Star Destroyer/Legends



Star Destroyer was the term used to describe a certain type of large capital ship used by the Galactic Republic, the Galactic Empire, and the New Republic.

Although Star Destroyers dwarfed the heavy cruisers at the top of the Galactic Republic's standard warship scale, they were not as big as large Star Cruisers.

History
Lira Wessex, Imperial engineer, built her work on the shoulders of giants. Her father, Walex Blissex, had developed the venerable Victory-class Star Destroyer for the Republic, as well as numerous other starcraft designs. From these, Wessex proposed the Imperial-class design, a proposal that was debated at great lengths within the Empire's elite ranks. Wessex proved the nay-sayers wrong when the first Imperial-class Star Destroyer lumbered from the sprawling Kuat Drive Yards drydocks. The resulting ship is a marvel of technology, and testament to the Empire's might.

The triangular silhouette of an Imperial cruiser has come a long way since its Republic-inspired design. While vessels of the Jedi order were met with feelings of pride and relief as they came soaring to solve galactic strife, the Imperial Star Destroyer's gargantuan size cleary inspires both awe and terror. The wedge-shaped capital ship is bristling with weapons emplacements. Turbolasers and tractor beam projectors dot its surface. Its ventral bay can launch TIE fighters, boarding craft, land assault units, hyperspace probes, or be used to hold captured craft. Its bustling bridge is staffed by the finest crewers in the Imperial starfleet.

The Star Destroyer is recognized as the signature vessel of the Imperial fleet. Its presence in a system marks matters of extreme Imperial import. Though, as is typical of the Empire, not even the Star Destroyer was enough to sate the Imperial hunger for displays of power. Larger vessels, such as the Super Star Destroyer, dwarf even these giants.

Star Destroyers were most well known for their service in the Imperial Navy. The Empire's Star Destroyers bore a distinctive dagger-shape which came to be associated with the ship type. Other dagger-shaped ships, such as the Immobilizer 418 cruiser, have been described as resembling small Star Destroyers. Larger Star Cruisers and Star Dreadnoughts were referred to in slang as "Super Star Destroyers", likely because they also shared the dagger shape of Star Destroyers. The New Republic also adopted the dagger-shape in their later Star Destroyer designs. However, it should be noted that not all Star Destroyers adhere to the dagger aesthetic.

While Star Destroyers were the heaviest combatants in many fleets composed of standard cruisers and frigates, they perform an escort role when in the presence of larger warships such as the Empire's Executor-class Star Dreadnought or the battleships found in Galactic Republic armadas.

Additionally, a distant technological relative of the Star Destroyer existed in the service of the old Galactic Republic, and later, the Sith Empire, 4000 years prior to the Battle of Yavin. It appears the Republic abandoned the design after Malachor V, where they fell into Sith hands. Examples of these ships include Leviathan and Ravager.

The Galactic Republic's Star Destroyer-predecessors, the Acclamator I-class (which first saw action at the Battle of Geonosis) and Acclamator II-class assault ships, are not considered Star Destroyers.

The Venator, Imperial, Executor, Tector, Eclipse,and Sovereign designs were produced by Kuat Drive Yards, mostly at Kuat, but also at countless other facilities around the Galaxy. The Victory and Republic designs were produced by Rendili StarDrive, and the Nebula design was produced by the Republic Engineering Corporation.

Capacity
The Imperial-class Star Destroyer bristles with 60 turbolaser batteries, 60 ion cannon batteries, and 10 tractor beam projectors. It carries a full stormtrooper division, 20 AT-ATs, 30 AT-STs, eight Lambda-class shuttles, 12 landing barges, and six TIE squadrons.

Since its introduction, an improved model of Star Destroyer also saw action. The Imperial-II Star Destroyer is an upgraded model with increased hull shielding, and more weapons, sporting 100 turbolaser emplacements, 20 ion cannons, and 10 tractor beam projectors.

Star Destroyer classes
In rough chronological order, the following designs of Star Destroyers were produced:


 * The Victory I-class Star Destroyer
 * The Venator-class Star Destroyer
 * The Victory II-class Star Destroyer
 * The Imperial I-class Star Destroyer (formerly known as the Imperator-class)
 * The Tector-class Star Destroyer
 * The Star Destroyer Demolisher, classname unknown
 * The battlecruiser stolen by Crimson Jack, class name unknown
 * The battlecruisers used by General Tagge, class names unknown
 * The Star-Destroyer-class battlecruiser
 * The second battlecruiser commanded by Captain Wermis, class name unknown
 * The Imperial II-class Star Destroyer
 * The Executor-class Star Dreadnought (also known as the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer)
 * The battleship commanded by Admiral Giel, classname unknown
 * The Interdictor Star Destroyer
 * The Gauntlet-class Star Cruiser
 * The Super Star Destroyer Vengeance, class name unknown
 * The Sovereign-class Star Destroyer (also known as the Sovereign-class Star Dreadnought)
 * The Eclipse-class Star Destroyer (also known as the Eclipse-class Star Dreadnought)
 * The Republic-class Star Destroyer
 * The Bakura-class Star Destroyer
 * The Nebula-class Star Destroyer (More commonly known as the Defender-class)
 * The Rejuvenator-class Star Destroyer
 * The Chiss Star Destroyer

In addition, Kuat Drive Yards produced several designs with the dagger aesthetic prior to the outbreak of the Clone Wars, but many of these ships lacked the range for any operations outside sector defense. Some examples include:
 * Praetor-class Star Battlecruiser
 * Procurator-class Star Battlecruiser
 * Mandator I-class Star Dreadnought
 * Mandator II-class Star Dreadnought

Behind the scenes

 * On the commentary track of the Revenge of the Sith DVD, George Lucas referred to General Grievous' ship, a Providence-class carrier/destroyer, as a "Star Destroyer". This might mean that the term "Star Destroyer" is not supposed to be restricted to dagger-shaped warships, which fits with the existence of the Bakura-class.


 * Interestingly enough, the term "Star Destroyer" is used both for different classes of destroyers and as a general term for most dagger-shaped warships in use by the Empire, from smaller frigates like Demolisher to giant dreadnoughts like Executor and Eclipse. This has created some confusion, as many sources often do not specify what kind of warship they are talking about, other than writing "Star Destroyer" or "Imperial Star Destroyer". Since many stories have historically focused on the mile-long Imperial-class, it is used as a default reference unless stated otherwise.


 * In the script for A New Hope, the term "Imperial Cruiser" was largely synonymous with Star Destroyer, which is never said aloud until The Empire Strikes Back. In early draft scripts, the term Stardestroyer (as a compound word) described tiny two-man fighter craft used by the Empire.
 * For A New Hope, ILM used a single Star Destroyer model for all the required shots in the film. Ironically, the model of the Devastator, Darth Vader's ship, was smaller than the Rebel blockade runner it was chasing. This 91-centimeter long miniature sported a distinctive X-shaped structure on its command bridge, which subsequent publications identified as an advanced tractor beam grid.


 * Since the Star Destroyer would be heavily featured in The Empire Strikes Backs, ILM redid the model from scratch, this time bumping up its size to an impressive 259 centimeters in length. This model was much more detailed, and featured internal lights to give it a greater sense of scale.


 * Episode II reveals that the Imperial Star Destroyer's wedge-shaped design was born out of Republic-era vessels, such as those used by the Jedi Knights.

Appearances

 * Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241 (Star Wars Insider 84)