effects of having a bigger or smaller crew on a starship

[darth_borehd]

What effect does a bigger or smaller crew have on the
operation of a ship? If the crew size is given in
terms of a range, say 1000-5000 for a very big ship,
what benefit would having the maximum crew size have
over having a minimum crew size? Would additional
people over the maximum help in any way? What if the
number was under the minimum, say 998 people instead
of 1000? Does the ship not move at or all is there
just a penalty of some kind? How would it relate to
smaller ships like the Millenium Falcon with a crew
size of "2 or 4". What benefit is there to having a
co-pilot or what penalty would 1 person flying the
Millenium Falcon face? Why just "2 or 4" people? Why not 3?

 

[Kesh]

Typically, if you don't have a full crew compliment, you cannot efficiently use all the resources on the ship. There just isn't enough bodies to fill the positions.

On a smaller ship, like the Falcon, this could be: Navigator, Pilot, Communications, Weapons. You can get by with just the first two, but all four make for a complete, working crew. Without the extra people, someone has to keep switching to a different position to do other functions.

As to "2 or 4", possibly one of the functions is based on the other, so that if you don't have all 4, the third person is just bouncing back and forth between two consoles to get anything done. Or, it's just a typo and they meant "2 to 4".

 

[Atridis]

The size of the crew could have an effect on operational range, which could be important for the big fleet ships you mention. A contemporary aircraft carrier is expected to operate 24/7 while at sea, so there are probably three full shifts of redundant crew for the vital positions.

It may also depend on the nature of the ship's deployment/mission, not just it's role. A carrier headed out for training might have fewer medical personnel, damage control crews, or SAR teams than if they're headed into harm's way. If they get The Call, extra personnel (reservists and whatnot) might be flown in as needed.

There are probably also some positions that are a little bit optional. An aircraft carrier can operate perfectly well without any Marines aboard, but I imagine they like to have a complement handy, who are counted as part of the overall crew. To paraphrase Christian Slater, it's better to have a Marine and not need one, than to need one and not have him.

 

[billd91]

The size of the crew could have an effect on operational range, which could be important for the big fleet ships you mention. A contemporary aircraft carrier is expected to operate 24/7 while at sea, so there are probably three full shifts of redundant crew for the vital positions.

<snip>

There are probably also some positions that are a little bit optional. An aircraft carrier can operate perfectly well without any Marines aboard, but I imagine they like to have a complement handy, who are counted as part of the overall crew. To paraphrase Christian Slater, it's better to have a Marine and not need one, than to need one and not have him.

And depending on the ship, if size isn't an absolute premium (as with submarines) there are probably 4 personnel per crucial position, the more stressful the job, the shorter you want the work shifts to be.
As far as the operational part of the crew, for something like a star destroyer, there are going to be many pilots of sub-vessels like TIE fighters, crews to tend to the sub-vessels, and tons of logistical support that aren't necessarily involved in the direct running of the ship's core activities of astrogation and combat. Think of the administrative assistants of high officers, mess hall and custodial personnel, as well as other supporting positions so that the ship can operate away from port for extended periods.

 

[Pbartender]

Practcally speaking, it's simply a matter of efficiency.

Consider the Millenium Falcon...

Han Solo can fly the Falcon alone. However, if he wants to perform any other action... using the Sensors, using the Comm, adjust the Shields, firing a weapon, etc... he must divide his attention. He simply cannot perform all those actions at once by himself. The Falcon is essentially being flown in the same manner of a single seat fighter.

Chewie joins Han onboard. Now, they can divide the tasks. Han flys and fires the cannons while Chewie maintains the shields and plots the hyperspace escape route. They still can't handle everything at once, but can now accomplish twice as many actions in the same period of time.

Now, they are escaping the Death Star with Luke and Leia, R2 and 3P0. Chewie flies the Falcon, Leia keeps an eye on shields, sensors, comm and other secondary systems, Luke and Han man the blaster turrets, R2 takes care of damage control and repairs, while 3P0 flails about in despair for comic relief.

On small ships, a full crew means that the pilots can always take two maneuvers, the gunners can always take a full attack, and you never have to pull someone away from a combat station to make a repair or adjust the shields.

For larger capital ships, you could simply apply a penalty to all operations based on the percentage of crew that's missing... -1 or -2 for every 10% less, for example, and ten impose a minimum 'skeleton' crew.