A lighter was a small class of starship that was commonly used in various navies throughout the galaxy, including those of the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire.

Essentially a militarized yacht designed for short trips, lighters were put to a variety of uses, especially as personal vehicles for use by higher-ranking officers. Generally capable of carrying only a few passengers and small amounts of cargo, they were traditionally named for ancient water-faring vessels that were used to lighten the burden of larger such surface ships.^[1]

Included among such classes put to this use was the Conqueror-class assault ship; one such vessel was used by Republic Navy Admiral Tarnese Bleyd during the Clone Wars.^[1] While he oversaw the construction of the first Death Star, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin made use of a lighter as his personal transport, as did Admiral Conan Antonio Motti.^[2]

In some cases, such as with the Etti Lighter used by the Corporate Sector Authority, they were pressed into service as front-line combat vessels, but in common parlance they were still classified as lighters.^[3] Kyle Katarn's Moldy Crow, an HWK-290 light freighter,^[4] was sometimes described as a lighter.^[5]

AppearancesEdit

• MedStar I: Battle Surgeons
• Han Solo at Stars' End (First appearance)
• Han Solo and the Lost Legacy
• Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (First mentioned)
• Death Star
• Dark Forces: Jedi Knight

SourcesEdit

• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

Notes and referencesEdit