N-1 starfighter/Legends

N-1 starfighter "The N-1 Starfighter represents the pinnacle in Naboo military technology. Armed with twin laser cannons and proton torpedoes, the agile N-1 is designed for patrol and escort missions. Deflector shields protect the pilot while an on-board astromech aids in navigation and repair."

- Captain Panaka

The Naboo Royal N-1 starfighter, sometimes known simply as the Naboo starfighter, was a starfighter used by the government of Naboo during the late years of the Galactic Republic and early days of the Galactic Empire for defense, patrol, and escort duties. The sleek vessel was manufactured by Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps, the group responsible for manufacturing Naboo royal starships.

Characteristics
The Royal N-1 starfighter featured the best elements of Naboo design, being aesthetically sound and adhering to the Naboo's love for curves and aerodynamic shapes.

A chromium finish on the front of the vehicle would gleam in the sunlight during parades and celebratory fly-bys. This chromium was purely decorative and reserved for starships serving the Royal House of Naboo. Once, the chromium was used to deflect rays from Naboo's sun, and all starships were fitted with it. The finish contrasted sharply with rest of the N-1, which was yellow in color.

The citizens of Naboo were dedicated to the defense of their ecologically sensitive world, and the N-1 was an example of this commitment. Its specialized engine system, twin J-type Nubian 221 sub-light pulse engines, ensured that fuel would burn hotter in order to reduce harmful emissions.



An advanced cooling system which incorporated several heat sinks along the engine finials prevented overheating. The rear finial could be connected to special outlets in the Theed Hangar to recharge the craft and transmit important data, even coded mission profiles.

The N-1's roles included reconnaissance/patrol missions, escort duty, system defense, and ceremonial functions. While its light, fast, and agile characteristics made it an ideal dogfighter, it was a poor ground-attack craft and it suffered in tight spaces, as these situations robbed it of all its advantages. However, it could still perform the tank-buster job in pinch, as Naboo pilot Rhys Dallows found when he had to defend a Resistance base hidden in his old training canyon.

In order to accompany the Queen's starship to Coruscant or other distant planets, each N-1 was equipped with a Nubian Monarc C-4 hyperdrive with a range of 1,000 light years. When this was insufficient, the escort fighters could refuel in transit via the J-type diplomatic barge's under-wing docking sockets.

The pilot was protected by advanced life support systems and deflector shields, aided by an astromech droid that would help the pilot with repairs and adjustments.

The N-1 starfighter was also equipped with an advanced autopilot that could receive navigational information from hangar outlets or from Naboo flight control. In a crisis, the autopilot could bring the craft to the site of an emergency or pilot the ship home safely.

The N-1's weapons were twin laser cannons and a full complement of 10 proton torpedoes. These were powerful enough to allow the N-1 to engage even the superior numbers of Vulture droids of the Trade Federation Droid Control Ship as was required during the Battle of Naboo.

History
The N-1 entered Naboo service, replacing its predecessor, the N-1L light starfighter, sometime before the Battle of Naboo. During that time, the N-1 quickly became the standard starfighter among Naboo pilots.

Two Naboo fighters, piloted by Essara Till and rookie Rhys Dallows were escorting the Queen's cruiser near an asteroid field to preliminary discussions with the Trade Federation when they were ambushed by mercenaries in various starfighters, including MorningStars, Dianogas, and Daggers. The two pilots fended off the marauders in their N-1s while the Queen returned to Naboo.

Later, N-1s would be used to resist the Trade Federation invasion of Naboo, but they were no match for the might of the Droid Army. However, a squadron of these fighters, Bravo Squadron, scrambled to attack the Droid Control Ship Vuutun Palaa over Naboo and shut down the droid army fighting the Gungan Grand Army. They were able to penetrate the swarms of droid starfighters and attack the vessel, but even their proton torpedoes could not penetrate the heavy shields. Thanks to Anakin Skywalker's accidental destruction of some of the ship's reactors from inside the vessel, they were successful.

Later history
The success of the N-1 led to the reputation of starfighters as battleship-killers.

In 21 BBY, 30 of these starfighters, along with a corporate fleet loyal to the Galactic Republic, were sent to rescue Jedi trapped on Lanteeb.

At some point, a quartet of four aged N-1 fighters saw service with the Black Hammer pirates, a pirate group that operated from the planet Galantos in the Deep Core.

Although their technology was outdated by the time of the post-Clone Wars era, N-1s remained in use for many years, even as late as 4 ABY, where they flew across the skies of Theed during an uprising against the Empire. Some were seen in use by the Rebel Alliance and Rebel sympathizers.

By 40 ABY, the N-1 was described as an 'antique'.

Behind the scenes
When R2-D2 successfully overrides the auto pilot on Anakin Skywalker's N-1 during the Battle of Naboo and returns control of the craft to its pilot, the rightmost console panel shows a display nearly identical to those seen on the Millennium Falcon quad laser turrets in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

Also, the full-size N-1 Starfigher prop used by Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, is on display in the Boston Museum of Science. The museum also had a Star Wars exhibit, but that was removed sometime in December 2006.

Doug Chiang has acknowledged that an R2 unit cannot physically exist inside the frame of the spacecraft as it is depicted in Episode I and later in Episode II. His original concept artwork did allow for the legs of an R2 unit to fit within the tube-shaped socket, but George Lucas directed him to make the socket tube diameter the same, or nearly the same, as the diameter of the droid's head, which does not allow enough room for the legs of the droid. A compromise was reached in the Episode I: Incredible Cross-Sections book which shows Artoo Detoo collapsing his legs and telescoping his head above his body until it was above the viewing threshold.

N-1 starfighters are unlockable in the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron video game series.

With the introduction of Chapter 8 in Star Wars Galaxies, the starfighter became a playable ship available to freelance ace pilots. It was one of several ships made playable in Chapter 8 along with the X4 Gunship, the AEG-77 Vigo, and the Ye-4 gunship.

The N1 has aesthetic similarities to the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe, the world's first jet-powered fighter aircraft, which was used extensively by the Luftwaffe in the latter half of World War II.

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Star Wars Episode I: I Am a Pilot
 * Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter