- "Alert all commands. Deploy the fleet."
- ―Admiral Firmus Piett
A fleet, or armada, was a conglomeration of warships or other starships that were organized into a single unit under a commanding officer, though the term could be broadly used for any grouping of ships. Throughout galactic history, numerous factions and forces made use of fleets and overall navies.
Description[]
Overview[]
A fleet, or armada, was a formation of warships or other starships that was organized into a single unit, and could consist of other sub-units and groups.[2] Fleets had both military and civilian purposes, and some navies were referred to as a fleet, such as the Rebel Alliance Navy often referred to as the Alliance Fleet,[3] or the New Republic Defense Fleet, which served as the New Republic's naval branch.[4]
Military usage[]
In military organization, fleets were typically a large formation of warships or military craft and part of a military's naval branch. Ranging from only a handful of capital ships,[5] to hundreds,[6] fleets were adaptable to various needs and responsibilities such as rescue fleets,[7] reserve fleets,[8] attack fleets,[9] sector fleets,[10] supply fleets, and more.[11]
History[]
Fleets were in use by the time the Sith armada was active in galactic history, when it fought against the smaller yet ultimately triumphant Ghostfinder fleet.[12] The Galactic Republic maintained a rescue fleet during the High Republic Era.[7] The Republic maintained a fleet that was attached to each of its Sector Armies, totaling twenty, during the Clone Wars. One of these twenty fleets was the 2nd Fleet.[13] The Confederacy of Independent Systems possessed fleets in its navy when it fought the Republic, and the Alliance to Restore the Republic managed a fleet with which it fought against the Empire.
In the Imperial Navy, a fleet could be commanded by an admiral,[1] a Fleet Admiral, or a Grand Admiral. Some Imperial fleets were mobile and travelled from conflict to conflict,[14] such as the Third Fleet,[15] the Seventh Fleet,[14] and Death Squadron.[1] On the other hand, sector fleets were set to a specific sector of the galaxy, such as the Lothal sector fleet[16] and the Anoat sector fleet.[17] Task forces, such as the Ninety-Sixth Task Force, were units of ships smaller than fleets that were under the command of an admiral[14] or commodore.[18]
The Sith Eternal labored for years to create the Final Order, a massive fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, which was set to launch as the largest fleet in galactic history.[19] However, the Citizens' Fleet, which saw action at the Battle of Exegol and overcame the Sith fleet, becoming the largest fleet ever created in the galaxy.[20]
Appearances[]
Sources[]
Non-canon sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- ↑ Star Wars: Complete Locations
- ↑ Lead by Example
- ↑ Aftermath
- ↑ Ahsoka — "Part Five: Shadow Warrior"
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The High Republic Adventures (2021) 2
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Bad Batch"
- ↑ Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil
- ↑ Dawn of Rebellion
- ↑ Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 34 (Secrets of Spaceflight: Refuelling)
- ↑ Aftermath: Empire's End
- ↑ Rise of the Separatists
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Thrawn
- ↑ Thrawn: Treason
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels — "Legacy"
- ↑ Star Wars: Uprising
- ↑ Thrawn: Alliances
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker
- ↑ Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy