The hull was the body or main structure of a starship or vehicle. A hull's most basic requirement was to be airtight to allow organic passengers to breathe while riding inside the starship; the only openings found in them were either pressure-sealed airlocks or shielded hangars. Capital ship hulls were frequently constructed with duralloy, although some smaller ships would also equip their hulls with similar materials for greater protection. Other common materials found in starship hulls were durasteel, which was able to resist kinetic damage and could be molded to create a form-fitting armored shell around the starship's body and the more resistant titanium. Starship hulls typically couldn't withstand direct fire from laser cannons and instead relied on protection afforded by the deflector shields covering them. When unshielded, even a single hit from a laser weapon could tear apart entire hull sections and expose a starship's inner workings; such damage could be catastrophic for the ship and required immediate maintenance.