Gunships were heavily armored and weaponized attack vessels with the primary purpose of
punching through heavily fortified defenses as a means to drop off troops or supplies
in the middle of a battlefield, though also capable of providing air support to ground
forces when needed.
Some ships in Star Wars have been mistranslated as gunships and don’t fit the standard definition
as mentioned, with a few literally being massive capital ships, so we’ll omit them from this
list as they don’t fit with the rest and aren’t officially classified as such.
We’ll also have a separate video like this for shuttles and transports in the near future,
as they themselves serve vastly different purposes.
We’ll first go over Gunships that have appeared both in Canon and Legends, and then later
do gunships that have only appeared in Canon.
The most widely used gunship during the Clone Wars was the Low Altitude Assault Transport
class, which came in multiple sub-classifications.
The first one is the Low Altitude Assault Transport infantry gunship, also known as
the Republic Attack Gunship.
It was used for the transportation of troops and light vehicles, being capable of transporting
30 troopers as well as either 4 speeder bikes or 1 light walker.
This gunship also excelled at providing air support as it was outfitted with a variety
of weapons, ranging from missile launchers to laser turrets.
There is also a variant of this class called the Space gunship, which was designed to be
more effective in space combat, with the main difference being its replacement of the bubble
turrets with large headlights and the more reinforced, sealed cabin.
Second is the Low Altitude Assault Transport carrier gunship.
It was used to transport much heavier Republic vehicles, like the AT-TE walkers.
They have also been used to transport other massive objects to military bases, like the
Zillo Beast.
Third is the Low Altitude Assault Transport stealth gunship.
This gunship was mainly used by special forces and it was capable of secretly bypassing the
scans of most enemy fleets.
Then we finally have the Multi-Altitude Assault Transport gunship.
The successor to the previous Republic gunships, this Multi-Altitude gunship was developed
and used by the Galactic Empire during its early years.
This ship had all the components of the Republic Low Altitude Assault Gunship, but was effective
in harsher altitudes and in space.
In addition it was more heavier armored than its predecessors.
Next we have is the Amphibious Interstellar Assault Transport infantry gunship.
It was one of the main gunship used by the Republic decades before the Clone Wars, as
it was phased out by the newer designs and later mainly used by smugglers and bounty
hunters.
It was capable of carrying up to 50 troops, 4 speeder bikes, and it had a compartment
to carry up to 6 prisoners.
While it it was effective at combating small bands of pirates and the like, its design
made it very vulnerable to military grade air defenses and thus it was completely phased
out of the Republic military by the start of the clone wars.
The other main gunship used by the Republic right before the Clone Wars was the Variable
Altitude Assault Transport enforcement gunship.
It was mainly used by Coruscant’s security forces and it was capable of carrying up to
15 troops.
It’s light armor and outdated weapon systems caused it to be phased out once the clone
wars erupted.
Next is the Republic Police Gunship.
As the name suggests, these were mainly used for local law enforcement purposes.
A few interesting aspects of this gunship is that it was in fact solar powered, as it
employed rare solar panels as a main power source.
Outfitted with large headlights, this ship was used primarily as a support craft as it
helped locate fugitives to friendly ground forces.
While at first these gunships were only used on Coruscant, by the time of the Empire they
became a staple for law enforcement agencies across multiple planets in the galaxy.
Next is the Mechanized Assault Flyer gunship which saw rare use by the Separatists during
the Clone Wars.
It was lightly armored and armed, and it was mainly used for reconnaissance but was also
capable of transporting a small compartment of troops into battle.
It’s possible this was the predecessor to the more widely produced separatist droid
gunship.
Speaking of which, next is the Heavy Missile Platform Droid Gunship, or also simply known
as the Separatist gunship.
It was developed nearing the end of the clone wars, but was a very deadly ship as it was
equipped with advanced weapon systems and a very intelligent droid A.I.
With its wide compartment of laser turrets and a huge payload of missiles, the droid
gunship was capable of unleashing a great amount of firepower toward its enemies.
It was also one of the fastest gunships used during the clone wars, and it was able to
carry about a dozen battle droids when modified with transport frames.
Next is the Trident-class gunship.
Also used by the Separatists, the Trident-class gunship likely has one of the more unique
designs on this list, as its main purpose was to penetrate underwater defensives and
drill into enemy fortifications in order to unleash its compartments of aqua droids.
It was also capable of space flight and combat, but was not able to maneuver as swiftly compared
to more traditional spacecraft.
Next is the Braha’tok-class gunship.
It was designed primarily to take down enemy starfighters and was able to transport up
to 75 troops.
It was used by the planet Dornean to fight against the Empire for a few years, before
later seeing service by the Rebel Alliance as a few of them were lended to its cause.
Next is the Nemesis-class Gunship.
It was an experimental gunship developed by the Empire and was able to carry about half
a dozen troops.
Its most notable feature was its grand armament, as it included heavy missile launchers and
a medium chain gun.
Despite this great firepower, it was super expensive and was never mass produced, with
it only being used by the wealthiest moffs and governors.
Next is the YE-4 gunship.
It was an Imperial gunship that was inspired by the Imperial Shuttle design.
Its heavier armor and more advanced weapon system allowed it to survive better against
enemy starfighters, but in exchange for this it was only capable of carrying 6 troops.
Next is the X4 Gunship.
This was one of the few ships built to be used solely by the Rebel Alliance.
It was mainly used to transport cargo, but also had enough space for 6 troops.
It was designed to be compatible with the same rebel starfighter parts just in case
if proper gunship replacement parts were unavailable to the underfunded rebellion.
Next is the SS-54 Gunship.
This one was developed to be used by plantery security forces, but was also known to be
used by pirates and bounty hunters.
Not much else is known about it other than it was lightly armored and only had a few
laser cannons for defensives.
Next is the Fairwind gunship.
This uniquely designed gunship was active during the Old Republic era and was used by
the Army of Light during the New Sith Wars.
Although the Fairwind literally had portions of it made out of wood, it was heavily shielded
which allowed it to withstand against most standard weapons of that era.
Also the wood used came from the trees of Kashyyyk, which were known to be incredibly
strong on their own.
The Fairwind was also capable of space flight, had the capacity to transport 300 troops,
and had 9 double laser cannons scattered across its body.
We then have the Sith Escort Gunship.
It also was used during the Old Republic era, and it was produced by the Old Sith Empire.
Designed to excel in both speed and agility in combat, while also being able to transport
up to 30 troops into battle, the Sith Escort was one of the most advanced ships of its
class for its time.
It did come with a drawback however, as it required at least 18 highly trained crewmen
to maximise these feats, making it one of the most crew intensive gunships on this list.
Next is the Pelagia Duplex Command Assault Gunship.
It was most notably used by the Sith during the Great Sith War.
This gunship’s primary purpose was to cause as much destruction as possible, as it was
outfitted with multiple duel heavy laser cannons and was designed to withstand against enemy
air defenses, even while hovering low toward the ground.
It was also capable of being easily upgraded and updated with the latest weapon systems
as a means to maintain their relevance even decades after their initial production.
Lastly we have the SGS-45 Quarrel gunship which was used during the old republic era.
It was noted for its long rang rail guns which were capable of switching between various
forms of projectiles, from Ion beams to solid slugs.
The next 3 gunships have only appeared in Canon sources:
First is the Rebel Alliance U-Wing.
This was a multi-purpose ship, which was classified as both a gunship as well as a starfighter
support transport.
The movable side wings allowed the U-wing to either utilize speed or maneuverability,
and allowed the pilots to switch between the two aspects amidst scenarios when needed with
ease.
While capable of only carrying 8 troopers without special modifications, the U-wing
was outfitted with two side guns that allowed it to provide covering fire on the ground.
Second is the Auzituck anti-slaver gunship.
This gunship was built by Wookiees to battle against slavers that entered their homeworld.
It’s interior was made out of wood from the massive Kashyyyk spiritual trees.
Some models were later used by the Rebels.
Third is the Havoc Marauder gunship.
This was the personal ship of the special clone force 99, also known as bad batch.
It’s only notable known feature was that it was equipped with gear that made it preferable
for covert and undercover missions.
The next set of gunships have very little information on them and only appeared a few
times here and there.
They also don’t have any official images of them, so instead we’ll show the source
material that they made appearances in.
First is the Turbostorm-class gunship.
It was produced by the Balawai militia and was capable of withstanding direct blasts
from turbolasers.
It was considered to be vastly outdated by the time of the Clone Wars, and its design
heavily influenced the creation of the Skipray Blastboat by the Republic.
Second is the Ranger-class gunship.
It was used by the New Republic and later the Galactic Alliance, and it saw notable
action during the Yuuzhan Vong War.
Being equipped with dozens of laser cannons on its hull, it was very effective in destroying
starfighters.
Finally we have the Tempest-class gunship.
It was one of the smallest gunships made and was known for being used by crime syndicates
about a decade before the clone wars.