Capital ship/Legends

Size comparison of various capital ships

"Capital starships serve many functions: exploration, transportation, tourism, and – especially in recent times – war."

―Commander Elpfel, commanding officer of the Mon Calamari cruiser Wavesong.

Capital ship was a general term that referred to any armed military starship that had a length greater than one hundred meters. Ships of this class ranged from small and nimble corvettes like the Corellian Engineering Corporation CR90 corvette to titanic Star Dreadnoughts, such as the Kuat Drive Yards Eclipse.

History

"But these instruments of destruction have their weaknesses as well. High power consumption, low maneuverability; complex redundant system design, large crew requirements, tactical disadvantages against small starfighters - luckily for the galaxy, these ships are not unstoppable, though they come closer than any other weapon in recorded history…"

―Commander Elpfel.

File:Venator-SWE.jpg

Venator-class Star Destroyers were the primary capital ship of the Republic during the Clone Wars

Ships of this class were typically designed for fleet warfare, often positioned in armadas stationed in high orbit around a strategic planet. They usually formed the primary attack groups in most fleets. There were, however, a few exceptions to the typical definition. For example, the Sienar Fleet Systems GAT-12 Skipray Blastboat was considered a capital ship because of its heavy armament, despite being a mere twenty five meters in length and operating primarily in the role of a heavy assault starfighter.

These vessels were commonly fitted with ship-to-ship and anti-fighter defensive weaponry, ranging from heavy ion cannons to turbolaser turrets. Many capital ship classes also served as carriers and were able to deploy starfighters, landing craft, and other resources as required.

Given their size, capital ships employed relatively numerous crews, employing in some instances thousands of beings. An example was the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, which was 1,600 meters long and required a crew of 37,000 to operate at full efficiency. There were also examples that utilized a much smaller number of active personnel, whether by means of advanced control systems or simply necessity, as in the cases of the Katana fleet and the Errant Venture, respectively.

Classification

Following the Anaxes War College System capital ships were divided into seven main classifications.

• Corvettes: Ships of roughly 100 - 200 meters length
  • CR70 corvette
  • CR90 corvette
• Frigates: Ships of roughly 200 - 400 meters length
  • Vigil-class corvette
  • EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate
  • Lancer-class frigate
  • MC40a light cruiser
• Cruisers: Ships of roughly 400 - 600 meters length
  • Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser
• Heavy Cruisers: Ships of roughly 600 - 1000 meters length
  • Acclamator-class assault ship
  • Victory-class Star Destroyer
• Star Destroyers: Ships of roughly 1000 -2000 meters length
  • Venator-class Star Destroyer
  • Imperial-class Star Destroyer
• Battlecruisers: Ships of roughly 2000 - 5000 meters length
  • Bulwark Mark III
  • Praetor II-class Star Battlecruiser
• Dreadnaughts: All ships over 5000 meters length
  • Executor-class Star Dreadnought
  • Eclipse-class dreadnought

However ships could sometimes be moved up or down in classifaction, depending on their armament and intended role. As an example, the Carrack-class light cruiser would fall into Frigate classification with its length of just 350 meters, but due to its armament and role, it was sometimes moved up into the cruiser category.

Appearances

• Strike Force: Shantipole
• "The Weekly Luncheon" — Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook (Mentioned only)
• "Will the Last Person Leaving Vergesso Turn Off the Lights?" — Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide

Sources

• Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook
• Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide
• Starships of the Galaxy
• The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
• The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
• The Essential Guide to Warfare
• Star Wars Trading Card Game — [[]] (Card: Probe Droid) (backup link (http://wizards.com/swtcg/images/esb/probe_droid.jpg) not verified!)
• Star Wars Trading Card Game — [[]] (Card: TIE Bomber Squad) (backup link (http://wizards.com/swtcg/images/esb/tie_bomber_squad.jpg) not verified!)
• The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Clone Wars Campaign Guide
• Quell in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
• "Message to Spacers 7" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• "Message to Spacers 8" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• "Message to Spacers 9" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• The Unknown Regions
• The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force
• Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
• Admiral Ackbar in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
• The Essential Guide to Warfare
• Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
• Suns of Fortune
• Y-wing starfighter in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook
• Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
• Lords of Nal Hutta

External links

• Capital Ship on Wikipedia

Notes and references

In other languages

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