A Super Star Destroyer (or Star Dreadnought), sometimes abbreviated SSD, is a fictional type of starship from the Star Wars science fiction universe. The name refers to any ship in the Galactic Empire's Star Destroyer school of design which is larger than the 1,600m long Imperial-class. Darth Vader's command ship, the Star Dreadnought¹ Executor, lead ship of her class, was the only such vessel featured in the movies. It was involved in the siege of Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, and the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi. The ship was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance during the Battle of Endor, colliding with the second Death Star after its bridge was destroyed by a crashing A-wing fighter.

The miniature Executor used in filming was 2.83 metres long (9 1/4 feet).

Contents

1 Specifications 2 Sensor domes 3 Main Bridge 4 Other Super Star Destroyers 5 References

Specifications

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 were said to be carried. While her firepower was unmatched until the introduction of Eclipse- and Sovereign-class Star Dreadnoughts, volumetric and surface-area considerations imply a much greater number of weapons, perhaps by an order of magnitude. Similarly, there are very few starfighters despite having an enormous hangar bay. This may be because some literature places it as being 8,000m long -- the weaponry listed as average for that length if not surface area. Visual evidence from the model and the movies demonstrate that the ship is supposed to be 17,600m long. The ship carried a crew of over 250,000 personnel.

There is some speculation that there is an 8,000m Super-class Star Cruiser similar in appearance to the 17,600m Executor-class Star Dreadnought, with three thruster banks instead of Executor's five.

Newer source material indicates that the Executor carries over 5000 turbolasers, ion cannons, and wings of starfighters (how many wings is not indicated, but it would be 144 starfighters at minimum, or two wings). 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.

Sensor domes

The geodesic domes located on and around the Executor's bridge tower (similar to Star Destroyers) serve dual purposes. Inside the dome are hyperwave tranceiver coils for supralight active sensors while vanes jutting out of the dome serve as shield projectors for the surrounding area. These domes are not vulnerable to external attack so long as the shield remains intact, but concentrated bombardment -- such as that ordered by Admiral Ackbar during the Battle of Endor -- can knock out this protective field. The sensors and shield projectors thus become vulnerable to attack, as demonstrated by Rebel starfighter pilots.

There are many such geodesic domes scattered around the ship, probably to ensure that there are no blind spots for her sensors and to provide a good distribution of shield projector coverage. Concentrated fire on a single area would thus not deprive the ship of all her shield-generating ability.

When the Executor's sensor dome exploded during the Battle of Endor, a crewman said that the shields are down. Most people attributed this to the dome being destroyed, but the causal relationship is the other way around—the dome exploded because the shields went down.

Main Bridge

The bridge of the Executor has the same basic layout as standard Star Destroyers. The outer-most part features nine triangular viewports. The center contains two crewpits which house the control consoles for the ship, between which is the command walkway. To the right and left sides of the bridge are two alcoves containing the weapons and defense stations. Behind the bridge are the communications stations, a turbolift, and a HoloNet pod for ship-to-ship communications.

On the level directly beneath the bridge is the main navigation complex.

Other Super Star Destroyers

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 several more under construction; the exact number of ships of this class that were completed before the Battle of Endor is unknown.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 begain 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.

• 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.

• 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. Its fate is unknown.

• 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, Admiral 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.

After the end of the Galactic Civil War, remnant forces of the Empire commissioned two new classes of "Super Star Destroyer," more massive but shorter in length than the Executor-class: The 15 km long Sovereign-class Star Dreadnought and the 16 km long Eclipse-class Star Dreadnought. Both designs differ from the Executor primarily in that they carry superlasers similar to but less powerful than the one carried aboard the Death Star. Limitations on the resources available to the Imperial remnants, though (compared to the vast power available to the New Republic), ended production of ships larger than Vindicator-class frigates until around the time of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, where one Executor-class ship was commissioned in the Imperial Navy. This ship may be HIMS Defiant.

References

1. Ref. Inside the Worlds of the Original Trilogy. Executor-class Star Dreadnought is explicitly established in this source.

ja:スーパー・スター・デストロイヤー