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Broadside-class cruiser kdb-1

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Broadside-class cruiser kdb-1
Production information
Manufacturer

Kuat Drive Yards[1]

Model

Broadside-class cruiser kdb-1

Class
Technical specifications
Length

500 meters[1]

Armament
Usage
Role(s)

Missile corvette[2]

Year introduced

1 BBY[2]

Era(s)
Affiliation

The Broadside-class cruiser kdb-1, also known as the Broadside-class corvette, was an Imperial capital warship.

Contents

[edit] Characteristics

The Broadside-class shared a common hull design with the Gladiator-class Star Destroyer.[7] Designed for long-range engagements, this ship had unimpressive acceleration and maneuverability, light armor, two turbolasers, and launchers.[2]

Early models were armed with expensive diamond boron missiles that could be used to deadly effect against formations of tightly-packed ships. The range of the missiles made them very useful in long-range attacks.[2] These weapons were replaced by more economical concussion missiles in later models, though some of the cruisers still kept their lethal armament.[1]

[edit] History

The Broadside-class was first produced by Kuat Drive Yards in the early days of the Galactic Civil War. It was conceived as a long-range missile ship, and was based on the Gladiator-class.[7] The design was stripped of passenger compartments, the hangar bays were turned into torpedo bays and the vessel lost some of its armor. Due to the lack of self-sufficiency, the Broadside-class was redesignated as a "cruiser" instead of a "Star Destroyer". [7]

Kuat engineers also decided that great maneuverability was not necessary for the class,[1] thus leaving the Broadside slower than the Gladiator.[7] This was the cause of its vulnerability to other capital warships, and as a result ships of this class were in practice almost never deployed without an escort.[1] However, its missiles proved lethal against fighter squadrons and small space stations.[2]

In addition to its design-problems, a number of Broadsides were stolen or otherwise acquired by the Zann Consortium during the Civil War.[6]

[edit] Behind the scenes

This type of ship has many similarities to the Demolisher, a Star Destroyer that appeared in the Star Wars: Droids episode "The Pirates of Tarnoonga". In The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide, the two designs were given an in-universe connection.

There is some debate in the online community as to the actual size of the Broadside-class. Concept art made available by the game designers suggested that they envisaged a size of around 50-60 meters in length, comparable to small picket cruisers like the Guardian-class light cruiser, but the StarWars.com Databank established the canonical size of the vessel to be 500 meters long, placing them within the standard cruiser category.

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Sources

[edit] Notes and references


Kuat capital ship classes
Carriers
Escort
Assault ships
Acclamator I-class - Acclamator II-class
Corvettes
Broadside-class cruiser kdb-1
Frigates
Ardent-class - Class 1000 cruiser - Corona-class
Dragon-class heavy cruiser - EF76 Nebulon-B - Enforcer-class picket cruiser
Lancer-class - MedStar-class - Nebulon-B2
Pelta-class - Star Galleon-class - Zebulon-B
Destroyers/Star Destroyers
Gladiator-class - Imperial I-class - Imperial II-class
Interdictor - Kuat - Multi kilometer-long type
Pellaeon-class - Storm Fleet - Tector-class
Venator-class - Victory I-class - Victory II-class
Cruisers
KDY light - Kuat heavy
Battlecruisers/Star Battlecruisers
Imperial - Procurator-class - Vengeance
Battleships/Star Dreadnoughts
Eclipse-class - Executor-class - Mandator I-class
Mandator II-class - Sovereign-class
Production facilities
Arc Hammer
[edit]