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Legends Article This page contains information from the Star Wars Legends continuity and may not be supported by the Dark Brotherhood.
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The Firefox-class Carrier is one of the five classes of warships gained by the Dark Brotherhood through Operation Tempest Bravo in 27 ABY. Making use of a similar hull design to the smaller Gladiator-class Star Destroyer, the Firefox-class is designed to be able to act primarily as a starfighter carrier while still being a capable capital warship in its own right.
Characteristics
Dimensions
The Firefox-class shares a hull configuration with the smaller Gladiator-class, save scaled up by nearly two-thirds. The large bridge tower houses the majority of the ships systems, leaving a large portion of the main hull devoted to supporting starfighter operations. The Firefox is characterized by the large central hangar opening in the bow that bisects the main hull. Unlike other Star Destroyer designs, the hangar is located directly forward to facilitate the deployment of starfighters directly into combat quickly. Also, unlike the hangars on other destroyer designs, the Firefox-class has a system of large blast doors that can fully secure the hangar deck to space.
Unlike most Star Destroyers, the Firefox-class has a large fighter command center located at the forward dorsal position on the command tower. This large command and control deck houses the position normally dedicated to the bridge on other designs. The Firefox bridge on the other hand is located above and slightly aft of the starfighter command center on the command tower.
Offensive and Defensive Systems
Unlike the Imperial Escort Carrier, the Firefox-class is a capable capital ship and not merely a platform for the launch and operation of starfighters. Armed with heavy turbolasers for use against larger capital ships and smaller weapons for use against smaller targets, the Firefox is able to engage other ships directly. Its armament is light for a ship of its size class, however, and so the Firefox is usually outclassed when engaging vessels of similar size one on one.
To combat this, the Firefox-class has engines far larger then any other ship in its class, allowing it to disengage from combat if necessary. Taken from the far larger Imperial-class, a pair of Destroyer-I ion engines provide the engine power for the vessel. This gives the Firefox-class very high sublight speeds, outclassed only by the Carrack-class light cruiser. The larger engines also give the class a very high power to weight ratio, affording acceleration unmatched by other large capital starships. The flexibility of speed affords the Firefox design the ability to catch those enemy vessels that can be defeated while running from those that cannot.
Complement
The main weapon of the Firefox carrier come in the form of the 144 starfighters carried in its hangar. A flight deck that extends well back from the ship’s bow allows those fighters to be launched in quick succession, with starfighters being staged along the main deck and able to launch to space as soon as those ahead of them have exited the bay. The Firefox-class also has extensive support facilities for starfighter maintenance and repair.
Unlike most other large capital starships, the Firefox-class only carries the bare minimum of embarked troops. These forces are limited to a contingent of trained marines to resist any possible boarding actions. As a consequence, the Firefox only supports two shuttles that are charged with crew transfers and pilot rescue and recovery.
History
Origin
As part of Operation Tempest Bravo, the Brotherhood commissioned Kuat Drive Yards to construct a carrier platform still able to act as a combat starship. With the Brotherhood striving to limit development time and KDY looking to minimize costs, the Gladiator-class Star Destroyer was chosen as the basis for the design. The Gladiator’s oversize superstructure atop the hull, designed to accommodate her heavy missile and torpedo armament, meant the hull configuration had the space available to house the large starfighter complement that the Brotherhood desired. The basic hull design was scaled up over the Gladiator considerably to be able to support such a large number of starfighters.
Service
The Brotherhood commissioned two of the vessels, the Firefox and Perdition, to be constructed at Xa Fel by Kuat Drive Yards in 25 ABY. Delivered in 27 ABY and transfered to Roche for final fittings, the two vessels were both integrated into the naval forces of the Brotherhood. The Firefox served directly with the Navy of the Iron Throne while the Perdition was assigned to Clan Plagueis. In the time since, both vessels have served with distinction in the conflicts of the Brotherhood.
Known Vessels