Acclamator-class assault ship

Acclamator I-class assault ship "Master Sifo-Dyas requested the most powerful army in the galaxy. We have worked with only the best shipbuilders to fulfill that request."

- Lama Su

The Acclamator I-class assault ship, also known as the Republic assault ship, Acclamator I-class Star Destroyer, or Acclamator I-class medium frigate, was a starship created for the Galactic Republic by Rothana Heavy Engineering. It was the predecessor of the Star Destroyer line.

Dimensions
The 752-meter-long Acclamator I-class assault transport carried thousands of Republic clone troopers into battle. The Acclamator I favored a wedge or dagger shaped design, like the Republic warships during the Mandalorian Wars, due to its effectiveness&mdash;it allowed concentration of firepower while minimizing target profile. This basic design was used in a number of larger craft predating it and would define Imperial ships for decades to come.

Offensive and defensive systems
These ships were armed with 4 heavy torpedo launch tubes; 24 point-defense laser cannons, rated at 6 megatons per shot; and 12 quad turbolaser turrets, each rated at a maximum of 200 gigatons per shot.

Groups of these ships could perform a "Base Delta Zero", an orbital bombardment that would exterminate all life on the planet. The later Acclamator II-class could also serve as star frigates to support their landing groups. In addition to ground landings, Acclamator-class ships were capable of water landings, as displayed at the Battle of Mon Calamari.

At the front of the ship's command tower, the sensor and communications suites were located.

Hull armor of Acclamator-class vessels was impregnated with ultra-dispersive neutronium that withstood and spread massive energy blasts. Fusion rockets fired by enemy forces barely made a scratch on the hull as a result.

Complement
Acclamator I-class ships also carried support equipment and vehicles, such as AT-TE and SPHA walkers, used to provide clone troopers with heavy battlefield support.

Each Acclamator I-class ship held 320 speeder bikes, used by clone troopers for fast battlefield reconnaissance and patrol duties. Eighty LAAT gunships were carried to insert personnel, vehicles, and cargo into battle zones in addition to providing close air support.

Gunships were suspended along an overhead circulating rail in the upper hangar for maintenance procedures during travels. A lower, smaller hangar area was used to embark and disembark ground troops and material when landed. The two levels were connected with elevator platforms. Most of the passenger and barrack decks were located on the upper levels of an Acclamator-class ship.

Propulsion systems
The Acclamator-class's main reactor was located in the middle of the vessel, inside the main superstructure, and was preceded at the frontal half of the ship by multiple fuel tanks. The tanks compressed hypermatter to enormous density for storage. The tanks were connected to the main reactor via pipe assemblies. Secondary reactors were located towards the bow of the vessel.

The ship's main thrusters were fitted with eight electromagnetic rudders that deflected the exhaust particle streams and gave boost when turning the ship. The secondary thrusters did not provide as much power, but were useful for maneuvering due to being placed further away from the ship's main axis.

The massive fin at the stern of the Acclamator-class contained both the anti-gravity generator and the ship's hyperdrive generator. When landed, the repulsorlift carried much of the ship's weight, but the landing legs maintained a stabile contact with the ground.

Bridge
The bridge was located in the middle of an arrow-shaped command tower module that protruded from the dorsal superstructure. This tower module was a standard design for smaller ships in Kuat Drive Yards's starship catalogue, which Rothana supplied vessels to. The main bridge and command center had no windows but relied upon advanced holoscreens. The bridge crew usually consisted of fully-armored clone pilots manning the control panels.

Preceding designs
An older design saw duty as a warship in the years prior to the Invasion of Naboo. These ships also had a sleek shape and some of their top armor was removed to make room for massive turbolasers. Another design, and possibly a direct predecessor to the Acclamator itself, was seen in an important system performing fleet-maneuvers with other warships, sometime after 32 BBY.

Republic origin
In their first engagement at the Battle of Geonosis, the Acclamator I-class proved pivotal in the Republic victory, delivering legions of clone troopers to the battlefield while a large Republic fleet engaged the Separatist fleet in orbit. Just after the Battle of Geonosis, the Republic ordered 1,000 more of them. At least as of 21 BBY, all Acclamators were completely crewed by clones.

Near the end of the Clone Wars, a more updated version, the Acclamator II-class assault ship, was put into production. The two subclasses saw many battles in both the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War. Other Kuati designs complemented and supplanted the Acclamator-class, but the design was popular enough to continue service for decades.

Later service
Several variants of the Acclamator design appeared to be dedicated for space combat rather than planetary assault. Its design was also influential on the development of several other warships. One example was the Class II Frigate, represented by Rand Ecliptic, which had a more narrow hullform and two docking bays with port and starboard openings. There was no large downward-facing hangar bay as seen on some of the early Acclamator-class ships, but there were large retractable loading ramps in order for the clone troopers to board.

In addition to being a warship and a military transport, some Imperial Acclamators were used as slave ships, transporting large quantities of enslaved people to various Imperial penal colonies during the Galactic Civil War. Although they were initially not considered "Star Destroyers", the Acclamator-class would sometimes be referred to as such during the reign of the Empire. Some would fall into the hands of criminal groups such as the Zann Consortium.

Behind the scenes
The word "Acclamator" means "one who acclaims" or "conqueror".

The Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide mentions that the starships and vehicles used by the Republic during the Clone Wars, such as the Acclamator and AT-TE, were "retired" shortly after the end of the conflict. This is inconsistent with what is shown in the post-Revenge of the Sith era, such as Star Wars: Empire at War and the Star Wars: Empire comic series, where they're shown to be in continued use, albeit on the Empire's more remote worlds (In the case of the Acclamator, they are specifically mentioned as "slave ships" by Darth Vader in the In the Shadows of Their Fathers story arc). Also, it is possible that the Empire simply brought them back into service after a while.

In the game Star Wars: Empire at War and Star Wars: Battlefront II, the Acclamators present seem geared towards ship-combat rather than carrying ground forces, and are designated as frigates (while on the lower ship-scale, they are cruisers). This might mean that these ships are Acclamator IIs instead.

While the Attack of the Clones: Incredible Cross-Sections book explicitly states that in Acclamator-I ships the "Main bridge and battle operations rooms are windowless but furnished with sophisticated holographic displays", Acclamator-class ships have been observed to have classic Star Destroyer-style bridges complete with what are almost certainly exterior viewports in both the menu of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the mission aboard the Prosecutor in Star Wars: Republic Commando. While it is possible that these windows are actually feeds from exterior cameras, there is no information supporting this, and as such the canonicity of any windows on the Acclamator's bridge is unclear. It should be noted that that the exact class of both of the ships mentioned is unclear, so another possible explanation may be that there are windows on bridge of the Acclamator-II Assault Ship, but none on the Acclamator-I.

Notes and references
Acclamator Acclamator-Klasse Transport d'assaut Acclamator Classe I Ударный крейсер типа "аккламатор"