Rebel blockade runners

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Size:
  150 meters long

• Weapon:
  Turbolaser cannons

• Affiliation:
  Rebel Alliance

• Type:
  Multipurpose corvette

• Manufacturer:
  Corellian Engineering Corporation

• 

From the Movies

Princess Leia Organa used her position in the Imperial Senate to benefit the growing Rebel Alliance. Her consular vessel, which was afforded diplomatic immunity due to her ambassadorial status, frequently ran mercy missions as cover for assignments to aid Alliance efforts. Leia's starship could circumvent Imperial blockades due to its protected status. Such immunity did not extend to intercepting Alliance transmissions, Leia discovered, as Darth Vader's Star Destroyer crippled her blockade runner high over Tatooine.

Imperial troops boarded the vessel, searching for stolen technical data beamed to the ship by Rebel spies. Though Vader's troops were unable to find the datatapes, they nonetheless took Leia captured and destroyed her ship. Officially, Leia's ship was caught in an asteroid storm and all aboard were killed, though when Leia was eventually liberated from Imperial detention, the truth became known.

From the Expanded Universe

An antiquated vessel, Leia's Tantive IV is an example of a classic Corellian design often employed by the Rebel Alliance due to its adaptability, availability and performance.

Built by the Corellian Engineering Corporation, the Corellian corvette CR90 is a mid-sized vessel which can function as a troop carrier, light escort vessel, cargo transport, or passenger liner. The interior of the ship is modularly designed, so it is easy to reconfigure a corvette from one of these duties to another, thus greatly increasing its usefulness and resale value.

Originally built ages ago for a Corellian audience, these corvettes have fast sublight and hyperdrive engines. Their passenger compartments are large, and their standard armament is more than enough to deter most pirates. Corellian corvettes do have a distinct design flaw, however. Their principal solar and stabilizer fin, mounted dorsally, is located directly above the main reactor. Damage to the fin could cause vibrations that would overload the reactor. In these situations, the captain of the vessel would be forced to shut down the reactor.

Because of their use in illegal activities by pirates, Rebels and independents, these crafts are often called blockade runners.

Behind the Scenes

The blockade runner can trace its origins to design concepts for the Millennium Falcon. Originally, the Falcon was to be a more elongated craft, with its familiar conical cockpit resting at the front of its spaceframe. While Star Wars was in production, the television show "Space: 1999" developed a vessel design very similar to the early Falcon. Rather than be seen as imitators, the designers revisited the Falcon, developing its elliptical incarnation. The original Falcon became the blockade runner, which explains why a ship that has such a minimal presence in the film was afforded such an intricate miniature.

The blockade runner model is 194 centimeters long -- larger than the Star Destroyer model that pursues it. When the ship was rescaled and redesigned away from its Falcon origins, the cylindrical cockpit was replaced with the current hammerhead design. Mischiveous modelmakers decorated the interior of the cockpit with a nude pin-up, which of course is not visible in the finished film. The blockade model was reused for Return of the Jedi with minor alterations. It also served as inspiration for the Republic Cruiser seen at the start of The Phantom Menace.