Was Operation Chariot a modern fire-ship attack?

Did sending Campbeltown into St Nazaire continue the older tradition of gunpowder-filled fire ships?

Yes; it was a modern continuation of using the ship itself as an explosive weapon against an enemy fleet or position.

A viewer compares Campbeltown with earlier attempts to send gunpowder-filled ships against fleets and fortifications. The St Nazaire raid continues the older pattern of fire-ship operations. The technology changes from an openly burning vessel to concealed delayed explosives, but the delivery principle remains recognizable. A ship that appears to be a transport or wreck becomes the weapon after it reaches the point where ordinary gunfire would be less certain.