Hammerhead - class cruiser The " Hammerhead " - class cruiser was a type of warship used by the Republic Navy during the Old Sith Wars , the Mandalorian Wars , and the New Sith Wars . One of the most successful warship designs in galactic history , the " Hammerhead " - class would still see use in sector defense forces millennia after its introduction and would inspire many later ship designs , such as the Thranta - class corvette and MC140 Scythe - class main battle cruiser . Characteristics . This ship was a cruiser and a successor - design to the smaller " Praetorian " - class frigate . Serving on the line in fleet engagements as a courier and as a command ship of large fleets , it was a workhorse of the Republic and a common sight near Republic - controlled worlds . This ship could also undertake independent operations , unlike the " Foray " - class blockade runner , which was never observed outside a supporting fleet . " Hammerhead " s were able to enter atmospheres and land on planetary surfaces . The spaceframe resembled the later " Consular " - class cruiser and the CR90 corvette , though this may have been coincidental . They also bore a large resemblance to the EF76 Nebulon - B escort frigate of the Galactic Civil War era , due to the vertically elongated bridge . In 3956 BBY the cruisers appeared to possess at least seven turbolasers , with three batteries of two and a single turbolaser cannon mounted atop the hammerhead bridge structure all facing forward , as well as an unknown number of quad - lasers pointing aft . As demonstrated by the " Endar Spire " and the " Harbinger " some years later , they also appeared to have a number of lighter , point - defense laser cannons for use against small craft mounted at various points along the hull . They were propelled by four ion engines emitting particles in the orange section of the visible spectrum during the wars around 3956 BBY . This changed over time , earlier ships having three engines that emitted blue particles . History . Hammerheads were first seen in service in the Great Sith War , where they participated in the Battle of Koros Major . During the restoration period after the war , it was mass - produced at such a scale that Rendili Hyperworks would finish a new cruiser every ten days for several years . During the Mandalorian Wars thirty years later , they remained in frontline service , sometimes alongside an " Inexpugnable " - class command ship , itself a class made to sell more Hammerheads . With a third of the Republic ' s fleet crushed at Malachor V during the Wars , and another third , including bigger " Interdictor " - class cruisers , taken by Revan to form the basis of his Sith Empire ' s forces , the ailing Republic government turned to these smaller capital ships to halt the Sith advance . During the New Sith Wars , the class remained in service . During that war , they each held a squadron of " Aurek " - class tactical strikefighters and had undergone radical upgrades and design revisions since their debut thousands of years before . Much like the " Invincible " - class dreadnaught , the " Hammerhead " - class cruiser was one of the longest serving classes of ship in the Republic military , with versions of it being maintained in active service for at least 3 , 000 years . Behind the scenes . The " Hammerhead " - class cruiser was first introduced in the 2003 " " ; it is within one such vessel , the " Endar Spire " , that the game ' s tutorial level takes place . Near the end of the game , when the " Ebon Hawk " crash - lands on Lehon , the player can see the remains of a " Hammerhead " - class ship that had crashed into the rocks on the shore at an earlier date . It could be possible that this was the vessel used by Revan and Malak during their search for the Star Forge , however this cannot be confirmed . In the game ' s sequel , " " , much more information on this class of vessel is given , including deck plans for crew quarters , a medical bay , and engine rooms . In the for the " " , a new and more heavily armed variant of the " Hammerhead " - class is seen above Coruscant . This was later revealed to be a separate class , the " Thranta " - class . Leland Chee has confirmed that the ships seen in the " Knights of the Old Republic " games are of the same class that was named in " " , but that the version of the book and that of the game may have different specifications , considering that they are used approximately three thousand years apart from one another . The wreckage of a " Hammerhead " - class vessel can be seen on the volcanic world of Mustafar in the expansion for " Star Wars Galaxies " , " " . Why it is there and how it came to be is never explained , however , with the simple implication that it is only a long - crashed Republic warship . The " Hammerhead " - class cruiser was the Legends inspiration for the canon " Sphyrna " - class corvette , which made its first appearance in " A Princess on Lothal , " the twelfth episode of the second season of the animated television series " Star Wars Rebels " , released on January 20 , 2016 .