Allegiance-class battlecruiser
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| Allegiance-class battlecruiser[1] | |
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| Production information | |
| Product line | |
| Model |
Allegiance-class battlecruiser[1] |
| Class |
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| Technical specifications | |
| Length |
2,200 meters[1] |
| Engine unit(s) |
7[2] |
| Hyperdrive rating |
Equipped[2] |
| Shielding |
Equipped[2] |
| Armament | |
| Complement |
None[2] |
| Docking bays | |
| Usage | |
| Role(s) |
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| Year introduced | |
| Retired | |
| Era(s) | |
| Affiliation | |
The Allegiance-class battlecruiser was a warship in the Imperial Navy.
Contents |
Description
Edit
DimensionsEdit
The Allegiance-class was similar in appearance to the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, but larger, at 2,200 meters in length.[1] The battlecruiser lacked ventral hangar bays,[2][3] being more akin to the Tector-class Star Destroyer.[7]
The terraced dorsal superstructure surrounding the Allegiance's bridge tower was far smoother than those on the Imperial-class, allowing better armor coverage and less exposure of the inter-plate surfaces.[2][3]
Offensive and defensive systemsEdit
The Allegiance-class was armed with gun batteries in a similar layout to the Imperial-class, albeit with an increased number of guns, due to its its larger frame.[3]
Propulsion systemsEdit
The Allegiance-class battlecruiser was designed with a more massive reactor than contemporary Star Destroyer designs, necessitating a large ventral reactor bulge for armored protection.[2][8]
Bridge towerEdit
The T-shaped command tower was put in full view of enemy vessels, and was similar in design to the modular KDY command towers. It included a visible section that stood out from the rest of the tower, similar to the bridge sections on the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer and the Executor-class Star Dreadnought.[9] The tower was capped by geodesic domes, like on other contemporary Imperial warships.[2][3]
HistoryEdit
Imperial serviceEdit
The Allegiance-class was known as a "Heavy Star Destroyer" and was one of several models of the smaller "Star Cruiser" subclass of battlecruiser design.[1] Due to its size, power and combat focus, the class was afforded the designation of "battlecruiser" by the Anaxes War College System.[1]
These battlecruisers were in service by 3 ABY, when Captain Firmus Piett and Admiral Kendal Ozzel observed several Allegiances that were part of a high-mobility fleet which rendevouzed with Death Squadron prior to the Battle of Hoth.[3]
Several ships of this class were serviced at the Naval Station Validusia at some point. During a fleet exercise, a ship of this class was refueled by an Altor-class replenishment ship alongside an Assertor-class Star Dreadnought.[3]
The Dark EmpireEdit
Allegiance-class ships were pressed into numerous duties during the time of Emperor Palpatine's return, including acting as escorts for larger command ships[10][4] and providing protection and support for Palpatine's defense forces at Byss.[5] They were used throughout the entire star system to patrol and monitor traffic to and from the secluded throne-world and worked in conjunction with Gauntlet Scanner Stations, destroying any ships the stations identified as hostile.[11]
During the Battle of Mon Calamari in 10 ABY, the battlecruiser Allegiance served as a command and communications ship for the invasion fleet and transmitted images to Byss. A New Republic task force picked up the transmissions while in transit to the system and homed in on their origin. As the fleet jumped out of hyperspace, it bombarded the battlecruiser and its Procursator-class escorts and destroyed both the Allegiance and the Star Destroyers.[2]
Several Allegiance battlecruisers later escorted Palpatine's flagship, the dreadnought Eclipse, as it traveled to the Cyax system.[4] Ships of the class later participated in the Battle of the Emperor's Citadel.[5]
During its career in the remnant Imperial Navy, the Allegiance-class was sometimes referred to as "Imperial-class" and a "Super Star Destroyer" by New Republic forces.[12]
Behind the scenesEdit
The Allegiance-class battlecruiser first appeared in the Dark Empire comic series, illustrated by Cam Kennedy. A number of unique vessels appeared in this series and Dark Empire II, with the appearance of the Allegiance-class being relatively consistent.[2][4][5]
At one point, the audio book version of Dark Empire calls these vessels both "Imperial-class destroyers" and "Super Star Destroyers," with the appearance in the corresponding comic panel matching what would become known as the Allegiance-class. Because of the above mentioned dialogue, fans initially assumed the Allegiance belonged to a Super Star Destroyer line called the Imperial-class.[12]
The most recent canonical incarnation of the design originated as a detailed fan-made 3D model by Ansel Hsiao, who based his design on the Super Star Destroyer Allegiance from Dark Empire 3: The Battle for Calamari.[13] When approached by Lucas Licensing to provide artwork for The Essential Guide to Warfare, Hsiao submitted his own designs in addition to new models, along with their names. The names were recorded in LFL's Holocron continuity database.[14][1]
The use of "heavy" in the class-name on his gallery, was Hsiao's own invention. According to him, it is not part of the canonical name which was submitted to the Lucas Licensing continuity database.[15] On his Tumblr account detailing endnote trivia in The Essential Guide to Warfare, Jason Fry noted the name as officially being Allegiance-class battlecruiser, and also explicitly identified the unnamed ships in various panels of Dark Empire II as being the same as the Allegiance-class battlecruisers. In addition, Fry also attributed the name "Heavy Star Destroyer" as a nickname in canon lore and confirmed that the class's specifications were officially recorded.[1] On a related note, the ship-class' designation was upgraded from a Star Destroyer to a battlecruiser due to the use of the Anaxes War College System that was created for The Essential Guide to Warfare. The Bellator-class dreadnought had something similar occur, where its ship designation was changed from Star Battlecruiser to dreadnought.
Besides Hsiao's artwork in the book, the design can be seen in another painting, by Tommy Lee Edwards. The image uses a picture from Hsiao's personal gallery as a background, originally titled "Strategic Reserve,"[16] where three members of the ship class appear, although two are cut off by the top edge of Edwards' painting. The third ship is to the right and in close proximity to Firmus Piett and Kendal Ozzel, facing away.[17]
AppearancesEdit
- Dark Empire 3: The Battle for Calamari (First appearance) (Retcon)
- Dark Empire 4: Confrontation on the Smugglers' Moon (Retcon)
- Dark Empire 6: The Fate of a Galaxy (Retcon)
- Dark Empire audio drama (Retcon) (First identified as "Imperial-class" and "Super Star Destroyer")
- Dark Empire II 3: World of the Ancient Sith (Retcon)
- Dark Empire II 4: Battle on Byss (Retcon)
SourcesEdit
- Dark Empire Sourcebook (Retcon)
- Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy (Indirect mention only) (Retcon)
- Star Wars: Complete Locations (Indirect mention only) (Retcon)
- The Essential Guide to Warfare (Indirect mention only) (Picture only)
- Jason Fry's tumblr account - EG to Warfare Endnotes Pt. 7. (First identified as Allegiance-class battlecruiser)
- Jason Fry's tumblr account - EG to Warfare Endnotes Pt. 11. (Indirect mention only)
Notes and referencesEdit
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Jason Fry (2012-05-14). Jason Fry's Dorkery - EG to Warfare Endnotes Pt. 7. Retrieved on May 20, 2012.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 Dark Empire 3: The Battle for Calamari
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 The Essential Guide to Warfare
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Dark Empire 6: The Fate of a Galaxy
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Dark Empire II 4: Battle on Byss
- ↑ The Legacy Era Campaign Guide mentions large warships like Super Star Destroyers were no longer in use due to cost of upkeep.
- ↑ Revenge of the Sith: Incredible Cross-Sections
- ↑ Star Wars: Incredible Cross-Sections
- ↑ Star Wars: Complete Locations
- ↑ Dark Empire Sourcebook
- ↑ Byss and the Deep Core
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Dark Empire audio drama
- ↑ Ansel Hsiao (2008-10-14). Re: Something big. Retrieved on May 20, 2012. “The doodle was meant as my interpretation of the Allegiance.”
- ↑ Ansel Hsiao (2012-02-08). Re: Something big. Retrieved on May 20, 2012. “As far as I know, they kept the names for the Holocron at least. Leland Chee was very gracious in letting me use them.”
- ↑ Ansel Hsiao (2012-04-11). Re: Something big. Retrieved on May 20, 2012. “Heavy and light are my designations, and not canon, and in any event only refer to relative scale, and are really quite common in normal naval terminology.”
- ↑ Ansel Hsiao. Still Images. Retrieved on May 20, 2012.
- ↑ Tommy Lee Edwards; Eric Gellar (2012-04-07). Comparing Battles Can Bring Star Wars Down To Earth » Ozzel_Piett. Retrieved on May 20, 2012. (Hsiao's artwork on a Suvudu EGTW art gallery, second Battlecruiser on the lower left side.)
