Lucrehulk-class battleship

Lucrehulk-class battleship The Lucrehulk-class battleship was the primary capital ship of the Trade Federation's Trade Defense Force. Most Lucrehulks were modified from enormous cargo haulers. Upgraded and modified versions were later used by the CIS Navy, the Alliance to Restore the Republic, the Corporate Sector Authority and the Killik Colony.

Characteristics


At over three kilometers in diameter, the enormous vessels resembled a torus missing a section of its circumference and with a central sphere containing the ship's bridge and reactor assemblies. The front void of the craft, held two mammoth docking bays on either side,lined with forward docking claws. These gigantic cargo vessels had been built for many years by the Trade Federation to haul cargo between planets and were an important asset to their enterprise.

Housed in the stern of the main body were the main reactors, each connected to one of the three main engines, as well as to secondary engines and each other. The central sphere housed its own reactor/power generator assemblies.

Lining the equatorial bands in batteries of three, were quad turbolaser cannons capable of rotating inwards when not in use. Their limited coverage of the hull made the early battleships vulnerable, and made them rely more on the massive number of starfighters carried, to defend the ships against enemy starfighters. This was, however, rectified with later ships whose armor and shields proved too strong for starfighter firepower, the fact becoming quickly apparent at the Battle of Naboo.

Clone Wars-era battleship


Battleships fighting in the Clone Wars had less trouble with weak spots, as they were augmented with gun batteries and much stronger shielding. Batteries of long guns and heavy guns complemented the additional quad turbolaser batteries added to the Lucrehulk superstructure when the war erupted.

Each ship was also now so powerful due to the increased amount of power devoted to offensive and defensive systems that a whole flotilla of Republic Star Destroyers was needed just to bring down its shields.

Origins
When the Trade Federation began creating its military, the Executive Board realized the need for large cruisers to transport their weapons across the galaxy, battleships to defend against starfighter attacks, and flagships for controlling their vast legions of battle droids. Reluctant to spend the credits necessary to construct and purchase a fleet of military vessels, the Trade Federation began modifying its existing Lucrehulk-class freighters into warships.

Invasion of Naboo


The Trade Federation used a substantial fleet of Lucrehulk-class battleships to enforce the invasion of Naboo, led by the flagship Saak'ak. The most important vessel in the Trade Federation's blockade was the Droid Control Ship. When the rest of the blockade dispersed after Naboo was successfully occupied, the Neimoidians left the Droid Control Ship in orbit to coordinate their droid forces. The Control Ship was later destroyed by the young Anakin Skywalker, resulting in the deactivation of the Droid Army.

After the Invasion of Naboo, the Republic ordered the Trade Federation to disband its military forces. The crafty Trade Federation pretended to comply with this command by apparently disassembling most of its battleships, only to transform their centrispheres into detachable core ships capable of carrying supplies.

Later, some of these vessels were used to try to destroy Outbound Flight. Chiss Commander Thrawn destroyed all but one of the Lucrehulks, allowing it to surrender.

The Clone Wars


Core ships were used during the Battle of Geonosis where they carried legions of battle droids. In retreat, the Core Ships were found to be able to reattach themselves to the outer ring. These vessels saw continued use during the devastating Clone Wars, transporting military equipment and troops to countless worlds, and engaging Republic fleets in combat.

During the wars, the Lucrehulk-class received a massive upgrade in terms of firepower, with the addition of hundreds of long guns, quad guns, and heavy guns dotting the surface of both the core ship and the surrounding cargo arms. They, along with the other capital ships of the Confederate Navy, also proudly wore the colors and insignia of the Confederacy. A few dozen participated in the attack on Coruscant towards the end of the war.

Legacy
During the Imperial Period, some militarized Lucrehulks remained in operation, fighting on the side of Separatist holdouts or early Rebel Alliance units. A few battleships kept in Imperial surplus stock were also sold to the Corporate Sector or to wealthy merchants.

One of several Alliance Lucrehulks, the Fortressa served as a starfighter carrier, carrying a complement of hundreds of T-65 X-wing starfighters. In 0 BBY, it participated in an assault on the first Death Star and was destroyed by the battle station's superlaser. In 36 ABY, dozens of Lucrehulk-series freighters were appropriated by forces allied with The Colony and used as carriers for Dartship swarms during the Swarm War.

Appearances

 * Cloak of Deception
 * Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
 * Single Cell
 * Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novel
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace comic
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novelization
 * Episode I: Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Star Wars: Starfighter
 * Outbound Flight
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones comic
 * Star Wars Republic 50: The Defense of Kamino
 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Republic Commando
 * Deep Forest
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars Volume 3: The Wind Raiders of Taloraan
 * Star Wars: General Grievous
 * Star Wars: Obsession
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Death Star
 * Vision of the Future
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War
 * Millennium Falcon
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (video game) (ruined ship on Raxus Prime)
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (video game) (ruined ship on Raxus Prime)

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * LEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick

Notes and references
Lucrehulk-Klasse Schlachtschiff Nave de batalla clase Lucrehulk Lucrehulk-luokan taistelualus