Entry: 124
Subject: Imperator-class Star Destroyer
Status: Canon
Capsule:
Prepare to crap your pants.
The Imperator-class was the brainchild of Lira Wessex, that amazing female mind who also designed the Venator-class as well as the later Executor-class. At the time of it's inception, the Clone Wars was raging on, and the Republic was in need of an all-around warship, the could complement the battle-orientated Victories her father designed, as well as the more carrier-capable ships that were the Venator and Acclamator.
The result was 1,600 meters of raw kick-a**.
Each ship cost 3.88 billion credits, more than most star systems revenued in an entire year. She was powered by three KDY Destroyer-I Ion engines, as well as four smaller Cygnus Spaceworks Gemon-4 Ion engines. Hyperdrive was Class 2, with a Back-Up Class 8. Top speed: 60 MGLT, with 2,300 Gs of acceleration.
The ship was powered by a massive SFS I-a2b Solar Ionization Reactor. It's peak output was 7,730,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, made from annihilating several thousand tons of hypermatter fuel.
Crew requirements were enormous: 275 Gunners, 144 Pilots, a Stormtrooper division of 9,700 men, some 2,350 ship officers, 6,885 enlisted officers, the other 27,850 as ship crew and enlisted soldiers.
Cargo space was as impressive as the rest of the ship. On top of carrying 6 years worth of air, food, and water, it also had room for 36,000 tons of miscellaneous cargo.
In the Clone Wars, these ships carried Republic-era fighters and ships. By the New Order, however, they began to use the new TIE-series. Each ship came with a full Imperial Wing, 72 ships divided into 6 squadrons of 12. By 0 ABY, these included four TIE/In Squadrons, one TIE/Interceptor squadron, and one TIE/sa Bomber Squadron. In addition to this, she also came with:
12 TIE boarding craft
8 Lambda-class shuttles
15 Delta-class Stromtrooper transports
1 Gamma-assault shuttle,
A number of Theta-class AT-AT barges
12 Sentinel-class landing craft
5 Assault Gunboats
Various Repair/Recovery Vehicles
And a number of Skipray Blastboats
Communication was a HoloNet tranceiver, found standard on every ship, and working along with the deflector shields.
Each Destroyer also carried a number of vehicles for ground action. They were usually outfitted with whatever vehicles were needed for a conflict or operation, but standard they came with:
20 AT-AT Walkers
20 AT-ST Walkers
Additional, optional vehicles included:
2-M Saber-class Repulsor Tank
74-Z Speeder Bikes
AT-AA
Imperial Probe Droids
HAVT A6 Juggernaut
PX-4 Mobile Command Base
PX-7 Troop Transport
TIE-ap1
The ships carried two hangars. The largest was located beneath the ship, and featured massive doors that could close during combat, and was also responsible for launching ground troops and starfighters. The smaller shuttle was located near the bridge, about midway down, and served as a shuttle launch-point, as well as a return hangar for starfighters.
The bridge itself was a tower, located torward the back of the ship, and protruding from the body. It featured a centrally, heavily defended command deck, as well as the aforementioned back-up hangar.
The ships were impressively armed as well:
6 Dual Heavy Turbolasers
2 Dual Heavy Ion cannon Turrents
2 Quad Heavy Turbolasers
3 Triple Medium Turbolasers
2 Medium Turbolasers
60 Taim & Bak XX-9 Heavy turbolasers
60 Borstel NK-7 Ion Cannons
10 Phylon Q7 Tractor Beams
And to top it all off, each Destroyer comes with a pre-Fabricated base, that can be set up on planets that require a lasting Imperial presence.
At 1,600 meters, the Imperator class was the largest vessel made during the Clone Wars that saw full scale production. By the end of the war, the vessels were replacing the older, smaller ships used by the now-Imperial Navy, and within a few short years, formed the bulk and entirety of the fleet.
Each ship was led by a Captain, usually referred to as a Captain of the Line. In fact, in the Imperial Order of Battle, ISDs were considered Lines in themselves, operating often individually within the 24-destroyer groups that made up the local Sector Fleet.
But the ship wasn't all about destruction. They came equipped with enough room for all of the crew to live in relative comfort, as well as having entertainment. The ships were described as floating cities, including areas for leisure and even fine dining. These were thus the choice ship for travelling dignitaries and important personnel, and each ship came with an executive suite, which was usually reserved for the highest ranking official.
In total, between this and the later Imperial II-class, the Empire made 25,500 of these ships. Following the Galactic Civil War, most of these vessels were either destroyed in battle, or defected to the New Republic / Galactic Alliance.
They were succeeded by the Imperial-II class Star Destroyer, and served as the building block for the Interdictor Star Destroyer as well as the Tector-class Star Destroyer.
