Battlecruiser

The Scythe-class served in the Galactic Alliance Defense Fleet.

"This is my personal battle cruiser…and I did not name it the Executor for nothing!"

―Darth Vader, referring to his Super Star Destroyer^[src]

Battlecruiser, or battle cruiser, was a formal designation for the class of massive ships that fell between Star Destroyers and Dreadnaughts in size.^[1] In informal use, it was used for the largest and strongest warships in a fleet that were not battleships, as well as more generally for various types of warships, along with "cruiser".^[2]

History

File:Hapes Nova-Class.jpg

The Nova-class of the Hapes Consortium.

Most battlecruisers were large and powerful ships that were among the most powerful in their fleets. A prime example was the Tagge battlecruisers used by the Galactic Empire,^[3] as well as the Mediator-class battle cruiser first deployed by the New Republic^[4]|

Due to different naming customs and design-capabilities, some vessels bore the designation of "battlecruiser" while serving as frigate-analogs on a galactic scale, like the Kaloth-class battlecruiser^[5] and the Hapes-built Nova-class battle cruiser.^[6] Others were comparable in role to the Star Destroyers of the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire, like the Centurion-class^[7] and the Scythe-class main battle cruiser employed by the Galactic Alliance Core Fleet.^[8]. By the time of the Galactic Empire, however, battlecruisers, although existent among the Imperial Military, had very few constructed, largely due to the battlecruisers neither having the versatility/cost-effectiveness of their standard Star Destroyer line nor did they compensate with a psychological effect comparable to that of their largest Star Dreadnoughts. At the smallest end of the Empire's battlecruisers were the Star Cruiser line.^[9]

Known battlecruiser designs

Allegiance-class battlecruiser

Often nicknamed a "Heavy Star Destroyer," it was a 2,200m vessel that saw service throughout the Empire, and was also utilized within the reborn Emperor's empire. It also acted as a good example of the cruiser subclass of battlecruiser.

BulwarkBattlecruiser-SWR — The *Bulwark*-class came in different models with increasing sizes.

Bulwark-class battle cruiser

The Bulwark-class was used for a series of battlecruiser designs from TransGalMeg Industries. The 1 kilometer long Bulwark Mark I served the Confederacy of Independent Systems, while a later, larger model was used by the Rebel Alliance as a command ship.

Centurion-class battlecruiser

The 1,200 meter long Centurion-class served as command ships in the Republic Navy and Sith Empire of Darth Revan, taking the role earlier filled by the larger Inexpugnable-class tactical command ships.

Kaloth-class battlecruiser

The 307 meter Kaloth-class was a small warship built by the Kaloth. It was only used by pirates and slavers a few decades after its introduction.

Ravager5 — A dilapidated *Centurion*-class battlecruiser in formation with *Interdictor*-class cruisers.

Mediator-class battle cruiser

The Mediator-class was a heavy warship that was built and fielded by the Mon Calamari. It was only eclipsed in New Republic service by their Star Defenders and Super Star Destroyers.

Nova-class battle cruiser

The 400 meter Nova-class was a light Hapes warship used to support the Hapan Battle Dragons.

Praetor-class battlecruiser

The Praetor-class was a heavy Imperial warship with reactor equipment that eclipsed that on contemporary Star Destroyer designs.

Praetor Mark II-class battlecruiser

The Praetor Mark II-class was an Imperial battlecruiser designed and unveiled during the early stages of the Galactic Empire's formation. Few were made largely due to the costs, lack of versatility, and lack of a terror-inducing shape of the Star Destroyers and the Star Dreadnoughts, respectively.

Procurator-class Star Battlecruiser

The Procurator-class was a heavy design that protected the Kuat sector alongside their Star Dreadnoughts.

Scythe-class main battle cruiser

The Scythe-class was a heavily armed and armored battlecruiser design, serving in the Galactic Alliance Defense Fleet during the Sith–Imperial War. It was well-armored enough to withstand barrages of turbolaser fire from multiple Star Destroyers and Ardent-class fast frigates.

Shree-class battle cruiser

Shriwirr-TBSB — The *Shree*-class led the fleets of the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium.

The main warship of the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium, the 900 meter long Shree-class was a rounded warship design that could hold 500 Swarm-class battle droids.

Tagge battlecruiser

This line of battlecruisers, which possessed a similar design to the Star Destroyer-class, belonged to the House of Tagge and was pledged to aid the Imperial warships blockading the Gordian Reach after the Battle of Yavin in 0 ABY. The presence of the Tagge warships and their commander, General Ulric Tagge, allowed family patriarch Orman Tagge to conduct private operations under the Empire's radar.

Behind the scenes

In Naval terms, battlecruisers are a type of naval warship that acted as an intermediary between battleships and cruisers. Namely, they are significantly more armored compared to cruisers, yet they are still somewhat short on armament compared to a battleship. They were prevalent during the first half of the 20th century, although by the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, they fell into disuse.

According to Jason Fry's Endnotes for The Essential Guide to Warfare, the battlecruisers were "neither fish nor fowl", although he had fun going back to Giel's previously unnamed flagship, the Helmsman.

Appearances

The Star Destroyer-class encompassed a variety of heavy Imperial warships, only surpassed by the likes of the Empire's Star Dreadnoughts.

Sources

Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim
The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook
Cracken's Threat Dossier
Attack of the Clones: Incredible Cross-Sections
The Official Star Wars Fact File
The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy
Revenge of the Sith: Incredible Cross-Sections
Star Wars: Complete Locations
The New Essential Chronology
Dark Horse editor discusses the Scythe-class
Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
"Imperial Warlords: Despoilers of an Empire, Part 2 {{{3}}}" — {{{4}}} — [[{{{5}}}|{{{5}}}'s]] StarWars.com Blog (Imperial Warlords: Despoilers of an Empire, Part 2 backup link (2013/12/17/the-imperial-warlords-despoilers-of-an-empire-part-2//The Imperial Warlords: Despoilers of an Empire, Part 2) not verified!)

Notes and references

External links

Battlecruiser on Wikipedia

In other languages

[EGTW-1] The Essential Guide to Warfare

[SOR-2] Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Storm Over Ryloth"

[SW31-3] Star Wars 31: Return to Tatooine

[VP-4] The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime

[GG9-5] Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim

[CTD-6] Cracken's Threat Dossier

[KOTORCG-7] Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide

[SWL0½-8] Star Wars: Legacy 0½

[JFT11-9] Jason Fry's Tumblr - Endnotes part 11

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