In 44 BBY it contributed ships and crew to Senator Ranulph Tarkin's paramilitary force.
During the Clone Wars, the Home Defense Fleet was commanded by Captain Jace Dallin, a Republic loyalist and Stark Hyperspace War veteran, from the Rendili Dreadnaught flagship Mersel Kebir. When the pro-Separatist Independent Provisional Government took power on Rendili, Lieutenant Mellor Yago arrested Captain Jace Dallin aboard the flagship after he attempted to lead the fleet in defection to the Republic, along with the Jedi who had come, hoping to withdraw and join the Confederacy's forces—with him in command.
With the help of the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, Quinlan Vos and Republic Captain Jan Dodonna, Captain Dallin recaptured the command ship, turning the fire of the Home Defense Fleet on the Separatist ships that had joined the battle, winning a resounding victory for the Republic.
However, the incident gave Palpatine the pretext for placing the autonomous naval defense forces of Republic worlds under his executive command. The ships of the Rendili Home Defense Fleet were converted into dungeon ships, and shortly after the Declaration of a New Order, Jace Dallin had the dubious distinction of being the first captain in the Imperial Navy to be summarily executed by Darth Vader for refusing to comply.
During the Rendili Fleet crisis, the Home Defense Fleet consisted of a force of Rendili StarDrive's Dreadnaught heavy cruisers, with systems linked together by slave circuits. Officers on the bridge of the Mersel Kebir wore a blue uniform with a padded leather collar covering the shoulders, and a decorative tabard.
- The New Essential Chronology
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Essential Guide to Warfare
- Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook