Mon Calamari cruiser

According to the old Expanded Universe (now Star Wars Legends) material, the Galactic Empire occupied the planet of Mon Calamari (also known as Mon Cala or Dac). After the Empire destroyed three floating cities to pacify the planet, the peaceful Mon Calamari converted their passenger liners and deep space exploration into warships, driving the Imperials from their homeworld prior to the Battle of Yavin. Joining the Rebellion, the Mon Cala's shipyards supplied the Rebels with badly-needed capital ships to take on the Imperial Navy. For this reason Emperor Palpatine had planned to use the second Death Star against Mon Cal, but this was foiled at the Battle of Endor, and upon Palpatine's return in a clone body the Imperials attacked Mon Cal with World Devastators as told in the Dark Empire comic series.[4] In April 2014, when Lucasfilm rebranded existing Expanded Universe material as Star Wars Legends and declared it non-canonical to the franchise, the new Expanded Universe retcons this history somewhat. Before the Battle of Yavin, Darth Vader successfully subjugates Mon Cala, leading to a mass exodus of city-ships from Mon Cala. With Mon Cala remaining under Imperial occupation, many of these escaped ships were converted for war by rebels in deep-space facilities located in the remote Telaris system. A new comic series by Marvel Comics (set between A New Hope and the Empire Strikes Back) starting with Star Wars 50: Hope Dies, Part I covers the mutiny on Mon Cala and Darth Vader's hunt for the Mon Calamari exodus fleet.

Each Mon Calamari vessel was individually unique due to the artistry of their Mon Calamari builders, even those of the same "class", which was frustrating for Rebel technicians. Legends texts state that the original MC80 ships had a command crew consisting almost entirely of Mon Calamari due to the ships' Mon Calamari-oriented controls and interface, although the succeeding MC90 cruisers and follow-up ships are designed to accommodate humans and other species.[4] According to Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game sourcebooks, while smaller and carrying less weaponry than Imperial-class Star Destroyers, the Mon Calamari cruisers are often more than a match in head-to-head engagements. This is attributed to the Mon Calamari cruisers' multiple backup shields and multiple shield generators as well as more balanced all-around firing arcs, in contrast to Star Destroyers who rely upon a single powerful shield and emphasize full-forward firing arcs. The franchise's books, comics, and video games from Legends describe and depict other Mon Calamari cruisers and successor designs, such as the MC80B Mon Remonda in the Star Wars: X-wing novels, the MC90 star cruiser Galactic Voyager, the Mediator-class battle cruisers, and Viscount-class Star Defenders (which were meant to be the answer to the Executor-class Super Star Destroyers) in R.A. Salvatore's Vector Prime.[5]

In Return of the Jedi, Admiral Ackbar (Timothy M. Rose) leads the Rebels during the Battle of Endor from the flagship, Alliance Headquarters Frigate Home One, a modified MC80A star cruiser; although that ship survives the Battle of Endor, the Death Star's superlaser destroys other Mon Calamari cruisers, including the Liberty.[6]

In Revenge of the Sith, the Confederacy of Independent Systems (Separatists) used the Providence-class carrier/destroyer as their frontline capital ship at the Battle of Coruscant, opposite to the Old Republic Navy's Venator-class Star Destroyers. A modified variant, the Invisible Hand, serves as the command ship for Count Dooku and General Grievous. Expanded Universe material states that the Providence destroyers were constructed on the planet of Mon Cala, at the same shipyards that would later produce the Mon Calamari cruisers for the Rebel Alliance.

In Rogue One, Admiral Raddus flew his flag on the MC75 Star Cruiser Profundity at the Battle of Scarif. The design of Profundity was meant to be a cross between the MC80 star cruiser from Return of the Jedi and the Separatists' Providence-class carrier/destroyer in Revenge of the Sith.

In The Last Jedi, the Raddus, formerly known as the Dawn of Tranquility, was an MC85 Star Cruiser that served as the flagship of General Leia Organa.[7] It was used by the Resistance during its war against the First Order. It was one of the last purpose-built warships before the signing of the Military Disarmament Act by the Galactic Empire and New Republic.[8] The vessel gained the moniker Raddus upon its entry into the service of the Resistance, when Admiral Gial Ackbar petitioned to rename it in honor of the famed Admiral Raddus, who had died in service of the Alliance at the Battle of Scarif after defying the Rebel Alliance's political leaders and choosing to fight against seemingly insurmountable odds.