The DP20 Frigate, also known as the DP20 Gunship or simply as the DP20 and colloquially referred to as the Corellian Gunship, was a warship model manufactured by the Corellian Engineering Corporation. It saw service in the Galactic Republic, the Galactic Empire, and then notably in the Alliance to Restore the Republic.
The DP20 Frigate, also known colloquially as the "Corellian Gunship," was a class of frigate that was manufactured by the Corellian Engineering Corporation and cost 3,200,000 credits. Its hull was composed of three hull sections that were strung along a single, reinforced multi-decked corridor. It had a linear design, with a cockpit shaped like a truncated cone. The DP20 was equipped with an oversized ionization reactor which gave it significant speed. It was also equipped with a class 2 primary hyperdrive and a class 16 secondary.
DP20 Frigates had powerful targeting computers and were heavily shielded. It had a long-range sensor and a navigation computer. DP20s were heavily armed, boasting eight turret-mounted twin light turbolaser batteries, six retractable turret-mounted quad laser cannons, and two port and two starboard fast-loading concussion missile launchers which could target starfighters, enemy patrol boats, and corvettes. During combat, DP20s kept their shields balanced when encountered by enemy starfighters, but angled them in concentration to the enemy's angle of attack. It was operated by ninety-one officers and crew and had consumables for eight months.
The DP20 Frigate was designed as a pure, single-purpose military vessel. During the Clone Wars, it served the Republic Navy as a vessel to respond to the increased number of droid starfighters and pirate groups. Their targeting systems and armament allowed them to fulfill anti-starfighter and anti-capital ship roles, and during the Imperial Era, the Imperial DP20s were relegated down to operate in distant and low-value sectors.
At least two DP20 Frigates were used in the Alliance Fleet around the time of the siege on Tureen VII.
The DP20 Frigate was manufactured for the Galactic Republic and saw action during the Clone Wars as part of the Republic Navy, often being dispatched against pirate groups and droid starfighters. After the Galactic Empire was formed, however, most of the ships were retired from active service by the Imperial Quartermaster Corps and sent to boneyards to be scrapped. The few remaining DP20s in the Empire's arsenal were then sent to remote sectors of the galaxy. This large supply of starships meant they would be scrapped, but were often stolen by the Rebel Alliance and other independent organizations.
By 0 ABY, at least two DP20s were used by the Alliance shortly before the Imperial Siege on Tureen VII. Those DP20s traveled in concert with an EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate that housed members of Alliance High Command, namely Commander-in-Chief Mon Mothma, General Jan Dodonna, and Admiral Gial Ackbar. A DP20 Frigate was later stationed as part of the Alliance Fleet above the planet Hoth while Echo Base was being constructed.
At some point during the war, the Galactic Empire laid a trap in a starship boneyard by leaking information that a DP20 Frigate was awaiting decommissioning and was vulnerable to theft. Aboard the DP20, however, was a squad of elite stormtroopers behind shielded compartments that were ready to engage any shipjackers. At another point, a DP20 Frigate took part in a battle, and its rebel captain was assassinated by a double agent working for the Empire, sending the ship into chaos after the agent fled the bridge.
When Admiral Ackbar later sought to build up his forces for the upcoming attack on the Galactic Empire's second Death Star above Endor, the former Baron Administrator of Cloud City Lando Calrissian introduced him to various individuals who would be willing to join the fight, including a group of Alderaanian exiles that had four DP20 Frigates in their arsenal. Eventually, those four gunships participated in the Battle of Endor, where the Alliance won its most crucial victory over the Empire.
The DP20 began as a concept for the Millennium Falcon and later, the Rebel Blockade Runner.
The DP20 Frigate first appeared in the 2016 canon Marvel comic Star Wars (2015) 23, which was written by Jason Aaron and penciled by Jorge Molina. The shot of the Alliance fleet in which two DP20s appear seems to have been based on a very similar shot from the Star Wars Legends video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II.
The DP20 Frigate was subsequently identified in Star Wars: The Rebel Files, a reference book and boxed set released in 2017 and authored by Daniel Wallace.
The DP20 frigate first appeared in Star Wars Legends in the Marvel comic Star Wars (1977) 12, released in 1978 and written by Archie Goodwin and penciled by Carmine Infantino.
- Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- Starships and Speeders