In the TPM rough draft written in 1994, when Padmé’s ship leaves Theed, it sets out as part of a convoy of five identical ships with four decoys.
What’s interesting is that something similar shows up in a mission in LucasArts’ X-Wing: in one mission you have to identify Princess Leia’s corvette among a five-ship group with four decoys. That game came out in… 1993.