Commerce Guild support ship

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Size:
  1,187 meters long

• Weapon:
  11 heavy turbolaser cannons; 5 turbolaser cannons; 30 dual laser cannons; 12 dual light laser cannons; 60 point-defense laser cannons

• Affiliation:
  Confederacy of Independent Systems (Commerce Guild, Techno Union)

• Type:
  Light destroyer (Recusant-class)

• Manufacturer:
  Hoersch-Kessel Drive, Inc. and Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps

• 

From the Movies

The galaxy's lack of a standing navy served to encourage the creation of sizable private fleets by those entities wealthy enough to forge them: the commerce guilds. When Count Dooku consolidated the leading corporate interests into the Confederacy of Independent Systems, he found at his command an immense war machine ready to spread conflict across the galaxy. The skeletal Commerce Guild support ship was just one of many warships donated to the cause.

From the Expanded Universe

The treaty that created the Confederacy of Independent Systems strengthened the working relationships of the main industrial titans in the Separatist movement. Using the materiel resources of the Commerce Guild, the Techno Union began mass-producing capital ships for use on the frontlines. Though the ship would bear the name of a Commerce Guild support ship, it is more aptly called a Confederacy vessel.

The Recusant-class destroyer was typical of the Separatist starship development program. Relatively inexpensive to construct, the support destroyers are often unleashed in groups, harrowing individual Republic Star Destroyers in teams of four to six. It is heavily armed for its size. It features a bottom-mounted heavy turbolaser at its prow, four heavy turbolaser cannons, six heavy turbolaser turrets, five turbolaser cannons, 30 dual laser cannons, 12 dual light laser cannons and 60 point-defense lasers.

The hull of the ship seems largely skeletal -- the thin areas of superstructure only support a small habitable volume given that the ship's crew mostly consists of battle droids. The ship can carry up to 40,000 deactivated battle droids in space-optimizing stowed format.

Behind the Scenes

Though the finished space battle would include thousands of capital ships, the central action followed the course of the two Jedi starfighters as they sped through a maze of larger vessels. This combat was mapped with major starships and combat engagements serving as landmarks. Confederacy destroyers were among the ship designs peppering the crowded skies. The Episode III Art Department borrowed from abandoned design concepts first illustrated for Return of the Jedi capital ships used by the Rebellion.