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- "I look at the state of the Empire and think, 'How many Super Star Destroyers could we have made with the resources we threw into Tarkin's folly?'"
- ―Grand General Cassio Tagge, referring to the Death Star
The Executor-class Star Dreadnought, also known as the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer, Super-class Star Destroyer or simply Super Star Destroyer, designed by Lira Wessex were some of the largest and most powerful Imperial starships ever created.[11] Along with other classes of massive Imperial capital ships,[12] they were also referred to as Super Star Destroyers,[11] although they were technically classified as Star Dreadnoughts. The most distinguished Super Star Destroyer was the Executor, flagship of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader.[3]
Description
A prototype Executor-class dreadnought under construction.
Vessels of the Executor-class Dreadnought line[3] measured at 19,000 meters in length,[1] and utilizing its thirteen Executor-50.x engines,[2] could reach speeds of 100 kilometers per hour. These starships were crewed by thousands,[1] and were outfitted with a class 1 hyperdrive, a titanium-reinforced hull, over 5,000 turbolaser and ion cannon batteries,[1] and concussion missile tubes.[3] A bridge deflector shield was also included as a layer of defense[13] and maintained a complement of thousands of starships[1] including TIE/ln space superiority starfighters, TIE/sa bombers, and TIE/IN interceptors. Vessels of the Executor-class also had at least one hangar bay[3] and escape pods.[9]
The Executor-class's bridge was 285 meters wide and contained shield generators, briefing rooms, and escape pods. However, it was relatively exposed, making it vulnerable to enemy attack.[12]
History
- "Can you imagine what the twenty-two I've saved would add to the Chimaera's defenses? Or the Firedrake's, or the new Star Dreadnought class Lord Vader's been pushing for?"
- ―Grand Admiral Balanhai Savit, to Grand Admiral Thrawn
The Eclipse bombards a planet.
The Executor-class Star Dreadnought, also known as the Super-class Star Destroyer,[4] was manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards during the reign of the Galactic Empire.[1] By the time of the skirmish against the Third Fleet, Darth Vader had been pushing for the class.[14] During its history, at least two prototypes were manufactured, including the Star Dreadnought Assault Prototype and the Star Dreadnought Command Prototype.[15]
The Executor was a well known Executor-class Star Dreadnought.
According to the Rebel Alliance's intelligence agency, more than a dozen Super Star Destroyers were made, including the Executor itself, the Annihilator, the Arbitrator, the Eclipse, and the Ravager. However, the true number remained a subject of debate, as Alliance analysts endeavored to make sense of Imperial propaganda and see through the black budgets designed to hide the scope of the Emperor Palpatine's secret weapons programs.[12] Darth Vader's flagship saw action at the Battle of Hoth and the Escape from Cloud City[16] before being destroyed at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY.[13]
In the months after the events of Endor, the New Republic, the successor government to the Alliance, destroyed five Super Star Destroyers, including the Arbitrator which accidentally jumped into a black hole due to erroneous hyperspace coordinates, and captured three more. The Annihilator, former flagship of Grand General Cassio Tagge, was captured by pirates and renamed Liberty's Misrule. The only known Super Star Destroyer, and so the only known Executor-class, to remain in Imperial hands was Grand Admiral Rae Sloane's flagship Ravager, which also served as the base for Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax.[8] In 5 ABY,[17] Sloane discovered evidence that the Emperor's command ship, the Super Star Destroyer Eclipse, had not been destroyed but had vanished from the official records.[8]
Dorsal view of the Executor
Following Sloane's disappearance during the attack on Chandrila, Fleet Admiral Rax formally took command of the Ravager as Counselor to the Empire. The Ravager then rendezvoused with a large Imperial armada on the barren planet of Jakku for a showdown with the New Republic.[8] The Ravager was lost in the battle when one of the New Republic's Starhawk-class battleships pulled it into Jakku's gravity well with its ultra-powerful tractor beam, causing the massive capital ship to crash in the sands of the desert planet.[12]
Appearances
Non-canon appearances
LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures – "Duel of Destiny"- LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures – "Return to the Wheel"
- LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures – "Free Fall"
- LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures – "Return of the Return of the Jedi"
- LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales – "Flight of the Falcon"
- LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Sources
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles
- ↑ 2.0 2.1
Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 27 (Starship Fact File: Super Star Destroyer — Executor)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
- ↑ Star Wars: Armada – Super Star Destroyer Expansion Pack (Card: Executor I-class Star Dreadnought)
- ↑ Star Wars: Armada – Super Star Destroyer Expansion Pack (Card: Executor II-class Star Dreadnought)
- ↑ Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Aftermath: Life Debt
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Aftermath: Empire's End
- ↑ Darth Vader (2015) 2
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Super Star Destroyer in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Star Wars: Complete Locations
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Thrawn: Treason
- ↑ Executor Arrives on Fantasy Flight Games' official website (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates the Battle of Endor to 4 ABY and further dates Shara Bey and Kes Dameron's move to Yavin 4 in 5 ABY. The move is placed six months after the Battle of Endor by Before the Awakening. Since Aftermath: Life Debt is set just after Shadow Fall, which takes place around six months after the battle, the events of Life Debt must also occur in 5 ABY, around six months after the Battle of Endor.
