Carrier
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A carrier was a type of military starship specifically designed or designated for the transportation of small starships incapable of hyperspace travel.
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[edit] Characteristics
The term carrier can be divided into two main types: dedicated carriers, generally with few weapons and weak shielding,[1] the other type being warships which also had a substantial capacity for carrying starfighters.[2]
[edit] History
In the Clone Wars era, the Venator-class Star Destroyer was used as a dual destroyer/carrier. By contrast, the Victory-class Star Destroyer was assigned to strictly a destroyer role, as it had a small complement of fighters relative to its size.[2] This tradition of using similar hull design, but with a separate carrier and a destroyer version, was carried on in the New Republic's New Class modernization program, with the Endurance-class carrier sharing the same hull as the Nebula-class Star Destroyer.[3]
Due to the pre-existing communication and coordination capabilities of carriers, they were often used as command ships. The New Republic's Fifth Fleet flagship during the Black Fleet Crisis was an Endurance-class carrier. In contrast, the Galactic Empire used different Super Star Destroyers for command and carrier purposes, respectively.[4]
EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigates and Strike-class cruisers regularly had a small complement of fighters.[1] Additionally, some other ships such as Corellian corvettes could be modified to carry a handful of fighters.[5][6] Carrack-class light cruisers did not have an internal hangar, so exterior rack was added for up to five TIEs for use on reconnaissance or courier duties.[1]
The carrier concept was not limited to the Republic, Empire, and New Republic, as at least the Ssi-ruuk[7] and the Yuuzhan Vong[8] had their own carrier analogs.
[edit] Types of carriers
[edit] Dedicated carriers
- Kuat Drive Yards Escort carrier
- Kuat Drive Yards Galactic-class battle carrier
- Imperial escort carrier
- Imperial starfighter carrier
- Mon Calamari Shipyards Mon Cal heavy carrier
- Republic carrier
- Republic Engineering Corporation Defender-class assault carrier
- Republic Engineering Corporation Endurance-class fleet carrier
- SoroSuub Corporation Quasar Fire-class bulk cruiser
- Ssi-ruuvi Imperium Sh'ner-class planetary assault carrier
- Yuuzhan Vong A-vek Iiluunu
[edit] Warships with additional carrier function
- Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps/Pammant Docks Providence-class carrier/destroyer
- Hoersch-Kessel Drive, Inc. Lucrehulk-class battleship
- Kuat Drive Yards Executor-class Star Dreadnought
- Kuat Drive Yards Imperial-class Star Destroyer
- Kuat Drive Yards Venator-class Star Destroyer
- Mon Calamari Shipyards MC80 Home One type Star Cruiser
[edit] Known carriers
[edit] Sources
- Revenge of the Sith: Incredible Cross Sections
- The New Jedi Order Sourcebook
- Cracken's Threat Dossier
- Starships of the Galaxy (2007)
