A Star Destroyer is any of a broad type of fictional starship from the Star Wars universe. These ships are generally quite large ships-of-the-line following a dagger aesthetic and usually serving in the Imperial Starfleet of the Galactic Empire. The term Star Destroyer also designates some of these vessels as belonging to a class of destroyer in the sense of the classic naval role. Under this definition, Star Destroyer follows the nomenclature of Star Frigates, Star Cruisers, Star Battlecruisers, and Star Dreadnoughts.
Evolution
Acclamator-class assault transport
While not a Star Destroyer itself, the 752 meter long Acclamator-class assault ship is the direct predecessor of later destroyers. At the height of the Clone Wars, each of these ships carried over sixteen thousand Galactic Republic Clonetroopers into battle. The craft possessed heavy armaments for the time including 12 quadruple turbolaser emplacements (each rated at 200 gigatons) and can also serve as Star Frigates to support their landing groups. Eighty LAAT gunships were carried to insert personnel or cargo to a battlezone. The ship was first deployed at the Battle of Geonosis and saw many battles in both the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War.
There appears to have been several variants of the Acclamator dedicated for space combat rather than planetary assault. One example may the Rand Ecliptic, which had two docking bays that had openings on both port and starboard. There was no large downward-facing hanger bay as seen on the Acclamator, but there were large retractable loading ramps in order for the clonetroopers to board.
Victory
The Victory-class Star Destroyer, was designed by Rendilli Stardrive to compete with Kuat Drive Yards and the successful Acclamator long-range military assault transport. They were the most powerful medium combatants of the Galactic Republic's military machine during the Clone Wars. The Republic and fledgling Empire bought them and their competitor, KDY's Venator-class Star Destroyer, in great numbers.
Ships of the class are 900 meters long and possess two primary ion drives for sublight propulsion. However, they are somewhat sluggish spacecraft and even later refits never really fixed that design flaw. The first flight of ships was capable of independent flight in atmosphere; in one of the most infamous examples of this capability, then-Moff Tarkin landed his vessel on a crowd of protestors. The second flight was not capable of atmospheric transit.
The Victory-I subclass included eighty concussion missile silos; the Victory-II subclass deleted them. All ships carried two squadrons of starfighters. Presumably there are heavy weapons turrets flanking the command tower but they have never been explicitly shown in the official literature.
With the rise of the Empire, the Victory was replaced in general service by the Imperator-class Star Destroyer, a much more capable design. Many Victory-class ships were sold off (many to the Corporate Sector) or decomissioned. After the end of the civil war, as the Imperator-class destroyer was seen by some in the New Republic government as too much a reminder of the Empire, under Mon Mothma, the New Republic concentrated on developing new ships based on the Victory-class design - which was seen as more of a product of the Old Republic that preceded the Empire. The design lineage lives on in the Republic and Defender (also known as Nebula) Star Destroyers in service with the New Republic.
One notable feature of the Victory-class is that it is one of the largest ships capable of operating effectively in the atmosphere of a planet. This gives it an advantage over its larger cousins in planetary assault scenarios, where it can be used to provide close-support for ground forces, and to intimidate the enemy. This advantage, however, did not prevent it from being phased out and replaced by new classes as the main warship of the Empire, but it did ensure that the Victory was often assigned to invasion or policing fleets to make use of this ability.
Venator
The Venator-class Star Destroyer was born from the success of the Acclamator-class assault transport and the Victory-class Star Destroyer. While the Acclamator was primarily an armed troop transport and the Victory was a jack-of-all-trades, the Venator was primarily a starfighter carrier. The Venator-class carried upwards of 400 starfighters in its large hangar bays, a feature phased out of successor destroyer designs in favor of heavier weapons on the ships themselves. Standard fighter complement was 192 V-Wing starfighters, 192 Eta-2 Actis Interceptors, and 36 ARC-170 starfighters. 40 LAAT/i gunships and 24 AT-TE walkers were carried for ground operations. Combined with its fighters, the Venator's powerful engines, strong deflector shields and armament consisting of 8 heavy turbolaser turrets, 2 medium dual turbolaser cannons, 52 point-defense laser cannons, and 4 heavy proton torpedo tubes made it one of the most powerful and fearsome medium warships of the time. The Venator-class destroyer was 1,137 meters long and carried a crew of 7,400.
Venator-class Star Destroyers were deployed in a number of battles during the Clone Wars, most notably during the Battle of Coruscant when upwards of a thousand of the ships helped protect the capital. As the Galactic Republic transformed into the Galactic Empire, the Venator—because of several design flaws—was phased out in favor of the newer Imperator-class Star Destroyer, a warship even more deadly than the Venator.
The name, Venator, comes from Latin and translates to "Hunter" and "Skirmisher".
Imperator
Imperator-class Star Destroyer
The Imperator-class Star Destroyer is the definitive class of Star Destroyer and was one of the most important symbols of the Galactic Empire. The class was originally commissioned as Imperator but was changed to Imperial for political reasons at some point after the Great Jedi Purge. There has been considerable debate on the internet between some Star Wars fans over the years as to which name is more correct.
All known variants are 1,600 meters long (approximately one mile) and have three large and four small engines capable of accelerating the ship with a force of several thousand g. Imperator-class destroyers have a complement of at least 37000 officers and crew. Counting the stormtrooper complement (one "division" or "legion", 9700 men) would total 46700. This would include a stormtrooper detachment, fighter pilots, and support craft pilots. As the ships entered New Republic service, the crews were reduced by 8000, to about 28000 men.
From film canon and model observations, the first flight of ships (generally known as the Imperator-I or Imperial-I) possessed a main battery of 12 heavy turbolasers and 4 heavy ion cannon for disabling enemy warships. Those heavy guns were set in twin mounts flanking the tower structure. The second flight of ships (generally known as the Imperator-II or Imperial-II) possessed a main battery of 64 heavy turbolasers in eight octuple mounts flanking the tower structure. Furthermore, each brim notch in the trench could be fitted with a quadruple heavy turbolaser. Numerous smaller 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. Several examples have been explicitly equipped with proton torpedoes, most notably NRS Emancipator (ex-HIMS Accusor) and HIMS Chimaera. However, it is not known whether or not they are refit additions or not. The Star Destroyer's weapons are designed to make the vessel a long range assault ship. Many of the weapons systems are not very capable of targeting at point-blank range, a weakness exploited by the Rebel fleet at the Battle of Endor.
Each ship carried a wing of 72 Imperial TIE starfighters, generally 48 TIE fighters, 12 TIE interceptors, and 12 TIE bombers. At least one ship, NRS Rebel Dream, featured an enlarged hangar bay, but it is unknown if a greater number of fighters were carried. Several thousand troops were also stationed aboard along with a prefabricated base for rapid subjugation of rebellious territories. The ships also carried massive war vehicles like 20 AT-ATs and 30 AT-ST walkers. According to sources from the Expanded Universe, the Imperial Star Destroyer also carried support craft and dropships such as the Y85 Titan Dropship and the Sentinel-class Shuttle. The ship could also use TIE Fighters and orbital bombardment to support any surface action.
Imperator-class Star Destroyers had a distinguished career in the Imperial Starfleet, where they symbolized the Empire's military might (for better or worse). Their name was Latin for "Commander-in-chief" and "Emperor", signifying their important position within the New Order.
According to official literature, at least 24,000 were procured, with some fan speculation that the proper number should be at least an order of magnitude higher. 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 depicted in most of the Extended Universe, the ISD serves a central role, being the flagship of the unit known as the "Battle Squadron." It has also been observed to operate more or less independently. More controversial is the its role on higher levels. In the classic trilogy as well as in several comics, the ISD was shown to be a mere support ship— chasing down corvettes and providing escort to Darth Vader's Executor. Arguably it is only fit to be a support ship— in The Empire Strikes Back the Rebellion's heavy ion cannon was able to easily overwhelm a Star Destroyer's shield and disable the ship. At the Battle of Endor, at least one ship was an intermediary between dreadnoughts like Executor and lesser ships like Imperator. Further information in the Expanded Universe (especially Dark Empire) also indicates the existence of many ships larger than Imperator yet smaller than Executor.
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 in Hapan space.
Despite their stellar qualities, the Imperator-class, 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 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 Old Republic's military machine it may have been more politically acceptable.
One Star Destroyer of this class operates in private hands, the Errant Venture (ex-HIMS Virulence), captained by Booster Terrik. It was captured 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 invasion occurred. During the Vong invasion, she served as a temporary Jedi sanctuary and also as squadron flagship. No other private Star Destroyers are known to exist.
Tector
A Tector-class Star Destroyer was seen during the Battle of Endor. The Tector-class destroyer is based on the Imperator-class hull, lacking the ventral hangar bay and visible reactor-bulb. It is a dedicated fleet destroyer, and not a destroyer/carrier hybrid like the Imperator. The Falcon can be seen flying over this shipīs belly in a scene in Return of the Jedi, also showing the only clear example of a capital ship being upside-down, relative to nearby ships, in a Star Wars movie.
The name, Tector, refers to "a cavalry trooper equipped with large shield", befitting a warship with extra armor.
Republic
The Republic-class Star Destroyer was designed and built by Rendilli Stardrive for the New Republic as a lower-cost destroyer. She only required a fifth the crew, yet had firepower twenty percent greater than that of an Imperator. In addition, she was only half the cost and two Republics could defeat a single ISD. Fighter complement remained similar at six squadrons. However, the design almost certainly had much inferior endurance (perhaps as little as six months, compared to six years on the Imperator) and the extensive ground-assault complement of the Imperator was probably eliminated. The design had much more in common with the Victory-class Star Destroyer than the Imperator.
Nebula
The Nebula-class Star Destroyer (also known as the Defender-class Star Destroyer) was designed as a relatively low-cost line warship for the New Republic. Like its predecessors the Republic and Victory, the Nebula was designed by Rendilli Stardrive.
Unlike most Star Destroyers, the Defender deletes the large dorsal superstructure that had exemplified the design of most major warships for decades; instead, it had what appeared to be a small navigation bridge thus making the lines much smoother. In addition, the firepower was considered equal to that of the Imperator-class Star Destroyer; fighter complement consisted of one wing. Like most New Republic designs, the Nebula probably had endurance on the order of six months and virtually no ability to land troops.
"Super Star Destroyers"
The term "Super Star Destroyer", often abbreviated SSD, is sometimes used to refer to any ship in the Galactic Empire's Starfleet using the wedge/dagger design aesthetic which is larger than the 1,600m long Imperator-class. The term is commonly used specifically as a name for the Executor-class Star Dreadnought.
Procurator
Battlecruisers of this kind were stated to be part of the Kuat Sector Defense Fleet at the start of the Clone Wars, according to the AOTC Incredible Cross-Sections factbook. A Procuratorīs reactor was large enough to be visible from outside the hull, protruding with a ventral bulb.
Its name bore several meanings, including "[a viceroy]; under the empire, [a financial agent or under-governor]." This could indicate the Procurators were used as command ships for smaller fleets.
Praetor
Some of the reactor equipment used to power Echo Base on the planet Hoth, was scavenged from a Star Battlecruiser of this class. It was stated in the Inside the Worlds of the Original Trilogy factbook that this equipment was larger and more powerful than similar equipment taken from a Star Destroyer which was used to help power the Yavin Base on Yavin IV, thus indicating a much more powerful class of warship.
Itīs name held several meanings possibly hinting at itīs role(s): A) "Senior Roman magistrate. During republic, commander of minor military forces." B) "Commander of allied contingent." Like the Procurator, it could have had a command role for smaller space forces.
Mandator
These massive dreadnoughts helped form the Kuat Sector Defense Fleet, working alongside Procurator-class Star Battlecruisers. (According to the AOTC ICS book.)
The Mandator main reactor was large enough to have a ventral bulb protruding from the "belly" of the ship, differentiating it from the smaller Acclamator-class Assault Transports. There is known to be a Mandator-class Mark II model developed for the Republic Starfleet by the time of the Battle of Coruscant. It was powerful enough to be challenged only by 1,000 of the Confederacy's Recusant-class light destroyers.
Since the Executor-class was said to be the largest ships at the time of Hoth, it can be implied that the Mandators were slightly smaller.
Itīs name comes from the Latin word Mandatum, which means "command" or "order", and that would give this class a command-role similar to the Executor.
Executor
For some years, official literature placed curiously few weapons on ships of the Executor's class: only 250 turbolaser batteries, 250 heavy turbolaser batteries, 250 ion cannons, and 250 concussion missile silos. Some of the later versions also have 40 tractor beam emplacements. 144 starfighters (2 wings) were said to be carried.
Early Star Wars literature and game stats described the class as being 8,000 meters long -- the weaponry listed as average for that length if not surface area. This is in direct contradiction with the films themselves, which consistently show the Executor to be eleven times as long as accompanying 1,600 m long Star Destroyers or about 17,600 m. Volumetric and surface-area considerations imply a much greater number of weapons than the amount earlier stated, perhaps by an order of magnitude. Similarly, these sources state there are only 144 starfighters despite having an enormous hangar bay; stills from the movie reveal that the Executor's hangar bay could have easily contained an entire Star Destroyer.
It is theoretically possible to convert the older statistics to accomodate the 17,600 m figure through the use of simple scaling principles. For example, older statistics say that the Executor had a crew of over 250,000 personnel. However, if the crew density were to remain the same between the 8,000 m and 17,600 m versions, the crew compliment would likely be in the order of 2.6 million.
Newer source material indicates that the Executor carries over 5,000 turbolasers, ion cannons, and many wings of starfighters - an exact number of wings is not indicated. The number of lesser weaponry such as point-defense laser cannon and missile weaponry have not been published. Two prefabricated garrison bases are also stored onboard for rapid deployment. Her shields are said to be able to dissipate power output equal to a medium-sized star; in one comic, the shields are shown to protect the Executor from colliding with three Star Destroyers as they left hyperspace at relativistic speed.
Despite its immense firepower, the ship was designed first and foremost as a mobile command and control center. Some sources have suggested that she may be a large battlecruiser.
List of Executor-class ships
There are many Executor-class ships in the Expanded Universe canon. By the time of the Battle of Hoth, there were at least four Executor-class ships in operation with many more under construction; the exact number of ships of this class that were completed before the Battle of Endor is unknown. As there are so few known ships of the class, it is appropriate to list those that have appeared by name:
- Lusankya - This was the sister-ship of the Executor. Both ships were built at the same time at separate facilities, both under the name of Executor. When they were completed, one went on to become the ship seen in the movies, the other was renamed Lusankya and somehow ended up buried under the surface of Coruscant, capital of the Empire. Lusankya was given to Ysanne Isard, who used it to flee Coruscant after it was conquered by the New Republic. The ship was eventually captured by Wedge Antilles over Thyferra, and became a vessel in the New Republic's fleet. Under orders of Mon Mothma, Lusankya was decommissioned, but was reactivated some years before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. She was finally destroyed around 25 years after the Battle of Endor, when it was sent on a suicide mission to ram a Yuuzhan Vong Worldship. Some literature and official source material implies that this ship was of the postulated 8,000 meter class, rather than of the 17,600 meter Executor-class. There is an ongoing and often heated debate as to what length and class to ascribe to this vessel.
- Guardian - This ship was stationed in the Core regions and was flagship of Fleet Admiral Gaen Drommel, who (like many high-ranking Imperial officers) turned to warlordism after the death of Emperor Palpatine. Three years after the Battle of Endor the ship was severely damaged in battle with the nascent New Republic. She was captured by the New Republic some ten years later, apparently in poor condition and was eventually repaired. Guardian saw operational service in the Yuuzhan Vong invasion.
- Iron Fist - This ship was the flagship of Warlord Zsinj's fleet. It was the symbol of the warlord's power, and he used it to terrorize worlds into submission. Iron Fist was eventually destroyed over the planet Dathomir. Originally HIMS Brawl. Offical literature and source material implies that this ship was of the postulated 8,000 meter class, rather than of the 17,600 meter Executor-class. There is an ongoing and often heated debate as to what length and class to ascribe to this vessel.
- Razor's Kiss - Although it was built for the Empire by Kuat Drive Yards, this ship was never seen in service to the Empire. When it was nearly completed, a commando force sent by Warlord Zsinj took control of it, and began shooting their way out of the shipyards. When the ships stationed there moved to intercept it, Warlord Zsinj brought in his fleet led by another Executor-class ship, Iron Fist, to protect it until they jumped out of the system. Unfortunately for Zsinj, one of his commando force was a spy, who destroyed the shield generators and planted a program in the ships computers that told the New Republic's fleet where it escaped to. Razor's Kiss was destroyed by the New Republic before ever seeing a real battle. Offical literature and source material implies that this ship was of the postulated 8,000 meter class, rather than of the 17,600 meter Executor-class. There is an ongoing and often heated debate as to what length and class to ascribe to this vessel.
- Whelm - This ship was flagship of the Azure Hammer Command in Sector Zero, the Imperial Center Oversector, containing the capital of the Empire. Leading a fleet of fifty-seven capital ships, Whelm served as the personal flagship of Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik.
- Intimidator - Originally belonging to Black Sword Command together with two other anonymous "Super Star Destroyers," Intimidator would be pressed into service for the Duskhan League after the Yevethan revolt at the BLACK FIFTEEN shipyards over N'zoth as Pride of Yevetha. It was later reacquired by a revolt of the subjugated human crewmen. Intimidator eventually came to rest as a derelict somewhere between the galactic core and the Unknown Regions.
- Reaper - Originally the flagship of Grand Moff Governor Ardus Kaine, it was eventually acquired by Admiral Pelleaon after consolidating Kaine's former holdings into the Imperial remnant. Reaper was destroyed in combat with the New Republic. Offical literature and source material implies that this ship was of the postulated 8,000 meter class, rather than of the 17,600 meter Executor-class. There is an ongoing and often heated debate as to what length and class to ascribe to this vessel.
- Terror - The flagship of Admiral Sarn as part of PHANTOM Project at Immdar Alpha involving the mass-use of stygian crystal cloaking devices on V38 assault fighters. Rebel agents managed to use a single fighter to damage key components of HIMS Terror. The ship was destroyed, along with the Immdar Alpha facility and the majority of Project PHANTOM.
- Vengeance - Admiral Senn's flagship in the suppression of the lawless Airam sector. She was eventually destroyed by in a battle with out-gunned Rebel forces.
- Aggressor - Admiral Roek's flagship and stationed in the Inner Rim region prior to the Battle of Endor. Later it was recalled to Corellia to protect the Corellian Engineering Corporation shipyards. It is believed to have been destroyed during a fratricidal battle between warlord Imperial factions.
- Knight Hammer - Seeing the inefficiencies of the Emperor's heirs, Admiral Daala murdered most of the warlords who had risen to power after the fall of the Empire. Consolidating command over the remaining Imperial military, Daala took command of the Knight Hammer, which had been built in secret by one of the murdered warlords. This ship was outfitted with special stealth armor to reduce her sensor cross section. In an strike against Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy on Yavin 4, the Knight Hammer fell victim to sabotage and was subsequently destroyed when it was pulled into Yavin's gravity well. Offical literature and source material implies that this ship was of the postulated 8,000 meter class, rather than of the 17,600 meter Executor-class. There is an ongoing and often heated debate as to what length and class to ascribe to this vessel.
Limitations on the resources available to the Imperial Remnant ended production of ships larger than Vindicator-class ships until around the time of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, where one potentially Executor-class ship was commissioned in the Imperial Navy. This ship may be Defiant as seen in Force Heretic I: Remnant at the Battle of Borosk. The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels implies that following the end of the Galactic Civil War, a small number of Super Star Destroyers of unspecified class were brought back into Imperial hands by unreconstructed Imperial units and former ex-Imperial warlords.
Sovereign
The 15-kilometer-long Sovereign-class Star Dreadnoughts were to be the penultimate Imperial weapon, surpassed only by the Eclipse-class Star Dreadnought. The Sovereign is essentially a scaled-down version of the slightly larger Eclipse. It has fewer weapons, a slower hyperdrive, and carries a smaller complement of starfighters and crewers. Designed to instill fear, the Sovereign-class ships were equipped with an axial superlaser designed to devastate a world, penetrating even the strongest planetary shields. According to the West End Games RPG stats, the Sovereign-class boasted 500 heavy turbolaser cannons, 500 turbolaser batteries, 75 ion cannons, 100 tractor beam projectors, 5 gravity well projectors, and carried 605,745 crew.
Only four Sovereign-class Star Dreadnoughts were completed: Sovereign, Autarch, Heresiarch, and Despot. They all were captured or destroyed by the New Republic within a year.
Eclipse
The 16 kilometer long Eclipse-class Star Dreadnought was larger than the Sovereign-class ships and much more massive than the longer Executor-class Star Dreadnought. The first of this class, the Eclipse, became the reborn Emperor's flagship. It was supposedly one of the most heavily armed ships in the history of the Star Wars galaxy. It carried thousands of turbolaser and heavy turbolaser cannons. It also had powerful shields and heavy jet-black armor, making it difficult to destroy in space combat. The most important feature was a superlaser cannon located on the bow of the Eclipse. Although it was not as powerful as the superlaser on the Death Star, it was capable of blasting through a planetary shield and cracking a planet's crust. According to the WEG RPG stats, Eclipse carried 600 TIE Interceptors and 96 TIE Bombers, divided into 58 squadrons; for ground assault, it carried 150,000 Imperial Stormtroopers, 100 AT-ATs, and five prefabricated bases. The Eclipse was said to be crewed by over 700,000 personnel.
The power of the Eclipse's superlaser as described is self-contradictory. It has been described as 2/3rds the power of the Death Star's prime weapon. Such a weapon would be more than sufficient to destroy a planet, yet it was also stated that the Eclipse's superlaser was not powerful enough to destroy a planet. There is some speculation as to whether the 2/3rds number refers to the magnitude of the energy release as opposed to the total value; this would put the main weapon below the threshold necessary to destroy a planet.
The Eclipse was destroyed along with the reborn Emperor Palpatine when Luke Skywalker and his sister Princess Leia managed to disrupt the Emperor's control of a titanic Force Storm, a massive conflagration of Dark Side energy that he had summoned in order to wipe out the massed New Republic fleet. Afterwards, a second Eclipse-class ship was built, dubbed the Eclipse II. Above the planet Byss, R2-D2 took control of the Eclipse II's computers and then sent it on a collision course with the Galaxy Gun superweapon. The explosion destroyed both the Eclipse II and the Galaxy Gun. One last projectile was pulled by Byss' gravity and hit the planet, destroying it.
Other variants
At least one other class of dagger-shaped vessel other than Executor, Imperator and Tector was represented during the Battle of Endor. It was a large Star Cruiser of unknown class with multiple bridges in its command-tower, which was identified in the ROTJ novel as being an Imperial Communications Ship. According to the novel, it suffered heavy fire from a Mon Calamari Cruiser, which knocked out its shields and made it defenseless against a fighter onslaught. In the movie, its multi-bridged tower can be clearly seen in the center of one scene.
Han Soloīs comment in A New Hope about "outrunning Imperial ships, like the big, Corellian ships", could be extrapolated to hint at one or several large warship originating from the Corellian Engineering Corporation. In the old Marvel Star Wars comic, there were several issues depicting an Admiral Giel, whose command ship had a hammerhead-shaped bridge-section. The "hammerhead"-bridge is a trademark of the CEC, and can be seen on itīs Corellian Corvettes and Gunships. Another ship in the Admiralīs fleet looked like a carrier-version of his wedge-shaped command ship. These two designs could be connected to Soloīs on-screen dialog, but a "canon"-connection has not yet been made.
There is some speculation that there may be an 8,000m Super-class Star Cruiser similar in appearance to the 17,600m Executor-class Star Dreadnought, with a greatly reduced hangar and three thruster banks instead of Executorīs five. This is primarily to rationalize the many EU references to a 8,000 meter long "Super-class Super Star Destroyer".
Movie appearances
Imperator-class Star Destroyers were seen in all three movies of the original trilogy. The Star Dreadnought Executor was seen in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The Tector-class Star Destroyer and the Communications Ship were briefly seen in Return of the Jedi.
The Acclamator-class assault ship was seen in Attack of the Clones. The Venator-class Star Destroyer was seen in Revenge of the Sith.
Expanded Universe appearances
Star Destroyers of various other classes have been seen throughout Expanded Universe material, most notably in Dark Empire. All Executor-class ships listed after the Executor itself, had their origins in the Expanded Universe.
Computer game appearances
Star Destroyers have featured prominently in many Star Wars computer games, primarily as targets to be destroyed by starfighters, as in the X-Wing computer game series.
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