The original Star Wars trilogy is no doubt a classic. One underrated aspect of the films is the unique types of ships it introduced us to. Here are the best ones in the original films.
Ships have always been an important part of the Star Wars universe. They are the primary method of transportation across the galaxy and come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colors, and unique features. The original Star Wars trilogy gave us a plethora of memorable spacecraft. There were fascinating methods of transport on both the side fighting to free the galaxy and on the side of the Empire who were the tyranny controlling it.
The original trilogy is so chock full of amazing ships and vehicles, that we couldn’t list them all in this piece. Some honorable mentions we have to leave out are Luke’s Sandspeeder, snow speeders, and the sweet speeder bikes from Return of the Jedi.
Also just missing the cut were Imperial Shuttles, and Rebel craft like the A-Wing, Y-Wing, and B-Wing. Here is the cream of the crop when it comes to the best ships in the original trilogy.
The Millennium Falcon
The Millennium Falcon is the most iconic ship in all of Star Wars. The beloved vessel of that scruffy-looking scoundrel, Han Solo, and his co-pilot Chewbacca the Wookiee is a well worn down ship that has certainly seen better days.
The ship is technically a Corellian YT 1300f Light Freighter. It formally belonged to the smuggler Lando Calrissian before Han won it from him in a rematch of a game of Sabaac. When Lando had the ship, as we learn in the film Solo, it originally had an escape pod between the front mandibles, and was a much cleaner and even more elegant looking ship, as Lando kept it immaculately clean.
The ship itself has a unique look and is kind of shaped like a baseball catcher’s mitt. The cockpit is actually off to the side of the ship in an almost thumblike way. While the beat-up old freighter may not look like much, it has proven to be one of the fastest ships in the galaxy making the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs.
The ship isn’t just fast, it’s apparently extremely well built. This ship has taken a beating in many of the films in the saga, and the old bucket of bolts keeps staying together. It’s been an extremely durable and even lucky vessel and played a key part it taking down the evil Empire.
TIE Fighter
The TIE or Twin Ion Engine fighter is the signature attack ship of the Imperials. These are highly maneuverable one-man ships that attack in swarms. The Empire releases these like a pack of hungry mosquitoes that come after their prey. They aren’t the most powerful ships in the galaxy but are more than enough to take down enemy fighters and keep systems in line.
The Tie Fighter is especially cool because of its look. With the circular cockpit in the middle connected by two solar panel-like wings, the ship itself almost resembles a bat. The cockpit also features a sweet spider web design that only heightens the intimidation factor.
One other aspect of the Tie Fighter that can’t be ignored, is the sound these ships make when they fly by. The howl of these little fighters is absolutely iconic. They can first be heard coming from a distance and then the howl intensifies as it gets closer, finally fading off as the ship blasts off into space. The sound of their cannons is also unique and distinctly exclusive to this little attack ship of the Empire.
Star Destroyer
The Star Destroyer is one of the first ships we see in the entire Star Wars universe. In the opening of the original film, we see the Tantive IV being pursued by a massive ship. The ship seems to go on and on forever, as it pans across the camera. We immediately are in awe of the massive scope of this vessel and know this film will be like no sci-fi movie we’ve ever seen before.
The Star Destroyer has a classic wedge-like shape with a rectangular command center on top, that has two globe-shaped spheres on each side of it. It is an extremely intimidating ship that is basically a moving fortress of the Empire that houses its stormtroopers, admirals, and ships that it can disperse at its pleasure.
The ship isn’t just for hauling other craft around. It is an extremely powerful weapon equipped with plenty of strong blasters and lasers. The Star Destroyer is classic Star Wars and one of the more unique and impressive ships in the entire saga.
Slave I
When Boba Fett burst onto the scene in The Empire Strikes Back, he immediately became a fan favorite. Fans gravitated to him because he had an extremely cool look, wearing battle-scarred armor with a sweet looking helmet and he even had a jet pack. When Darth Vader specifically pointed him out and said: “No disintegrations” we all knew this bounty hunter stood out from the rest and was a badass no one should mess with.
When The Millennium Falcon detaches from Vader’s star destroyer and floats away with the garbage, we see Fett is even cooler than we first thought, because he is flying one of the sweetest looking ships in the galaxy.
Fett’s ship the Slave I was the first vertical flying ship we saw in Star Wars. The ship, like it’s owner, is riddled with battle scars and we immediately know this ship has been in a skirmish or two. Slave I features a large oval-shaped cockpit with two stubby little wings coming out the sides. It has a large circular landing pad that comes out around the back of the vessel kind of making it resemble an iron.
Slave I is an unforgettable looking ship and is mysterious and unique just like the man who flew it.
The Death Star
When Obi Wan Kenobi said, “Thats no moon, that’s a space station.” We instantly knew that if a Jedi was in awe of a ship, then it had to be extremely impressive. That is exactly what the Death Star was.
Looks-wise the Death Star isn’t really anything special. It is just a giant grey ball with an indentation in the middle of its upper section. It’s that dimple that causes all the problems. That is where the powerful planet-destroying cannon lies, and it doesn’t take the Empire long to demonstrate the massive power of this station when they use it to destroy Alderaan.
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The Death Star apparently isn’t just ginormous but also moves well, as it apparently took little time for it to travel from Alderaan to Yavin 4. The Death Star was unique as it was a literal representation of the power of the Empire not just in its size, but in its overall power and ability to destroy.
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X-Wing
The last ship on the list of the best ones from the original trilogy is the X-Wing. The go-to fighter of the Rebel Alliance is an iconic battleship on the side of good. Being that the Rebel Alliance is low on funds, most X-Wings we see are quite beat up looking but still sport a sweet red stripe down each side. This vessel is probably the closet thing to any fighter we have in the real world, with its cockpit in the front and wings coming out of the sides in a standard shape.
Where it is different, is when the order is given to “Lock S-foils, in attack position.” This is when the ship truly gets its name, as the wings fold out in an “X” shaped pattern. The ship is quite powerful as it features four cannons and also is equipped with more powerful proton torpedoes. It also has room for a co-pilot, as just behind the cockpit, is a space for an R2 unit to help with the controls and to ensure all engines and navigation computers are running smoothly.
The ship gained fame throughout the galaxy after Luke Skywalker flew in one and used it to destroy the Death Star. It also became the ship used in the fabled Rogue Squadron and was the ship of choice of legendary Rebel pilot Wedge Antillies.
The Empire had its Tie-Fighters and the Rebels responded with the X-Wing, which may not be as maneuverable, but is definitely a stronger and more powerful ship.
What is your favorite ship from the Original Trilogy?