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Quite a few of the ground weapons in Star Wars are actually heavily modified real world weapons. The stormtrooper blaster rifle for example, is a modified British Sterling L5A1 semi-automatic rifle. The Gaffi Stick, which is a weapon used by the Tusken Raiders, is really a Fijian war axe. The tripod mounted gun used by the Rebels at the Battle of Hoth is a Maxim Class C machinegun, used by both sides during both the world wars. The weapons that were used in vacuum were the laser cannon, common on almost any ship. They can seriously damage any small ship, depending on where it hits. The turbolaser is a more powerful, longer ranged variant of the laser. It can and will destroy any small fighter or be used like artillery. Proton torpedoes are a missile-like projectile with a high-explosive warhead. They are capable of taking out some large craft, like the Corellian Corvette used by Princess Leia to get to Alderaan. Small space bombs can be used to take out planetside structures, or to cripple capital ships. The spacecraft varied from the 1600 meter (about one mile) long Imperial Star Destroyer, to the 15 meter high TIE Fighter. The Imperial fighter craft consisted of: the standard TIE Starfighter, the upgraded TIE Interceptor, the TIE Bomber, and the experimental prototype used by Darth Vader. With the TIE Interceptor, quad-linking laser cannons were set in the solar panels. The TIE Bomber has a second hull for storage of the munitions. Darth Vader's TIE Advanced prototype increased the area of the solar panels, which added more power to the Twin Ion Engines. It also was the first TIE fighter have a shield generator, and it carried a hyperdrive The Imperial capital ships consisted of: the gravity-well equipped Interdictor Cruiser, the intimidating Victory-class Star Destroyer, and the even more terrifying Imperial-class Star Destroyer. Then there was the ever bigger Super-class Star Destroyer. The only one created was the Executor, Darth Vader's command ship. The Imperial Star destroyer, which was already the size of a city, could fit inside the Executor's hangar bay! The Death Star was a project designed to be the ultimate weapon. Its beam weapon could destroy a small planet. It was about the size, in area, of Europe and Asia combined. The Rebel fighters on the other hand, are actually far superior to their Imperial adversaries. They wield shield generators, and hyperdrives. With the hyperdrives, they can get out of a tight situation quickly, and the shield generators are there to prevent them from getting into a tight situation. The Rebel fighters included: the X-Wing fighter, the Y-Wing fighter-bomber, the A-Wing interceptor, and the B-Wing heavy assault craft. Their capital ships were the MC80 Star Cruiser, the Nebulon made B-2 Frigate, and the blockade-running Corellian Corvette. |
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