Hammerhead-class cruiser

Hammerhead-class capital ship Hammerhead-class capital ship was a classification of warships used by the Republic Navy during the Old Sith Wars and the New Sith Wars.

Characteristics
This ship appears to function as a cruiser, similar in use to the ex-Republic Interdictor-class Cruiser in the Sith armada. Serving on the line in fleet engagements, as a courier and as a command ship of large fleets, it was a workhorse of the Republic and a common sight near Republic-controlled worlds. This ship has also been observed undergoing independent operations, unlike the Republic cruiser which has never been observed outside a supporting fleet. Hammerheads were able to enter atmospheres and land on planetary surfaces.



The spaceframe resembled the later Consular-class space cruiser and the CR90 Corellian Corvette, though this may have been coincidental. They also bore a large resemblance to the EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate of the Galactic Civil War era, due to the vertically elongated bridge.

Though their exact armament is unknown, by 3,956 BBY they appear to possess at least seven turbolasers, with three batteries of two and a single turbolaser cannon (mounted atop the hammerhead bridge structure), all facing forward, as well as an unknown number of quad-lasers pointing aft. As demonstrated by the Endar Spire and the Harbinger some years later, they also appear to have a number of lighter, point defense laser cannons for use against small craft mounted at various points along the hull.

They were propelled by four ion engines emitting particles in the orange section of the visible spectrum during the wars around 3,956 BBY, but as one can see this changed over time, earlier ships having 3 engines that emmitted blue particles. Perhaps this indicates a continuous upgrade program was in place for these vessels over the years, or perhaps these two vessels are variants of a type.

History
Hammerheads were in service as of the Great Sith War, when they participated in the First Battle of Empress Teta. With a third of the Republic's fleet crushed at Malachor V, another third taken by Revan to form the basis of his Sith Empire's forces, and the final third presumably with the Republic, the ailing government turned to these smaller capital ships, in use since the Great Sith War of thirty years earlier, to halt the Sith advance.

During the New Sith Wars they remained in service. During that war, they each held a squadron of Aurek fighters and had undergone radical upgrades and design revisions since their debut thousands of years before.

The Hammerhead was probably the longest serving class of ship in any military, with versions of it serving for approximately 3,000 years. As a result, the wreckage of a Hammerhead-class vessel could be seen on Mustafar as late as 1 ABY, confirming that they had been in service for thousands of years.

Known ships

 * Endar Spire
 * Harbinger
 * Sojourn (possibly)

Behind the scenes

 * The dimensions of the ship have yet to be revealed officially. 167 meters to 400 meters have been speculated, but 300 meters seems closer to the actual length.


 * Leland Chee has confirmed that the ships seen in the Knights of the Old Republic video game are of the same class that was named in Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, but that the version of the book and that of the game may have different specs considering that they are used 3,000 years apart from one another.


 * The Model Design of the Republic Star Destroyers may have came from this Design.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 8: Flashpoint, Part 2
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 13: Days of Fear, Part 1
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 14: Days of Fear, Part 2
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 15: Days of Fear, Part 3
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Star Wars Galaxies: Trials of Obi-Wan