Braha'tok-class gunship

"A gem among the smaller capital ships. Who still uses these?" "Dornea, my dear Statura. Dornea uses them."

- U.O. Statura and Admiral Gial Ackbar discuss the usage of Braha'tok-class gunships in 34 ABY

The Braha'tok-class gunship, more commonly known as the Dornean gunship, was a model of gunship built by the Dornean Braha'ket Fleetworks Conglomerate for military use in such as bombardment and fast attacks. They were mainly used for the protection of Dornea, but many of them also saw service with the Alliance to Restore the Republic leading up to and during the Galactic Civil War in battles such as the Battle of Atollon and the Battle of Endor.

Characteristics
The Braha'tok-class gunship also called the Dornean gunship for its use at Dornea. It was a type of gunship built in a dagger shape with a silver-plated hull to deflect solar radiation. Its command bridge was located in the bow.

Although not designed as a carrier, two X-wing starfighters could be attached to its undercarriage. The ship itself was 90 meters long and bore an armament of eight concussion missile launchers and eight double turbolaser cannons. It's class 1 hyperdrive of the gunship was located in the rear of the vessel, and the command bridge was situated in the ship's bow. The Dornean gunship could reach speeds of 800 kilometers per hour. A Dornean gunship could carry a crew of 75 personnel, although the Apailana's Promise managed with only a few dozen navy veterans.

Role
The Braha'tok-class gunship was originally designed for fast attack, bombardment, and anti-starfighter roles. They were initially built for the protection of Dornea from the Galactic Empire, but many became a part of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. In the Alliance Fleet, Braha'tok-class gunships were still used for anti-starfighter roles but some, like the Apailana's Promise, became escorts to larger capital ships like CR90 corvettes. The Apailana's Promise also took up the role of carrying the two X-wings owned by Twilight Company.

Early days of the Alliance
Dornean gunships were originally manufactured by Dornean Braha'ket Fleetworks Conglomerate to protect the Dornean homeworld, Dornea, from the Galactic Empire. Eventually some Dornean gunships saw service in the Rebel Alliance where at least three, including the Orion, were part of General Jan Dodonna's Massassi Group, one of the largest rebel cells against the Empire.

The Battle of Atollon
Following the formation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic in the year 2 BBY, three travelled with Dodonna's fleet to Phoenix Cell's base on Atollon in preparation for an attack on Lothal. However, the fleet was ambushed along side Phoenix Cell by the forces of Grand Admiral Thrawn. The Dornean gunships held their own as other ships were damaged or wrecked in the battle. When other tactics became hopeless, Commander Jun Sato of Phoenix Cell ordered the fleet to charge the blockade and the three gunships advanced only for the Orion to be almost immediately be destroyed by TIE fighters.

Soon after, Commander Sato and his flagship, the Phoenix Nest, were lost and the other two Dornean gunships were forced to retreat with remaining ships. The ships housed themselves under the shield of Phoenix Cell's base, awaiting Thrawn's incoming ground forces. Thrawn's forces soon overran the base and in the midst of the chaos, one of the two Dornean gunships managed to escape the ground battle alongside the light freighter Ghost. However when the remaining ships attempted to escape the blockade, the gunship was destroyed trying to evade the Star Destroyers and TIE fighters. The third Dornean gunship was lost before it could escape with the other ships.

Battle of Scarif
In 0 BBY, at least three Dornean gunships served in the Battle of Scarif, the battle that started the Galactic Civil War, where they mainly saw action against the defending TIE fighters. During the fleets attempt to escape the system, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Devastator arrived and cut off one of the Dornean gunships before it could jump to hyperspace. Another gunship avoided collision and managed to escape.

Mid Rim Retreat
Before and during the Mid Rim Retreat, the Apailana's Promise served under Commander Tohna as the escort to the Twilight Company's CR90 corvette Thunderstrike. The gunship saw action in many battles sometimes covering the Thunderstrikes escape in desperate situations such as on one occasion when it covered the Thunderstrike's escape from an Imperial Destroyer. After the deaths of Captain Micha Evon and the Thunderstrike's main officers, Tohna was transferred to the corvette and First Officer Sharn took charge of the Apailana's Promise. During the Siege of Inyusu Tor, the Thunderstrike was shot down and the Sixty-First were left stranded on Sullust. The Apailana's Promise initially retreated but returned soon after and kept the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Herald distracted whilst the Sixty-First defended the Inyusu Tor mineral processing facility. The gunship survived the fight with its gun batteries drained and its shielding overheated but it's hull still intact.

Battle of Endor
Following the Mid Rim Retreat, a few Dornean gunships were stationed at the rebel base on 5251977 when the crew of the Mighty Oak Apocalypse joined the Alliance. In 4 ABY, at least four of these ships rendezvoused with the Alliance Fleet near Sullust where one was seen flying in concert with the MC80 star cruiser Home One. The fleet went on to attack the second Death Star where they were quickly cut off by several dozen Star Destroyers. During the battle, a Dornean gunship fended off TIE fighters as the Millennium Falcon passed it. When General Lando Calrissian ordered the fleet to engaged the Star Destroyers, at least four Dornean gunships were at the vanguard of the fleet as they vectored towards the left of the blockade.

New Republic Era
In 34 ABY, Dornean gunships were still used to defend Dornea. After U.O. Statura questioned Admiral Gial Ackbar about who still used the Dornean gunship, Ackbar replied that Dornea still used them.

The obscure background ship
"Years ago I found photos of the model and so I posted it on the website. That became the Dornean gunship&mdash;that was it's in-universe name&mdash;and sure enough it ends up being fairly prominent in the end space battle because&mdash;spoiler&mdash;it's gonna show up in rebels as well."

- Pablo Hidalgo explaining how the Braha-tok-class gunship made it into Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star War Rebels

The Braha'tok-class gunship was initially designed by Bill George for Richard Marquand's 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. At the time the kit-bashed model was called the "ROJ BG ship", standing for either 'Return of the Jedi background ship' or possibly 'Return of the Jedi Bill George ship'. The ship was built for the "Battle of Endor" sequence but Art Director Joe Johnston did not think it looked good enough. Because of that, the model is barely visible in Return of the Jedi.

Development in the new canon
The Braha'tok-class gunship first appeared in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi. It was later identified as the Dornean gunship in the 2015 novel Lost Stars by Claudia Gray. In 2017 it was identified as the Braha'tok-class gunship in the reference book Star Wars: The Rebel Files.

Development in legends
At some point Pablo Hidalgo found photos of the model and posted them on StarWars.com. In 2006, the Braha'tok-class gunship was identified and elaborated on in the StarWars.com Databank by StarWars.com member "Ello137" through the Hyperspace feature "What's The Story?". Ello137 saw the competition as an opportunity to link obscure elements of the Expanded Universe with obscure things in the movies. From there, the gunship got it's name in-universe name, the Dornean gunship.

Appearances

 * Lost Stars
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization
 * Battlefront: Twilight Company
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars: Return of the Jedi junior novelization
 * Star Wars: Return of the Jedi junior novelization