Given how ubiquitous airships are in the franchise, and seeing actual military use of them in the movie, how would you guys imagine Equestria would use them in warfare? With how much more weight they appear to be able to lift in this universe compared to our own, it would not be surprising to see them outfitted with armour, as well as being able to carry a greater range of equipment and weaponry compared to military airships of our timeline, suggesting a greater variety of roles they could fill. Thoughts?

7129200
I personally think that they would use the airship to carry troops and supplies but they would also use the canons on the ship to provide air support for their units as well as go into naval combat with any other enemy airships. I can also see Equestria using their airships for bombardment missions to weaken enemy garrisons.

I see multiple different classes. There’s larger airships, meant for troop transport, heavily armed and can be used for attacking like in the movie. Weapons would be transported on these ships. Then there’s cargo ships, which are big lumbering things, armored and not a lot in way of firepower. Then you’ve got pedestrian airships and schooners, which are the lighter, more maneuverable vehicles, using speed rather than firepower to evade. I’m basing some of these off Cold In Gardez’s “Grief is the Price we Pay” and some off of the movie.

Bombardment, cargo, carriers. Bombardment for all the reason you mentioned- pegasi are fast, but can't exactly carry much. On top of that, air ships wouldn't even necessarily need to carry physical bomb loads- instead, they could act as a shuttle for scores of mages, who could cast magic from a high point above the battlefield without having to worry about a flight spell or self-levitation. Cargo, because trains aren't going to cut it everywhere. Given how crucial control of the airspace is too winning a battle in a world with air forces, the most useful role would probably be as carriers for pegasi. By stationing airships near the battlefield/OA, pegasi have to travel virtually no distance to engage a target, and so there loiter time is great increased. It would also probably help you limit losses, since there is a safe point to land and receive medical aid for pegasi far closer than operating from a fixed location. Now granted they could do cloud carriers, but those would be ungainly, and vulnerable to damage.

7129200
I'm not too worried about weight or protection, as extensive magical enchantments would provide a significal augmentation for an airship (acting either as a shield to soak up enemy AA or even diminishing the overall weight).

Regarding their role, well, I would classify them more or less as we normally do with ships:

Destroyer: a lighter form of airship, designed to act as a screen for heavier models, raider or to deny the sky and hunt down enemy flyers thanks to its speed. It would be equipped with a combination of light guns not very effective against armour, but capable of higher rates of fire to engage said flyers.

Cruiser: this tipe of airships is heavier, sports better guns and is overrall much more versatile. It has pretty much of the same roles of a Destroyer (aside from being definitely better), but it could also engage enemy airships in the sky and pound fortified positions. A jack-of-all trades.

Battleship or Bomber: a flying dreadnought, its guns are capable of pulverizing anything within reach, be it on the ground or in the sky, all the while its armour makes a mockery of everything but the enemy heaviest guns. Drawbacks? A tortoise is faster than this, while its maneuverability leaves a lot to be desired. It is not very effective against enemy flyers either, as much of its smaller guns has been swapped for biggers ones. Oh, and it's expensive as f**k.

Carrier/AAS: I'm putting these two together for pegasi don't have much in terms of carrying capacity, so do not consider them as an equivalent to planes. This kind of airships is the perfect complement for them, sporting a much bigger cargo bay which can act as barracks/hospital/rearmament station. Assault ramps allows it to deploy troops on the ground, and it can use its guns to support them. Perfect for airbone assaults, flanking manouvres or conducting raids deep beyond enemy lines. Given its precious cargo, its not meant for a direct confrontation.

Of course, those are just the strictly military tipes, as civilian cargo airships can be easily requisitioned and employed to transport either supply or troops. Said airships don't have much in the way of protection though, and can be quite vulnerable to enemy Destroyers.

With all these comparisons to real-world warships, it's got me thinking, you know how Destroyers could release a smokescreen in order to hide themselves from enemy ships giving them a chance to either escape, launch torpedoes or both, i could now imagine an equestrian airship using stored reserves of cloud to hide itself within a cloud layer, allowing it to sneak up on an enemy position without being noticed

I have debated using airships in one of my stories. What I thought of was having smaller ones used for patrol duties, armed with semi-automatic cannon (like the 40mm Bofors), and very large ones used like aircraft carriers except carrying pegasi equipped to carry smaller sized bombs who attack like dive bombers. (The carriers would of course carry their own guns of course. I would think that 40mm would be sufficient. All one would have to do to take down another airship is destroy the envelope. Gas bags I think would still be rather hard to protect from gunfire due to weight issues)

Airships figure prominently in my Flight of Firefly war epic, and are (currently) of three types--large capital ships, smaller, quicker escorts, and transports. The large ones are basically used as airborne battleships that can engage ground and air targets alike with a mixture of conventional and magical ballistae. Escorts launch hit and fly attacks and can ram larger ships with their reinforced prows. Transports can carry soldiers and/or supplies but are poorly defended. Larger ships also carry pegasi air wings to both defend the ship and attack air and ground targets. Capital ships and escorts have a thousand-mile range; transports somewhat less.

A better question to ask is how do you defend an airship from attack given the apparent vulnerability of the dirigible balloons that hold them aloft--destroy them and the ship plummets to its doom. You'd need some way to shield and defend them. In my story, there are mythril filaments woven around them that channel magical energy fed from its main engine crystals into a shield spell for defense against ranged attacks and the ability to generate lightning to repulse raiders. When activated, the exterior of dirigible balloons are a crackling ball of electricity that's deadly to approach.

7129271
Regarding trying to take down the envelope, it's not as easy as it seems, for three reasons. 1) Air pressure. Airships are designed so that the pressure inside the hull equals that of outside, this means that when the ship leaks, it leaks slow. As in, several hours just or one gas cell to empty half of itself slow. 2) Multiple gas cells. A typical ship (Assuming we're using Zeppelin logic here) usually has around 12 to 15 gas cells, and even if you got several of them leaking, you could just balance them out by dumping water ballast, the only trade off being a reduction in flight ceiling. 3) We need to remember, there's a crew on board, and when the ships's damaged, do you think they're just gonna keep it damaged?

7129200
Historically, and I'm going with the German and American uses of Zeppelins in their military, the ideal role was that of a long range bomber during World War I, the US however experimented with using Airships as flying Aircraft Carriers so maybe a combination of the two: a bomber with a Pegasai airwing for escort

7129387

the ideal role was that of a long range bomber during World War I

Long range scout actually. Bombing runs, only made up about a quarter of all missions undertaken by German Zeppelin's. Scouting was also the role the US Navy wanted out of its airships, with the planes being the ships eyes, extending its viewing range considerably while it hid behind the horizon. Had the ZRCV been built, Radar and dive bombers would likely have made it into the mix

7129396
My case here may be a little unique, but in my story, Equestria's leadership is leading a government-in-exile with a rag-tag military. As such, the Wonderbolts have the only capital airships in the Equestrian fleet. These vessels, the brand new W.A.S. Spitfire and the aging W.A.S. Soarin served the Wonderbolts in peacetime as transports for ponies and equipment to and from their airshows. A much larger number of smaller vessels are being used by Equestria to supplement their air fleet to screen against aerial attacks (they're fighting changelings). Though they were not designed with combat in mind, they each have a loading ramp at the aft which allowed gear to be loaded in. These have been repurposed with seats for carrying additional crew, which allows the airships to fill the role of carrier quite nicely. If the threat they are facing has nominal air forces or no flying forces at all, the airships can also function as command centers and conduct recon over large areas of the battlefield.

Given their non-military origins, these ships have no native weapons platforms. (No faction in my fic has even fully militarized gunpowder yet, with only one faction using it for special forces.) Aboard each capital ship, a team of unicorns stands ready to raise a shield around the airship at a moment's notice. Unicorns may also fire spells at the enemy from the top deck, which has been outfitted with castle-like battlements. Pegasi may also attempt to board an enemy airship, or may be called upon to protect from incoming flying enemies. If the opportunity presents itself, they may attempt a ramming maneuver against another airship's balloon, using the steel-reinforced bow to tear a wide gash and sink the enemy. Since most Equestrian airships follow the model of boat + balloon, they may in an emergency make an amphibious landing.

tl;dr: I guess they function kinda like carriers, kinda like triremes, but with magic archers and magic shields and a vulnerable balloon above them that they need to protect while firing at others' balloons. Also, they can transport troops and supplies.

However, I do have a few rather creative ideas for them in upcoming chapters. I think the fact that they're so technologically underwhelming forces both me the author and their crews to be more creative.

7129200
It would certainly hold true that military airships would have to have great lifting capacity. That said though, it would not necessarily need to be armored. It would depend of course on just what kind of threat it would face. There was no real indication of other species having cannon, so protection against shellfire may not be necessary. And protection against fire, say from dragons, may still be achieved to a certain degree with wood, though an attack from a dragon like Ember's father may not be survivable even with steel. With that in mind, a sizable zeppelin with a certain level of protection would probably be beyond earth technology. But, if feasible is not an issue, I'm personally in favor of a double hulled design, which may have enough lifting capability to carry weapons for defense, along with a pegasi air wing for offensive needs.