Imperial I-class Star Destroyer/Legends

Imperial I-class Star Destroyer "I maintain that the effectiveness of the Star Destroyer stems from not only its massive firepower, but from its size. When citizens look at a Star Destroyer and then compare it to the craft which might be mustered to attack it, they have a tendency to dismiss such a notion as suicidal rather than approach the problem tactically."

- Moff Wilhuff Tarkin

The Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, also known as the Imperial I-class Destroyer, was a monumental class of warships designed by Lira Wessex and built by Kuat Drive Yards.

Originally known as the Imperator-class Star Destroyer until after the Great Jedi Purge, these vessels were designed as massive, powerful, medium-sized warships meant to take the place of older Star Destroyers like the Venator-class. Capable of laying waste to entire worlds (provided those worlds did not have planetary shields), the Imperial-class became infamous as the prime enforcer of Imperial rule.

It belonged to the Star Destroyer family of warship, examplified by its dagger/arrowhead design. A single Imperial-class vessel cost the Empire more than 3.88 billion Imperial credits, which was the equivalent of several star systems' annual economic output.

This entry covers the definitive version of the type, the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer. It was the premier starship class in the Imperial Navy. All known variants were 1,600 meters long (one mile) and had three large and four small engines capable of accelerating the ship with a force of several thousand g.

Star Destroyers of this class took part in the major engagements of the Galactic Civil War, including the Battle of Yavin, the Battle of Hoth, and the Battle of Endor.

Crew requirements


According to officially available statistics, Imperial-class Star Destroyers had at least 37,000 officers and crew. Counting the stormtrooper complement (one "division" or "legion", 9,700 men) would total 46,700. This would include a stormtrooper detachment, fighter pilots, and support craft pilots.

When serving as a flagship, 900 additional personnel were stationed onboard. The Star Destroyer could accommodate up to 1,800 passengers.

For those vessels that entered New Republic service, the New Republic reduced the crew requirements by 8,000, to about 28,000 men.

The crew requirements of the Imperial-class were extraordinarily high. New Republic ships of the closest size tended to have a small fraction of the crew. It is also interesting to note the ISD's high ratio (over 7:1) between full and skeleton complement&mdash;a more usual ratio seems to be 4:1 or 5:1 in large vessels.

Possible reasons include:
 * Large crew requirements enabled ongoing, intensive recruitment.


 * Multiple or redundant onboard crews. Star Destroyers could sustain massive losses and still maintain an operational crew size.


 * Allowed for easy placement of Imperial Security Bureau or COMPNOR agents.


 * The ISD's six-year endurance requirement passes a certain limit beyond which maintenance requirements greatly increase; large crews of technicians are thus embarked.


 * Inferior automation compared to that of latter warships, especially those fielded by the New Republic.


 * Multiple shifts, enabling the Imperial-class Star Destroyer to be capable of sustaining days of heavy space combat without suffering from crew fatigue.

Bridge tower
The command bridge tower of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer was massive, with the command bridge being very similar to that of the Executor-class. The difference between the deck and the ceiling was three to four meters for the command walkways and one and a half meters more for the control pits. The total number of decks on the bridge tower was somewhere between 20 to 30, with the average spacing of 3 meters.



At a few areas there were portals that appeared at intervals halfway between the main decks. These corresponded to inhabited chambers, rooms, or shafts spanning more than one level.

The sensor array on top of the Mk. I's tower had support beams running diagonally across it. These would later be substituted for vertical ones during a minor refit, which made the array look similar to the one on Mk. II vessels.

Sublight propulsion
For sublight propulsion, the Imperial-class relied on an array of three primary Destroyer-I ion engines produced by KDY specifically for the vessels. For emergency situations requiring additional thrust, the Imperial-class could use its four Gemon-4 ion engines.

Main battery
The Imperial I-class Star Destroyer possessed a main battery of 12 heavy turbolasers and 4 heavy ion cannons, arranged in eight dual mounts flanking the ship's tower structure.

Strangely, the Star Destroyer's designers did not take advantage of its wedge shape to give these heavy cannons the ability to focus on targets in the forward firing arc that were level with the ship. This could have been accomplished either by superelevating the aft turrets, or merely by spacing the turrets apart over a longer distance of the ship's length.

Possible explanations for this are that superelevation was impossible due to the immense recoils involved (yields are so great that the momentum of the fired bolts and the associated recoil are in the gigaton range), or that spacing the turrets further apart was too great a compromise in terms of power distribution. In any case, the Star Destroyer could bring all its heavy guns to bear by dipping its bow downward.

Secondary weapons


Numerous smaller and medium guns were mounted around the ship to ward off attacks against lesser ships not capable of being targeted by the main battery. They varied in size; some were designed as point-defense cannon to destroy incoming missiles and starfighters while others engaged lesser capital ships. Some ships, such as Emancipator (ex-Accuser) and Chimaera, were refitted with proton torpedo launchers.

The Star Destroyer's weapons were designed to make the vessel a long range warship. The weapons systems were not very capable of targeting at point-blank range, a weakness exploited by the Rebel fleet at the Battle of Endor.

Axial defense turrets
Three triple-gun turrets were mounted on the ridge of the ship, just forward of the lowest, forwardmost terrace of the dorsal superstructure.

Hangar defenses
Mounted just beyond the forward tip of the attack hangar (see fighter compliment), were two large ventral turbolasers, which sat near the corners of the massive hangar. The primary function of the turbolasers was to defend the vulnerable docking facilities, but could also be used for planetary bombardment.

Power
There were entire planets that, throughout their history, did not expend as much power as an Imperial-class ship did in one hyperspace jump. A massive solar ionization reactor bulged from the ventral spine, annihilating hypermatter as fuel to power the ship.

Fighter complement
Imperial-class Star Destroyers typically carried a standard Imperial wing of 6 TIE squadrons, for a total of 72 starfighters. The standard wing included one squadron of TIE/I starfighters, one squadron of TIE/sa starfighters (lower priority ships had to make do with TIE/gt fighters), one reconnaissance squadron of TIE/rc fighters, and three TIE/ln starfighter squadrons. One or two flights in a fighter squadron were TIE/fc fighters. Sometimes, one of the fighter squadrons was used for training purposes. By the Battle of Endor, one of these fighter squadrons had been phased out in favor of a second squadron of TIE Interceptors.



The attack hangar was guarded by a set of armored doors. TIE fighter service and refueling bays, and TIE launch hangars surround the main hangar. TIEs were launched from cycling racks and pilots boarded from overhead gantries and were released into space as they disengaged from the front position in the racks. Returning fighters landed in separate hangars and then were guided by small tractor beams into receiver-carriers. The receivers carried the TIE to a debarkation station where the pilot would exit. Once moved through the transfer tunnels to a launch hangar, the fighter could be serviced and refueled in a separate bay. In the hangar the TIEs were cycled through a launch rack and ready for the next launch.

The small forward hangar was for shuttle craft carrying high-ranking officials. The forward hangar was also used as a back-up to the main hangar.

Ground assault capability
These ships carried 9,700 troops, as well as massive war vehicles such as AT-AT and AT-ST walkers. AT-AT barges and other landing craft were used to deliver ground assault forces to a planet's surface.

The Star Destroyer could use its guns and TIE starfighters to support any surface action. If a planet required a lasting presence, a Star Destroyer could quickly deploy a prefabricated garrison base.

Imperial service
"I hate the look of these new mass-produced Imperator-class Destroyers. None of the artistry that went into the old Acclamators or Venators&mdash;even the Victory Twos. So goes elegance."

- Brudi Gayn



Imperial-class Star Destroyers had a distinguished career in the Imperial Starfleet, where they symbolized the Empire's military might (for better or worse). The Imperial-class was known to be in service as early as 19 BBY, a month after the first Empire Day, and still known as Imperator-class. The second ship of the class was Exactor, the personal ship of Darth Vader.

According to official records, over 25,000 were eventually procured. Many were destroyed in the fratricidal warfare that consumed the Empire after the death of Emperor Palpatine at Endor, while others defected or were captured.

Within sector-level and many regional-level fleets, the ISD served a central role, being the flagship of the unit known as the "Battle Squadron." It was also observed to operate more or less independently, far from support ships and facilities, like a cruiser.

Documented, but less established, was its role on higher levels. In some records, the ISD functioned as a support ship&mdash; chasing down corvettes and providing escort to Darth Vader's Executor. Arguably, in large-scale operations, it was best suited as a support ship&mdash; at the Battle of Hoth, the Rebellion's heavy ion cannon (powered by the reactor of a Star Battlecruiser) was able to easily overwhelm a Star Destroyer's shield and disable the ship. At the Battle of Endor, at least one ship had an intermediary size between large Star Dreadnought classes like Executor and medium-sized classes like Imperial.



Some sources showed many classes bigger in size than Imperial, which served in conjunction with the class as part of large task forces: In 3 ABY, Captain Plikk commanded a fleet consisting of Star Destroyer-class battlecruisers and smaller Imperial-class destroyers.

Later on in the same year, during the transportation of the Teezl creature from the Outer Rim Territories to Coruscant, Imperial-class Star Destroyers escorted a large battleship that was carrying it. Dark Jedi Jerec's flagship, Vengeance, was escorted by several Imperial-class vessels in 5 ABY. Vessels of a similar size to Vengeance were also known to operate in the same time period.

In the New Republic era, the Imperial fleet gathering above Byss to swear allegiance to Palpatine's clone in 10 ABY, had Imperial-class destroyers in formation with larger vessels. The Super Star Destroyer Allegiance led a task force of Imperial-class ships and World Devastators during the First Battle of Dac. This was one of many fleets that struck out from the Core as part of Operation Shadow Hand. The operation saw a relatively heavy use of different types of Super Star Destroyers.

Most of these events pointed to a higher level of Fleet than Sectorial and Regional, with the versatile Imperial-class Star Destroyer serving literally as a destroyer and with bigger ships taking the role of cruisers, battlecruisers and battleships during large-scale operations. Several sources dealing with major shipyards (Kuat Drive Yards in particular) also mentioned different categories of warships larger than the Imperial-class, which were constructed for the Imperial Navy on a regular basis.

Foreign service
This particular class of vessel has seen extensive service in other navies, including that of the successor-state New Republic. The refits implemented by that government appeared to have involved deletion of the quadruple heavy trench guns, installation of proton torpedo launchers and use of a much smaller crew. The ability to embark planetary-assault soldiers appears to have been ignored as well (the Republic choosing to use dedicated troopships). Endurance was reduced from six years to six months; New Republic Defense Force doctrine operates ships on relatively short patrols before returning to base. The Hapan Cluster was able to seize some vessels when the Galactic Empire prepared to abandon their fleet yards near Hapan space.



Despite their stellar qualities, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, to many, was apparently too much of a symbol of Imperial might. The New Republic chose to procure Mon Calamari Star Cruisers instead; what few Imperial-class Star Destroyers they possessed may have been from defectors or captured. Descendants of the Victory-class Star Destroyer were procured in quantity; however, as the Victory was a symbol of the Galactic Republic's military machine, it may have been more politically acceptable.

Some New Republic Imperial I-class Star Destroyers, like Mon Mothma, would be refitted to include gravity well projectors.

Private service


One Star Destroyer operated in private hands, Errant Venture (ex-Virulence), captained by Booster Terrik. It was captured and claimed by Booster several years after the Battle of Endor but was in poor condition for many years owing to the great cost of maintaining such a large vessel. In addition, she was stripped of the vast majority of her armament: only ten (presumably light) 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. The most notable part of this refit was a deep red paint job instead of the classic Imperial white. While Captain Terrik was not permitted to keep all of his weapons after the operation, they were reinstated when the Yuuzhan Vong War occurred. During the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, she served as a temporary Jedi sanctuary and also as squadron flagship.

No other private Imperial-class Star Destroyers are known to have existed.

Behind the scenes

 * There has been some disagreement over the name of the class. Early material made by Geoffrey Mandel, now claimed to have been un-official, replicated most of the early production art, right down to an undersizing of the Star Destroyer model. The class-name Imperator was used for these drawings, with the ship being produced at the Gyndine shipyards. The ship is depicted as much smaller (on the order of 700 meters) than the ship shown in the movies, as many of the designs were greatly upscaled shortly before production began.


 * In older fan-debates, some argued that the intent was to have the ship (and class) named Imperator and that "Imperial"&mdash;being the adjective form of "Empire"&mdash;is a rather odd name for a ship. Others argued that the ~700 meter ship represented a distinct class and that Imperial is the true name&mdash; regardless of how silly it may sound&mdash; as it is used in many of the Expanded Universe books. Revenge of the Sith: Incredible Cross-Sections eventually put the debate to rest, by making it official that while the class was originally named Imperator, it was renamed Imperial at some point after the Great Jedi Purge.


 * Other sources would later on reference Imperator, including the novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader and the EU-section on the Venator-class Star Destroyer's.


 * The word Imperator is Latin and was used as a title for "An army commander in the Roman Republic". Later, during the Roman Empire, it became a title worn by the Emperors and signified "The supreme power of the Roman emperor".


 * Imperial-class Star Destroyers have featured prominently in many Star Wars computer games. However, they have generally been "toned-down" to allow the player some chance of defeating them with a starfighter.


 * Imperial-class Star Destroyers have sometimes been referred to as cruisers. This is most likely due to their ability to operate independently and not just as part of a group. Ships of this class have also been mentioned as battleships (and more specifically, "peacekeeping battleships"). This would presumably be because of limited conflicts where they were the largest combatants participating, especially during peacetime, as well as the fact that one Imperial constituted a line on its own. RotS:ICS also mention warships being "downscaled", thereby showing at least two separate classification systems being in use, one where the Imperial-class ships are destroyers and another where they are battleships.


 * Numerous Expanded Universe sources state that the Imperial I is armed with 60 identical turbolasers and 60 identical ion cannons. However, analysis of the Star Destroyer models used in the films shows that this is a flawed description. The Star Wars: Incredible Cross Sections factbook followed the movie model more closely, describing three twin-barreled heavy turbolasers and one ion cannon on each side of the command tower, one quad-laser cannon in each side trench, three cannons in front of the terrace superstructure, and numerous smaller guns lining each trench, as well as several tractor beams located inside the vessel.

Appearances



 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Empire
 * Star Wars: X-wing
 * Star Wars: Rebel Assault
 * Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire
 * Star Wars: Ewoks
 * "Battle for the Sunstar"
 * Routine
 * Prey
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * Trooper
 * Marvel Star Wars
 * The Star Wars Holiday Special
 * Star Wars Rebellion 0: Crossroads
 * Star Wars Rebellion: My Brother, My Enemy
 * ''Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
 * ''Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * Star Wars: Empire at War
 * Star Wars: Force Commander
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: TIE Fighter
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * X-wing series
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
 * Tatooine Ghost
 * Thrawn Trilogy
 * Dark Empire
 * Crimson Empire
 * Jedi Academy Trilogy
 * I, Jedi
 * Darksaber
 * The Hand of Thrawn Duology
 * New Jedi Order