Hypervelocity gun
From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.
A Hypervelocity gun (HVG) was a fixed planetary defense weapon used against orbiting space-craft such as capital ships. In fact, capital ships were often the only target slow enough for the gun to hit.
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[edit] Characteristics
The HVG fired bursts of super-accelerated solid slugs at a rate of up to 120 slugs per minute, though would not fire for more than ten seconds at a time. To protect the HVG against bombardment, it was protected by both ray and particle shield generators, which were buried underground along with the large power plant used to drive the gun and the generators.
The gun's slugs would penetrate a ship's ray shielding and quickly batter down its particle shields intended to absorb slower and fewer impacts. Once a ship's shields were down, the slugs would batter its armor, eventually rupturing its hull and causing depressurization.
While a formidable foe, the HVG had at least one exploitable flaw. To fire out from its protective layers, the gun's particle shields would drop in time for a burst of slugs and then rise again. If accurately timed, a clutch of missiles could hit the remaining ray shield, overwhelm it, and allow subsequent projectiles to impact on the gun itself.
[edit] History
Commissioned by the Empire, the guns were designed and built by a subsidiary of Kuat Drive Yards. The modular guns were then placed on high-priority Imperial Worlds. The guns were often part of a planetary defense including a planetary shield.
HVGs were known to be placed at Bessimir, Mustafar and Carida. The weapon used to defend the droid foundries of Eos during the Invasion of Naboo may also have been a hypervelocity gun.
[edit] Behind the scenes
In Star Wars: Empire at War, the Hypervelocity gun fires rounds that can bypass a ship's shields and directly damage the hull or hardpoints. A ship with sufficient maneuverability can avoid the projectiles. It also cannot attack any ship smaller than a corvette.
[edit] Appearances
- Star Wars: Empire at War
- Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
- Before the Storm (First appearance)
[edit] Sources
- Before the Storm
