The EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate (simply known as a Rebel Cruiser) is a Rebel ship that appeared in the Star Wars universe. Used by the Rebel Alliance, Nebulon-B escort frigate served alongside many different types of combat cruisers during the Rebellion against the Galactic Empire.
The Nebulon-B escort frigate is three hundred meters long and was originally designed by the Empire for use against Rebels starfighters, which had scored several victories against poorly defended Imperial cargo convoys. The Alliance acquired several Nebulon-B frigates when a number of the vessels were captured by Rebel forces, and when crews defected to the Alliance. These escort frigates proved to be the key starships in the Alliance's fleet, especially in the early stages of the war against the Empire. As larger cruisers came into the Rebel fleet, the Alliance converted several of the Nebulon-B ships into medical frigates, command ships, long-range reconnaissance ships, and search and rescue frigates.
EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate schematics.
Standard Nebulon-B frigates are equipped with twelve turbolaser batteries and twelve laser cannons. Nebulon-Bs often are equipped with a pair of tractor-beam projectors. Each ship can carry two squadrons of twelve fighters in interior landing bays, and three ships have several docking fixtures for light and medium freighters. Many Nebulon-Bs include sophisticated sensors and deep-space, multifrequency antennas, allowing them to function as long-range scouts or relay battle information to a command vessel. In many cases, a shorthanded Rebel task force used a Nebulon-B as a command ship, with Corellian corvettes and gunships acting as supplementary capital ships.
Though Nebulon-B frigates are medium-size combat ships, they pack more weaponry than does any other vessel in their class except Carrack-Class light cruisers, and the Nebulon-B's contingent of fighters make it the superior vessel. While the ship is slow and unwieldy, the Rebel Alliance mastered the art of using the Nebulon-B as a base ship for strike missions against vulnerable Imperial targets. Often, the escort frigate didn't even have to enter the battle zone.
The Alliance's medical frigate, a converted Nebulon-B has treatment facilities for over seven hundred patients. With complete modern medical materials, including fifteen bacta tanks, the ship's patient survival rate is nearly ninety-eight percent. To make room for the medical facilities, the ship's weaponry is generally reduced to six turbolasers and eight laser cannons. Most of the interior hanger bay space is lost, and the medical frigate carries no fighters, instead replying on other ships for protection.
