Turbolaser

"We count thirty Rebel ships, Lord Vader, but they're so small they're evading our turbolasers."

- Lieutenant Tanbris, to Darth Vader, during the Battle of Yavin

A turbolaser was a powerful laser cannon turret stationed aboard large craft and space stations, such as the Death Star and the Death Star II. Spacecraft that were equipped with turbolasers included the Tantive IV and the Malevolence. Thorilide, mined from the Inner Rim moon Cynda, was a vital resource in a turbolaser. A turbolaser's effectiveness was weakened drastically as the bolt moved through layers of a planet's atmosphere making them largely ineffective even against unshielded targets, however this can be negated by moving the ships deeper into the planet's stratosphere.