"Onderon Campus: Freighters and Transports"

I-Introduction

Welcome to the third course in the Starship Studies Series. Capital starships and Starfighters have been the topics of discussion in the previous courses. This course will discuss the freighters and transports that are the backbone of the galactic economy. Freighters and transports are vital to both civilian and military interests, and many are versatile enough to fulfill a variety of roles. As with its sister courses, this course will offer selected examples of each type of ship discussed, but there is a wide variety of other examples beyond those in this course.

II-Classification and Purpose

First and foremost, it must be made clear that the terms “freighter” and “transport” are almost completely interchangeable with one another, and very often people will use them in this manner. As a general rule of thumb, all freighters are transports, but not all transports are freighters. Freighters carry (haul, or transport) freight: large quantities of items to be sold. When referring to a transport, it is often implied that living beings are being transported.

The line between the two, however, is blurry and so a clear definition may never be made, and vessels may even change designations from time to time. For example, when Han Solo was hauling spice for Jabba the Hutt, he was carrying freight. When he was providing passenger service to Obi-wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker, he was transporting passengers; same ship, two different roles. Throughout this course, and on the exam, the terms can and will be used interchangeably.

The classification of a transport is based off two factors: interior design and overall size. For example, shuttles are not freighters because they are designed to carry passengers and they are generally not very large. On the other hand, BFF-1 bulk freighters aren’t designed to carry passengers; instead, they transport large quantities of goods and are fairly large. Very often, large cargo carrying vessels are referred to as freighters, while smaller cargo vessels are referred to as transports. In the next section, the various types of freighters and transports will be discussed in greater detail. However, it should be noted that one cannot determine the class of a cargo vessel simply by looking at the length and cargo capacity (cargo capacity is always expressed in metric tons, and/or the number of passengers).

Whether serving as a civilian vessel or a military vessel, all freighters and transports have a sole primary purpose: to haul goods and/or people from on location to the next. This may seem to be simplistic, but it is the truth. However, as we will see, these vessels can sometimes also be quite effective in other roles.

One final note about classifications: those transports and freighters that meet or exceed the 100 meter minimum length of capital starships should not be referred to as such. Even if they are serving a military purpose, the transports are not warships.

III-Production, Sale, and Lifespan

Transports and freighters are produced by a variety of companies throughout the galaxy. Even companies such as Sienar Fleet Systems and Kuat Drive Yards, which focus almost exclusively on military ships, have produced transports for civilian use. However, they have never had any major success with the ships.

Corellian Engineering Corporation, one of the big three starship manufacturers (the others being Sienar and Kuat), is probably the most prolific transport and freighter producer in the galaxy. Their designs can be found throughout the galaxy and in use by legal and illegal factions alike.

Another prominent manufacturer of transports is Ubrikkian Transports, a branch of Ubrikkian Industries. Ubrikkian Transports sold both atmospheric only and space capable vessels, and had a large share of the luxury yacht market. The Ubrikkian company also did business with the Empire, as well as being rather popular with the Hutts.

Sales of transports and freighters are conducted almost every day at every level. From the independent seller to large, multi-ship contracts, the transport and freighter business remains lucrative. Almost all of these ships are sold in stock condition, meaning they have no modifications and come only with what the manufacturer provides. Very often, governments will restrict the amount and type of weapons, as well as the hyperdrive speed, available on stock freighters. The Galactic Empire was notorious for this.

One way around this was the produce easily modified ships, something which Corellian ships were known for. This led to a profitable parts business, and companies such as Koensayr (which also provided parts during manufacture) could make a fortune on this market.

One final note: the lifespan of a shuttle or transport could easily be decades or longer. For example, the Theta class shuttles, eventually replaced by the Lambda class shuttles after the Clone Wars, were in service for centuries. Corellian CR90 corvettes have been around since well before the Clone Wars, and remain in service to this day. This is not to say that an individual ship will last this long, but rather that the design lasts this long.

IV-Varieties

There are hundreds of freighter/transport designs in the galaxy, but all of them will fit into one of the following categories: passenger vessels, light transports, medium transports, and heavy transports.

A. Passenger Vessels
Passenger transports are those vessels that have a primary, or sole, purpose to transport people, often with limited cargo space sufficient only for the passengers’ goods. This category includes shuttles, yachts, and passenger liners.

Shuttles: Shuttles are by far the most common passenger transports as they are fairly cheap and used by civilian and military elements alike. Shuttles vary in size from the small TIE shuttle (which resembles a TIE bomber) to the massive Corellian Star Shuttle. Perhaps the most common shuttle is the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle. Shuttles often have little or no weapons since they are not intended as combat vessels. One notable exception to this rule is the Delta-class JV-7 escort shuttle, which boasted heavy shields, missile launchers, and a rear mounted turbolaser.

Yachts: Yachts are luxury vessels owned primarily by those wealthy enough to afford them. Because of their speed, a few smugglers are known to use them, but they lack the cargo space of similarly sized freighters and transports, so their use by criminal elements is rare, save for crime lords such as Jabba the Hutt who preferred to move about in luxury. SoroSuub was a major builder of yachts, building such famous models as the Luxury Yacht 3000 and the Horizon-class.

Non-SoroSuub yachts included the Baudo-class star yacht, popular amongst young rich kids, and the Starwind-class pleasure yacht.
Passenger Liners: Passenger liners are, generally, vessels that carry multiple people between planets and/or entire systems. Depending on their use, ships as small as shuttles could be classified as passenger liners, though for the purposes of this course, we will only refer to larger vessels. Passenger liners fall into one of two categories: the SSP, which was less than 100 meters in length and carried less than 500 people; and the luxury liner, which was over 100 meters in length and carried more than 250 people. One common luxury liner was the C-3. Emperor Palpatine used one of these vessels as one of his numerous personal transports.

B. Light Transports/Freighters
Light transports and freighters are the smallest of the cargo carrying vessels. They are popular both with legal and illegal shipping concerns as they are relatively inexpensive, often easy to modify, and so common that blending in with other craft, to avoid pirates or authorities depending upon one’s own profession, is easy. Of the legitimate shipping concerns, light transports/freighters were primarily used by independent shippers. Light transports often trade cargo room for speed, generally keeping their cargo load under 400 metric tons.

YT Series: Built by Corellian Engineering Corporation, the YT series proved to be one of the most successful series of transports ever produced. The ships were durable and, as with many Corellian vessels, easy to modify. Though numerous models existed, the YT-1300 proved to be the most successful, especially since the Millennium Falcon became a prominent vessel. Another popular model was the YT-2400, with the Outrider being a prominent example.

Muurian Transport: Intended to compete against the YT-series, the Muurian transport had weaker shields and hull, but it boasted a heavier armament and speed than a stock YT series transport. They came armed with two double laser canon turrets, three laser canons, and two proton torpedo launchers. Though intended to serve as a regular transport, the ship became popular amongst smugglers, pirates, and the Rebel Alliance. Muurian transports made excellent raiding vessels for these groups.

YZ-775: Not necessarily a famous model, the YZ-775 is noteworthy as it is one of the largest ships to be classified as a light freighter. At 52 meters in length, it was just over ½ the length of a CR90. It could carry up to 400 metric tons of cargo. XS-800: Resembling a sort of squashed up Corellian Corvette, the XS-800 could transport up to 115 metric tons of cargo and it had several notable features. It emphasized passenger comfort by having personal refresher stations, fold out bunks, and independent climate control. Another feature was the detachable cockpit, useful in situations where the two escape pods proved unavailable. Finally, it came armed with a double laser canon for protection. Though designed and introduced before the Battle of Yavin, the ship would continue to see service through the New Republic.
C. Medium Transports/Freighters
Medium transports and freighters, as indicated by their name, sit in between light and heavy transports. They offer greater cargo space than light transports, but are slower. Still, they are generally faster than heavy transports. Medium transports can transport fairly large quantities of goods and frequently approach or exceed the 100 meter minimum length of capital starships. Their maximum cargo load often reaches into the thousands of metric tons and medium transports are used by governments, militaries, pirates, and private companies alike

Xiytiar-class transport: Resembling a lopsided barbell, Xiytiar transports are versatile, if inelegant, ships. Coming in at just under 165 meters in length, these ships can carry up to 5,000 metric tons of cargo. The cargo space itself was modular and the Rebellion even used one of these ships as a pocket starfighter carrier.

Mobquet medium transport: Shorter than the Xiytiar, the Mobquet transports are still a common sight on the galaxy’s shipping lanes. Offering a reinforced hull to compensate for speed, the design also maximized cargo space.

GR-75 “Rebel” transport: The GR-75, though only 90 meters long, can carry an impressive 19,000 metric tons of cargo. Essentially a flying container, the GR-75 used magnetic clamps to hold cargo in place, while its small crew stayed in a cramped pod atop the vessel. These ships were so commonly found in the hands of the Rebellion that they became known as Rebel transports. The Rebellion, as they often did with every ship, used the GR-75 for a variety of purposes. Asides from hauling cargo, the ships served as refueling stations for starfighters, and they could be modified to hold passengers inside the massive cargo area. GR-75s were also sent on suicide missions. Put on auto-pilot, the ships could ram a target, or be packed full of explosives and detonated after the crash, causing havoc amongst the enemy. Stock GR-75s came with laser canons for defense, but the Rebellion often stripped these weapons for use elsewhere.

D. Heavy Transports and Freighters
Heavy transports and freighters, often called bulk transports/freighters, are the largest transport ships, capable of hauling massive quantities of cargo. Some heavy transports consist of nothing more than a frame which attaches to entire cargo containers. Others are more elegantly designed and operate in the manner of their light and medium cousins (that is, cargo must be loaded via a loading dock or hanger bay). Heavy transports, however, have two major drawbacks: speed and armament. Unless modified, the majority of heavy transports are slow and poorly armed at best. They almost always rely on other ships for protection.

Container Transport: Capable of carrying 50% more cargo than the traditional bulk freighters, Container Transports are little more than a cylinder with external racks for containers. Requiring a crew of eight, the ships also came armed with three turbolaser canons that provided a modicum of protection. However, these defenses can easily be overcome by a determine aggressor.

Action VI transport: Capable of hauling up to 90,000 metric tons of cargo, Action VI transports are sold without heavy armament or protection; so, unmodified, they are useful only in well patrolled areas of space. However, many groups will modify the vessels. The Rebellion, criminal syndicates, and pirates often modified the vessels to serve as raiders, giving the ships weapons and shielding. These are often called “Interceptor-class frigates.” Perhaps the most famous Action VI was the Wild Karrde, operated by Talon Karrde. The ship often served as a mobile command base for Karrde as well as his personal ship.
Action-Keynne XII transport: The successor to the Action VI, the Action-Keynne XII transport marked a radical departure in design. The ship came with fairly luxurious accommodations for the crew and they were well armed (on par with a small capital ship). The cost of the vessel, however, meant that it would be found only in limited numbers. The ships became popular with the Sarkans, but there is at least one recorded incident where pirates were using the vessel.

Super Transport XI: As the name implies, the Super Transport XI was a massive transport; one of the largest ever created. Though slow, the ship could carry 25 million metric tons of cargo. Unshielded and unarmed, the ships did require escorts, and only traveled the safest of shipping lanes.

V-Armament and Convoys

Most transports are sold with little or no armament, meaning that owners must either do without them, or pay for modifications and upgrades. To this end, many companies intentionally make freighters and transports that are easy to modify. In doing so, they can attract many customers, but without drawing the attention of governmental authorities who may wish to prevent the customers from obtaining powerful ships. Even those ships that come armed are prone to have the stock weapons replaced by something more powerful. These after sale modifications are performed equally by pirates for raiding and law abiding individuals seeking to protect themselves.

One important method of protecting freighters and transports is the convoy. A convoy is a collection of freighters and transports that travel together, often with an armed escort. Even convoys that do not have armed escorts offer greater protection than traveling alone. Should an unescorted convoy come under attack, having multiple ships increases the odds that some ships will get out, though at the expense of others. Convoys, especially when escorted, offer the protection of greater numbers. However, convoys are limited to traveling at the speed of the slowest vessel in the group.

When there is a variety of craft in the convoy, they are often arranged with the most vulnerable vessels in the middle. Better armed ships form the outer rings, with military escorts often taking up the outermost position.

During the Galactic Civil War, especially during the evacuation of Hoth, the Rebel Alliance would often slip their ships into existing convoys hoping to elude Imperial patrols. Sometimes they were successful, but at other times they were not. This technique has also been adapted by smugglers.

In an effort to protect cargo and free up capital starships being used for escort duty, the Empire created the Star Galleons, frigate sized vessels that could both carry large amounts of cargo (up to 100,000 metric tons) and protect itself. The Star Galleon line is the one exception to the rule of not referring to freighters as capital starships.
On the outside, ten turbolaser batteries and concussion missiles could hold attackers off. Even if someone managed to get past the external defenses, elaborate anti-intruder defenses and a possible compliment of up to three hundred troops made the interior quite deadly. If all this failed, the cargo hold of the Star Galleon could be detached and sent off into hyperspace where it would continue to make random jumps until the Imperial navy retrieved it.

Escorting convoys is a job that falls primarily to frigates and corvettes. Both of these vessels are fairly fast. Frigates often held an advantage over corvettes, as most of them had the weaponry to deal with capital ships or fighters, as well as having a fighter compliment of their own. Long range fighters, such as the Assault Gunboat, also served as convoy escorts. The more dangerous the territory, the stronger the escort.

VI-Conclusion

Freighters and transports come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes, but they all serve only one purpose: to haul people or materials. They are vital to the galactic economy and their uses are virtually limitless. Of all the type of starships in the galaxy, freighters and transports are perhaps the most versatile.

When you are ready, click the link below to proceed to the exam.

[Information in the notes researched from Starwars.com, the Wookiepedia, and the Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels]

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