The Lucrehulk Class Battleship was the primary front-line command vessel and Capital Warship
of the Confederate Navy during the Clone Wars.
The vessels are modified refits of Trade Federation Superfreighters, and represent one of the
largest and heaviest spacecraft to participate in the Conflict.
At over three kilometres in both length and width, the Lucrehulk’s frame is massive
and extremely durable, representing a huge flattened disc, built around a central control
sphere.
The disc is open at the ship’s bow, where two enormous docking bays provide points of
access to the Lucrehulk’s vast internal loading and hanger decks.
The ships are often used to deploy planetary invasion forces, carrying a standard complement
of 139,000 B1 Battle Droids, as well a huge supply of landing craft and ground assault
vehicles.
The Lucrehulk’s armament is largely defensive, featuring 42 quad turbolaser batteries, and
an extensive grid of point defence lasers.
The ship also boasts incredibly powerful deflector shields, able to repel anything short of concentrated
fire from numerous warships.
As standard, a Lucrehulk Battleship carries 1,500 Vulture Droids, enough to provide fighter
support for an entire confederate flotilla, and usefully compensating for the lack of
launch bays on smaller separatist warships like the Munificent Class.
The ship’s ground vehicle complement includes 550 Multi-Troop Transports and 6,520 Armoured
Assault Tanks.
These are deployed to the surface of hostile planets using large C-9979-Series Landing
Craft, fifty of which are stored aboard a standard Lucrehulk.
The central sphere of a Lucrehulk is known as a Core Ship, and is able to detach itself
from the larger frame for use as a heavy landing craft.
This allows the Lucrehulk to deploy a large portion of its huge invasion force in a single
move, quickly establishing a powerful staging ground on a planet’s surface.
Core ships can also serve as command posts and communications facilities once deployed,
relaying transmissions between ground units and orbiting vessels, as well as providing
maintenance facilities for damaged droids and assault vehicles.
In the years before the Clone Wars, some Lucrehulks were used by the Trade Federation as Droid
Control Ships.
This was because older B1 Battle Droids required constant remote control to remain functional,
making the Control Ship a tempting target.
Though this problem was overcome though various improvements to the B1 Battle Droid model,
some Lucrehulks still carried the extensive broadcast dishes and transmission arrays,
using them to override specific droid units with tactical instructions, and allowing for
even greater coordination over confederate infantry.
When not participating in planetary invasions, Lucrehulks are most often deployed at the
centre or rear of Separatist battle formations.
Though the vessels are extremely durable, they are less effective at engaging other
warships, and instead provide starfighter support and targeting scans for smaller Recusant
and Munificent Class vessels.
One well-known vulnerability of the Lucrehulk, is a biproduct of its impressive troop and
cargo complement, as the vessel’s huge and interconnected loading bays make it possible
for hostile strike craft to reach and attack the Lucrehulk’s main reactor.
Across the course of the Clone Wars, the distinctive shape of the Lucrehulk Class Battleship became
a symbol of fear and oppression for the citizens of many worlds.
It was common knowledge that rven a single Lucrehulk could bring the full force of the
Confederacy down on a given planet, or establish a blockade that would entirely cut the world
off from outside support.