CR90 corvette/Legends

CR90 corvette The CR90 corvette, commonly referred to as the Corellian corvette, was a small multi-purpose capital ship manufactured by Corellian Engineering Corporation.

Characteristics


A versatile ship, the CR90 was used extensively across the Galaxy by governments and private interests. The interior of the CR90 featured a modular design to allow for easy reconfiguration of the Corellian corvette from one function to another. Some older model corvettes, like the CR70 corvette, could easily be upgraded with retrofit packages like the Vanguard c20 to become CR90s.

Common configurations included a troop carrier, light escort vessel, cargo transport, or passenger liner. Its ease of modification was a trademark of CEC's and increased the corvette's resale value.

The weapon systems varied, although the standard configuration mounted two Taim & Bak H9 dual turbolasers and four laser cannons. CR90 corvettes could carry as many as eight turbolasers, six laser cannons, and four ion cannons. Under the standard configuration, these turrets were unable to hit anything behind the corvette's engines, so CR90 corvettes featured a well-known axial blind spot.

A common configuration for combat-oriented corvettes consisted of six H9 dual turbolasers. A similar armament was mounted on the Assassin-class corvette, a successor of the CR90 that was designed exclusively for combat roles.



The ship was capable of sustaining acceleration up to 2,100 G and could carry 600 passengers. However, its hyperdrive class was low compared to most ships of similar size. The standard crew was made up of 8 officers and 38 enlisted crew, but could range from 30 to 165 total, depending on its configuration.

Interestingly, the CR90 could be piloted by one person if necessary via a steering yoke, as Wedge Antilles demonstrated when he flew the modified corvette Night Caller.

Galactic Empire
A dwarf amongst the massive Star Destroyers of the Imperial Navy, CR90 corvettes were relegated primarily to diplomatic and escort duty. In fleet engagements, CR90 corvettes were often tasked with attacking enemy starfighters or fleeing the battlefield with important cargo or intelligence.

Rebel Alliance and fringe
Unlike their Imperial counterparts, Alliance CR90 corvettes acted as frontline combat ships for the early years of the Galactic Civil War. The ease of acquiring CR90 parts and mechanics made them a good fit for the desperate Rebellion. Its near ubiquity made it a popular choice amongst Rebels, pirates, and smugglers, earning it the nickname "blockade runner" for its ability to slip through Imperial nets.

New Republic
Following the transition of the Alliance into the New Republic, CR90 corvettes continued to play an important role in the newly organized New Republic Defense Fleet until phased out of line-duty with modernization efforts like the New Class program.

Behind the scenes

 * The CR90 corvette's design was developed from one originally intended for Millennium Falcon. When that design was rejected for being too reminiscent of Space: 1999s Eagle Transporter, it was adapted to become the CR90. The most obvious change was replacing its cockpit area with the distinctive "hammerhead" bridge section. In addition, the escape pods were relocated to the lower hull, with laser cannons being mounted were the pods had originally been placed. This was essential because Tantive IV had to launch an escape pod while inside the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Devastators ventral hangar bay.


 * Corvettes have a well-known "blind spot", in that they cannot shoot anything behind their engines, known especially to gamers of X-wing computer game series and used whenever they had to destroy one. However, this fact contradicts the very first scene of A New Hope&mdash;Tantive IV shoots Devastator, right behind her. Of course, this may be explained by the fact that Devastator was a much broader target.


 * Early West End Games RPG statistics for the Corellian corvette list its armament as six double turbolaser turrets, despite the corvettes seen in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi clearly mounting only two such turrets. This was later retconned by describing the heavier armament as an optional upgrade. The CR90 that appears in Star Wars: Empire at War is armed with only eight laser cannons, although this may be a simple game mechanic, as with other ships in the game&mdash;the Imperial-class Star Destroyers mount only four turbolasers instead of the sixty batteries they are supposed to have.