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Theed Hangar

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Theed Hangar
General information
Destroyed

19 BBY (16:11)

Location

Theed, Naboo

Usage
Era(s)

Rise of the Empire era

Affiliation

Royal Naboo Security Forces

[Source]

Theed Hangar, located in the Naboo capital, Theed, was a military airbase for the Royal Naboo Security Forces (RSF). As well as housing the Naboo N-1 starfighter fleet and the kingdom's Royal starships, it included the assembly and maintenance facility run by Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps, an air-traffic control facility, and a pilot training center.

Equipped with sensitive radar array-based air-traffic control, tactical computer stations and a secret subterranean tunnel link to the palace, the hangar played a pivotal role in the Invasion of Naboo and became a rallying point for the eventual uprising.

Contents

[edit] Location

The building was located in the city's central district, on the edge of The Great Cliffs and adjacent the Solleu River and Virdugo Plunge. Adjacent on the other side, was the Theed Generator Complex, which provided an energy source for the hangar and its spacecraft. This was in the form of plasma energy which was carried through underground conduits. The Theed Royal Palace was also located on this clifftop, within walking distance of the hangar.

[edit] Historical context

N-1 starfighters docked in the Theed hangar.

By King Veruna's reign (47 BBY), Naboo had become a major player in the interstellar plasma energy market. However, the planet's plasma exports became a source of dispute with the Trade Federation. Wary of looming conflict with the Federation, King Veruna expanded the role of the Naboo Space Fighter Corps, a division of the RSF, and had the N-1 starfighter squadron organized. To house these new forces, the Theed Hangar was built next to the Theed Generator Complex, also constructed during King Veruna's reign. The new facility came to symbolize a military expansion that grew to be a source of discontent with the people who saw it as a confrontational action not in keeping with peaceful Naboo. With the people and the senator unhappy with this military expansion, Veruna was forced to abdicate in favor of Padmé Naberrie.

The hangar building was a key location in the recapturing of the Naboo. When the Trade Federation invaded Naboo in 32 BBY, battle droids quickly occupied the hangar, taking air-traffic controllers, mechanics, guards and pilots captive. Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi managed to rescue many of the captives, and liberated Queen Padmé Amidala and the royal starship from the hangar. Accompanied by the Jedi, the Queen traveled to Coruscant to inform to the Galactic Senate and request its intervention in the occupation.

LAAT/is docked in the Theed hangar.

Later, during the Second Battle of Theed, Amidala's forces used hidden tunnels to covertly enter Theed, emerging near the entrance to the hangar. They were able to take full control of the hangar, freeing hangar personnel including air traffic controllers and Bravo Squadron's pilots who took to their starfighters and attacked the orbital Droid Control Ship. Among them was a 9-year old Anakin Skywalker who inadvertently flew an N-1 Starfighter from the hangar to the control ship and destroyed it, deactivating the droid army and bringing about an unlikely victory for the Gungan Army in the Battle of Grassy Plains. Amidala then used another secret tunnel via the Hangar Great Hall to gain access to the Royal Palace.

Shortly after the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Empire began storing weapons inside the hangar, particularly explosives. During a mission that brought the Erased to Naboo, Clive Flax and Ferus Olin destroyed the hangar by setting off the explosives cache hidden within. The Empire temporarily withdrew from Naboo rather than retaliate and thus admit to their illegal weapons storage.

Pilots of Royal Naboo Security Forces used both on-board flight computers and air-traffic control to navigate their fighters into the hangar. However, some veteran pilots were fond of boasting to their juniors that they could gauge the entrance by observing how the wind was affecting the nearby waterfalls.

[edit] Structural features

In Theed, even a military facility demonstrated the Naboo's deep sense of artistic and spiritual expression. Although plain by Theed standards, the structure had a simple but elegant form. It was both functional and graceful and was far more ornate than the stark utilitarian military facilities on other worlds. Two 5m statues of the Naboo Goddess of Security and Safekeeping were given prominent positions guarding the flight entrance.

On a more utilitarian level, the structure was built from large sandstone-like stone covered by a ribbed roof. High-tensile durasteel support webbing was embedded into the brick walls and the roof lined with Blast-proof roof plates to protect the structure from attack.

[edit] Main hangar space

Battle inside Theed Hangar. Note the electromag rails in hangar floor. Also the aisle-like space behind the columns.

The main hangar was not unlike a traditional cathedral in shape, with a large central nave-like space bordered by columns supporting the main curved roof. It was an estimated 20m in height, with a large opening for take offs and landings on the cliff end. This area contained the main flight deck measuring an estimated 40m wide by 90m long. Upon this sat the Royal Starships, including at one stage the J-Type 327 Nubian Starship that transported Queen Amidala and the Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Coruscant through the Trade Federation ships during the Blockade of Naboo.

Running along either side of the nave were two aisle-like spaces between the columns and the exterior side walls. Alcoves along the aisles contained wall-mounted racks designed to accommodate the N-1 starfighters used by the pilots of the Space Fighter Corps.

Under the main deck was the maintenance deck that formed the main engineering facility of Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps where Naboo space craft are built, serviced and refitted.

[edit] Miscellaneous structures

The main structure was topped by a large central dome, which rose an estimated 15m above the main roof. Several smaller buildings were sited along its right-hand side facing the river, and the left-hand side was connected to the Theed Generator Complex. On its street side, the Theed hangar building faces a wide plaza. Significantly, the hangar also featured a secret underground tunnel link to the Theed Royal Palace. Alongside the right-had side were two smaller buildings facing the river; a pilot training school and a Great Hall, from which the Queen could inspect her troops during ceremonial parades.

Other structural or engineering features included electrostatic floor grates in the main flight deck reduced pollution levels in hangar and double blast-proof durasteel doors at the main internal entrance. A network of hidden tunnels in Theed included underground links to the Theed Royal Palace.

[edit] Facilities

Theed Hangar cutaway.

[edit] Main flight deck

The main flight deck area was the heart of the building. Within the building all take-off and landings took place, taking advantage of its clifftop location. To reduce the speed of incoming spacecraft, electromag rails ran down the center of the flight deck to generate gravity fields. Computer ports received coded battle strategies from the palace battle computer for download into starfighter computer banks (at landing position racks). Energy ports in the docking bays delivered high-voltage charge to N1 fighters from the adjacent Theed Generator.

[edit] Air traffic control and guidance systems

The central dome contained much of the air traffic control systems including the controllers' computer work stations. Power transmitters within the central dome were designed to degrade and burn out enemy radar systems.

Also central to the air traffic control systems was a guidance system that used traction mechanics. It was embedded into the large lintel-like feature above the flight entrance, and guided spacecraft into the hangar automatically by locking onto their flight coordinates. Additionally, guidance beacons for approaching spacecraft were located around the hangar flight entrance. Two large beacons were located on plinths on the edge of the cliff immediately in front of the building, while on the roof, two smaller beacons were located either side of the hangar flight entrance.

[edit] Maintenance deck

Spacecraft construction and maintenance was carried out on the maintenance deck level under the flight deck. The generous provision of advanced facilities included:

  • Retractable flight deck floor segments to access the maintenance deck, with loads, including spacecraft, being raised and lowered by repulsorlift.
  • An overhead traveling crane that serviced all areas of the maintenance deck, rated to lift and transport the heaviest maintenance and manufacturing equipment.
  • Diagnostic stations along the outer wall of the maintenance deck that allowed maintenance teams to check operating systems on any spacecraft in the fleet.
  • Mobile maintenance and refueling vehicles that provided flexible support to spacecraft in any of the repair bays along the side of the maintenance deck.
  • Astromech droid holding area, where utility droids are prepared for onboard flight support assignments.

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Non-canon appearances

[edit] Sources

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