Wessex designed the Venator-class Star Destroyer (pictured), which entered service around 42 BBY.
Lira Wessex was a human female well-known ship designer. She was the daughter of the famous starship engineer Walex Blissex. Working at Kuat Drive Yards (KDY), Wessex and her group designed the Venator-class Star Destroyer, which entered service around 42 BBY, and saw action during the Clone Wars from 22 BBY to 19 BBY. Her wedge-shaped design used on the Venator was one the first of many wedge-shaped capital ships that where constructed by KDY. In 19 BBY, KDY built of the Venator-class to create the Imperator-class Star Destroyer, which saw limited service during the Clone Wars.
In 19 BBY, following Republic's transformation into the Galactic Empire, KDY reworked the Imperator-class into the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, with Wessex, who became part of the Empire, and her group providing the design of the vessel. In 6 BBY, she designed KDY's Raider I-class corvette for fighting other attack craft and anti-starfighter operations. Planned by Imperial strategists as an inefficient frontline warship, the Raider-class nevertheless was critical in countering the starfighters of both pirates and the Rebel Alliance. Wessex and her group additionally designed the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer for the Empire. Manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards, the Executor-class entered service shortly after the Battle of Yavin. The Executor-class Dreadnought was designed in such a way as to attempt to outdo and improve on the Venator-class and Imperial-class, and as such, was deliberately designed to strike fear using the "terror styling" design philosophy, as well as being designed to minimize weaknesses and maximize impact. Wessex and Blissex shared their names with the "Wessex-head" and "Blissex-head" bit-drivers, respectively.
Wessex had brown hair and light skin.
In the current Star Wars canon, Lira Wessex was first mentioned in the twentieth issue of De Agostini's Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon magazine, published around May 20, 2015. Wessex was then first pictured on a card part of the Super Star Destroyer Expansion Pack to Star Wars: Armada, released on August 2, 2019.
Lira Wessex originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where she was first mentioned in the November 1987 Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game supplement The Star Wars Sourcebook, written by Bill Slavicsek and Curtis Smith. In the Legends continuity, Wessex first appeared in the The Roleplaying Game adventure Starfall, written by Rob Jenkins and Michael Stern and published in June 1989.