Star Wars Debate: Home One vs. Executor

The crux of my opponent's argument about the Executor is surely going to revolve around the ship's massive size and overpowering armament. I am going to show how this isn't relevant to the value of a battleship as a whole.1. SizeHome One is a much more manageable ship size. With a minimum necessary crew of only 1,200 this ship is much easier to man and maintain in comparison to the Executor's 50,000 minimum crew and 10,000 required droids to run. That is just absurd. In the event of a galactic emergency or crisis getting this ship stocked, manned and maintained could prove to be problematic. Imagine a Pearl Harbor type situation in which the Executor is surprised attacked at base or deep inside home territory, getting her up and running and managing the quick deployment of over 60,000 personnel seems to be a bit much. Maintaining the Home One for military readiness seems much simpler which is more desirable. Also, size isn't everything. Much like the Titanic, the Executor is known for it's massive size and it's equally massive demise. While the size was indeed impressive it made the Executor a much easier target for both Alliance cruisers and fighter craft. While the Home One's armament is much smaller than that of Executor due to it's smaller overall size it also is a much harder target to identify and siege, especially if added to a compliment of similar type cruisers. If you add the Executor to a fleet of Star Destroyers, like we saw at the Battle of Endor it stands out and makes for a juicy, slow moving, massive target. 2 Effectiveness When it comes down to it, the most desirable trait for a battleship is going to be it's effectiveness. While the Executor was an effective agent of intimidation and firepower it was a relatively short lived vessel living only for 4 years roughly [1]. In comparison Home One lasted 24 years in active service (1 BBY - 23 ABY) [2]. The exact numbers are not specified as Home One was originally designed a civilian ship. This is more impressive given that Home One was pitched against a much larger and more well equipped Imperial fleet. Not only did it survive for two decades but it did so in active combat against forces that were usually superior. That is the definition of reliable. As Home One was being used as a mobile command, command ship and lead capital ship for most battles [2] it's effectiveness and ability survive were tantamount to its success as a capital ship. Home One is durable, reliable and long lasting, the perfect traits one would want in any type of battle active vessel.In contrast, the Executor was noted in being present in a lot of battles however, very few of these battles featured pitched combat against a full Alliance fleet. The biggest battle it was in was the Battle of Endor which was where the Executor met it's end. When the Executor was matched against a full Alliance fleet (still vastly outgunned) it was destroyed. Why? Because, as mentioned before, the ship's immense size made it an easy and valuable target. The same traits that made it a good intimidater and symbol for the Empire also made it a juicy target for the Alliance. a. Design Flawhttp://www.youtube.com...It was in this battle where the Executor's fatal design flaw was revealed. In the provided clip it shows how the fabled ship met its end. As you can see, Admiral Ackbar orders the Alliance fleet to concentrate it's firepower on the Super Star Destroyer. Shortly after, it took only two passes by basic Alliance fighters to knock out one of the only two main shield arrays [1] featured on the Executor which opened the window for the bridge to be destroyed thus dooming the ship. Not only was the bridge completely exposed to enemy starcraft, so were the shield domes. Seemingly vital systems of the ship were raised and placed on a platter for concentrated fire to destroy. And it did. It took one order to concentrate fire to take out the ship. This highlights the Executor's inability to function in fleet to fleet combat maneuvers effectively. Home One's more fortified bridge and overlapping shield design seemed to lend itself much better to active combat than the Executor's bridge and shielding design. This is why the Executor is ultimately destroyed after 4 years of active service and Home One is retired after over 24 illustrious years of service. b. More Comparisons Home One is faster than the Executor by 20 MGLT [1][2]. The Executor was used in mainly small offensive battles and did not preform well in it's defensive encounter at Endor where it was destroyed. Home One was present at the Defense of Mon Calimari as well as other major battles at Courescant and Bilbringi [2]. Bilbringi was a major full scale fleet to fleet battle in which Home One once again survived and won the battle [3]. Courescant was a siege in which Home One again participated and won. This highlights not only the amount of diverse combat Home One saw but also that it was a survivor and a winner in battles where it was evenly or outmatched time and time again. ConclusionHome One is a winner. It's reliable, fast, deployable, dependable and versatile. It served 24 fabled years of grand service and was eventually retired. It fought in defensive battles, offensive battles, sieges and served as a mobile command and fleet command ship. Most of all, it survived. It was dependable. It did everything you require of a battleship. It went above and beyond the call of duty. Executor was a feat of insane engineering, I agree. It was bigger, more heavily armed and terrifying. But it didn't last. It was expensive to build, maintain and deploy. Ultimately it was destroyed due to a pretty striking design flaw: weak shielding towers. It did well on quick, small offensive engagements but floundered in a defensive fleet to fleet battled and paid for it with it's life. Executor is definitely awe inspiring from afar but in reality, it came up short. Home One is clearly the superior ship. [1] http://starwars.wikia.com...[2] http://starwars.wikia.com...[3] http://starwars.wikia.com...(Galactic_Civil_War)