Star Dreadnought/Legends

Star Dreadnought was a formal designation for some of the largest and strongest warships in the starfleets of regional and galactic governments.

The term "Super Star Destroyer" was also applied to some of these ships, often in slang or casual conversation.

Various classes of ships described as "Star Dreadnoughts" are known to have served in the Kuat Drive Yards defense fleet, the Republic Navy, the Imperial Navy, and the New Republic Defense Fleet.

Known Star Dreadnought classes

 * Mandator I-class Star Dreadnought
 * Mandator II-class Star Dreadnought
 * Sovereign-class Star Dreadnought
 * Eclipse-class Star Dreadnought
 * Executor-class Star Dreadnought

Presumed Star Dreadnought classes

 * Eye of Palpatine

Behind the scenes
The term "Star Dreadnought" (or "Star Dreadnaught") is disliked by some fans who prefer the term "Super Star Destroyer", which is used to refer to many different ships, from the 2.2km Allegiance to the 19km Executor, although no source has ever suggested that this term stopped being used.

The term 'Star Dreadnought' was first explictly used in Attack of the Clones Incredible Cross Sections for the Mandator, and the Executor was given the formal designation "Star Dreadnought" in Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy. Inside the Worlds also stated that "Super Star Destroyer" was a term used in "Rebel slang"&mdash;though the passage does not show that the term's currency is limited to "Rebel slang", and in other canon sources, it is used by Imperial officers and other non-Rebels.

Some fans have welcomed what they see as a necessary rationalization, while others consider this redesignation and redefinition contradictory and unnecessary. Although many on both sides of the debate have been quick to attack each other, some opponents of the changes have mainly engaged in ad hominem attacks on Curtis Saxton, who is widely seen as responsible for the change in designations.

The word "Dreadnaught" (or "Dreadnought") has actually been in use since the era of the Marvel Star Wars comics and the original DelRey novel contract, although it has been applied to an even wider range of warship classes than "Super Star Destroyer", or even the generic "Star Destroyer":


 * The 3000 year old Invincible-class Dreadnought seen in 1979's Han Solo at Star's End was "over two kilometres long"&mdash;slightly longer on the keel than an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, but in a similar tonnage bracket. It can be compared with several other obsolescent battleship types, including the Kumari Battleship, and the 3km Cal-class warship from Cracken's Rebel Operatives (1994). Since these elder warships were constructed at a time when most craft were significantly smaller than CW/GCW-era ships, they would have followed the definition of 'Dreadnaught' more closely back then, rather than compared with modern SW vessels.


 * The 600-meter Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser was invented in 1987 by West End Games for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. Often referred to simply as a "Dreadnaught", and commonly described as the most potent capital ship of the Old Republic Starfleet before the Clone Wars, it is 32 times smaller than a Star Dreadnought, although it is also known to have been deployed in fleets of several hundred ships. (It should be noted that "Dreadnaught" is the ship's class-name, not it's designation.)


 * The massive Imperial "dreadnaught" Eye of Palpatine appeared in 1995's Children of the Jedi: dating from the end of the Clone Wars, it was even larger than the Executor and the Eclipse.


 * The Imperial propulsion testbed EX-F, from 1996's Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy, is described as built on a "Dreadnaught hull", though her precise size is never given.

It should be noted that there is currently no canonical evidence that the Eclipse-class "Super Star Destroyers" seen in the Dark Empire series, and the Sovereign-class design described in the Dark Empire Sourcebook were not designated as "Star Dreadnoughts". The suggestion that the largest and most powerful "Super Star Destroyers" stopped being designated "Star Dreadnoughts" in New Republic times, remain fanonical.

As an aside to the whole dreadnought-issue, The Illustrated Star Wars Universe mentions in its Coruscant-article: ''"Spidery docking and starship repair yards ride high above the planet, providing reconditioning facilities for the largest of spaceliners. Spherical self-contained colony vessels, Imperial Star Destroyers, and huge luxury yachts are built in the space-dock centers. The Emperor has commandeered other, more sophisticated space construction centers in other systems, notably the Kuat Drive Yards and the Rendili and Loronar space construction facilities, for assembling his largest battleships and special weapons platforms." (p. 71)''

This early reference to Imperial "battleships" larger than Star Destroyers fits in with the historic use of the word "dreadnought" to cover "battleships equipped with the heaviest guns and armor". On the other hand, the contrast between Imperial Star Destroyers and the "largest battleships" implies that ISDs are themselves "battleships," and they have been noted as such in several sources.

Still, much of the criticism towards the term "Star Dreadnought" stems from the belief that the largest ships in the modern Star Wars era are nothing more than cruisers, and that only recent authors like Curtis Saxton have applied the use of real-life terms for the larger warships, which these sources show was unfounded. No evidence has ever been shown to back up these assumptions, whereas plenty of sources reference Imperial warships just as real-life navies do, often interchangably with "Star Destroyer".