Defiance

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For other uses, see Defiance.
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The Defiance was an MC80A Home One Type Heavy Star Cruiser in service to the Alliance to Restore the Republic by the closing stages of the Galactic Civil War against the Galactic Empire. It participated in the decisive Battle of Endor and other important battles against the Empire.

Description

The Defiance was an MC80A Home One Type Heavy Star Cruiser[2] produced by Mon Calamari Shipyards,[1] and as such was equipped with a class one hyperdrive, ten ion engines,[3] and deflector shield generators. It was armed with turbolasers, ion cannons and tractor beam projectors.[5]

History

"Once the shield is down, our cruisers will create a perimeter while the fighters fly into the superstructure and attempt to knock out the main reactor."
―Admiral Gial Ackbar, during a briefing before the Battle of Endor[7]

The Defiance was considered to be a powerful ship in the Alliance Fleet, and served in many important battles against the Galactic Empire. In once instance, the Defiance was attacked by Imperial TIE fighters and defended itself, destroying several fighters.[2] By 4 ABY,[8] the Defiance was part of the fleet of the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War against the Galactic Empire. Along with other MC80 Star Cruisers such as Home One,[7] Nautilian,[9] and Independence, the Defiance participated in the climactic Battle of Endor[3] where the Rebel Alliance sought to destroy the second Death Star and defeat Emperor Sheev Palpatine.[7]

Rebel Alliance Admiral Gial Ackbar's strategy for success was for the capital ships and Star Cruisers to form a perimeter around the second Death Star while starfighters moved into the superstructure of the incomplete battle station and destroy it from the inside. However, the battle was in actuality a trap by Emperor Palpatine to finally destroy the Rebel Alliance, and Imperial naval forces managed to block the rebel ships from escaping as the second Death Star was revealed to be fully operational, destroying several Rebel Alliance capital ships including the Nautilian and the Liberty.[7]

Believing that the Rebel Alliance would not have another opportunity, General Lando Calrissian convinced Admiral Ackbar to attack Imperial warships head-on, confident that they would have a form of protection against the second Death Star's superlaser, and also believed that rebel forces could inflict more Imperial casualties. By the end of the battle, the second Death Star was destroyed, Emperor Palpatine was killed by his own Sith apprentice, Darth Vader,[7] and Imperial forces retreated by order of Imperial Vice Admiral Rae Sloane.[10]

Behind the scenes

The Defiance was first mentioned in the new Star Wars canon in the 2018 Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles, written by Landry Q. Walker.[3] It first previously appeared in the Star Wars Legends video game, Star Wars: X-Wing,[11] released in February of 1993.[12]

Sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 'Star Wars: The Card Game — Galactic Ambitions Card: Defiance (backup link) establishes that the Defiance is an MC80A Home One Type Heavy Star Cruiser, which Ultimate Star Wars establishes was manufactured by Mon Calamari Shipyards, can carry ten starfighter squadrons, and has a crew of over 5,000.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Star Wars: The Card Game — Galactic Ambitions Card: Defiance (backup link)
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles
  4. ↑ Star Wars: On the Front Lines
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 StarWars-DatabankII Mon Calamari star cruiser in the Databank (backup link)
  6. ↑ "Starships of the First Order and the Resistance" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
  8. ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates the Battle of Endor to 4 ABY. Because the Defiance participated in the Battle of Endor, it must have been part of the Rebel Alliance by that time.
  9. ↑ Aftermath: Empire's End
  10. ↑ Star Wars Battlefront II
  11. ↑ Star Wars: X-Wing
  12. ↑ LucasArtsIcon 20th Anniversary History, Part Two: The Classics, 1990 - 1994 on LucasArts's official website (original site is defunct)
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