Avatar:Fire Nation air force
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Source: Original article • Imported: 2025-12-22
<infobox theme-source="nation"> <image source="image" /> <title source="name"><default>Fire Nation air force</default></title> <group> <header>General information</header> <label>Leader(s)</label> <label>Notable members</label> <label>Founder(s)</label> <label>Headquarters</label> <label>Affiliation</label> <label>Purpose</label> <label>Engagements</label> <label>Status</label> </group> <group> <header>Chronological information</header> <label>First appearance</label> <label>Last appearance</label> </group> </infobox>
The Fire Nation air force is the air warfare service branch of the military of the Fire Nation.[1]
History
Throughout much of its history, the only true form of aerial power achievable by the Fire Nation was through the bonding with dragons, something that was limited to a few individuals, such as animal guides to Avatars,[2] such as Szeto[3] and Roku,[4] as well as at least one Fire Lord in Sozin.[4]
For most of the course of the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation was not known to have utilized any true air force against its enemies. However, after the battle for the Northern Air Temple, the Fire Nation acquired a war balloon, a hot air balloon designed by the mechanist, an Earth Kingdom inventor whom the Fire Nation had pressed into service by designing weapons and technology. War Minister Qin deemed the defeat a "gateway to many victories".[5] Toward the end of the invasion of the Fire Nation, it was revealed that the Fire Nation had constructed many more war balloons fueled by firebenders, as well as several massive metal airships.[1]
The air force aided Azula in tracking down Team Avatar after Sokka and Zuko freed Hakoda, Suki, and Chit Sang from the Boiling Rock. Fire Nation airships bombarded the Western Air Temple, but after a short battle, Aang's team managed to escape on Appa.[6] Sometime later, an air force detachment assisted Commander Mamushi of the Fire Navy in searching for an artifact at a Fire Nation colony.[7]
The airships served a critical role in Ozai's plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom by harnessing the power of Sozin's Comet. Although the attack razed much of the western coastline, the airships were all captured or destroyed when Avatar Aang and his friends defeated Ozai and sabotaged the attack. This attack essentially destroyed the Fire Nation air force, as the bulk of its power had been invested in the airships.[8][9]
The air force was reconstituted after the war's end and employed to quickly transport members of the Royal Family such as Iroh and Fire Lord Zuko to important meetings.[10]
Aircraft types
By the late Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation air force relied on aircraft types based on the designs of the mechanist and War Minister Qin.[5][1] The production and supply of these aircraft was at least partially shouldered by private companies, including Sparrowkeet Air in the Fire Nation colonies.[11]
Hot air balloons
The Fire Nation hot air balloon, also called the war balloon, is a simple airborne vehicle comprised of a large red balloon with the Fire Nation insignia and a personnel gondola underneath. The balloon is fueled by a coal furnace set alight by a single firebender while a second firebender launches projectiles at air or ground-based forces.[5]
Airships
Airships are massive aerial warships made of metal, with dozens of crew members. They are primarily used for bombing ground targets, and have dozens of small platforms from which firebenders can attack airborne enemies, and also defend the body of the ship. The airships float using large fuel cells on the bottom of the hull to heat the air inside.[1] The airships played a large role in the last stages of the war, as they made up the battle force with which Ozai planned to burn down the Earth Kingdom during the passing of Sozin's Comet.[12]
Organization and crews
At its inception, the Fire Nation air force seemingly lacked fixed personnel. During the Black Sun Sun invasion, the air force's hot air balloons and airships were manned by Domestic Forces members,[1] while Royal Procession guards served as crews during Ozai's final operation. Either way, the airships required a contingent of Fire Nation engineers.[8]
Following the Hundred Year War, the air force took a more regular form, recruiting both men and women as regular crew. Commanders of airships received the rank of captain.[13]
Known commanding officers
Trivia
- According to unverified information by the Avatar: The Last Airbender YouTube channel, the Fire Nation already possessed some kind of air force at the time of Fire Lord Sozin.[14]
References
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