Venator-class Star Destroyer/Legends

Venator-class Star Destroyer "How did we manage to save our troops? It looked like they were rolling right over us." "That's how." "Whoa!" "That's a Republic Star Destroyer, Venator-class."

- Jos Vondar and Admiral Erel Kersos

The Venator-class Star Destroyer, also known as the Venator-class Destroyer, Republic attack cruiser, and later Imperial attack cruiser, was one of the capital ships used extensively by the Galactic Republic during the later parts of the Clone Wars, as well as by the Galactic Empire.

Characteristics


The Venator-class was designed and constructed by Kuat Drive Yards. A stock ship was 1,137 meters long, making it one of the largest capital ships capable of atmospheric operations, landing on planets to load and unload troops and vehicles.

The Venator-class was born from the success of the Acclamator-class assault ship and was designed by Lira Blissex for the purpose of serving as a medium-sized, versatile multi-role warship. While designed primarily for ship-to-ship combat, the Venator had secondary roles ranging from starfighter carrier, to military transport and battleship escort. The expanded carrier role made the Venator-class popular amongst Jedi starfighter aces. As a popular multi-role warship of the Republic Navy, the Venator was considered heavily armed and armored enough to lead assaults on Rim worlds like Utapau as well as fast enough to chase down blockade runners.

Venators were equipped with powerful engines, a Class 1 hyperdrive with an effective range of 60,000 light-years, strong deflector shields, a large complement of starfighters and ground assault vehicles, and a range of powerful weaponry. Its main reactor could annihilate up to 40,000 tons of hypermatter fuel per second, producing 3.6 × 1024 watts of power.

These vessels also sported the red color of diplomatic immunity all Republic ships sported; by the beginning of the Galactic Empire, the hulls were deprived of this symbol of the Republic, giving them a dull gray appearance.

Armament


The armament of a single Venator-class Star Destroyer consisted of 8 DBY-827 heavy dual turbolaser turrets, 2 medium dual turbolaser cannons, 52 point-defense dual laser cannons, and 4 heavy proton torpedo tubes.

The Venator-class's eight heavy dual turbolaser turrets were its main weapons and had two tracking modes. In its precise, long-range tracking mode, the DBY-827 could hit a target vessel at a range of 10 light minutes. During close-range fights, the turrets could rotate in three seconds with their fast-tracking mode. In terms of firepower, these weapons rivaled the main battery on the later Imperial-class Star Destroyers.

The DBY-827 had seven different power settings. This allowed the Venator's pilots and gunners to select a range of destruction, from a small strike to a vaporizing blow. As a true warship, the Venator-class Star Destroyer could divert almost all of its reactor output to its heavy turbolasers when needed. As a result of this, a flotilla of these could break through the shields of a Trade Federation warship with ease.

At the suggestion of Anakin Skywalker, a heavy SPHA turbolaser cannon was installed within the ventral hangar bay of some Venator-class ships of the Open Circle Fleet. These weapons were meant to protect the Star Destroyers while they opened their long ventral doors to the army complement bays. They would be used to considerable effect during the Second Battle of Coruscant.

At least some Venator-class ships also included heavy turbolaser batteries situated along the dividing middle trench.

Complement
Despite possessing powerful weaponry and being on par with the older Victory-class, the Venator-class was designed with an additional starfighter carrier role in mind. Its hangar bays were far larger than those on older Star Destroyers like the Victory-class and later models like the Imperator-class.



Prior to the formation of the Galactic Empire, a typical Republic Venator carried a complement of 420 fighters: 192 V-wing or V-19 Torrent starfighters, 192 Eta-2 Actis-class interceptors, and 36 ARC-170 starfighters. The ship also typically maintained a variety of shuttles in its hangars.

In addition to a standard ventral hangar bay, the bow of a Venator could open up to reveal a half kilometer long dorsal flight deck. This flight deck enabled the Venator-class to rapidly launch hundreds of fighters. However, the slow opening and closing of the armored bow doors could leave the ship extremely vulnerable.

Although strong shielding was used to compensate for this weakness, this design aspect would be entirely omitted from later Star Destroyer designs, such as the Imperator-class. The SPHA turbolaser cannon was included for the purpose of protecting the ship along the ventral arc near the vulnerable hangar bay.

The Venator-class also had hangar-openings on its port and starboard side. These were used to dock with space stations, mooring towers, and larger starships, for the purpose of transferring troops and materials. Because of its carrier role, the Venator-class featured a novel dual bridge tower design. The port tower was the starfighter command bridge, while the starboard tower served as a standard helm and command bridge. On future designs, this dual bridge design was also employed.



The Venator-class could also serve as a military transport and was capable of entering a planet's atmosphere and landing on its surface. As standard complement, pre-Imperial Venator-class Star Destroyers carried 40 LAAT/i gunships and 24 military walkers for planetary operations.

History
Venator-class Star Destroyers were deployed in many battles during the middle and late Clone Wars, most notably during the Second Battle of Coruscant when upwards of a thousand ships helped protect the capital, and played pivoted roles in the repulsion of the CIS forces and the rescue of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.

These warships were were fast enough to pursue blockade runners, while also being large enough to lead independent operations, such as the Battle of Kashyyyk and the Battle of Utapau. They could be used to land troops on planetary surfaces, and as escorts for battleships, but their primary role was as combat warships and starfighter carriers.



By the end of the Clone Wars, it had become the most popular capital ship of the Republic, although shortly after the formation of the New Order, it was eclipsed by designs inspired by the Victory II-class. Imperial Venator-class Star Destroyers lacked the colorful markings of the Republic and were used to great effect in the early Empire.

Eventually, more robust vessels such as the Imperator- and Tector-classes became favored, and the Venator and its variants were gradually phased out as the Empire's main Star Destroyer. Still, they continued to serve the Empire, although the extent of their use appears to have been limited.

After the end of the Clone Wars, many Venators were abandoned and left to drift in space. Several of these vessels fell into the hands of the Mandalorians, the Zann Consortium, and various pirate groups. By this time, the vessel was considered obsolete, but was available to buy from several merchants.

Behind the scenes

 * "Venator" is Latin for "hunter".


 * In RotS:ICS, the Venator is described both as serving the part of a destroyer escorting larger Republic battleships, and acting as a battleship itself (the latter in the section on Invisible Hand). This is most likely a reference to different classification systems being in use, one of which has Star Destroyers like the Victory and Venator being medium-sized destroyers, while another has them being battleships.


 * In the same book, the Utapauns are said to use "downscaled" warships, such as the Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser. This explains why it's often referenced as a cruiser rather than a frigate (even when many were rebuilt into assault frigates), despite being smaller than both the Empire's Star Destroyers and Star Cruisers. A similar system would be described by New Republic scholars as the Imperial Classification System.


 * In the early development of Star Wars: Empire at War, the Venator was seen in at least one or two screenshots. It was then featured in the demo, but cut from the final game, though it can be modded back in the game completely. It is now featured in the expansion pack Forces of Corruption and can be built in skirmish mode.


 * In Revenge of the Sith, it appears that the Venator-class is equipped with additional turbolaser batteries that are unaccounted for in the RotS:ICS book.

Appearances



 * Tag & Bink: Revenge of the Clone Menace
 * MedStar II: Jedi Healer
 * Republic HoloNet News Core Edition 15:3:29
 * Jedi Trial
 * Star Wars: Obsession
 * The Brink
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars
 * "Chapter 22"
 * "Chapter 23"
 * "Chapter 25"
 * To the Vanishing Point
 * Star Wars Republic: The Siege of Saleucami
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Evasive Action: Reversal of Fortune
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * The Order of Outcasts
 * Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:24
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars Dark Times 3: The Path to Nowhere, Part 3
 * Star Wars Republic 78: Loyalties
 * Star Wars Dark Times 6: Parallels, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Empire at War
 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption

Notes and references
Sternenzerstörer der Venator-Klasse Destroyer Stellaire de classe Venator