YV-100 light freighter

YV-100 light freighter The YV-100 light freighter was the first of the Corellian Engineering Corporation's YV series starships released in the era surrounding the rise of the Galactic Empire. Its 46.5-meter-long frame housed enough room to hold 150 cubic meters of cargo, as well as other vital starship systems, including the hyperdrive, weaponry, and living arrangements. On the exterior, the ship resembled CEC's YT series line in the rear portion&mdash;this design feature was due to the influence of the popular YT series already on the market which the designers brought along. The ship was well-built and hardy, and, while an unremarkable ship design, it was well-received by those who bought it. Even so, the YV-100 was not as easily modifiable as other CEC ships still on the market and as a result never gained the popularity its YT series cousins had. Even with the limited demand, the ship lasted from its original release into the later portion of the Galactic Civil War and beyond.

Characteristics
Because the ship was the first in the Corellian Engineering Corporation's YV series line, the YV-100 light freighter closely resembled the YT series line already on the market, a trend that became less and less noticeable as the ship designs went on. This was shown in the distinctly familiar saucer-shaped hull towards the rear of the vessel. However, beyond this design influence, the YV-100 differed greatly from its YT series cousins, most noticeably in the design of the cockpit and connecting structure; it was this feature that gave the freighter its 46.5-meter length. Due to the extended rear portion of the vessel, cargo space was plentiful for a ship of its size and capabilities; approximately 150 cubic meters of freight could be placed in the cargo hold.

Two large engines, positioned on the port and starboard sides of the rear of the vessel, provided the ship with much of its thrust; two smaller engines, located just in between the larger ones, assisted. A class 3 hyperdrive was fed into these engines, providing the ship with a shorter hyperspace traveling time; a backup class 12 hyperdrive existed to rescue the ship in case the class 3 failed.

For weaponry, the stock YV-100 utilized two fire-linked laser cannons, located in the nose of the ship, and two fire-linked blaster cannons, located in a turret atop the freighter. The laser cannons had a very limited fire-arc, as they could only fire forward. However, the turret-mounted blaster cannons made up for whatever area not covered by the forward lasers, and could fire in any direction except aft.

The freighter lacked the modularity common in CEC lines; as such the YV-100, and the entire YV line, never garnered as much popularity as had the YT series and thusly never established a firm foothold in the galaxy's starship markets. Consequently, the cost of a used ship was fairly low when compared with other ships of its caliber. Still, those who owned it often claimed their YV-100 freighter was a solid, well-built ship, and actually outperformed the older YT-1300. Spacefarers with extra money would often convert the freighter to a luxury craft, even though, due to the lack of modularity, it was more costly and harder to accomplish.

History
Corellian Engineering Corporation, not content with their huge successes with the YT series line, began the YV series. The company redesigned and refitted everything from the ground up, and every system in the ship was reworked to fit these new specifications; this essentially provided CEC with a more modern ship. The YV-100 was the first of this new line. Because of this, certain design elements were borrowed from the YT series, such as the trademark saucer-shaped hull, as well as other Corellian starship designs. This practice would eventually fade out with time and later incarnations of the YV series; the extended cockpit portion, however, would go on to be a staple of the line.

Released sometime before the Empire's rise to power in 19 BBY, the YV-100 never latched onto the galactic starship market, mainly due to the lack of modular components so common to Corellian Engineering Corporation products. Thus, this freighter, along with most other YV-series freighters, was harder to adapt to various roles. Even so, the designs proved to be adequate for the intended purpose of hauling cargo, and those who did purchase them were not disappointed.

The freighter would continue to be utilized long after its initial release, into the later stages of the Galactic Civil War and beyond. Because of its lower cost, the YV-100 was heavily favored on worlds in the Fringe, as well as poorer or less-trodden planets in other sections of the galaxy. Some of its design features would become trademark to the YV line; one of these was the longer "neck" portion of the ship&mdash;most notably seen in the YV-666 light freighter.

Behind the scenes
The YV-100 was first introduced in an RPG supplement on Corellian Engineering Corporation products, written by Owen K.C. Stephens and published in Star Wars Gamer 2. The illustration of the ship was made by Jeff Carlisle. Later, the RPG supplement Tempest Feud used the freighter as a ship in a crash site that players would investigate according to the story.

The illustrated version of the ship bears similarities to many other CEC products; while the most obvious of these is the YT series&mdash;the YT-1300 light freighter in particular&mdash;a second tribute to another ship is the front cockpit section, which resembles that of the Consular-class space cruiser.