Republic Fleet Composition and the Victorys

So there have been some questions and discussions about how I am arranging the fleet in my Clone Wars story. It's obviously different from the show and other sources because I feature several designs which aren't as heavily featured in those other media.

I will try and give a good accounting of what I perceive to be the Republic's standard Clone Wars fleet composition.

First and foremost, the two major combatants in the war are the Venator and Victory classes of star destroyer. Their armaments are about the same with the Venator being just over 100m longer than the Victory which carried a more diversified armament. The Victory is focused more on ship-to-ship combat than anything else but is also slower than the Venator whose primary purpose is that of carrier and mobile base.

During the war, you typically see 2 Victorys for every 5 Venators as the Republic's battle doctrine revolved heavily around the Venator's ability to provide a mobile base for their clone and non-clone forces which the Victory simply didn't have the same facilities for. Supplementing the two in the combat role were the Acclamators which were more specifically assault ships rather than star destroyers and whose armaments were better suited for ground support rather than ship-to-ship engagements.

During the Clone Wars you also see the advent of the Imperator (future Imperial-class) and Tector classes of star destroyer. These ships are nearly double the size of the Victory (being 1600m in length) and are more heavily armed and armored than their smaller counterparts. At the start of the war you don't see many of these but as the war progresses they begin to make more appearances as they are called upon to face down the larger Separatist warships.

The second half of the Clone Wars also saw the advent of several smaller destroyer types as the various ship manufacturers tried to fill niches and out compete one another with their designs however the Victory and Venator remained the primary combatants throughout the conflict and in the initial stages of the Empire as well.

Near the end of the war, the standard Republic Fleet formation is as follows with a typical group comprised of a single Imperator or Tector class escorted by two smaller destroyers with the bulk of the force made up of Venator and Victory destroyers or comparable ship types. The star destroyers were in turn supported by several cruiser, frigate and corvette types along with several assault ships.

Now onto something related: the Victory-class star destroyer.

As originally conceived, the Victory-class was meant to provide a better armored and comparably armed counterpart to the Venator-class which had survivability issues in th big fleet actions that took place during hte Clone Wars. While the Victory was slower, its armament was more versatile and with its heavier armor it could take more of a beating than the carrier focused Venator.

The type served alongside the Venator throughout the Clone Wars with one fleet (the Victory Fleet) being comprised exclusively of Victory-class star destroyers.

Following the Clone Wars a new type of Victory-class was itnroduced. Dubbed the Victory II, it was essentially a miniaturized version of the Imperator(now Imperial)-class star destroyer with improved engines and armament. This class became the Empire's principle patrol type and was seen throughout the galaxy in areas where a full size Imperial-class was deemed to be excessive or unneeded.

Given the aging of the Victory I, the Empire increasingly relegated them to second-line duties as transports, patrol ships and other such actions, even selling them off in mass. However given the glut of hulls, the Victory I also became the Empire's primary test bed for new technologies and there were literally dozens of modifications of the Victory I which served the Empire in any number of roles as ship designers tested their ideas out on the hulls that would otherwise be destined for mothballs or scrapyards.

Following Endor, a new model of Victory was introduced, the Victory III and it was used extensively during the Emperor Reborn's campaign to retake the galaxy. This new Victory-class was larger than its predecessors and better armed with numerous modifications including the removal of the atmospheric maneuvering surfaces. It was designed to escort the larger classes of star destroyers such as the Allegiance-class, providing these ships with powerful pickets that could stand up to heavier enemy combatants.

A final version of the Victory was built by the Galactic Alliance following the Yuuzhan Vong War, this version of the Victory was a dedicated pirate hunter and came equipped with powerful engines as well as potent tractor beam turrets used to ensnare their targets.