Carrack-class Cruiser

The Carrack Cruiser has been part of the Imperial Navy since the earliest days of the New Order. The Carrack's excellent design makes it competitive even against newer ships and even though it is considered a light cruiser they are quite heavily armed. The onboard weaponry gives this cruiser enough firepower to engage most Rebel capital ships. Its twenty ion cannons can be replaced with laser cannons, making this ship an excellent anti-starfighter cruiser. A major drawback of this ship is that it has no hanger bay. Small external racks carry four Starfighters for courier, recon or patrol duty. This makes the Carrack rely on other ships or planetary bases for support. To compensate for the lack of starfighter support, the ship has powerful sublight engines making it one of the fastest cruisers in the Imperial Navy.

These ships feature an unusual compartmentalization system, giving the ship great resistance to hull damage, unfortunately this system takes up a large percentage of interior space, but it also increases crew survival rates. Since these ships are constructed in a modular fashion, with a compartmentalization system for maintaining life-support. On many occasions, Imperial rescue crews found crewmen alive inside the drifting wreckage. The biggest weakness of this ship is insufficient armour plating around the power generators. A direct hit just aft of the mid line has a good chance of disabling the vessel. Despite its small size, this light cruiser can survive attacks that would cripple many larger ships, due mostly to the layered bulkheads integral to the vessel's design. In the event of serious damage to one section of the Carrack, the bulkheads automatically seal off that portion, allowing the vessel to continue normal operation.

This vessel's primary mission profile is to serve as the Imperial answer to the Corellian Corvette. Carrack Cruisers are well suited for a variety of escort and combat missions. Older Carrack Cruisers are used as private transports for planetary governors, Sector Moffs and other dignitaries. Imperial Protocols call for the Carrack to be a support cruiser, usually assigned to sector patrol in pacified Imperial sectors. But they may be also assigned to rear guarding vessels for fleet actions. The Imperial Navy was slow to retire these durable and capable craft (note that Carrack Cruisers are still in use in the Empire).