Hammerhead-class cruiser

Hammerhead-class cruiser The Hammerhead-class cruiser was a type of warship used by the Republic Navy during the Old Sith Wars, the Mandalorian Wars, and the New Sith Wars.

Characteristics
This ship was a cruiser, similar in use to the later Interdictor-class Cruiser. 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 also had been observed undergoing independent operations, unlike the Republic blockade runner which was never 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 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 was unknown, by 3,956 BBY they appeared 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 appeared 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 this changed over time, earlier ships having three engines that emmitted blue particles. This may have indicated a continuous upgrade program was in place for these vessels over the years, or perhaps these two vessels were 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 one of the longest serving classes of ship in any military, with versions of it serving for at least 3,000 years.

Known ships

 * Endar Spire
 * Harbinger
 * Sojourn
 * Veltraa

Behind the scenes


The Hammerhead-class cruiser was first introduced in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic; it is within one such vessel, the Endar Spire, that the game's tutorial level takes place. Near the end of the game, when the Ebon Hawk crash-lands on Lehon, the player can see the remains of a Hammerhead-class ship that had crashed into the rocks on the shore at an earlier date. It could be possible that this was the vessel used by Revan and Malak during their search for the Star Forge, however this cannot be confirmed. In the game's sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, much more information on this class of vessel is given, including deck plans for crew quarters, a medical bay, and engine rooms.

Leland Chee has confirmed that the ships seen in the Knights of the Old Republic games 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 specifications, considering that they are used approximately three thousand years apart from one another. The dimensions of the ship have yet to be revealed officially. Dimensions ranging from 167 meters to as much as four hundred meters have been speculated.

The wreckage of a Hammerhead-class vessel can be seen on the volcanic world of Mustafar in the expansion for Star Wars Galaxies, Trials of Obi-Wan. Why it is there and how it came to be is never explained, however.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 8: Flashpoint, Part 2
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Days of Fear'
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 17: Nights of Anger, Part 2
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 21: Daze of Hate, Part 3
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 25: Vector, Part 1
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 31: Turnabout
 * 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