Mon Calamari Star Cruiser

"Make no mistake, the Mon Calamari saved the Galaxy. Their cruisers protected our fleet at the Battle of Endor, allowing the starfighters to penetrate the second Death Star's core. Without Admiral Ackbar and his people, we would all be the Emperor's slaves."

- Mon Mothma

Mon Calamari Star Cruisers were the main cruisers in the Rebel Alliance/New Republic fleet for a significant portion of the Galactic Civil War. Designed by the Mon Calamari, they were the first large capital ship available to the Rebel Alliance Fleet, giving it for the first time the ability to face the larger Star Destroyers of the Imperial Navy. The latest versions of Mon Calamari warships continued to be major parts of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances fleet.

History


The Mon Calamari cruisers were originally built for civilian purposes, serving in numerous peaceful roles like passenger ships and deep space exploration vessels by the Mon Calamari species. Yet, when the Galactic Empire invaded and conquered their home system and enslaved their people, the Mon Calamari converted their ships to capital ships. Admiral Ackbar convinced his people to join the Rebellion. They in turn donated their fleet of cruisers to the Rebel Alliance, while many Mon Calamari joined to serve in the Rebel Fleet.

In addition to these original retrofitted civilian ships, the Mon Calamari also designed military variants of the cruisers. The plans for these models, however, were annexed by the Galactic Empire sometime before the Battle of Yavin. Held on Carida to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands, Rebel leader Mon Mothma enlisted the assistance of freelance smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca to steal the schematics for the new Mon Cal cruisers. After encountering much resistance, the duo made their way off-world with the plans in tow.

While they were exceedingly durable starships, Mon Calamari Star Cruisers were also notoriously difficult to repair, in part because of their individualized design. Rebellion-era Mon Calamari ships had very powerful shields for ships of their size, in part because their civilian-spec hull structure was somewhat weaker than a true military starship. The hallmark of the design was typically very strong shielding with a respectable battery of turbolasers and ion cannons. Another distinguishing feature of Mon Calamari cruisers is the redundancy of weaker shield generators contributing to the shielding system. Mon Calamari cruisers carried three times the usual amount of generators for ships of their size. Although each generator was weaker than the Imperial standard unit, the quantity of shield generators allowed for faster energy replenishment. Fighter squadrons were carried onboard in a series of hangar bays.



By the time of the New Republic, the Mon Calamari had begun to produce military-optimized designs that were no longer modified civilian designs. The individualization that marked the Rebellion-era designs all but disappeared in an effort to simplify the New Republic's logistics. By the Yuuzhan Vong War, the New Republic Defense Fleet fielded several new and more powerful variants of the Mon Cal cruiser, including the Mediator-class Battle Cruiser and the Viscount-class Star Defender. These new warships would play key roles in defending the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances as well, with numerous vessels serving in the various fleets of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force.

The following Mon Calamari Star Cruisers were produced:


 * Calamarian Tanker
 * MC30 frigate
 * MC40a light cruiser
 * MC80 Star Cruiser
 * Liberty-type
 * Reef Home-type
 * MC80 evacuation cruiser
 * MC80a battleship
 * MC80a Star Cruiser
 * MC80B Star Cruiser
 * MC90 Star Cruiser
 * Mediator-class Battle Cruiser
 * Mon Calamari frigate
 * Mon Cal heavy carrier
 * Mon Calamari Star Cruiser (Nespis VIII)
 * Mon Calamari Star Cruiser (striped)
 * Mon Calamari Star Cruiser (stubby)
 * Viscount-class Star Defender

Behind the scenes


There is some debate amongst fans to the various sizes and powers of the assorted Mon Cal cruisers. Fans of the West End Games stats compose one camp, while the other is composed of fans of the work of Dr. Curtis Saxton and his Star Wars Technical Commentaries. This page does not go into the various arguments of each group, instead serving as a basic coverall for the various Mon Calamari cruisers. For more information on these debates, see the various WEG sourcebooks or the online Technical Commentaries.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Empire at War
 * Star Wars Empire: Darklighter
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * Star Wars: X-wing Alliance
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * X-wing: Rogue Leader
 * The Truce at Bakura
 * X-wing: Rogue Squadron
 * X-wing: Wedge's Gamble
 * X-wing: The Krytos Trap
 * X-wing: The Bacta War
 * X-wing: Wraith Squadron
 * X-wing: Solo Command
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Dark Force Rising
 * The Last Command
 * X-wing: Isard's Revenge
 * Dark Empire
 * Dark Empire II
 * Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood
 * Dark Apprentice
 * Champions of the Force
 * I, Jedi
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
 * Darksaber
 * The New Rebellion
 * Showdown at Centerpoint
 * Vector Prime
 * Dark Tide II: Ruin
 * Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
 * Star by Star
 * The Unifying Force