mediterranean they were slow and unwieldy... And formidably armed, as a galley had a single heavy gun fore and one aft plus some lighter ones. [[WrongGenreSavvy The Ottomans thought the original six were cargo ships that had found themselves in the wrong place]] and tried to board them, [[SuperweaponSurprise losing 70 ships and suffering damage and personnel loss to many others before they decided to just sail around them]]. [[CurbStompBattle Lepanto ended with the annihilation of the Ottoman fleet for the loss of just 17 galleys]], with the League losses in terms of personnel more than replaced by the slaves freed in the battle and the Ottoman naval power being crippled for centuries due the loss of so many experienced sailors.

* There's a few in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''. Where most troop carriers tend towards carrying small missile weapons, machine guns, or the odd light laser/flamethrower, there's a few designs that substitute easily as tanks. The [[http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Tyr_%28combat_vehicle%29 Tyr]] is a tough, fast HoverTank that has the benefit of carrying a squad of PowerArmor troopers in the back. The [[http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Hasek Hasek]] carries heavy armor and a [[{{BFG}} PPC]] in its turret, making it the equivalent of a light tank. The kicker, however, is the [[http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Indra Indra]], which carries an infantry team in one end and a fearsome Clan-built ER PPC in the other, providing enough firepower to blow away light 'Mechs and potentially [[BoomHeadshot decapitating any 'Mech in a single shot]].

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' examples:
** The ''Columbus''-class, the Federation's main carrier, started out as an unarmed troop[=/=]cargo transport, before the Federation refitted it into a fighter (later mobile suit) carrier and added point defense weapons.

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* 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.
* The movie ''Film/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.

** Corellian Engineering Corporation is well known in-universe for making highly customizable transports that could be turned into capable warships, sometimes with modification kits made directly by CEC. Among them we have the YT-series of light freighters (in their stock models they carry a single light gun... And provisions for more numerous and much heavier ones, plus the ability to mount incredibly fast engines and powerful shields. The ''Millennium Falcon'' is a [=YT-1300f=], and the weapon array includes two ''capital ship'' point defense quad-guns, a pop-up light blaster cannons, and concussion missiles), the HWK-290 light freighter (as a stock model, it's completely unarmed-and moves closer to a starfighter than a freighter. [[VideoGame/DarkForces Kyle Katarn]]'s first ship was a modified HWK-290), the ''Gozanti''-class cruiser (a largish merchant ship, if a well armed and armored one and intentionally made slow to prevent pirate use. Both Rebels and Empire are known to modify it into a light assault carrier, and CEC itself has made their own militarized version), the [=CR90=] corvette (an armed transport, with available assault corvette and troop transport configurations among many, with the stock model being already more than capable of fending off pirates), the [=CR70=] corvette (an unarmed transport in its standard configuration. Once the Vanguard c20 retrofit suite is applied it basically turns into a [=CR90=]), the ''Consular''-class space cruiser (a completely unarmed vessel, that both the Republic's Judicial Forces and the various local militias were known to arm for anti-pirate duties. Then for the Clone Wars CEC came up with the Charger c70 retrofit, turning it into a very capable light frigate and giving the Republic a military fleet almost overnight), and the ''Sphyrna''-class corvette (another armed transport, even if inspired by an ancient warship model, armed with three laser cannons. The Rebellion would modify the ships with torpedo launchers or additional engines for hit-and-run attacks. In ''Film/RogueOne'' one with an additional engine was able to [[RammingAlwaysWorks push]] a disabled [[TheBattlestar Star Destroyer]] into a fully active Star Destroyer and a hostile space station, destroying all three at once).

** The Rebels' Mon Calamari-made ships were originally liners, cityships, and traders that, as per Mon Cala building practices, were completely unarmed but sported surprisingly strong shields... And hardpoints for weapons, that were put to use once the Mon Cala rose against the Empire.

* In ''Run Silent, Run Deep'', the fictional account of [=WW2=] submarine warfare by real-life ace submarine skipper Edward Beach, the submarine ''Walrus'' has two separate encounters with Japanese "Q-ships," freighters outfitted with the engines, weapons, and ASW sensors of a destroyer.

[[folder: Live-Action Television]]
* In an episode of ''Series/NCISNewOrleans'', the New Orleans police set up roadblocks to trap a fleeing bad guy in a pickup truck. They think they've got the bad guy caught ... until a second bad guy stands up from under a tarp in the bed of the pickup, [[GatlingGood unfolds a minigun on a stand]], and starts blasting hell out of the police cars.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* There's a few in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''. Where most troop carriers tend towards carrying small missile weapons, machine guns, or the odd light laser/flamethrower, there's a few designs that substitute easily as tanks. The [[http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Tyr_%28combat_vehicle%29 Tyr]] is a tough, fast HoverTank that has the benefit of carrying a squad of PowerArmor troopers in the back. The [[http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Hasek Hasek]] carries heavy armor and a [[{{BFG}} PPC]] in its turret, making it the equivalent of a light tank. The kicker, however, is the [[http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Indra Indra]], which carries an infantry team in one end and a fearsome Clan-built ER PPC in the other, providing enough firepower to blow away light 'Mechs and potentially [[BoomHeadshot decapitating any 'Mech in a single shot]].

* ''VideoGame/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"
* ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'': Just look at half the vehicles, you'll see it.
* The ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' version of the Batmobile has a pair of fold-away harness chairs in an armored compartment, used to get civilians, injured cops and the like to safety.
* ''Videogame/PlanetSide 2'' has the Sunderer, a BigBadassRig BaseOnWheels. Normally outfitted only with a pair of mediocre 20mm guns and poor armor but the ability to deploy into a spawn point and carry 12 people, it can be outfitted with automatic grenade launchers, heavy armor, and an engine that lets it outrun the game's CoolBike, all without affecting its spawning ability or carrying capacity. This "Battle Bus" is a terrifying enemy, being a LightningBruiser with the capacity to vomit out a dozen people in MAX PoweredArmor. The original game also had the Deliverer armored truck and its empire-specific derivatives, which carried less armor but was more agile and [[AmphibiousAutomobile amphibious]].
* In ''VideoGame/GroundControl II: Operation Exodus'', when properly upgraded, your dropship can be your most powerful weapon on the battlefield thanks to its mobility, firepower, and survivability. Its primary bane is dedicated anti-air units. It also only shows up for a short time before leaving and requires you to actually order some reinforcements to appear. This is in contrast to the first game's dropships, which are purely unarmed transports.
* ''VideoGame/EmpireEarthII'': In the first 5 eras, the Galley/Trireme/Decareme is the only naval combat unit and transport (the other two being a fishing ship and a merchant ship). It has surprisingly good range, allowing it to clear out fortifications and units before landing its troops. After that, combat ships undergo TacticalRockPaperScissors specialization, and DefenselessTransports becomes the norm.

* ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity'':
** ''Override'' has the Helian, a ship whose description notes that it skirts laws on civilians owning ships designed for combat by its large cargo bay allowing it to be classified as a courier vessel/light freighter. As ''skirts'' laws implies, in terms of gameplay coding it is combat-capable enough to be classified as a light warship, and its most common users are planetary militias and renegades (eg. SpacePirates). Lorewise the UE Destroyer originated as a refit of a freighter, although since the Voinian War it has been turned into a model of its own, and the source ship isn't present in-game[[note]]but will be added with the ''Cosmic Frontier'' remaster[[/note]].
** ''Nova'' has the Auroran Industries Enterprise, the workhorse cargo transport of the Auroran Empire. While the stock variant only has a single FPC turret, it has hardpoints for another turret and 4 forward guns as well as a good amount of armor. The up-gunned Heavily Modified variant and various models of Pirate Enterprise are comparable to a frigate or light cruiser. Given that the Aurorans are ProudWarriorRaceGuys, the design was probably meant to be militarized from the start.
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals[=/=]Zero Hour'':
** Technicals are the GLA's transport vehicle. Oddly enough, despite their ramshackle construction, they're the only transport that ''doesn't'' kill its passengers on death. They can also upgrade their weaponry increasing their strength through wreckage.
** The American Humvee allows its passengers to fire their weapons through its fireports, turning it into a mobile firebase (it's very fragile). While it starts out with a machine gun, it can also be upgraded to fire missiles as well.
** Inverted with the Overlord, which starts as a monstrously huge tank that can be upgraded to have a bunker installed on it, allowing infantry to fire while it's moving.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/DawnOfTheDead2004 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dead_reckoning.jpg]]]]

* Quite a few merchant ships during the Age of Sail were armed. Some, most notably the East Indiamen, had firepower comparable to actual warships, and in fact served as actual warships on occasion.

* Quite a few merchant ships during the Age of Sail were armed. Some, most notably the East Indiamen, had firepower comparable to actual warships, and in fact served as actual warships on occasion. Since all ships of this era were made of wood and guns were simply fired through holes cut in the sides, there wasn't ''that'' much actual difference in the hulls of transports and dedicated warships.

* Armed merchant cruisers are quite literally merchant ships with guns and sometimes torpedo launchers bolted onto the decks. Though usually no match for a proper cruiser (emphasis on ''usually''; just ask HMAS Sydney), they're much cheaper and are just as capable of threatening unarmed merchant ships.
* Quite a few merchant ships during the Age of Sail were armed. Some, most notably the East Indiamen, had firepower comparable to actual warships, and in fact served as actual warships on occasion.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}: Cataclysm'', your ship the ''[[TheMothership Kuun-Lan]]'' is essentially a large [[AsteroidMiners mining ship]] equipped with some decent but not exceptional mass driver cannons, relying on its embarked fighter complement and the dedicated combat ships it can build for defense against anything larger than fighters. As the game proceeds, however, the ''Kuun-Lan'' receives upgrades that include better armor (twice), replacing the original guns with more powerful energy cannons, and mounting the [[WaveMotionGun Siege Cannon]], making it the single most formidable ship in the game.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. The Land Raider and the Wave Serpent are both transport vehicles that function at least as well as battle tanks.

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': The ''Maxim 39'' is technically just a science vessel, but it's a famously moddable hull and has been outfitted with all the weapons and gadgets its MadScientist captain could wish for. The Toughs use it as a support frigate, but it's a very well-armed one. To contrast, Shiplord Srabben is stupid enough to think it's ''still'' just a stock support frigate, and assumes that his own fleet of stolen civilian ships with guns glued on will be able to destroy these military warships.

* Maybe not "a near unstoppable force of destruction", but a technical is a pickup truck fitted with guns (Also seen in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals[=/=]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.

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?

** ''Override'' has the Helian, a ship whose destruction notes that it skirts laws on civilians owning ships designed for combat by its large cargo bay allowing it to be classified as a courier vessel/light freighter. As ''skirts'' laws implies, in terms of gameplay coding it is combat-capable enough to be classified as a light warship, and its most common users are planetary militias and renegades (eg. SpacePirates).

* In the manga version of ''Manga/VenusWars'', the Aphrodian army, seeing how their conventional tanks had been outmatched in the initial Ishtar invasion but the [[CoolBike Hound-class war bikes]] had been effective even against [[TheJuggernaut the otherwise invincible Octopus tanks]], decides to supplement them with pick-up trucks armed either with anti-aircraft guns ([[PointDefenseless as the bikes were helpless against air attacks]]) or heavier anti-tank weapons depending on the model. In the Battle of Route 1 [[RealityEnsues the anti-tank variant is easily wiped out due not having the manouverability that allowed the Hounds to survive]], while the anti-aircraft one is wiped out by an Ishtar surprise air attack but [[CurbStompCushion managed to inflict heavy losses in the process]].

* The AC-130 gunship. It's simply a Hercules cargo plane with guns and ammo rolled on board, pointing out the port side. The AC-47 and AC-119 having a similar history.

** In the right conditions they can be surprisingly effective, to the point that the final phase of the Chadian-Libyan Conflict is named "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War The Great Toyota War]]" after the large number of Toyota Hilux and Toyota Land Cruiser pick-ups that France provided to Chad and, equipped with modern anti-tank missiles, inflicted the Libyan tank-equipped forces a series of devastating and embarrassing defeats that brought Gaddafi to the negotiation's table.

* 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/EscapeVelocity Nova'' has the Auroran Industries Enterprise, the workhorse cargo transport of the Auroran Empire. While the stock variant only has a single FPC turret, it has hardpoints for another turret and 4 forward guns as well as a good amount of armor. The up-gunned Heavily Modified variant and various models of Pirate Enterprise are comparable to a frigate or light cruiser. Given that the Aurorans are ProudWarriorRaceGuys, the design was probably meant to be militarized from the start.

* Helicopter gunships are a distinct category compared to attack helicopters; the former carry passengers in addition to their armament, while attack helicopters do not.

* ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity Nova'' has the Auroran Industries Enterprise, the workhorse cargo transport of the Auroran Empire. While the stock variant only has a single FPC turret, it has hardpoints for another turret and 4 forward guns as well as a good amount of armor. The up-gunned Heavily Modified variant and various models of Pirate Enterprise are comparable to a cruiser or heavy gunship. Given that the Aurorans are ProudWarriorRaceGuys, the design was probably meant to be militarized from the start.