The Subjugator-class heavy cruiser was a CIS warship class that consisted of at least five ships. The Confederate Navy's most powerful battleship class, it had some design-similarities to both the Providence-class carrier/destroyer and the Recusant-class light destroyer,[4], but was larger than five Venator-class Star Destroyers[9] and totalled 4,845 meters in length. The class was based around its ion pulse cannons, a weapons-system not used onboard any other warship class, due to its unique power-generation needs. Despite its status as the Confederacy's most powerful battleship design, eclipsing pre-war models like the Lucrehulk-class, the model was classified as a heavy cruiser and was one of the largest designs that came from the Confederate shipyards. The battleship was fitted with the aforementioned gigantic ion cannons which were charged with plasma rotors and fired a focused and directed ionic pulse at Republic capital ships, completely neutralizing their power systems.
[4] The weapon needed a significant cooldown period after each shot, to let ionized particles be cleaned out of the cannon before the next firing sequence. The Subjugator-class was also armed with considerable amounts of standard secondary weaponry to destroy the ion cannon's victims.[4] Turbolasers were fitted to both its sides and dorsal superstructure, being clustered in large banks to defend against any ship that avoided the main ion cannons. They consisted of at least two different types - light and heavy dual turbolaser cannons.[11] Also included were launchers for Proton torpedos. The battleship was so massive that it could receive heavy turbolaser bombardment from multiple enemy capital ships without being knocked out or even suffering any major damage, even with its shields disabled. Sixteen thrusters were positioned at the vessel's stern.[8] However, it seems that the section connecting the ion cannon to the ship itself wasn't as durable and bombardment to this area caused the weapon to overload during its firing sequence.
Anakin Skywalker and his squadron attacked the Malevolence in this manner and it resulted in the destruction of both ion cannons and considerable damage to the ship, knocking out its hyperdrive as well as number of other systems, shields included. The warship carried several Vulture-class fighter and Hyena-class bomber squadrons, which could launch from multiple hangars on the side of the warship, right behind the ion array.[11] The hangars had their own dedicated firefighting droid teams, which could quickly respond to any emergency in the bays. The ship was large enough to have its own dedicated internal rail jet transportation system. The rails transported both passengers and materials on several levels and were connected with the various hangars.[8] The rail-jet car design was similar to that of the Multi-Troop Transport. A communications array was located towards the stern, similar to the one found on the Providence-class.[1] The command center was also located in this tower, which had a multi-storied structure at the top, defended by multiple turbolaser batteries.
This bridge contained a single raised platform in the center where the commander of the ship resided. A holographic terminal was present to allow the captain of the vessel to communicate with others. There were at least five circular computer screens with four stations in a semi-circular pattern where crew were stationed at and controlled the mighty ship.[4] Two turbolifts were present at the back of the bridge allowing for access to other levels in the ship. The Subjugator-class heavy cruisers were built on the Quarren world of Pammant. Their construction was kept secret, with the simultaneous construction of the Providence-class carrier/destroyer being used as a cover. The Malevolence, designed by Ruggle Schmong,[9] served as Separatist General Grievous's flagship during the early months of the Clone Wars and managed to destroy dozens of Republic task forces[4] before being destroyed by a joint effort of fighter strikes[11] and internal sabotage.[8] After the destruction of the Malevolence, the CIS rebuilt the vessel at Pammant.
The Devastation, the sistership of the Malevolence, was involved in a conflict that concerned Dathomiri Nightsisters. The Malevolence was originally based on a concept art for a Separatist communications ship meant to be used in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. The finished version was designed by Russell Chong and is based upon the GR-75 medium transport.[14] According to Director Dave Filoni, the Malevolence and its story was based in part on the real-life German battleship Bismarck, which was hunted relentlessly by the British Royal Navy during World War II. In the The Clone Wars episode "Shadow of Malevolence", Anakin Skywalker commands the Y-wing bombers to attack the starboard ion cannon, but the visuals show that it is the port cannon that is destroyed. The explosion takes out both cannons, however, therefore making this statement moot. It is possible however, that due to either using the same power generator or really just being one, big, 2-way shooting cannon that can pick which side to fire from, that cause the destruction of one to cause a chain reaction that destroyed both guns, as well as causing extensive damage to most of the ship.
It could also be argued that Skywalker meant starboard in relation to the fighters during their attack run, which would have been Malevolence's port-side ion cannon. The destruction of the Malevolence by crashing into a moon echoes the fate of the Executor by falling into the second Death Star's gravity field. The in-universe argument over the Malevolence's size also mirrors the real-life arguments that were made about the Executor's. Henry Gilroy has suggested that the reason the Malevolence is able to receive holographic communications while in hyperspace is due to the size of the ship's internal gravity field. In LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, the character destroys the cannon by firing one torpedo into the cannon, instead of the many it took to destroy it. Also, the character fires it when the shield is down, not necessarily when the cannon is powering up. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Visual Guide ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 The Clone Wars Campaign Guide