MC80 Liberty Type Heavy Star Cruiser

The MC80 Liberty Type Heavy Star Cruiser, which can also be referred to as the MC80 Liberty cruiser or the Liberty-class cruiser, represented a Heavy Star Cruiser class. These vessels typically measured around 1,200 meters in length, with some extending to 1,500 meters, or approximately 3,937 feet. This vessel was the standard class of the MC80 Star Cruiser, which included two main types including the larger and more heavily armed MC80A Home One Type Heavy Star Cruiser, and were produced by Mon Calamari Shipyards, with a cost of 104,000,000 credits per unit. A similar Mon Calamari Star Cruiser existed, closely resembling the Liberty cruiser, but lacking the distinctive port and starboard wings.

Each MC80 was unique, reflecting their original construction as custom civilian transport vessels. They were initially intended for purposes such as long-distance exploration or luxurious passenger travel, designed for civilian use to explore the galaxy or carry passengers in luxury. Each ship was unique, and handcrafted to exacting specifications. Their sleek, elongated design, characterized by an organic form, allowed these winged ships to rival the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer in both size and weight. The Liberty-class cruisers were robust, well-constructed, and engineered with a high degree of redundancy, allowing them to endure the stresses of continuous interstellar travel and withstand significant combat damage. These cruisers could carry enough supplies to last two years.

The Liberty-class was considered exceptionally well-suited for combat, a possibility that the original designers had considered. The numerous water-filled passageways, originally intended for Mon Calamari to navigate the ship, were drained, fitted with floors, and equipped with ventilation systems. Thousands of viewports were armored over. The holographic displays and battle graphics were optimized for the Mon Calamari visual spectrum, and the control stations required physical movements that other species could not easily replicate. The pale interiors of Liberty cruisers featured a multitude of passageways and rooms, including communications centers, storage facilities, security posts, and airlocks. Some Liberties already possessed military-grade deflector shield systems, and the combat-modified Liberty cruisers retained a deflector shield generator.

MC80 Liberty cruisers were powered by nine M8.0 StarDrive engines, enabling them to achieve speeds of sixty MGLT and 975 kph. They featured a primary Class 1 hyperdrive and a secondary Class 9 hyperdrive. The vessels were also equipped with long-range sensors and, in their original civilian configuration, escape pods. While exceptionally powerful and versatile, Liberty cruisers were challenging to maintain due to their unique construction and the limited commonality of components. This was noted by the Alliance to Restore the Republic, who exercised caution in their deployment. Liberty cruisers were equipped with a ventral hangar bay, although some variants featured a port-side hangar with a hangar door.

Beneath their hulls lay a substantial arsenal of heavy weapons. Their firepower and resilient construction often surprised Imperial forces. The standard armaments of Liberty-class cruisers were upgraded with heavy weaponry, including forty-eight twin heavy turbolaser batteries, distributed evenly across twelve forward, twelve port, twelve starboard, and twelve aft positions. They also carried twenty twin battleship ion cannon batteries, split into five forward, five port, five starboard, and five aft emplacements. However, these cruisers lacked dedicated point-defense laser cannons. Additional weapons included six hull-mounted heavy tractor beam projectors, missile tubes and broadside huge and heavy ion cannons that could perform heavy damages to enemy ships.

While a standard fighter wing comprised three squadrons, totaling thirty-six starfighters, MC80 Liberty cruisers could accommodate up to ten squadrons, or seventy-two starfighters. When operating with three squadrons, one unit typically served as a reconnaissance squadron. The vessel's complement also included numerous shuttles, landing craft, and utility vehicles. An MC80 Liberty cruiser could carry 1,200 soldiers. On MC80 Liberty cruisers equipped with a port-side hangar bay, a broadside port opening was located behind the hangar. This opening housed a weapons control room featuring three large ion cannons, with their barrels extending beyond the ship's hull, separated from the exterior by a shield. Damage to these ion cannons could expose their internal cooling coils, leading to explosive reactions.

MC80 Liberty cruisers were manned by a crew of 5,402 officers, pilots, and enlisted personnel. Command crews typically consisted of Mon Calamari, and the starfighter wing was overseen by a Wing Commander who reported to both the ship's captain and the fleet's fighter command. Although designed with Mon Calamari in mind, crewmembers from other species, including humans, Sullustans, Quarren, and others, could serve aboard following refits.

Originally designed as civilian vessels for long-distance exploration or luxurious passenger travel, the refitted MC80 Liberty cruisers served in the Mon Cala planetary defense services protecting the Mon Calamari system and its colonies. After additional ships underwent modification, these cruisers functioned as heavy battleships for the Rebel Alliance. They acted as heavily armed starfighter carriers, command ships, used for capital ship engagements, and use as security cruisers.

MC80 Liberty cruisers typically operated with a contingent of support ships. As core assets of the Alliance, they frequently moved between objectives, served as bases for starfighter patrols, or protected critical Alliance assets such as shipyards or high-ranking command personnel. In combat, the standard tactic for an MC80 Liberty cruiser was to deliver a broadside attack against an enemy warship. If only one flank was exposed to hostile fire, the ship would typically reposition its shields to maximize protection. Lacking point-defense weaponry, MC80 Liberty cruisers relied on their starfighter squadrons to defend against bombers, patrol boats, and gunships.

The MC80 Liberty Type Heavy Star Cruisers began their service as civilian Mon Calamari Cruisers, operating as luxury cruise liners and long-range exploration vessels. The Mon Cala planetary defense services employed these cruisers for the local defense of the Mon Calamari system and its surrounding colonies.

Prior to the Declaration of the Rebel Alliance in 2 BBY, when the Alliance to Restore the Republic was still a loose network of groups known as "the Alliance," Mon Calamari Star Cruisers underwent conversion at the Telaris rebel stardocks to become fully functional warships. This transformation occurred after multiple exoduses from their homeworld, Mon Cala. These cruisers included the MC75 Star Cruiser Profundity and several MC80A Home One Type Heavy Star Cruisers.

Following the Destruction of Alderaan in 0 BBY, the MC80 Liberty Type Heavy Star Cruiser Aurora served within the Rebel Alliance Navy as the flagship of a fleet commanded by Mon Calamari Admiral Gial Ackbar. This fleet was composed of eight EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigates, eight CR90 corvettes, five GR-75 medium transports, and numerous T-65B X-wing starfighters, BTL-A4 Y-wing assault starfighter/bombers, and UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support craft from Echo Squadron. The fleet intercepted a distress call from an Alderaanian refugee convoy at the trading port Fostar Haven, prompting the deployment of Echo Squadron to the location. Upon arrival, Echo Squadron was immediately engaged by an Imperial fleet led by Commodore Rae Sloane, necessitating reinforcements.

During the battle at Fostar Haven, Echo Squadron requested assistance from the Alliance fleet, resulting in the arrival of the Aurora and several support ships, which engaged the Imperial flagship, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Vigilance. Despite the loss of a frigate, the Alliance naval forces successfully rescued the Alderaanian refugees, and the remaining Alliance forces were able to escape.

During the Galactic Civil War, an Imperial naval task force consisting of the Gladiator-class Star Destroyer Blood Ambition and the Raider-class corvettes Sargantuan and Warhawk, launched an invasion on the Ferra sector planet Xorrn against the Clan Assembly and a group of Old Mandalorians. In response, the Rebel Alliance dispatched a naval squadron to Xorrn, comprising two MC80 Liberty cruisers and seven other warships. Despite the ongoing Battle of Xorrn and the Empire's advance on the surface, the rebel squadron, known as the Allied Armada, arrived and immediately engaged the Imperial task force.

Around 1 ABY, several months after the mutiny on Mon Cala that saw Star Cruisers from the Mon Cala Mercantile Fleet escape the occupation of Mon Cala and join the Rebel Alliance, at least twelve MC80 Liberty cruisers were present with the newly acquired vessels at the Alliance's Mako-Ta Space Docks.

At this location, the Rebel Alliance Navy had completed the retrofit of numerous Mon Calamari cruisers with Shu-Torun systems and had gathered Alliance leaders and ambassadors for the launching ceremony. The Liberty itself was among the MC80 Liberty cruisers present. In total, approximately thirty-seven Mon Calamari Star Cruisers were present at Mako-Ta during the ceremony. As the ceremony began, it was revealed that critical systems throughout the fleet were inoperable. At that time, Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader and his Imperial Death Squadron, which included the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Executor and three Imperial II-class Star Destroyers, emerged from hyperspace and destroyed the cruiser Yavin's Hope.

Following this destruction, Death Squadron initiated the full-scale Battle of Mako-Ta, bombarding the defenseless Alliance warships. When rebel starfighters managed to launch, Death Squadron deployed all of its fighter wings to engage them. After the MC80A Republic escaped, having received clearance codes and restored its systems, it returned to rescue the remaining Alliance fleet. Once the codes were distributed throughout the fleet, several MC80 Liberty cruisers managed to jump into hyperspace and escape.

Following the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY, the core of the Rebel Alliance Navy fragmented into multiple naval divisions, including the Second Division, the Fourth Division, the Sixth Division, the Seventh Division, the Eighth Division, and the Eleventh Division. Although some divisions were lost, the Fourth, Seventh, and Eleventh Divisions survived and joined forces, traveling to Panisia to rescue the Second Division. Already under assault by the ISD Tarkin's Will, the combined Alliance fleet consisted of multiple warships, including at least two MC80 Liberty cruisers and three MC80A Home One cruisers.

On one occasion, an MC80 Liberty cruiser was observed flying within the atmosphere of a terrestrial world alongside two BTL Y-wing starfighters. In another incident, an MC80 Liberty cruiser was plagued by system malfunctions and starfighter collisions on the flight deck, resulting in crew member injuries. An investigation revealed that the vessel was being sabotaged. In another instance, an MC80 Liberty cruiser attempted a strike against an Imperial weapons laboratory, navigating through a hazardous sector of space.

In 4 ABY, after discovering the existence of the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station at Endor and the presence of Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine onboard, information obtained by the Bothan Spynet, the Rebel Alliance gathered the majority of its navy at Sullust. Around this time, the MC80 Liberty cruiser Invincible Faith intercepted a coded message from Moff Derrek Raythe, which revealed that the information was a trap for the Alliance. Consequently, the Imperial Special Forces Inferno Squad infiltrated the Invincible Faith to delete the message. Inferno Squad's leader, Commander Iden Versio, allowed herself to be captured and brought aboard the cruiser, while her droid, an ID10 seeker droid, infiltrated the cruiser through other means.

After the droid evaded Alliance personnel and reached Versio, the special forces commander freed herself and escaped the cruiser's brig. At this point, Admiral Gial Ackbar ordered the Invincible Faith to join the assault on the second Death Star. Again avoiding Alliance personnel, Versio and her droid reached the cruiser's communications center and deleted the message, triggering a general alarm. Versio fought Alliance forces and escaped through an airlock, ejecting herself into space. Versio's starship, the Raider II-class corvette Corvus, exited hyperspace and rescued her, just as the Invincible Faith began firing its heavy ion cannons.

Eventually, after the Alliance fleet had fully assembled at Sullust and a ground strike team infiltrated the Empire's defenses at Endor to destroy the Death Star's shield generator on the surface, the fleet used the Sanctuary Pipeline hyperspace route to secretly travel there. The Alliance fleet at Endor included multiple Mon Calamari Star Cruisers, including at least five MC80 Liberty Type Heavy Star Cruisers, along with numerous other combat ships. During the Battle of Endor, the cruisers were tasked with establishing a perimeter around the Death Star II while Alliance fighter squadrons infiltrated the unfinished hull of the space station to destroy the main reactor from within. Upon learning that the deflector shield was still operational, Alliance forces broke away from their approach under the orders of General Landonis Balthazar Calrissian and Admiral Ackbar.

At that point, the Imperial fleet revealed itself and launched its fighters against the Alliances forces. MC80 Liberty cruisers took evasive action, and starfighter duels occurred throughout the Alliance fleet. One TIE/IN interceptor crashed into the ventral hangar of an MC80 Liberty cruiser and exploded during these actions. The Death Star II revealed that it was operational by firing its main superlaser at the Liberty. The firepower completely destroyed the Liberty, engulfing other rebel ships in the ensuing fireball. After the MC80A Home One cruiser Nautilian met the same fate as the Liberty, General Calrissian informed Admiral Ackbar that they should move in to attack the Empire's Star Destroyers at point-blank range. Although Ackbar protested that the fleet would not last long against the Star Destroyers, Calrissian believed that they would last longer and that they may destroy several of their ships.

The Alliance fleet then clashed with Imperial warships at point-blank range, with starfighters and bombers battling intensely around the capital ships and some crashing. MC80 Liberty cruisers exchanged broadsides with nearby Star Destroyers. After the ground team took down the deflector shield and fighters entered the Death Star II's superstructure, they and other vessels focused their firepower on the Imperial flagship, the Executor. Soon after, a crashing rebel RZ-1 A-wing interceptor obliterated the Executor's bridge, leading to a collision with the Death Star. Simultaneously, other Imperial warships met their demise. Following the reactor's destruction, the Alliance fleet retreated from the Death Star II, and after Alliance forces had withdrawn, the battle station exploded completely.

After the second Death Star's annihilation, an MC80 Liberty cruiser descended towards the surface of the Endor moon, navigating its atmosphere as Alliance dropships delivered additional ground reinforcements, maintaining the surface combat. Inferno Squad, positioned near the destroyed shield generator on the moon, successfully escaped and entered Endor's orbit. There, two MC80 Liberty cruisers advanced through the Death Star ruins towards a third MC80 Liberty cruiser engaged in combat with the ISD Eviscerator. After Inferno Squad fended off rebel forces and made their escape, Commander Versio linked up with the Eviscerator and departed.

Not long after the Battle of Endor, an MC80 Liberty cruiser spearheaded a small task force of at least four CR90 corvettes and numerous starfighters in an attack on Fondor. The targets were the Fondor Shipyards and the docked ISD Dauntless. The cruiser launched three UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support craft and unleashed its broadside ion cannons on the Dauntless, but Inferno Squad destroyed the transports. On orders from Moff Derrek Raythe, Iden Versio infiltrated the rebel cruiser, sabotaging it from within, disabling its weapons, and causing a CR90 corvette to collide with it. The Dauntless then broke free of the shipyards and engaged the MC80 Liberty cruiser, triggering multiple explosions and securing an Imperial victory.

Following a raid at the Wretch of Tayron, the Alliance uncovered Operation: Cinder, a critical element of the late Emperor Palpatine's Contingency that involved the destruction of Imperial worlds, prompting them to rescue as many as possible. After a skirmish on Vardos, Versio and her Imperial agent colleague Del Meeko surrendered to the Alliance and were taken aboard the MC80 Liberty cruiser Restoration. Following an interrogation, General Calrissian escorted them to the cruiser's hangar bay and convinced them to join the effort to stop Operation: Cinder on Naboo. Successfully, Alliance forces, including Danger Squadron, the Restoration, and the Mellcrawler II, journeyed to the Naboo system to support Royal Naboo Security Forces in attacking the climate disruption arrays and the ISD Torment, initiating the Battle of Theed. While the Restoration engaged the Torment from a distance, starfighters destroyed the satellites and clashed with Imperial fighters. Y-wing bombers destroyed the Star Destroyer's shield generators, enabling the Restoration to unleash multiple barrages that destroyed the Torment, but not before it launched a wave of Imperial craft towards the capital city of Theed. Ultimately, the Naboo and the Alliance were victorious.

When the Alliance to Restore the Republic was transformed into the New Republic, the MC80 Liberty Type Heavy Star Cruisers remained a part of the new government's military arm, the New Republic Defense Force. An MC80 Liberty cruiser fought in the Battle of Var-Shaa against the Empire alongside an MC75 Star Cruiser and an MC95E Star Cruiser, supported by frigates and corvettes. These warships succeeded in destroying the Var-Shaa dockyard and an Imperial Star Destroyer, forcing the ISD Overseer and remaining fighters to retreat. After the withdrawal, the cruisers moved through the debris of the Imperial dockyard.

As the Empire fragmented into factions like the Imperial-Royalist coalition, the Yomo Council, and the Chadawan government, the de facto Imperial leader Counselor to the Empire Gallius Rax assembled the majority of the Imperial Military at the Western Reaches planet Jakku for the Empire's final stand against the New Republic. Following the New Republic Senate's decision to intervene, the New Republic Defense Force mobilized and prepared for battle on Jakku. Republic fleets, including numerous MC80 Liberty cruisers, emerged from hyperspace and engaged Imperial naval forces in Jakku's orbit, starting the Battle of Jakku.

While MC80 Liberty cruisers and other Republic warships targeted the Imperial flagship, the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Ravager, and its accompanying Star Destroyers in orbit, other New Republic ships broke through the defenses and engaged in combat within the atmosphere. MC80 Liberty cruisers clashed with Imperial Star Destroyers in broadside exchanges, resulting in the destruction of numerous ships, while starfighters and bombers fought intensely. Simultaneously, New Republic ground forces initiated landing operations on Imperial sites and rescue missions for downed ships.

Across the various battlefronts, numerous MC80 Liberty cruisers and Imperial Star Destroyers were destroyed, with large sections of their hulls crashing onto the desert surface below. Some destroyed MC80 Liberty cruisers crashed intact, such as Freedom's Dawn. Many MC80 Star Cruisers continued fighting Imperial forces as the Ravager plummeted from Jakku's orbit and began to crash.

Damaged MC80 Liberty cruisers persisted in the battle, even as TIE/sa bombers targeted other cruisers, destroying them. The Star Destroyer Eviscerator engaged in broadsides with an MC80 Liberty cruiser while New Republic Commander Versio, who had defected to the Republic, eliminated the Eviscerator's starfighters and bombers. Despite ongoing losses for the New Republic, the Galactic Empire's forces were ultimately defeated. Following the battle, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda signed the Galactic Concordance, marking the end of the Galactic Civil War.

The MC80 Liberty Type Heavy Star Cruiser debuted in the third and final film of the original trilogy of the Star Wars saga, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, directed by Richard Marquand and released in 1983. The cruiser's model was one of the detailed miniature models created by Industrial Light & Magic, alongside the MC80A Home One Type Heavy Star Cruiser. The MC80 Liberty cruiser's model was created by adding wings to an existing model used for another Mon Calamari Star Cruiser. The Liberty model was created to provide additional variation to the rebel fleet.