Everyone who has heard about Star Wars knows how, this world is vast, everyone will find what attracts them most such as lightsaber battles, adventure, the fight between good and evil, a world with hundreds of planets and alien races, politics. Not to mention the rich history that takes place in different periods, starting with the High Republic (the period leading up to the events of the first part of The Phantom Menace), and ending with the New Republic (the period from the seventh part of The Force Awakens). This universe can also boast visually beautiful weapons, whether those used by soldiers fighting on land, underwater, in the air, or in space. The creators took the aesthetics of vehicles, ships and spaceships seriously.
Therefore, today we will show several spaceships from the Clone Wars under the command of the Galactic Republic, that is, the specific period between the second part – Attack of the Clones and the third part – Revenge of the Clones – and you can learn more about this three-year civil war from the animated series Star Wars. The Clone Wars (Star Wars: The Clone Wars).
Spacecraft are not equal to each other
Just as in our universe, Star Wars spaceships can be divided by size and combat power. Starting with the smallest, that is:
- Corvette (100-200 meters long)
- Frigates and aircraft carriers (200-400 meters long)
- Light cruisers (400-600 meters long)
- Cruisers (400-600 meters long)
- Heavy cruisers (600-1000 meters long)
- Star destroyers (1000-2000 meters long)
- Battle cruiser (length 2000-5000 meters)
- Warship (more than 5,000 meters long)
Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian sails. The country’s sea trials began…
Galactic Republic fleet
Before the events of Attack of the Clones II, the Galactic Republic did not have a navy, as a result of the Russian Reformation, i.e. a legal act to reform the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order, and in its Republic series it did not have a regular army created from above, except for the regular services. Sectors and systems had their own defense forces, but small ones. However, the civil war that led to war with the Confederation of Independent Systems changed everything. Suddenly, the Grand Army of the Republic (WAR) was formed and its ranks were filled with clone troopers under the command of the Jedi Knights as generals. For the purposes of this text, we will ignore how the Clone Army was created, and will only look at the three largest starships from the Galactic Republic fleet during the Clone Wars. It should also be noted that technical specifications of vessels may vary from different sources.
Acclamator-class attack cruiser
Acclamator-class attack cruiser It is a powerful spaceship that forms the core of the Republic’s Grand Army fleet during the Clone Wars. Designed to quickly land troops and provide fire support, the ship played a major role in many of the Republic’s battles. We first see these ships at the end of Attack of the Clones II, when the Clone Wars officially begin. In the final scene, we see clone troopers boarding ships taking off from the Hanging to go to war.
The ship can carry up to 16,000 clone troopers and dozens of smaller spacecraft, including LAAT/i attack gunboats, AT-TE walkers and repulsor helicopters. Over time, the ship had two variants of the Acclamator I: This is the original version known for its high firepower and durability. The Acclamator II is an improved model with better engines, more powerful weapons, and hangars adapted to new types of spacecraft. In this version, the ship can accommodate 156 V-19 Torrent fighters on board.
Despite their impressive firepower, the Acclamators were relatively slow and vulnerable to damage from smaller, more maneuverable ships. After the end of the Clone Wars, many of the stragglers were captured by the Galactic Empire and rebuilt by the Empire as prisons or slave transports.
Characteristic:
- Crew: about 700 people
- The speed in the air is 1200 km/h
– Armament:
- 12 quadruple laser towers
Venator-class star destroyer
The Venator-class destroyer, often informally referred to as a “Jedi cruiser,” is a powerful warship. Designed for offensive operations and linear combat. Venator-class destroyers entered service in the last years of the Galactic Republic. They participated, for example, in the Battle of Coruscant and we can see them in the opening scene of the third part of Revenge of the Sith. Its aggressive spearhead design, high speed, and powerful armament make it ideal for fighting large Separatist ships. A distinctive feature of these magnificent ships is the hangar at the bow, which had its advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include immediate launch of fighters or other landing units. But the disadvantages were that when the hangar was opened the interior of the ship was exposed to fire, which could damage or even destroy the ship. Another distinctive feature of the ship is the split bridge. The starboard portion of the hull serves as the ship’s command center, while the portion on the port side serves as the commander of the combat units assigned to the destroyer. As it turned out, this solution was not very good because it made communication difficult for the leadership team, so this type of solution was abandoned at a later stage. Venator can also land on the surface of the planet, which made it a very attractive unit because it ensures direct landing of ground forces. After the fall of the Republic, many Venators were scrapped, incorporated into the Galactic Empire, or sold to serve in the fleets of criminal organizations. In Latin, Venator means hunter.
Characteristic:
- Speed in the air is 975 km/h
- Crew: about 7,000 people
Armament:
- 8 twin heavy turbines
- 52 laser rifles (paired in pairs)
- 4 proton torpedo tubes (16 missiles each)
- 6 tractor beam emitters
The ship can carry 7,400 crew members and 2,000 clone walkers. The ship had its own fighters, which could carry up to 420 machines, including three squadrons of ARC-170 heavy fighters and machines V-19 Torrent and Eta-2 Actis. In addition, 20 LAAT/i gunboats for transporting troops and possible support for ground forces, 40 air speedboats, 24 AT-TE walkers and numerous support units.
Victory class destroyer
The Victory-class Star Destroyer was designed for use by the Galactic Republic Navy at the end of the Clone Wars. Because they had design problems that required constant maintenance, they had a bad reputation with the Hungarian Republic Navy. The ship was introduced due to the insufficient mobility and firepower of the Venator-class star destroyers, but it did not last in Republic service for long, as it entered service very quickly in the first phase of the Empire’s rule, becoming the mainstay of its fleet.
Their sturdy construction, versatility and relatively low production cost made them ideal for patrol and escort missions. Although they were replaced by more advanced ships such as Imperial-class star destroyers in the final years of the war, the Victories remained in service until the fall of the Empire, serving as the backbone of the Imperial Reserve Fleet. Like its predecessors, the ship had many variants, and Victory 2 was an improved version with more powerful engines, better weapons, and hangars adapted to newer types of spacecraft. After the fall of the Empire, many of the victories were captured by rebels and other anti-Empire groups, who used them as warships and transport. Unfortunately, we won’t see a Victory-class Star Destroyer in any movie or series, but it appears in canon and is described in Star Wars encyclopedias, as well as in card and board games. Interestingly, it can be played in the special mode of the RTS game “Star Wars: Empire at War”, which is set during the Clone Wars. The game itself “Star Wars: Empire at War” and its sequel “Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption”, despite the passing of the years (the game was released in 2006), is a very good RTS game set in the world of Star Wars, which can keep you entertained for hours. Unfortunately, the game is not canon, so the plot events that occur, such as Grand Admiral Thrawn’s plans, are not canon. But the game is worth playing.
Characteristic:
- Crew: 4798, including 402 gunners
Armament:
- 10 quad laser turbo batteries
- 40 Dual Laser Turbo Battery
- 10 tractor beam emitters
The ship can transport:
- 24 TIE/ln (TIE Line Starfighter)
- 6 TIE bombers/sa (TIE Surface Assault Bomber)
- 8 transports: T-4b Sentinel or T-4c Zeta
- 8 heavy armored ground transporters AT-AT (all-terrain armored transport)
- 16 AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport) walking machines.
- 1 prefabricated base type IM-455
The three Galactic Republic ships from the Clone Wars shown here are just a sample of the weapons used by the Grand Army of the Republic. The fleet also had smaller units, such as the Arquitiens-class light cruiser and the Consular-class cruiser, as well as fighters such as the V19-Torrent, ARC-170, and V-wing and Y-wing bombers, which were carried on ships. Like Venator.
On the other side of the galactic conflict, the Confederation of Independent Systems, there was also a powerful fleet of battleships manned by droids and commanded by prominent commanders such as General Grievous and Admiral Trench. However, there will be time to describe this fleet…maybe next year? When we celebrate May 4th again. In the end, I had nothing to do but write: The force is with you!
“Shinano”, the largest aircraft carrier of World War II. It was supposed to be the pride of emperors…
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