S-76 SeaDragon

S-76 SeaDragon
Machine Information
Created by	General Dynamics Matanza Arms Corporation
Used by	Cet-Ops
Class	S-76
Type	Ground Effect Vehicle/WIGE Vessel
Usage	RDA Cetacean Operations Mothership
Armament	Five Hydra Machine Gun
Size	121 m (397 feet)
Speed	130 knots (150mp/h)
Behind the Scenes
First seen	Avatar: The Way of Water

The S-76 SeaDragon, called the "Demon Ship" by the Na'vi, was a massive Cetacean Operations mothership designed for hunting tulkun. It carried an array of other sea-going crafts such as the the Matador and Picador, as well as the Mako and Crab Suit submersibles.

It was captained by Mick Scoresby and piloted by Ward. Morgan served as its first mate. Frances Ardmore condoned and authorized the tulkun hunting and she provided Scoresby with the SeaDragon. The SeaDragon was eventually sunk during the skirmish at the Three Brothers.

Specifications

Design

With a length of 121 meters, the SeaDragon is a giant Wing-In-Ground-Effect (WIGE, also known as Ground Effect Vehicle/GEV or ekranoplan) ship that carries a complement of smaller craft for maritime operations. The top deck of the ship's bow may look enclosed, but it can open up to reveal its large open-decked space where Crab Suits disembark. A well deck is present amidships, with a magnetic launch ramp for launching and recovering Matador and Picador boats. The ship's aviation facilities support up to two SeaWasp gunships for aerial fire support and reconnaissance.

Emergency Raft Canister

Command and control of the craft is done through the bridge located on the port side of the vessel. The SeaDragon incorporates several Emergency Raft Canisters that open up an inflatable raft for emergency purposes. It also contains a Tulkun Drill Crane to bore through the skull of a tulkun to extract Amrita.

Propulsion

The SeaDragon is propelled by four giant contra-rotating ducted fans on the stern of the vessel and its design enables the use of the Ground Effect, greatly reducing draught, and in consequence, drag, in order to increase efficiency and speed at up to a 140 knots. A noticeable resemblance could be drawn to the Hydrodrome vehicles, as propulsion are both done via air propellers and both craft can lift itself outside of the water via wings and hydrofoils.

Armament

The SeaDragon is lightly armed with at least five Hydra Machine Guns, with one on each side of the port-side bridge tower, and three mounted on the red catwalk above the main deployment deck. It also carries a small fleet of Mako Submersibles armed with torpedoes which hang underneath the ship's keel.

Service History

Kiri and Spider grab hands as the SeaDragon sinks

At least one SeaDragon was manufactured via stereolithography at Bridgehead as a joint venture through RDA CON-DEV with Matanza Arms Corporation, INVIGOR, IMCorp, and Hexfast. It served as a flagship for Scoresby's whaling operations for Tulkun hunting and Amrita harvesting - which serves as one of the RDA's primary sources of funding. The SeaDragon would undergo constant long range operations to harvest Amrita until Quaritch commandeered the vessel and its fleet in the hunt for Jake Sully.

The same SeaDragon was sunk during the Skirmish at the Three Brothers after sustaining critical damage. Many of its crew members were killed or drowned in the ensuing battle, though at least one fully loaded lifeboat managed to escape.

Trivia

The SeaDragon apparently being created

• The SeaDragon seems to have been built when Quaritch visits Ardmore, showing how quickly the RDA can construct vehicles, though this was likely just another ship of the same class - as Scoresby and his fleet had been confirmed to be hunting for quite some time.
• The naming of the vessel can be seen as an allusion to Miles Quaritch from the first film, since during the final battle, he piloted the Dragon Assault Ship and he was called Papa Dragon.
• The director of the Avatar series, James Cameron, directed another film about a ship sinking known as Titanic which is based on true events.

References

See the image gallery for SeaDragon