Cruisers, utilized by the Wookiees on Kashyyyk, functioned as aquatic siege weaponry, each equipped with a single laser cannon. Heavy Cruisers represented enhanced models, boasting reinforced armor and a dual laser cannon configuration. Not long after the Battle of Endor, the resistance combatant Shoran commanded four Heavy Cruisers, part of his private military force stationed in Tunnatutikan, to navigate a local river on a scouting operation. Communication ceased after their capture by Trandoshan slavers. Han Solo and Chewbacca, members of the New Republic, traveled to Kashyyyk to aid in its liberation and collaborated with Shoran to eliminate three Imperial jammers.
As the battle raged to demolish the jammers, Chewbacca's army successfully liberated the four cruisers and subsequently employed them to bombard a jammer situated on a small island.
The initial mention of Wookiee Cruisers and Heavy Cruisers occurred within the strategy guide accompanying the 2001 video game titled Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. Four of these vessels were featured in a mission within Chewbacca's campaign. A supplementary objective involved freeing them and deploying them against the Imperial jammer. Both the mission and the ships themselves were incorporated into the game's 2002 expansion, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns.