Imperial Star Destroyer

The Imperial I-class Star Destroyer (also known simply as a Star Destroyer or Imperial Cruiser) were a fleet of warships used by the Galactic Empire in the original Star Wars franchise.

They are most notable for their massive size and overwhelming fire power, capable of overpowering enemy ships forcing them to either surrender or be destroyed with no alternatives. At 1,600 meters (5,200 ft) long, Imperial Star Destroyers were armed with turbolasers, ion cannons and tractor beam projectors. They could carry over a fleet of Imperial TIE Fighters and numerous ground forces, such as Stormtroopers, Walkers and Shuttles.

Description
The Emprie's awesome wedge-shaped Imperial-class Star Destroyers formed the core of the Imperial Navy. True marvels of starship engineering, Star Destroyers were 1,600 meters and had over one hundred weapon emplacements for deep space combat.

The ship class began life as the Imperator-class Star Destroyer, introduced in limited numbers by the Galactic Republic in the last months of the Clone Wars. Upon Imperialization, the Imperator widely replaced the older Venator-class Star Destroyer that had been the Republic's prime capitol ship during the Clone Wars.

The mere presence of such a vessel in orbit was often enough to quell uprisings on Rebel sympathetic worlds, and Star Destroyer commanders could engage whole Rebel fleets and still expect victory.

Standard Imperial Star Destroyers had sixty turbolasers for ship-to-ship combat and planetary assault. A Star Destroyer's sixty ion cannons are used to disable enemy ships in preparation for boarding. The Star Destroyer's superstructure featured an immense command tower housing essential systems, computer controls and the bridge. The command tower was topped by a pair of deflector shield generator domes.

Star Destroyers had two ventral landing bays. The aft docking bay-the main launch and landing bay for shuttles, support and cargo ships, and TIE Fighters. It connected to forward interior bays and storage sections, all of which connect to immense lift shafts. Ahead of the storage sections was the forward launch bay.

The forward launch bay was used primarily to deploy assault shuttles, walker landing barges and ground force vehicles; it also could serve as an auxiliary launch or landing bay for TIE Fighters if the main docking bay was disabled.

Star Destroyers carried planetary assault teams, with landing barges, drop ships, twenty AT-AT walkers, thirty AT-ST scout walkers, and 9,700 ground troops. For a long-term planetary occupation, the Destroyer could deploy a prefabricated garrison base with eight hundred troops, ten AT-ATs, ten AT-STs, and forty TIE Fighters. Full planetary invasions often required a full fleet, normally six Destroyers, heavy and light cruisers and carrier ships.

After the Empire's defeat, Imperial I-Class Star Destroyers were utilized alongside more advanced models such as the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer by the First Order.

External LAinks

 * Imperial-class Star Destroyer on Wookieepedia