Mon Calamari Star Cruiser

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Homeworld:
  Mon Calamari

• Size:
  1,200 meters long

• Weapon:
  Laser cannons, turbolasers, tractor beams

• Affiliation:
  Rebel Alliance

• Type:
  Capital ship cruiser

• 

From the Movies

The gentle Mon Calamari people brought more than their determination to restore freedom to the galaxy when they joined the Rebel Alliance. They also brought a fleet of powerful capital ships. These immense vehicles were a startling contrast to the rectilinear shapes favored by the Imperial fleet. Whereas the Imperial Star Destroyer resembles a pointed dagger in shape, a Mon Calamari cruiser lacks hard angles, and is covered with ovoid forms suggesting an organic sculpture.

Despite their smooth lines, these vessels pack an enormous punch. Turbolasers, ion cannons, tractor beam projectors and shield generators dot the flowing surface of the ships.

Perhaps the most important Mon Cal cruiser during the Galactic Civil War was Home One, the Headquarters Frigate that served as Admiral Ackbar's flagship, and the traveling headquarters of the Rebel Alliance after the Battle of Hoth. Home One engaged Imperial vessels during the Battle of Endor, and survived intact. Other Mon Cal cruisers weren't so lucky -- several were atomized by searingly powerful blasts from the second Death Star's superlaser cannon.

From the Expanded Universe

The Empire pressed the gentle Mon Calamari people into warfare by enslaving them. Unexpectedly, they fought back against their oppressors, turning simple farming implements and tools into weapons. After pushing back a brutal Imperial occupation, the Mon Calamari converted their beautiful starliners into vessels of combat, covering sleek transparent surfaces with hardened battle armor, and fitting deadly weapons into observation galleries and sensor stations.

Perhaps the most striking feature of Mon Calamari design is that no two vessels are the same. The Mon Cal artisans craft each vessel as a work of art, with subtle differences between vessels within the same class. This cultural distinction has caused much consternation to Alliance technicians, who would prefer a standardized technical layout for enacting repairs and maintenance.

One of the earliest Mon Cal vessels to be converted for war duty is the MC80 cruiser. Almost cylindrical in shape, the MC80 includes such ships as Admiral Ackbar's Home One in its ranks. Though the organic-looking blister pods that line its surface seem distributed in a haphazard pattern, Mon Calamari sensibility and aesthetics have efficiently placed sensor arrays, recessed weapon batteries and shield generators within these protrusions.

Mon Calamari engineering philosophy heavily favors redundancy. The MC80 has three times as many shield generators for a starship of its size. Though each generator is weaker than a comparable Imperial unit, it does allow a Mon Cal vessel to replenish exhausted shields at a faster rate than the enemy.

Mon Cal cruisers are almost exclusively crewed by the amphibian species. This is because the control interfaces are keyed to Mon Calamari senses and instincts, and refitting the vessels was simply too costly for the credit-strapped Rebellion.

Behind the Scenes

ILM constructed two main designs for the Mon Cal cruisers -- a cylindrical vessel nicknamed the "pickle ship" for Admiral Ackbar's command ship, and a winged version later identified as the cruiser Liberty. The streamlined design of the cruisers prevented model-makers from using their cherished kit-bashing construction technique, wherein various model kits would serve as sources for parts. Instead, the parts were manufactured at ILM from scratch.