You know, I've always disliked the official backstory of the MF and it's description as a VT-whatever freighter. To me, the Falcon never looked like a freighter -- at least that's not what it was originally. A freighter, to me, is more like the giant transport Anakin and Padme ride in on their way to Naboo in AOTC or the Rebel transport from the OT. Boxy, utilitarian. The Falcon, however, is pretty small to have been created as a pure freighter. It's hard to imagine it could ever haul enough cargo to make economic sense. Based on it's design, it makes more sense to me that the Falcon started off as a military vehicle -- a bomber or personnel transport -- that was then sold surplus and converted for civilian use. I mean, why would a freighter be designed with military-style gunports? It's more like a B-17 that got scraped and then refurbished and souped up to become a smuggler's ship, with Lando and Han calling it a "freighter" as a way to disguise it's real purpose to the Imperial bureaucrats.
