Star Destroyer
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Star Destroyers are iconic vessels of the fictional universe of Star Wars. Star Destroyers are depicted as large dagger-shaped and extremely well-armed warships, serving in the thousands in the immense Imperial Navy and elsewhere, including in the service of the Galactic Republic, the New Republic, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances — and possibly even in the corporate war fleets of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, though George Lucas himself uses the term generically for any large capital ship.
Contents |
[edit] Imperial-class Star Destroyer
| Classification | Star Destroyer |
|---|---|
| Length | 1,605 meters |
| Crew | 37,085 crewmen |
| Onboard complement |
|
| Weaponry |
480D per salvo |
| Hull Plating | 2272 U |
| Deflector Shielding | 4800 U |
| Total Defense | 7072 U |
| Classification | Star Destroyer |
|---|---|
| Length | 1,605 meters |
| Crew | 37,085 crewmen |
| Onboard complement |
|
| Weaponry |
910D per salvo |
| Hull Plating | 2272+ U |
| Deflector Shielding | 5760 U |
| Total Defense | 8032+ U |
| Classification | Super Star Destroyer |
|---|---|
| Length | 2,200 meters |
| Crew | 51,500 crewmen |
| Onboard complement |
|
| Weaponry |
910D per salvo |
| Top Speed | 70 MGLT |
| Cargo Capacity | 45,000 Metric Tons |
| Hull Plating | 2272+ U |
| Deflector Shielding | 5760 U |
| Total Defense | 8032+ U |
The designation "Star Destroyer" most often refers to the common dagger-hulled combat vessels used by the Empire in the three films of the original Star Wars trilogy. These ships are commonly referred to as Imperial-class Star Destroyers, their official designation as of a short time after the declaration of the newly formed Empire. During the earliest weeks of Imperial regime and the latter days of the Clone Wars, the class was known as the Imperator-class. When the term "Star Destroyer" is used without further qualification, it usually refers to ships of this class.
All Imperial-class variants are said to be 1,600 meters (approximately one mile) long. The crew of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer is 37,000, and these vessels also carry a full complement of 9,700 stormtroopers which brings the overall total to 46,700 personnel. In service with the New Republic the crews were reduced to about 28,000 men.
There are two subtypes of Imperial-class Star Destroyers: the Mark I and Mark II designs. This distinction that seems to reflect the two distinct VFX models used in the Star Wars films; on a Mark I ship, the tractor beam array at the top of the superstructure sometimes stands up to look like a tall, X-shaped structure, while the Mark II has the same array on its back to look flat. At other times the Mark I array appears in repose, as in the Battles of Hoth and Endor. More permanent variations include differences in weaponry, and three small baffles arranged 60° apart around the main exhaust nozzles at the stern of the ISD-I. The Mark I was the only ISD type featured in A New Hope. A mixture of Mark I and Mark II vessels appear in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
[edit] Naming debate
While most Star Wars lore describes the Star Destroyer as an "Imperial-class" ship, an alternative designation Imperator-class also exists.
The Imperator-class name originates in a set of blueprints produced in 1978 attributed to Geoffrey Mandel and packaged with Lucasfilm copyright however still unofficial work according to Mandel [citation needed]. The Imperial-class designation, which seems to have originated in Star Wars Role-playing game material in the late 1980s, remains the designation used in most official material. The Imperator name first entered common use through fanon material created by Curtis Saxton, who decided to use Imperator as the name of the class on his fan site.
Saxton was subsequently brought on as a technical consultant for the Incredible Cross-Sections guide for Revenge of the Sith, bringing the name into an official book by stating that "Imperator-class" was the original designation, but the class was re-dubbed Imperial after the Jedi Purge. The novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader has Imperator still being the name for the Empire's recently manufactured Star Destroyers, several weeks after the end of the Clone Wars.
The Official Star Wars Databank Republic Attack Cruiser EU page states that the ship was designated as Imperator when it was conceived and designed and implies that by the time the ship entered service, it was already going by the name Imperial. Following traditional naval naming conventions, the proper name of the class is the second one, Imperial, which takes precedence.
[edit] Features
[edit] Main bridge
The main bridge of all known Imperial ships has the same basic layout. The outermost part features nine triangular viewports. The center contains two crewpits which are sunken into the main deck 1.7 meters, and house the main controls and computer terminals/control consoles of the ship. Between these two crewpits is the command walkway. To the right and left sides of the bridge are two alcoves containing the weapons and defense stations. Behind the bridge are the communications stations, a turbolift, and a HoloNet pod for ship-to-ship communications.
[edit] Weapons
A single Imperial Star Destroyer had sufficient firepower to overwhelm any warship deployed by enemies of the Empire and its mere presence in a sector was often enough to deter rebellion. If necessary, a Star Destroyer was capable of reducing a hostile planet to an uninhabitable ruin. Later Rebel Alliance ships, particularly Mon Calamari Cruisers, could be somewhat of a match for a Star Destroyer individually - although greatly outnumbered as a class.
According to the ILM model, the ISD-I has batteries of four massive double-barreled turrets on either side of the main superstructure. Six are heavy turbolasers and two are heavy ion cannons. There are smaller visible gun-emplacements on the centerline and in the notches on the edge of the hull. On the ILM model for the ISD-II, eight-barreled guns in open mountings replace the larger turrets.
According to books made by West End Games, the ISD-I has an armament of 60 Taim & Bak XX-9 turbolaser batteries, 60 Borstel NK-7 ion cannons, and 10 Phylon Q7 Class III tractor beam projectors. The tractor beam projectors working in conjunction can reel in a Rebel Assault Frigate (modified Dreadnaught with increased maneuverability).
The ISD-II is said to be armed with 50 heavy turbolaser batteries, 50 heavy turbolaser cannons, 20 ion cannons, and 10 tractor beam projectors, which gives it a significant firepower advantage over the ISD-I.
Both models can house a full wing of 72 Imperial TIEs organized into 12-fighter squadrons. At the time of the Battle of Yavin, a standard wing included 4 TIE Fighter squadrons, 1 TIE Interceptor squadron, and 1 TIE Bomber squadron. By the Battle of Endor, one of the fighter squadrons was replaced with an interceptor squadron.
Star Destroyers also carry ground forces. Expanded Universe literature places several thousand troops, a prefabricated base for rapid subjugation of rebellious territories, 20 AT-ATs, and 30 AT-STs, several AT-PTs and AT-RTs are also included onboard. According to such sources, Imperial Star Destroyers also carried support craft and drop ships, including the Y85 Titan Dropship and the Sentinel-class Shuttle. They also had 8 Lambda-class shuttles.
[edit] Sensor globes or shield generators
Geodesic domes located on and around the bridge superstructure of Star Destroyers and related ships have been alternatively portrayed as both sensor globes and shield generators in Star Wars literature.
It appears that these domes were originally intended to be sensor globes, as Richard Edlund, who was in charge of visual effects for Return of the Jedi, described the spheres as "radar domes" in a 1983 interview by Cinefex magazine in which he discussed the demise of the Executor. However, in the movie itself, bridge officers declared that the shields were down after one of these globes was destroyed, leading to confusion among authors of various sourcebooks on the Star Wars universe.
Many reference books such as The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels and The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology label the pair of globes on top of the bridge as "Deflector Shield Generators," while the use of the globes as shield generators is also evident in LucasArts' X-Wing and TIE Fighter computer games, where the shields of a Star Destroyer are knocked out if the two generators above the bridge are destroyed. This strategy is also used during combat against Star Destroyers in Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader for the Nintendo GameCube, where the globes are referred to as shield generators - along with the hemisphere on the ship's underside. In the MMORPG, Star Wars Galaxies, the globes are clearly labelled in the targeting system as "Shield" and "Secondary Shield". On the other hand, Inside the Worlds of Star Wars shows the bridge area of the Executor and declares the globes to be sensor globes. However, it also places backup bridge shield generators in the base of the domes as an attempt to reconcile the differing interpretations. The globes are labelled as Shield Generators in Star Wars: Empire at War the pc game. In The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology the revised technical readout details both types of shield generators and extensive sensor arrays on different parts of the same dome.
[edit] Areas of service
[edit] Imperial service
Imperial-class Star Destroyers had a distinguished place in the Imperial Navy, symbolizing the Empire's military might. According to official literature, the Imperial Fleet had a peak strength of "over 25,000 Star Destroyers" across the galaxy.
Some Star Destroyers were destroyed in the fractious warfare that followed the death of Emperor Palpatine at Endor. Others heeded the summons of Palpatine's clone, and rallied secretly in the Deep Core. A minority defected to (or were captured by) Rebels. The majority of the surrendered vessels were decommissioned, but some remained in service in the New Republic's navy (see below).
Imperial-class star destroyers are identified as the centerpiece of Superiority Fleets, used by local sector-level forces to keep Imperial space clear of pirates and terrorists (i.e, Rebels). Within each Superiority Fleet, six ISDs served as the command ships for component formations known as "Battle Squadrons."
ISDs have also been observed to operate more or less independently, or in pairs as guard ships on important worlds. By the time of the final peace between the remnants of the Empire and the heirs of the Rebellion, the eight remaining sector fleets of what was left of Imperial Space still centered around the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, with around a dozen such ships per Sector, but they often operated as battle lines without support from smaller vessels, and may have been refitted to carry more defensive weaponry on their own hulls, making them more capable of fending off fighter and gunship attack.
Scores of Imperial-class ships are shown as forming the vanguard of Imperial battle-fleets. At the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi, there were about forty Imperial-class destroyers and one Super Star Destroyer.
In other Star Wars lore, a battlefleet charged with defending the Imperial Core Worlds had one Super Star Destroyer and fifty-seven other capital ships, while Grand Admiral Josef Grunger's fleet consisted of one Super Star Destroyer, thirty Star Destroyers, and almost 200 smaller ships, and the fleet assembled by Admiral Daala included one Super Star Destroyer, more than forty Imperial-class ships, and more than a hundred Victory-class ships. A fleet at the center of the Empire's strategies for defending the Koornacht Cluster near the Galactic Core, Black Sword Command, contained about forty Imperial-class and Victory-class Star Destroyers and three Super Star Destroyers, but one of these SSDs was simply fitting out at a shipyard within the command's jurisdiction. Grand Admiral Thrawn's "core" destroyer group numbered five of the best performing ISDs. Captain Pellaeon noted those 5 destroyers, a dozen Strike Cruisers and over 20 Carrack light cruisers with full complement of TIE's was a fleet worthy of the Empire at its height, implying a drastic reduction in fleet strength Post-Battle of Endor
[edit] New Republic service
The Imperial-class Star Destroyer has also appeared in the forces of other space-defense navies. A number were commissioned into the private defense-fleet of the shipyard system of Kuat where they were initially designed, while the independent monarchy that ruled the Hapes Star Cluster was able to seize some vessels through their pirate raids into Imperial space. After the fall of the Empire, Star Destroyers were most visible in the armadas of the New Republic. The refits implemented by that government often involved structural modifications, and generally required a much smaller crew. These revisions resulted in a lack of capability to deploy planetary-assault soldiers and greatly reduced endurance, as the New Republic Defense Force doctrine operated ships on relatively short patrols and deemphasized armies of occupation. Because Star Destroyers tended to be larger than most New Republic starships, they were often pressed into service as command ships or the centerpiece of battlegroups. Many of those used by the New Republic were symbolically high-profile prizes of war, such as the Accuser and Adjudicator captured at the Battle of Endor, the Avarice which defected during the Bacta War, and the Tyrant which had once been part of Darth Vader's personal fleet; renamed Emancipator, Liberator, Freedom and Rebel Dream respectively
[edit] Private service
Within the Expanded Universe, one Imperial II-class Star Destroyer is in private hands, the Errant Venture (formerly the HIMS Virulence), captained by the smuggler and rogue Booster Terrik. It was captured several years after the Battle of Endor during the Bacta War against Ysanne Isard, but was in poor condition for many years owing to the great cost of maintaining such a large vessel, and it had been stripped of the vast majority of her armament: only ten turbolasers were permitted, and even those were not always functional. Years later, she received a comprehensive refit in exchange for use in a New Republic special-operations raid on an Imperial base, including a deep red paint job to replace the classic Imperial white. While Captain Terrik was not permitted to keep all of his weapons after the operation, they were reinstated during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, and, according to rumor, were augmented by a ship-killing superlaser. During the Vong invasion, the Errant Venture served as a temporary Jedi sanctuary and also as squadron flagship in the forces that rallied to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong. No other demilitarized and nominally civilian Star Destroyers in are known to exist, although in practice, some ex-Imperial ships like the pirate flagship Invidious were little different in their capabilities than the Errant Venture at some stages of her career.
[edit] Other Star Destroyers
In the original draft scripts of the movie that would become Star Wars, it can be noted that the term "Stardestroyer" (as a compound word) referred to two-man fighters flown by what would become the Galactic Empire in later versions. During the classic era of Star Wars merchandising (1976–1983), preproduction artworks and some published literature perpetuated the compound word as a reference to the large, movie versions of Imperial warships.
[edit] Destroyers
Within Star Wars lore, while similar dagger-hulled warships are said to have existed for thousands of years, the earliest ships called "Star Destroyers" are the 900 m Victory-class and the 1,137 m Venator-class, deployed by the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars, the conflict which saw that once-democratic federation transformed into the autocratic Empire. Although the two were comparable in size and power, each had distinct characteristics and abilities that the other lacked. These vessels were also employed by the fledgling Empire, but the Venator-class was later phased out in favor of larger and more powerful designs.
[edit] Victory-class Star Destroyer
| Classification | Star Destroyer |
|---|---|
| Length | 900 meters |
| Crew | 5,200 crewmen |
| Onboard complement | |
| Weaponry |
850D per salvo |
| Hull Plating | 1520 U |
| Deflector Shielding | 3200 U |
| Total Defense | 4720 U |
| Classification | Star Destroyer |
|---|---|
| Length | 900 meters |
| Crew | 5,200 crewmen |
| Onboard complement | |
| Weaponry |
450D per salvo |
| Hull Plating | 1520 U |
| Deflector Shielding | 3200 U |
| Total Defense | 4720 U |
The Victory-class Star Destroyer was originally described in West End Games' The Star Wars Sourcebook in the 1980s (But the design existed since conceptual art of ANH). It was designed by Rendili Stardrive to compete with Kuat Drive Yards and the successful Acclamator-class long-range military assault transport. They were the most powerful medium combatants of the Galactic Republic's military machine during the Clone Wars. The Republic bought both the Victory-class and KDY's competing Venator-class ships in great numbers.
Ships of the Victory class are 900 meters long. Depictions of the engines vary: some sources show the Victory possessing three primary ion drives for sub-light propulsion; others show two. However, they are somewhat sluggish spacecraft and even later refits never really fixed that design flaw. The first flight of ships was capable of independent flight in atmosphere; in one of the most infamous examples of this capability, then-Captain Tarkin landed his vessel on a crowd of protestors in what would later be called the Ghorman Massacre. The second flight was not capable of effective atmospheric operations.
The Victory-I subclass included eighty concussion missile tubes, while the rarely produced Victory-II subclass lacked them in favour of ion cannons. The Victory-II also had faster sublight drives for better space-to-space combat and lost its atmospheric capability. All ships carried two squadrons of star-fighters.
With the rise of the Empire, the Victory was replaced in general service by the Imperial-class Star Destroyer. Many Victory-class ships were sold off (many to the Corporate Sector) or decommissioned.
One notable feature of the Victory-class is that it is one of the largest ships capable of operating effectively in the atmosphere of a planet. This gives it an advantage over its larger cousins in planetary assault scenarios, where it can be used to provide close-support for ground forces, and to intimidate the enemy. This advantage did not prevent it from being phased out and replaced by new classes as the main warship of the Empire, but it did ensure that the Victory was often assigned to invasion or policing fleets to make use of this ability.
There is supposedly another variant of the Victory Class: It is frequently visible in the video game "Star Wars Battlefront II" and possesses several similarities to those listed above. It is smaller, has more engines, a smaller armament (three double barrel auto-turrets) and a different profile.
[edit] Venator-class Star Destroyer
| Venator | |
|---|---|
 A Venator-class Star Destroyer above Coruscant. |
|
| First appearance | Revenge of the Sith |
| General Characteristics | |
| Class | Star Destroyer |
| Fighters | Starfighters (35 squadrons) LAAT/i gunships AT-TE walkers |
| Armaments | Heavy turbolaser batteries Double turbolaser batteries Laser cannons Heavy proton torpedo tubes |
| Defences | Deflector Shielding |
| Length | 1,137 meters[citation needed] |
Also known as "Republic Attack Cruisers," Venator-class Star Destroyers were the successors of the successful tradition of the Acclamator-class assault transports and the Victory-class Star Destroyers. While the Acclamator was primarily an armed troop transport and the Victory was a jack-of-all-trades, the Venator was primarily a starfighter carrier/destroyer.
The Venator-class destroyer was 1,137 meters long and carried a crew of 7,400. Its main reactor could consume up to 4000 tons of fuel per second and had engines that could accelerate the massive vessel at 3000 m/s². The ship was capable of operating within atmospheres and landing for docking as well retrieving/disembarking the ground forces.
The Venator-class carried 420 starfighters in its large hangar bays, a feature phased out of successor destroyer designs in favor of heavier weapons on the ships themselves. Standard fighter complement was 192 V-Wing starfighters, 192 ARC-170 starfighters, and 36 Eta-2 Actis Jedi Interceptors. 40 LAAT/i gunships and 24 AT-TE walkers were carried for ground operations. Combined with its fighters, the Venator's powerful engines, strong deflector shields and armament consisting of 8 heavy turbolaser turrets, 2 medium dual turbolaser cannons, 52 point-defense laser cannons, 4 heavy proton torpedo tubes, and 6 tractor beam projectors made it one of the most powerful and fearsome medium warships of the time. Some Venator-class ships also carried SPHA-T turbolaser walkers in their hangar bays, which were used to provide extra close-range firepower and to defend the open hangar bays, the most vulnerable part of the ships.
Venator-class Star Destroyers were deployed in a number of battles during the Clone Wars, most notably during the Battle of Coruscant when upwards of a thousand of the ships helped protect the capital. As the Galactic Republic transformed into the Galactic Empire, the Venator ceased production in favor of the newer Imperator-class and Tector-class Star Destroyers. Thousands of Venators procured during the Clone Wars were slowly mothballed over the succeeding decade. Even though the "Imperator" and "Tector" classes fit the Imperial policy of rule through terror better than the Venator, many tacticians and fleet commanders preferred the older design of Star Destroyer, due to its carrying capacity and sleek appearance, and would have opted for an upgraded design of the Venator rather than the new Imperator.
[edit] Confederacy of Independent Systems Star Destroyers
The cigar-shaped Separatist cruisers seen in Revenge of the Sith have been called Star Destroyers by George Lucas on the ROTS commentary track, even though no canonical sources refer to them as such. While their capabilities and power levels are comparable to Old Republic and Imperial Star Destroyers, they are depicted solely as components of the CIS starfleet.
[edit] Providence-class destroyer
A type of ship used by the Trade Federation and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, this class was shaped like a tapered cylinder. At 1,088 meters in length it was larger than the Republic's Victory class but smaller than Star Destroyers later fielded by the Republic. The standard ships apparently had limited hangar facilities, a limitation corrected in some variants. The variants had extended hangars at the expense of engine space, but were capable of 2,500 Gs in open space and 2,000 km/h in atmosphere. It has been claimed that these craft lacked direct power feeds from the reactor to the guns. However their offensive armament included a large number of proton torpedo launchers.
[edit] Invisible Hand-type
With a known production run of 3 ships, this Providence variant saw limited use in the Clone Wars. When Viceroy Gunray commissioned this ship, he had them remove the aft reactors, fuel stores, and some of the engine components to make room for a massive hangar. The result was a significant weakening of the ship in return for an extravagant hangar facility. When General Grievous assumed command of Confederacy's armed forces, he seized this ship as his personal vessel to insult the Viceroy, who had previously and repeatedly insulted him. Two sister ships were commissioned, the Lucid Voice and Collicoid Swarm, and they were used in a disinformation campaign to keep Republic spies unable to pinpoint Grievous' exact location.
The modifications to this ship left it with a reduced and weakened armament. It now carried only 14 quad turbolaser turrets, 34 dual laser cannons, 2 ion cannons, 12 point-defense ion cannons, 102 proton torpedo launchers, and an unknown number of point-defense flak cannons. It carried 240 droid starfighters, 160 Mobile Troop Transports, and 280 assorted droid vehicles. For infantry duty it carried up to 1.5 million deactivated droids, and had a crew of 600.
In Revenge of the Sith: Incredible Cross-Sections, it is called in what is apparently intended to be a technical capacity a "Modified Providence-class carrier/destroyer".
[edit] Tector-class Star Destroyer
The existence of the Tector-class was established in the Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross-Sections fact book, and was presumed to have existed prior to that due to observations of a singular ship in Return of the Jedi. Lucas Licensing continuity checker Leland Chee confirmed that this ship was a Tector-class Star Destroyer. The identified vessel appears similar to the Imperial-class, but lacks the ventral hangar bay and a visible reactor-bulb.
[edit] Harrow-type
A Star Destroyer featuring Victory-like "wings" but an Imperial-class grade of hangar bay (fairly large) as well as several other cosmetic differences, the Harrow measured about the length of a Victory-class vessel (900 meters or thereabouts) and may have been a Kuat Drive Yards attempt to shoo competitor Rendili StarDrive's still-successful Victory out of the market with their own niche-fitting light Star Destroyer. Rogue Squadron encountered the Harrow in orbit of Tatooine some months after the Battle of Endor.
[edit] Galactic Alliance Star Destroyers
After the dissolution of the New Republic following the doctored election of Cal Omas into office as Chief of State, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances was formed under a new constitution. After finally defeating the Yuuzhan Vong and retaking their seat of government at Coruscant, they began to build a more modern and more flexible military arsenal, drawing on new technologies developed and provided for them by such companies as Tendrando Arms. By the time of the Battle of the Murgo Choke, the GFFA was ready to face the Killiks with a newly updated and equipped fleet. Among this fleet's components numbered new Star Destroyer types.
Named after Ackbar, deceased former Supreme Commander of the New Republic Armed Forces, the Admiral Ackbar seems to be a Victory-class Star Destroyer with extensive modifications, probably enough to push it into being at least a subtype, not the least of which is a giant turret-mounted tractor beam generator sufficient enough to seize ships at a considerable distance and tow them in for handling by smaller and more precise beam generators capable of guiding them to the hangar bay, as well as fifty turbolaser batteries.
Although the class of Ackbar is unstated as of The Unseen Queen, it seems that this flagship is not a unique vessel. Noghri bodyguard Cakhmaim identifies the Victory-class update as "one of the new pirate hunters" upon seeing it, implying that Admiral Ackbar isn't the only ship of this class. Given the substantial modifications, this type might be classified as Victory III-class Star Destroyers.
[edit] Chiss Ascendancy Star Destroyers
Recently, it has been revealed that the Chiss Ascendancy, too, has begun building their own Star Destroyer designs. Some of these vessels saw action in the Swarm War against the Killik Colony.
[edit] Chiss Unnamed Star Destroyer Type 1
An unnamed example of a Chiss-built Star Destroyer was sighted at Qoribu and Kr in The Joiner King. It is said to be somewhat larger than a Victory-class Star Destroyer, its lines are notably more organic than the Victory-class', and it is slightly more tapered, among other cosmetic dissimilarities. This ship carries an unknown complement of Chiss Clawcraft and is armed with conventional turbolaser weaponry. It appears that they can also be fitted with cloaking devices. They also carry tractor beams capable of locking on and drawing in swarms of fighters.
[edit] Chiss Unnamed Star Destroyer Type 2
During the Battle of Tenupe in the The Swarm War, there were also other Chiss Star Destroyers, which carried a wing of Chiss Clawcraft fighters. An example of this class is the Fell Defender. It also has capability to travel in atmosphere, contains several interrogation modules, and contains a contingent of troops. There are at least three of these vessels, which leads to the probable conclusion that these are being actively produced as well.
[edit] Super Star Destroyers
The term "Super Star Destroyer", often abbreviated SSD, is a general term used to refer to any ship in the Galactic Empire's Starfleet using the wedge/dagger design aesthetic which is larger than the 1,600m long Imperial-class. As such, several ships can be termed as a "Super Star Destroyer", whatever its more formal designation, and this is the most commonly taken path by Star Wars characters regardless of their alignment.
[edit] Appearances
Imperial/Imperator-class Star Destroyers were seen in all three movies of the original trilogy. However, the Imperial Star Destroyer had been slightly redesigned for "The Empire Strikes Back", and that variant is known as the Imperial-II, making the "A New Hope" vessels the Imperial-I. The "Super Star Destroyer" Executor was on its maiden voyage after the battle of Yavin and was present when stormtroopers landed their troops. It is seen in The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and soon to be making an appearance in the expansion pack to the PC game Star Wars: Empire at War. A Tector-class Star Destroyer and the Communications Ship were briefly seen in Return of the Jedi. The Venator-class Star Destroyer was seen in Revenge of the Sith. Star Destroyers also feature prominently in most expanded universe products, particularly the RPG, the Thrawn Trilogy, Dark Empire, and the X-Wing novels.
Star Destroyers have also featured prominently in many Star Wars computer games, primarily as targets to be destroyed by starfighters, as in the X-Wing computer game series. In the game Star Wars: Empire at War, Star Destroyers are controllable on the Empire Faction. In Star Wars: Battlefront II, Star Destroyers serve as spawnpoints for Imperials during space battles. Star Destroyers are prominent in several Star Wars real-time strategy games. It's also featured in the MMORPG Star Wars: An Empire Divided. It is a target for the rebellion in the Deep Space Player versus Player Sector...
[edit] External links
| Vehicles of the Galactic Empire | |
|---|---|
| Entries in italics denote vehicles from the Expanded Universe | |
| Ground vehicles | |
| AT-ST | AT-AT | AT-TE | 74-Z Speeder Bike | Juggernaut | AT-PT | TIE crawler | |
| Starfighters | |
| TIE Fighter | TIE Interceptor | TIE Bomber | TIE Advanced x1 | TIE Avenger | TIE Defender | TIE/D fighter
TIE Hunter | TIE Phantom | Assault Gunboat | Missile Boat | Skipray Blastboat | A-9 Vigilance |
|
| Capital ships | |
| Star Destroyer | Super Star Destroyer | Executor | Nebulon-B Frigate | Corellian Corvette
Lancer-Class Frigate | Interdictor Cruiser | Carrack-Class Light Cruiser |
|
| Other | |
| Lambda-class shuttle | Death Star | Walker Dropship | World Devastator | Sun Crusher | |
| See also | |
| Star Wars air vehicles | Star Wars aquatic vehicles | Star Wars ground vehicles | Star Wars starfighters | Star Wars support craft |
|
