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Gattung (Biologie)

Gattung (Biologie)

Die Gattung ist eine hierarchische Stufe der biologischen Systematik. Eine Gattung enthält eine oder mehrere Arten. Ein Beispiel einer Gattung ist die Abies (Tanne). Alle Arten innerhalb einer Gattung haben immer einen zweiteiligen (binominalen) Namen, der neben der Gattungsbezeichnung noch ein Art-Epipheton enthält. Abies alba (die Weißtanne) ist eine Art in der Gattung Abies (Tanne). Diese durchgehend binominale Benennung geht auf Carl von Linné zurück, der sie in seinem Werk Systema Naturae einführte. Wenn eine Gattung nur eine Art enthält, nennt man die Gattung monotypisch. Gattungen selbst werden in Familien zusammengefasst.

Strukturierung einer Gattung

Wenn eine Gattung viele Arten enthält, die nach unterschiedlichen Kriterien geordnet werden können, stehen die folgenden hierarchischen Ränge zur Verfügung:
- Untergattung
- Sektion
- Untersektion
- Serie
- Unterserie Dabei ist es im Ermessen des Biologen, welcher der Ränge angemessen erscheint. Bedeutende Unterschiede werden in der Regel durch Untergattungen ausgedrückt; bei unscheinbaren Variationen wird eher die Sektion benutzt. Es gibt also keine Vorschrift, dass bestimmte Ränge bevorzugt zu benutzen sind. Allerdings wird die Untersektion (bzw. Unterserie) nur gebraucht, wenn auch die Sektion (bzw. Serie) benutzt wird. Kategorie:Taxonomie als:Gattung (Biologie) ms:Genus th:สกุล (ชีววิทยา)

Systematik (Biologie)

Systematik (v. griech. συστηματικός systēmatikós = geordnet) ist ein Fachgebiet der Biologie. In der Systematik werden die Lebewesen klassifiziert, in dem sie in ihrer Vielfalt beschrieben und auf Grund definierter Merkmale zu Gruppen zusammengefasst und diese Gruppen (Taxa) in einem hierarchischen System angeordnet werden.

Geschichte

Aristoteles

Aristoteles ordnet die ihm bekannten Lebewesen in einer Stufenleiter (Scalae Naturae) nach dem Grad ihrer “Perfektion”, also von primitiven zu höher entwickelten. Er führt für einzelne Gruppen Bezeichnungen ein, die heute noch Verwendung finden (Coleoptera, Diptera). In der Antike wurde beispielsweise die Wuchsform (Kraut, Staude, Strauch, Baum) oder Lebensweise (Nutztier, Wildtier, Wassertier) als Einteilungskriterium benutzt.

Carl von Linné

Carl von Linné benutzte den Blütenaufbau, um die Pflanzen zu klassifizieren und verwendete damit ein System, das auch heute noch in vielen Bereichen gängig ist. Er führte die binäre Nomenklatur in seinen Werken Species Plantarum und Systema Naturae allgemein für die Benennung der Arten ein. Hauptzweck dieses Systems ist die eindeutige Anordnung und Zuordnung der Arten. Grundkonzept ist dabei die typologische Definition der Art, das heißt die Reduzierung der Merkmalsfülle auf einige wenige Schlüsselmerkmale und die Abstrahierung von den Variationsmöglichkeiten innerhalb einer Art auf einen Typus („idealistische Morphologie“). Seine Gruppierung spiegelte für die niedrigen Taxa wie Art und Gattung durchaus ein natürliches System wieder - daher der Titel "Systema Naturae". Doch hatte auch Linné bereits erkannt, dass seine Einteilung für höhere Taxa aufgrund der recht willkürlichen Kriterien ein künstliches System blieb. Denn bei alledem ging Linné von der Unveränderlichkeit der Arten aus und beabsichtigte nicht, ein phylogenetisches System zu schaffen. Dieses bot dann später erst Begründung und Maßstab für die Natürlichkeit des Systems.

Evolutionstheorie

Seit dem Aufkommen der Evolutionstheorie ist man nun bestrebt, dieses teilweise künstliche System in ein natürliches System umzubauen, das die Abstammungsverhältnisse (Phylogenetik) besser widerspiegelt. Dabei spielte zunächst die Homologisierung von Organen eine große Rolle. Seit den 70er Jahren untersucht man den Aufbau der Proteine, um daraus Hinweise auf den Verwandtschaftsgrad abzuleiten. Dazu werden nicht nur morphologische sondern auch physiologische, cytologische und ethologische Merkmale herangezogen. Vor allem wird die genetische Ähnlichkeit benutzt, um Verwandtschaftsbeziehungen direkt am Erbgut festzustellen. Die Rolle der Systematik für das Verständnis der Geschichte der Organismen beschreibt bereits Charles Darwin in seinem Buch „Entstehung der Arten“: Wenn wir von dieser Idee ausgehen, dass das natürliche System, soweit es durchgeführt werden kann, genealogisch angeordnet ist … so verstehen wir die Regeln, die wir bei der Klassifikation befolgen müssen.

Taxonomie-Konzepte

Peter Ax setzt Taxonomie und Systematik gleich, Ernst Mayr unterscheidet die Systematik als Wissenschaft von der Vielgestaltigkeit der Organismen von der Taxonomie als Lehre von der Klassifikation der Organismen. Entsprechend den unterschiedlichen theoretischen Ansätzen gibt es verschiedene Richtungen in der Systematik:

Phänetik (numerische Taxonomie)

Hier wird auf phylogenetische Annahmen verzichtet. Die Einordnung der Arten in das System erfolgt nur auf Grund messbarer Unterschiede und Ähnlichkeiten anatomischer Merkmale. Ursprüngliche und abgeleitete Merkmale werden nicht voneinander unterschieden. Die Phänetik ist in weiten Teilen durch die Kladistik abgelöst worden. Nichtsdestotrotz verwenden einige Biologen weiterhin phänetische Methoden wie Neighbour-Joining-Algorithmen, um eine genügende phylogentische Annäherung zu erhalten, wenn die kladistischen Methoden rechnerisch zu aufwendig sind.

Konsequent phylogenetische Systematik

Nach Willi Hennig werden die Taxa nur von Arten gebildet, die eine geschlossene Abstammungsgemeinschaft bilden. Zugelassen sind nur monophyletische Anordnungen. Der typologische und biologische Begriff der Art wird als unzureichend abgelehnt. An die Stelle des typologischen Artkonzeptes tritt das phylogenetische Artkonzept. In diesem Konzept werden Arten zusammengefasst, die durch Synapomorphien (angestammte, gemeinsame Merkmale) charakterisiert sind und von Arten mit Autapomorphien (neu erworbenen Merkmalen) unterschieden. Eine Art hört dann auf zu existieren, wenn sie durch Artaufspaltung in zwei neue Arten übergeht. Als natürliches System ergibt sich ein dichotomes Kladogramm. (Näheres siehe Kladistik) Beispiel: : Phylogenetisches System der Sauropsida (Version 1)

Künftige Taxonomie aufgrund von DNA-Basensequenzen

Künftig sollen die Unterschiede der einzelnen Arten aufgrund von genetischen Vergleichen systematisch für alle bekannten Spezies erarbeitet werden. Man verspricht sich davon ein besseres Verständnis der Evolution ([http://barcoding.si.edu]). Der Erfolg und Zweck einer rein genetischen Bearbeitung der Artenvielfalt ist jedoch umstritten. Die verschieden Artkonzepte sind nicht universell anwendbar, da es sich bei den Artkonzepten um Konstrukte mit empirischen Grundlagen handelt. Eine scharfe Trennung zwischen Arten durch genetische Methoden wird im Rahmen der bisher angewandten Artkonzepte vermutlich scheitern, da eine einheitliche Methode nicht über alle Taxa hinweg anwendbar ist. Ob sich ein rein genetisches Artkonzept durchsetzen wird, das Arten nach absolut messbaren genetischen Unterschieden kategorisieren lässt, ist genauso fraglich.

Klassische evolutionäre Klassifikation

Ernst Mayr legt das biologische Artkonzept seiner Systematik zu Grunde. Bei der Einordnung der Organismen wird sowohl das Ausmaß der Divergenz als auch die Verzweigungsreihenfolge berücksichtigt. Beispiel: Zwar wird die Verzweigungsreihenfolge des phylogenetischen Systems anerkannt (Krokodile und Vögel haben einen jüngeren gemeinsamen Vorfahren als Vögel mit Echsen), der Erwerb des Vogelfluges wird aber als bedeutende Neuerung angesehen, die zu einer adaptiven Radiation führt. Entsprechend wird der Klasse Reptilia die Ordnung Crocodilia zugeordnet und Klasse der Vögel (Aves) gegenübergestellt, wodurch sich paraphyletische Taxa ergeben. ; 4. Klasse: Reptilia ; 5. Klasse: Aves ; 1. Ordnung: Brückenechsen ; 2. Ordnung: Squamata (Schuppenkriechtiere) ; 3. Ordnung: Chelonia (Schildkröten) ; 4. Ordnung: Crocodilia (Krokodile)

Nomenklatur der klassischen Systematik

Die Systematik in der Biologie (Taxonomie) geht maßgeblich zurück auf die Arbeiten von Carl von Linné (Systema Naturae, 1735). Sie ist die historisch bedeutsamste Klassifikation zur Einteilung der Organismen und wird hier übersichtlich dargestellt. Als Nomenklatur dieser Systematik wird seit Linné für die Botanik (Species Plantarum, 1753) und die Zoologie (10. Auflage von Systema Naturae) die binominale Nomenklatur verwendet, die seitdem auch für alle Organismen Geltung hat.

Siehe im Einzelnen

- Systematik des Tierreiches
- Systematik des Pflanzenreichs
- Systematik der Pilze Kategorie:Taxonomie ! ja:生物の分類 th:การจำแนกชั้นทางวิทยาศาสตร์

Tanne

Der Begriff Tanne bezeichnet
- einen Nadelbaum aus der Gattung der Tannen, siehe Tannen
- eine Gemeinde im Landkreis Wernigerode in Sachsen-Anhalt, siehe Tanne (Harz)
- eine Göttinger Forstverbindung, siehe Tanne (Göttingen)

Epipheton

Als Epitheton (gr.: επιτίθημι - dazusetzen, ~stellen) bezeichnet man in der Rhetorik / Stilistik das Hinzufügen eines im Satzzusammenhang nicht unbedingt erforderlichen Attributs. Allgemeiner werden auch Attribute so benannt. Das Wort kommt von dem griechischen Verbum epitithemi, was so viel wie "hinzufügen" bedeutet. Epitheton ist also einfach ein "Zusatz" oder "Beiwort". Ein besonderes Epitheton ist das epitheton ornans, der (entbehrliche, aber) schmückende (lat. ornare schmücken) Zusatz. Dieser Begriff wurde von den klassischen Philologen erfunden, um die bei Homer zahlreich vorkommenden schmückenden Attribute bei Götter- und Heldennamen, aber auch bei gewöhnlichen Gegenständen zu bezeichnen. Beispiele: Die kuhäugige Hera, die rosenfingrige Eos, der listenreiche Odysseus, die wolletragenden Schafe. In der Biologie bezeichnet der Begriff Epitheton den von Carl von Linné eingeführten zweiten Teil des wissenschaftlichen Namens (siehe Nomenklatur (Biologie)). Dieser setzt sich zusammen aus einer Bezeichnung für die Gattung sowie einem artspezifischen Epitheton. Als Beispiel soll der Blauwal (Balaenoptera musculus) dienen. Hier bezeichnet Balaenoptera eine Gattung innerhalb der Bartenwale, musculus ist das Artenepitheton. Kategorie:Rhetorischer Begriff Kategorie:Taxonomie

Carl von Linné

Carl Linnaeus, nach seiner Erhebung in den Adelsstand 1762 Carl von Linné, in auf Latein verfassten Werken auch Carolus Linnaeus (
- 23. Mai 1707 in Råshult bei Stenbrohult, Südschweden; † 10. Januar 1778 in Uppsala) war ein schwedischer Naturwissenschaftler, der die Grundlagen der modernen Taxonomie (binäre Nomenklatur) entwickelte, das Linnésche System. Als Zusatz zu wissenschaftlichen Namen der von ihm beschriebenen Lebewesen kann sein Name mit L. abgekürzt wiedergegeben werden.

Leben

Carl von Linné wurde in dem kleinen Ort Råshult in der Gemeinde Stenbrohult in Småland, zu dieser Zeit eine Provinz in Südschweden, als Carl Linnaeus, Sohn des protestantischen Pfarrers Nils Ingemarsson und seiner Frau Christina, geb. Broderson, geboren. Sie war die Tochter des Pfarrers der Gemeinde und als dieser starb, übernahm Carls Vater dessen Pflichten. Daraufhin, Carl war etwa 18 Monate alt, zog die Familie nach Stenbrohult um. Schon Carls Vater Nils interessierte sich sehr für Pflanzen und gab sich, da er wie viele Schweden keinen offiziellen Nachnamen hatte, selbst den Namen Linnaeus, eine Latinisierung des smålandischen Dialektwortes linn (dt. Linde), nach einem dreistämmigen Lindenbaum nahe dem Hof Jonsboda, seinem Geburtshaus. Für Carl war ein Leben im Dienste der Kirche vorgesehen, wie vor ihm für seinen Vater und Großvater mütterlicherseits. Er zeigte jedoch wenig Interesse an dieser Laufbahn. Sein Interesse galt der Botanik, was den örtlichen Arzt und Naturkundelehrer Johann Rothman dazu veranlasste, Carls Vater umzustimmen und so wurde er zum Medizinstudium an die Universität von Lund geschickt. Ein solches Studium war damals gleichbedeutend mit dem Studium der Naturwissenschaften. Im folgenden Jahr wechselte er nach Uppsala.

Grundlage der Klassifikation

Während dieser Zeit gelangte Linné zu der Überzeugung, dass sich die Blüten, die Fortpflanzungsorgane der Pflanzen, ihre Blütenblätter, Staubblätter und Stempel, gut als Grundlage der Klassifikation eigneten. Er schrieb darüber eine kurze Abhandlung, Preludia Sponsaliorum Plantarum ("Hochzeiten der Pflanzen"), der er noch als Student die Stellung eines stellvertretender Dozenten und Demonstrators am Botanischen Garten verdankte. 1732 finanzierte die Akademie der Wissenschaften in Uppsala seine Expedition nach Lappland, das bis dahin praktisch unbekannt war. Das Ergebnis war ein Buch über die lappländische Pflanzenwelt, Flora Laponica, das 1737 veröffentlicht wurde. Zudem brachte er von dieser Reise erstmals Spielregeln und Spielbrett des Wikingerspiels Tablut mit und machte es damit einer breiteren Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Das 17. Jahrhundert mit seinen stürmischen naturwissenschaftlichen Entdeckungen gerade auch von mikroskopischen Lebewesen hatte zu einer Ansammlung zahlloser Pflanzen- und Tierarten geführt. Eine übersichtliche Ordnung war bereits überfällig geworden. Von den mannigfachen früheren Versuchen zur Systematisierung übten insbesondere diejenigen von John Ray und Joseph Pitton de Tournefort Einfluss auf Linné aus. Ray hatte sich mit der Einführung von Doppelbezeichnungen für Gattung und Art bereits der binominalen Nomenklatur angenähert. Sein Vorhaben einer Reformation führte Linné zu einer klar definierten hierarchischen Gliederung aller bekannten Organismen. Zur Klassifizierung verwendete er die aus der mittelalterlichen Scholastik bekannten Begriffe "differentia" für Artunterschiede und "proprium" für Arteigentümlichkeiten. Während er davon ausging, für Gattungen und Arten mit "natürlichen" Merkmalen arbeiten zu können (natürliches System), betrachtete er alle höheren Taxa für künstlich, also nach willkürlichen Regeln kategorisiert (künstliches System). Ein solches Vorgehen erschien ihm aus Gründen der praktischen Anwendbarkeit jedoch geboten: "Es ist keine Hoffnung, in unserer Zeit ein natürliches System zu finden, kaum unsere spätesten Enkel werden es können. Aber inzwischen will man ja die Pflanzen kennen, folglich müssen wir künstliche Klassen als Nothelfer annehmen." In der zoologischen Systematisierung wich Linné strikt von der aristotelisch beeinflussten Ordnung nach Lebensräumen ab und zog stattdessen morphologische und physiologische Merkmale heran. Das System Linnés unterschied sich von älteren Ansätzen durch einfachere Handhabung und insbesondere durch größere Offenheit gegenüber der Integration neuer Taxa. Keineswegs aber stellte es eine phylogenetische Systematik im heutigen Sinne dar, sondern versuchte - ganz in Entsprechung zu Linnés tiefer Überzeugung von der Unveränderlichkeit der Arten - die vermeintliche Statik in der Ordnung des Lebendigen abzubilden. Dessen ungeachtet gilt Linné als der Begründer der heutigen Systematik, die nach ihm als Linnésches System bezeichnet wird.

Binäre Nomenklatur

phylogenetische Systematik Im Jahre 1735 zog Linné für drei Jahre nach Holland, dem damals in den Naturwissenschaften führenden Land, und promovierte dort in Medizin. Hier traf er auf den Botaniker Jan Frederik Gronovius und zeigte ihm einen frühen Entwurf seiner Arbeit über Taxonomie, die Systema Naturae. Die erste Auflage erschien noch im gleichen Jahr, sie umfasste 10 Folioseiten, während die 13. von 1770 aus mehr als 3000 Seiten bestand. In diesem "System der Natur" klassifizierte er im Laufe der Zeit drei Reiche für die Pflanzen, Tiere und Minerale. An dieser Stelle griff er auch den früheren Gedanken, die Blütenmerkmale als Grundlage für die Klassifikation des Pflanzenreiches zu nutzen, wieder auf. Wie für die Pflanzen schon 1753 in seinen Species Plantarum, ersetzte er auch in der Systema Naturae die bis dahin üblichen, oft umständlichen Bezeichnungen von Arten wie beispielsweise physalis amno ramosissime ramis angulosis glabris foliis dentoserratis konsequent durch die systematischen, heute noch gebräuchlichen Doppelnamen (Binomina), in diesem Fall Physalis angulata. Dieses Prinzip zur Benennung von Arten wird "binäre" oder "binominale Nomenklatur" genannt. Der erste Teil ist dabei der Name der Gattung, der zweite Teil, das Epitheton, charakterisiert zusammen mit dem ersten die Art. Für die Zoologie führte er die binäre Nomenklatur erst mit der 10. Auflage von 1758 ein, so dass nunmehr alle Organismen binominal benannt wurden. Eine Nomenklatur der übergeordneten Taxa (Gruppen) der Lebewesen erzeugte Linné auf einfache und geordnete Weise. Bei der Namensgebung vertraute Linné auf den gesunden Menschenverstand. So benannte er den Menschen als Homo sapiens, den wissenden Mensch, behandelte ihn also - eingereiht unter die Primaten - bereits gleichsam als zoologisches Objekt. Er beschrieb aber auch eine zweite menschliche Art, Homo troglodytes bzw. Homo nocturnus, den Höhlenmenschen bzw. Nachtmenschen, mit dem er vermutlich den kurz zuvor beschriebenen Schimpansen meinte. Die Säugetiere nannte er nach den Milchdrüsen Mammalia, weil er Frauen ermutigen wollte, ihre Säuglinge zu stillen.

Lebensstationen

1739 heiratete Linné Sara Morea, die Tochter eines Arztes. Zwei Jahre später erhielt er einen Lehrstuhl für Medizin in Uppsala, den er bald gegen den Lehrstuhl für Botanik eintauschte. Er setzte seine Arbeit an der Klassifizierung fort und weitete sie auf das Tierreich sowie auf Mineralien aus. Auch wenn die Klassifizierung von Mineralien heute merkwürdig anmutet, so war dies doch rund 100 Jahre vor der Evolutionstheorie durch Charles Darwin für Linné ein bequemer Weg, die gesamte Natur zu kategorisieren. 1762 wurde Carl von Linné zum Ritter geschlagen. Linné erlitt 1774 einen Schlaganfall, von dem er sich nur wenig erholte und an dessen Folgen er 1778 starb. Sein botanischer Garten kann heute in Uppsala besichtigt werden, dort legte er auch erstmals eine von ihm entwickelte Blumenuhr an. Image:CarlvonLinne_house.jpg|Wohnhaus in Uppsala Image:CarlvonLinne_Garden.jpg|Linnés botanischer Garten in Uppsala Image:CarlvonLinne_Hammarby.jpg|Sommerlandsitz in Hammarby bei Uppsala

Werke

- Carl von Linné hinterließ an die 180 wissenschaftliche Werke.
- Die Lappländische Reise, Berlin 2004

Weblinks

-
- [http://www.linnaeus.uu.se/online/index-en.html 'Linné on line' Projekt der Universität Uppsala (Englisch)]
- [http://home.tiscalinet.ch/biografien/biografien/linne.htm Biographie Carl von Linné]
- [http://www.linnaeus.uu.se/ Botanischer Garten von Carl von Linné] Linné, Carl von Linné, Carl von Linné, Carl von Linné, Carl von Linné, Carl von Linné, Carl von Linné, Carl von Linne, Carl von Linne, Carl von ja:カール・フォン・リンネ ko:칼 폰 린네 zh-min-nan:Carolus Linnaeus

Familie (Biologie)

Die Familie (lateinisch: Familia) ist eine hierarchische Stufe der biologischen Systematik. Sie steht zwischen den Hauptrangstufen Ordnung und Gattung. Direkt über der Familie kann die Überfamilie stehen, unter ihr die Unterfamilie (lateinisch:Subfamilia). In der Zoologie besteht die Konvention, dass der wissenschaftliche Familienname auf -idae endet (z. B. Laufkäfer: Carabidae). In der Botanik dagegen endet die Familienbezeichnung meist auf -aceae (zum Beispiel Korbblütengewächse: Asteraceae). Vielfach leiten sich ihre Bezeichner von besonders bekannten Gattungen der Familie ab (zum Beispiel bei den Liliengewächsen Liliaceae), aber auch morphologische Besonderheiten der Familie können namensgebend sein (so bei den Lippenblütengewächsen Labiatae). Kategorie:Taxonomie als:Familie (Biologie) ms:Famili

Biologe

Ein Biologe befasst sich wissenschaftlich mit der Biologie. Siehe auch: Biologie, Liste bedeutender Biologen, Portal:Biologie

Weblinks

- http://home.tiscalinet.ch/biografien/index.html ! ko:생물학자 simple:Biologist

Kategorie:Taxonomie

Hier sollen alle taxonomischen Begriffe der Biologie, aber keine Artikel über einzelne Arten oder höhere Taxa eingeordnet werden. Artikel, die Arten oder höhere Taxa behandeln, bitte in die :Kategorie:Lebewesen bzw. dort in die entsprechende Unterkategorie stellen. Kategorie:Biologie Kategorie:Hierarchie Taxonomie Taxonomie

Executor-class Star Dreadnought

Star Destroyers are the iconic vessels of the Galactic Empire within the movie saga and fictional universe of Star Wars. Within the story line of the saga, Star Destroyers are depicted as Warships, large and dagger-shaped and extremely well-armed, serving in the thousands in the immense Imperial Starfleet and elsewhere, including in the service of the Galactic Republic, the New Republic, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances - and possibly even in the corporate war fleets of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Imperial Star Destroyer

Confederacy of Independent Systems The term "Star Destroyer" most often refers to the iconic dagger-hulled combat vessels used by the Empire in the three films of the original Star Wars trilogy. These ships are commonly referred to as Imperial-class Star Destroyers, however, their offical title is Imperator-class (See section below). Within wider Star Wars lore, including the expanded universe, these "Imperial-class Star Destroyers" are likewise regarded as the definitive class of Star Destroyer, and one of the most important symbols of the Galactic Empire, serving the Imperial fleet for at least five decades. When the term "Star Destroyer" is used without further qualification, it usually refers to ships of this class. All Imperial-class variants are said to be 1,600 meters long (approximately one mile), with three large, and four small engines capable of accelerating the ship with a force of several thousand g and a hyperdrive capable of carrying them across the galaxy in a matter of weeks. Imperial-class Star Destroyers have a complement of at least 37,000 officers and crew. This would include officers, technicians and computer operators, fighter pilots, and support-craft crew, but apparently not the division of 9,700 stormtroopers ("Imperial Marines")— an overall total of 46,700 men. In service with the New Republic (forged by the heroes of the Rebel Alliance after the end of the movie saga) the crews were reduced to about 28,000 men. Star Wars lore says that two subtypes of Star Destroyer exist, the Mark I and Mark II designs—a distinction that seems to reflect the two distinct VFX models used in the Star Wars films; visually, the main difference between these is the tractor-beam array on the very top of the superstructure - on a Mark I ship, the tractor beam array is a tall, X-shaped structure, while the Mark II has a smaller array that looks somewhat like a table. Other notable variations include differences in weaponry (discussed below), and three small baffles arranged 60° apart around the main exhaust nozzles at the stern of the ISD-I.

Weapons

A single Star Destroyer is said to have sufficient firepower to overwhelm almost any warship deployed by enemies of the Empire, and to be capable of reducing a hostile planet to an uninhabitable ball of slag. However, some Rebel Alliance ships are more powerful than an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, including the Mon Calamari flagship "Home One". The earlier of the two VFX models, used in all three films in the original Star Wars trilogy, carries batteries of four massive double-barrelled turrets either side of the main superstructure, with smaller gun-emplacements on the centerline and in the notches on the edge of the hull. The second model, used in The Empire Strikes Back, lacks the smaller emplacements, and place of the large twin-turrets, it has eight-barrelled guns in open mountings. The Expanded Universe, however, attributes to the ISD-I an armament of 60 "turbolasers" and 60 "ion cannon", while that of the ISD-II is said to be 100 turbolasers and 20 ion cannon; missile weapons and smaller defensive guns are also mentioned in some sources. The exact relationship between the visible weapons and those described in text sources is unclear, however and different fans espouse different methods of dealing with the evidence. Each ship also carried a wing of 72 Imperial TIE, 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, Imperial Star Destroyers also carried support craft and drop ships such as the Y85 Titan Dropship and the Sentinel-class Shuttle. The ship could also deploy TIE Fighters and orbital bombardment to support any surface action.

Imperator or Imperial?

While most Star Wars lore describes the iconic Star Destroyer as an "Imperial-class" ship, an alternative designation Imperator-class also exists, and the priority of the two names is a source of contention between some fans. The Imperator-class name apparently originates in a set of blueprints produced in 1978 attributed to "[http://www.geoffreymandel.com/ Geoffrey Mandel]" and packaged with Lucasfilm copyright. One Geoffrey Mandel, possibly the same man, is a well-known TV and film graphic artist, perhaps best-known for his work on [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Geoffrey_Mandel Star Trek]. However some fans allege that in 1978 he was a nineteen-year-old fan. These fans — proponents for the second-generation "Imperial-class" literature — allege that the blueprints were a work of fan-art (albeit a high-quality piece). In further support, they cite the differences b/w the drawings and the actual ISD. However the Lucasfilm copyright marks on the packaging undermine this conspiracy theory. Furthermore, differences between the drawing and the actual ISD is not necesarily an argument for its non-canonicity, because other non-controversially official drawings and spec sheets (such as those in the ISB or EGVV) also do not match up (see Executor section below) with the "real" (as in G-canon) version. Tangentially, Mandel is also said to be the originator of the "D-7" designation for the classic Klingon battle-cruiser from Star Trek, making him responsible for the official in-universe designations of the iconic enemy ships of the two great sci-fi franchises. Copies of Mandel's blueprints continued to circulate in fandom and collector shops. Twenty years later, they were recognized as "rare but official" early material by online fans including the [http://theforce.net/swtc/isd.html Star Wars Technical Commentaries] website. The label was subsequently reaffirmed and reconciled in the Incredible Cross-Sections guide for Revenge of the Sith: it explains that "Imperator-class" was the original, 'correct' designation, but was politically re-dubbed Imperial-class Star Destroyer after the Jedi Purge. The Imperial-class designation, which seems to have originated in Star Wars Role-playing game material in the later 1980s, remains the designation used in most official material. Incredible Cross-Sections allows that the type was renamed to Imperial-class following the declaration of the Galactic Empire by Palpatine, while the official [http://www.starwars.com/databank/starship/republicattackcruiser/?id=eu Star Wars Databank] leaves the exact relationship between the prototype Imperator-class and the iconic Imperial-class of the movies somewhat vague. The two names will be used interchangeably in this document, since both versions occur in the official literature, and their coexistence has been retrospectively explained within the Star Wars universe.

Features

Main bridge

Palpatine The main bridge of all known Imperial ships has the same basic layout. 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.

Weapons

A single Star Destroyer is said to have sufficient firepower to overwhelm almost any warship deployed by enemies of the Empire, and to be capable of reducing a hostile planet to an uninhabitable ball of slag. However, some Rebel Alliance ships are more powerful than an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, including the Mon Calamari flagship Home One. The earlier of the two VFX models, used in all three films in the original Star Wars trilogy, carries batteries of four massive double-barrelled turrets either side of the main superstructure, with smaller gun-emplacements on the centerline and in the notches on the edge of the hull. The second model, used in The Empire Strikes Back, lacks the smaller emplacements, and place of the large twin-turrets, it has eight-barrelled guns in open mountings. The Expanded Universe, however, attributes to the ISD-I an armament of 60 "turbolasers" and 60 "ion cannon", while that of the ISD-II is said to be 100 turbolasers and 20 ion cannon; missile weapons and smaller defensive guns are also mentioned in some sources. The exact relationship between the visible weapons and those described in text sources is unclear, however and different fans espouse different methods of dealing with the evidence. Each ship also carried a wing of 72 Imperial TIE, 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, Imperial Star Destroyers also carried support craft and drop ships such as the Y85 Titan Dropship and the Sentinel-class Shuttle. The ship could also deploy TIE Fighters and orbital bombardment to support any surface action.

Sensor globes or shield generators?

The geodesic domes located on and around the bridge superstructure of Star Destroyers and related ships are the topic of much debate. Are they shield generators or sensor domes? When the Executor's globe exploded during the Battle of Endor, a crewman said that the shields were down. Many people attributed this to the dome being destroyed. Others disagreed since Admiral Ackbar gave the order to "concentrate all fire on that Super Star Destroyer". Many took that to mean that the shields were already down when the fighters attacked. Others, however, noted that aside from the A-wings firing their concussion missiles at the globes, there were no other ships firing on the Executor, either before or after its shields were down. Inside the Worlds of Star Wars shows the bridge area of the Executor and declares the globes to be sensor globes. However it does also show that there are backup bridge shield generators built into the base of the domes. The loss of one of these globes could mean that the crew was not able to bring the backup bridge shield generators back online in time or at all. Also the fact that the A-wings were able to destroy the sensor globe, without exploding against the shields, indicates that the shields may have been down. Others, however, don't seem to use that as an indication, saying that Star Destroyer shields are hull hugging, instead of bubble-like. Earlier in the battle a Y-wing can be observed slamming into a Star Destroyer; a flash of light occurs when it hits. Many feel that this flash of light is the shields. Many older reference books such as The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels and The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology also label the pair of globes on top of the bridge as "Deflector Shield Generators". The use of the globes as shield generators is also evident in most of LucasArts' X-Wing and TIE Fighter computer games, where the shields of a Star Destroyer are knocked out if the two generators above the bridge are destroyed. The use of this has been noted in several sources as a means of giving the player a better chance of defeating a Star Destroyer.

Vulnerable underbelly?

In the Thrawn Trilogy written by Timothy Zahn, when Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Garm Bel Iblis, Talon Karrde, Mara Jade, Wedge Antilles, and Leia Organa Solo were trying to capture the Katana Fleet, Imperial Star Destroyers were involved in a battle. it was said that the forward ventral sensors were knocked out, thus giving the pirates "free rein of the Star Destroyer's underside". This implies that there are only two sensor stations that are solely responsible for targeting and detection.

Areas of service

Imperial service

Within the fictional universe of Star Wars, Imperial-class Star Destroyers had a distinguished career in the Imperial Starfleet, where they symbolized the Empire's military might, for better or worse. The name of the prototype Imperator, bestowed in the last years of the Old Republic, is in the real-world the Latin word for commander as well as emperor, and later names such as Imperial and Empire (the name of the lead ship of the Mark II subclass) stressed the role of the class as primary instruments of military autocracy. The crews of Imperial-class ships were comprised of the elite of the Imperial Navy, but the exact number of these ships in service is disputed among fans. No more than about forty are seen on-screen in Return of the Jedi, but according to official lore, the Imperial Fleet contained more than 25,000 Star Destroyers at its greatest strength, and this "canonical" figure is probably accepted by the majority of fans. Some, however, prefer fanon figures as high as several million Imperial-class vessels in service at the Empire's height of power, while others argue that no more than a few thousand of the 25,000 Star Destroyers were necessarily Imperial-class ships, with the majority being smaller types such as Victory-class ships. Many Star Destroyers were destroyed in the fratricidal warfare that consumed the Empire after the death of Emperor Palpatine at Endor, while others defected to, or were captured by, the Rebels. The majority of the surrendered vessels were decommissioned, but some remained in service (see below). In the Star Wars movies and in the Expanded Universe alike, the ISD serves a visible role in the Imperial starfleet. Expanded Universe lore identifies Imperial-class ships as the centerpiece of Superiority Fleets, the formations used by local sector-level forces to scour Imperial space clear of enemy warships like those of the Rebel Alliance. Within each Superiority Fleet, six ISDs typically served as the command ships for component formations known as "Battle Squadrons", but sister-ships have also been observed to operate more or less independently, or in pairs as guard ships on important worlds. By the time of the final peace between the remnants of the Empire and the heirs of the Rebellion, the eight remaining sector fleets of what was left of Imperial Space still centered around the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, with around a dozen such ships per Sector, but they often operated as battle lines without support from smaller vessels, and may have been refitted to carry more defensive weaponry on their own hulls, making them more capable of fending off fighter and gunship attack. More controversial is the ISD's role on higher levels. Some fans argue that these ships were mere support ships, equating them with real-life destroyers. Much larger ships appear within the Star Wars saga, corresponding to cruiser and battleship designations. However, as a confusing result of merchandising inertia, even the largest of these are often colloquially called "Star Destroyers". Scores of Imperial-class ships are shown as forming the vanguard of some Imperial battle-fleets. For instance, at the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi, there were about forty Imperial-class destroyers and one Super Star Destroyer. In other Star Wars lore, the battlefleet charged with defending the Imperial Core Worlds had one Super Star Destroyer and fifty-seven other capital ships, while Grand Admiral Josef Grunger's fleet consisted of one Super Star Destroyer, thirty Star Destroyers, and almost 200 smaller ships, and the fleet assembled by Admiral Daala included one Super Star Destroyer, more than forty Imperial-class ships, and more than a hundred Victory-class ships. The fleet at the center of the Empire's strategies for defending the Outer Rim, Black Sword Command, contained about forty Imperial-class and Victory-class Star Destroyers and three Super Star Destroyers, but one of these SSDs was simply fitting out at a shipyard within the command's jurisdiction, and it is not impossible that at least one of the others was merely under construction. These fleet compositions resemble the realistic ratios of small destroyers to large battleships in navies of the mid 20th Century Earth.

New Republic service

Within the Star Wars story line, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer has also appeared in the forces of other space-defense navies. For instance, a number were commissioned into the private defense-fleet of the shipyard system of Kuat where they were initially designed, while the independent monarchy that ruled the Hapes Star Cluster was able to seize some vessels during their war against Imperial occupation. But after the Empire, Star Destroyers were most visible in the armadas of the New Republic, the successor-state formed by the heroes of the Rebellion such as Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo. The refits implemented by that government seem to have often involved structural modifications, and generally entailed the use of a much smaller crew. The capability to deploy planetary-assault soldiers appears to have been ignored, as the Republic had a general military doctrine less based on armies of occupation, and endurance was reduced from six years to six months, as the New Republic Defense Force doctrine operated ships on relatively short patrols before returning to base. Despite their stellar qualities, however, the Imperial-class was apparently too much of a symbol of Imperial might, at least initially, to deploy in large numbers. Many of those used by the heirs of the Rebellion were symbolically high-profile prizes of war, such as the Accuser and Adjudicator captured at the Battle of Endor, the Avarice which defected during the Bacta War, and the Tyrant which had once been part of Darth Vader's personal fleet—renamed Emancipator, Liberator, Freedom and Rebel Dream respectively. For the most part, the New Republic chose to procure Mon Calamari Star Cruisers instead, and descendants of the Victory-class Star Destroyer were procured in quantity however, perhaps because the Victory was a symbol of the Old Republic's military machine, or perhaps more simply because its designer had joined the Rebellion, whereas the creators of the Imperial-class ship remained loyal to the Empire. In later years, however, after the end of the Galactic Civil War, the use of Imperial-class ships apparently became regarded as much more acceptable to the heirs of the Rebellion, with many new ships like the Mon Mothma being named for former heroes of the Rebel Alliance.

Private service

Within the Expanded Universe, one Imperial-class Star Destroyer is in private hands, the Errant Venture (formerly the HIMS Virulence), captained by the smuggler and rogue Booster Terrik. It was captured several years after the Battle of Endor during the Bacta War against Ysanne Isard, but was in poor condition for many years owing to the great cost of maintaining such a large vessel, and it had been stripped of the vast majority of her armament: only ten 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, including a deep red paint job to replace the classic Imperial white. While Captain Terrik was not permitted to keep all of his weapons after the operation, they were reinstated during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, and, according to rumor, were augmented by a ship-killing superlaser. During the Vong invasion, the Errant Venture served as a temporary Jedi sanctuary and also as squadron flagship in the forces that rallied to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong. No other demilitarized and nominally civilian Star Destroyers in are known to exist, although in practice, some ex-Imperial ships like the pirate flagship Invidious were little different in their capabilities than the Errant Venture at some stages of her career.

Individual ship names

See List of capital ships in Star Wars: X-wing for the names of some of the Imperial-class Star Destroyers in service before the Battle of Hoth.

Other Star Destroyers

Of course, the iconic Imperial Star Destroyer is not the only "Star Destroyer" in Star Wars: in the movies alone, the Venator-class attack cruisers of Episode III, Darth Vader's massive command ship Executor, and even the cigar-shaped Separatist flagship [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_Federation_Cruiser The Invisible Hand], all have a claim to be considered as "Star Destroyers". Additionally, beyond being big, dagger-shaped warships in Star Wars, it has proved hard to find a precise definition of the term "Star Destroyer" that satisfies all of the franchise's fans. Most official products call the Imperial Star Destroyer, arguably the most famous of the group, either a cruiser or a battleship, but some fans believe that a "Star Destroyer" must be a destroyer in the traditional naval sense, and that such a destroyer must be a relatively small ship. Both of these claims are questioned by other fans, but it must be admitted that the largest Star Destroyers are many, many times bigger than the standard Imperial-class ships, and at least some of these larger Star Destroyers are known alternatively as Star Dreadnoughts. In the original draft scripts of the movie that would become Star Wars, it can be noted that the term "Stardestroyer" (as a compound word) was used for the two-man fighters flown by what would become the Galactic Empire in the final movie.

Old Republic Star Destroyers

Within Star Wars lore, while similar dagger-hulled warships are said to have existed for thousands of years, the earliest ships called "Star Destroyers" are the 900m Victory-class and the 1,137m Venator-class, deployed by the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars, the conflict which saw that once-democratic federation transformed into the autocratic Empire. Although the two were comparable in size and power, each had distinct characteristics and abilities that the other lacked. These vessels were also employed by the fledgling Empire, but the Venator-class were later phased out in favor of larger and more powerful designs.

Victory-class Star Destroyer

The Victory-class Star Destroyer was designed by Rendili 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 Victory class are 900 meters long and possess three primary ion drives for sub-light 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-Captain Tarkin landed his vessel on a crowd of protestors in what would later be called the Ghorman Massacre. The second flight was not capable of effective atmospheric operations. The Victory-I subclass included eighty concussion missile tubes, while the rarely produced Victory-II subclass lacked them in favour of ion cannons. The Victory-II also had faster sub-light drives for better space-to-space combat and lost its atmospheric capability, perhaps making it an even closer predecessor to the Imperial-class Star Destroyers that followed. All ships carried two squadrons of star-fighters. 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 decommissioned. (Note however, that the Victory class still saw a lot of action against Rebels and pirate groups and that there was still some production.) After the end of the civil war, the Imperial-class destroyer (formerly Imperator-class) 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 and Obi-Wan) class 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 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. The Victory-class Star Destroyer was apparently part of Lucas's original trilogy universe (Episode IV-VI) and was mentioned in the 1980s Star Wars Sourcebook. However, the Victory was never seen in the original Trilogy or Episode III, despite being widely recognized as the direct predecessor to the Imperial-class in many sources (including the Essential Guide to Vessels and Vehicles, published before the release of Phantom Menace). It was perhaps because the Victory's wings and bridge/tower nodes seem like ugly additions to the otherwise sleek design and clean lines of the Imperial-class. (Otherwise, the Victory is very similar to the Imperial in looks). The Acclamator and Venator-class ships, however, were created for Episodes II and III, and never existed in any literature prior to the release of those movies.

Venator-class Star Destroyer

New Republic Nicknamed the "Republic Attack Cruiser", the Venator-class Star Destroyer was based 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/destroyer. The Venator-class destroyer was 1,137 meters long and carried a crew of 7,400. Its main reactor could consume up to 40,000 tons of fuel per second and had engines that could accelerate the massive vessel at 30,000 m/s². The ship is capable of operating within atmospheres and landing for docking as well retrieving/disembarking the ground forces. 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. 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 ceased production in favor of the newer Imperator-class Star Destroyer, a warship even more deadly than the Venator. Thousands of ships were procured during the Clone Wars, then slowly mothballed over the succeeding decade. The Venator-class is established as a destroyer, an escort, and a lighter vessel in the Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross-Sections fact book, and recognized as canon by LFL. The name, Venator, comes from Latin and translates to both "Hunter" and "Skirmisher".

Confederacy of Independent Systems Star Destroyers

There exist a number of ships whose designation as Star Destroyers is contested. Those are chiefly the cigar-shaped Separatist cruisers seen in Revenge of the Sith, which are called Star Destroyers semi-colliqually and can be, for the purposes of this discussion, considered Star Destroyer-type ships. These ships are not, insofar as the community is aware, included in the Old Republic or Imperial arsenals as are all other period Star Destroyers. They remain components of the CIS starfleet.

Providence-class destroyer

:See Trade Federation Cruiser A type of ship used by the Trade Federation and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, this class was not the standard and more effective "dagger" shape favored by the Republic and later Empire. Instead it was a tapered cylinder, looking more like a Coruscanti skyscraper laid on its side then a warship. At 1,088 meters in length it was larger then the Republic's Victory class but smaller then star destroyers later fielded by the Republic. Capable of 2,500 Gs in open space and 2,000 kph in atmosphere, these craft lacked the direct power feeds from the reactor to the guns. As a result their offensive armerment had to be augmented with a large number of proton torpedo launchers. These ships apparently had limited hangar facilities, a limitation corrected in later modifications. There is some dispute as to whether this class is to be considered a "Star Destroyer". Critics claim that it was only called such "in passing" and raise the possibility of it being slang. Nevertheless, since there is no clear evidence against this designation, canon policy mandates we accept it as true, and the page will assume thus until proven otherwise.

Invisible Hand-type

:See Trade Federation Cruiser With a known production run of only 3 ships, this kind of craft saw limited use in the Clone Wars. When Viceroy Gunray commissioned this ship, he had them remove the aft reactors, fuel stores, and some of the engine components to make room for a massive hangar. The result was a significant weakening of the ship in return for an extravegant hangar facility. When General Grievous assumed command of Confederacy's armed forces, he siezed this ship as his personal vessel to insult the Viceroy, who had previously and repeatedly insulted him. Two sister ships were commissioned, the Lucid Voice and Collicoid Swarm, and they were used in a disinformation campaign to keep Republic spies unable to pinpoint Grievous' exact location. The modifications to this ship left it with a reduced and weakened armerment. It now carried only 14 quad turbolaser turrets, 34 dual laser cannons, 2 ion cannons, 12 point-defense ion cannons, 102 proton torpdo launchers, and an unknown number of point-defense flak cannons. It carried 240 droid starfighters, 160 Mobile Troop Transports, and 280 assorted droid vehicles. For infantry duty it caried up to 1.5 million deactivated droids, and had a crew of 600. In Revenge of the Sith: Incredible Cross-Sections, it is called in what is apparently intended to be a technical capacity a "Modified Providence-class carrier/destroyer". This class has a similar basis for its claim as a Star Destroyer as the Providence-class, and as such is similarly disputed by others.

Galactic Empire Star Destroyers

This section will obviously disclude the previously analyzed Imperial- or Imperator-class Star Destroyer (the two being one and the same). The most renowned user of Star Destroyer-type ships was the tyrannical Galactic Empire. The menacing profile of a huge Star Destroyer became a symbol of Imperial might and domination, and many Rebel convoys and even militarized armadas were punished by Imperial-class warships acting as sector defense ships and blockade enforcers, either with impoundment or total destruction (and sometimes both, as evidenced by the off-record capture and annihilation of the Tantive IV, consular ship of Princess Leia Organa). At nearly all major engagements of the war, Star Destroyers were present. The Navy's standard Imperial-class ship was 1,600 meters long, but the term "Star Destroyer" was also loosely applied as slang to larger ships, including massive star battleships stretching more than ten miles from bow to stern. For the purposes of this particular section, only sub-Imperial-class or ships roughly equal to the Imperial-class will be overviewed.

Tector-class Star Destroyer

Princess Leia Organa The existence of the Tector-class is established in the Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross-Sections fact book. A Tector-class Star Destroyer may have been seen during the Battle of Endor. The alleged Tector-class was based on the Imperial-class hull, lacking the ventral hangar bay and visible reactor-bulb. It is a dedicated attack ship, and not a cruiser/carrier hybrid like the Imperial. The Millennium Falcon can be seen flying over this ship's 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 (if the ship is a Tector as some do believe). Since it is never explicitly stated whether this ship shown is a Tector-class Star Destroyer or not (and no one has a diagram or confirmed photo of a Tector to use as a comparison), this article will not rule one way or the other on the matter. In the Roman army, Tector referred to a type of cavalry trooper equipped with a large shield, befitting a warship with extra armor - but the most common usage of the word was to describe an artisan who applied plaster finish to walls, the Roman equivalent of a house-painter.

Harrow-type

A Star Destroyer featuring Victory-like "wings" but an Imperial-class grade of hangar bay (fairly large) as well as several other cosmetic differences, the Harrow measured about the length of a Victory-class vessel (900 meters or thereabouts) and may have been a Kuat Drive Yards attempt to shoo competitor Rendili StarDrive's still-successful Victory out of the market with their own niche-fitting light Star Destroyer. Rogue Squadron encountered the Harrow, which seems unlikely to be a one-of-a-kind vessel, in orbit of Tatooine some months after the Battle of Endor, though with the confusion and chaos in the Imperial war machine following the Emperor's death, it would appear doubtful that the Harrow was constructed and put into service in the time following the Battle of Endor (meaning that it likely was introduced to the fleet during or before the height of the Galactic Civil War). The starship Harrow possessed two main sub-light engine drives and then two smaller ones between them stacked vertically. It was commanded as of the Tatooine mission by Captain Semtim, and judging by its mission (to recover supplies hidden by Grand Vizier Sate Pestage on Tatooine), size, and design similarities to the Victory-class Star Destroyer, was probably capable of travel through a planet's atmosphere. However, as with the conjecture on when it was introduced, there is no solid proof in one direction or the other.

Dominator-type

:See Interdictor Cruiser Characterized by its four gravity-well projectors as well as its "double bridge" tower, the Dominator was the command ship of Loka Hosk and its main body bore similarities to the standard Imperial-class line of warship. The Binder of Delak Krennel's forces was also of this type, as was an anonymous Interdictor in Thrawn's fleet. It seems quite safe to say that this ship, described in Star Wars Encyclopedia as an "interdictor Star Destroyer". As with the Harrow, it seems possible - maybe even probable - that this is a Kuat Drive Yards response to a ship developed by a rival manufacturer - in this case, the Immobilizer-418 built by Sienar Fleet Systems. The ship's true classification remains unknown, though it has been described as both a "cruiser" and a "dreadnought". While "cruiser" seems to be a catchall terminology for any starship larger than a starfighter (having been used in the Jedi Quest series of books to describe Mol Arcasite's ship, from context appearing to be something between being an assault starfighter on the smaller side or a larger, freighter-sized attack ship on the bigger), its size is similar to the 1,600-meter Imperial-class Star Destroyer, which fits the role of cruiser. As previously observed, though, attempts to class Star Wars warships by Earth sea navy standards are almost certainly doomed to failure. It can best be described, probably, in terms of naval role as a heavy interdiction cruiser. Some might refer to the Dominator-type as an Interdictor-class Star Destroyer, which may very well be the closest to an official name that we have. For now, it's listed as a Dominator-type interdictor Star Destroyer, but Dominator certainly isn't the only ship observed of this class. In the post-Endor period, however, it seems to be reasonably common (and as with the Harrow, its first sighting was mere months after the Imperial catastrophe over the Forest Moon, meaning that it was probably at least commissioned prior to then) though they haven't been overtly said to be used as of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. New Republic/Galactic Alliance ships such as Elegos A'Kla and Mon Mothma, modified Imperial-class Star Destroyers Mark II with gravity-well projectors, seem to be filling their role quite admirably, and it seems that this as-yet anonymous interdictor Star Destroyer may have been phased out by that time, or at least too rare to be of much real value.

New Republic Star Destroyers

The defeat at Endor did not lead to the immediate destruction of the Imperial fleet, but it did mark the end of the Empire as the galaxy's dominant superpower. The victorious Rebel Alliance became the New Republic, and it began to build new Star Destroyers of its own. Although considerably more compact than Imperial-class Star Destroyers, these new ships rivaled them in firepower, armor, and combat capability.

Republic-class Star Destroyer

The Republic-class Star Destroyer was designed and built by Rendili StarDrive for the New Republic as a lower-cost destroyer. She only required a fifth of the crew, yet had firepower twenty percent greater than that of an Imperial. 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 Imperial) and the extensive ground-assault complement of the Imperial was probably eliminated. The design had much more in common with the Victory-class Star Destroyer than the Imperial. In the Star Wars: Short Visionaries novel, in the Battle of Coruscant, one Republic-class Star Destroyer is seen right above General Grievous's flagship. This can likely be dismissed as artistic license, error, or otherwise deviance, since Republic-class Star Destroyers were nonexistent as of the end of the Clone Wars, and were for a good thirty-five or so years afterwards.

Nebula-class Star Destroyer

The Nebula-class Star Destroyer was designed by Republic Engineering Corporation as a relatively low-cost line warship for the New Republic as part of the New Class modernization program. Unlike most Star Destroyers, the Nebula 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 Imperial I-class Star Destroyer; its 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.

Defender-class Star Destroyer

Republic Engineering Corporation Like the Nebula-class Star Destroyer, the Defender follows a design philosophy of sleekness, largely eliminating the protruding bridge tower and mostly internalizing shield generators. Defender-class vessels served with distinction during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy, participating in battles including the Battle of Ebaq 9 and the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar. They became favorites of New Republic military commanders and continued to gain in popularity through the formation of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances under Cal Omas. Defenders measure a standard 1,040 meters in length, making them shorter than the elderly, long-retired Venator-class Star Destroyers, but have enough firepower to challenge ships as large and renowned for power as the Imperial-class and Tector-class Star Destroyers. It should be noted that some factions believe that the Defender- and Nebula-class Star Destroyers are actually one in the same, and oppose one another on what its formal name and designation is or should be.

Galactic Alliance Star Destroyers

After the dissolution of the New Republic following the doctored election of Cal Omas into office as Chief of State, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances was formed under a new constitution. After finally defeating the despicable Yuuzhan Vong Empire and retaking their seat of government at Coruscant, they began to build a more modern and more flexible military arsenal, drawing on new technologies developed and provided for them by such companies as Tendrando Arms (run by the very same Lando Calrissian who helped rig the election to get Omas elected over anti-Jedi opponent Fyor Rodan). By the time of the Battle of the Murgo Choke, the GFFA was ready to face the Killiks with a newly updated and equipped fleet. Among this fleet's components numbered new Star Destroyer types. It is likely that, as the Expanded Universe ventures further into the future with The Swarm War, due December 2005, and the Legacy of the Force 9-book series beginning release in spring 2006, more ships will be added to this category.

Admiral Ackbar-type

Named after Ackbar, deceased former Supreme Commander of the New Republic Armed Forces, the Admiral Ackbar seems to be a Victory-class Star Destroyer with extensive modifications, probably enough to push it into being at least a subtype, not the least of which is a giant turret-mounted tractor beam generator sufficient enough to seize ships at a considerable distance and tow them in for handling by smaller and more precise beam generators capable of guiding them to the hangar bay. Commanded by Admiral Nek Bwau'tu, it captured the Millennium Falcon with Jedi and renowned heroines Leia Organa Solo and Saba Sebatyne aboard and impounded them for attempting to run a blockade against Killik-held worlds on the edge of the Unknown Regions. The Gorog Dark Nest of Killiks attacked and overwhelmed the Ackbar, using carefully planted assassin bugs inside the ship to incapacitate much of her crew during the assault, and Raynar Thul, ex-Jedi and leader of the "Colony" of Killiks, came aboard the ship to take personal command. Though Bwau'tu, Organa Solo, and Sebatyne escaped along with many crew members, a large fraction of the ship's personnel was not so lucky. Crew members unlucky or stupid enough to get in the assassin bug swarms' way were usually badly wounded, sometimes sickened, and often killed, and the Ackbar came under Killik control. Although the class of Ackbar is unstated as of The Unseen Queen, it seems that this flagship is not a unique vessel. Noghri bodyguard Cakhmaim identifies the Victory-class update as "one of the new pirate hunters" upon seeing it, implying that Admiral Ackbar isn't the only ship of this class.

Chiss Ascendancy Star Destroyers

An unnamed example of a Chiss-built Star Destroyer was sighted at Qoribu and Kr in The Joiner King. It is said to be somewhat larger than a Victory-class Star Destroyer, to which at first glance appeared to be the class of ship that this Chiss warship was to Jedi Knight Jaina Solo, but has more organic lines. It carries an unknown compliment of Chiss Clawcraft and is armed with conventional turbolaser weaponry.

Super Star Destroyers

The term "Super Star Destroyer", often abbreviated SSD, is a general term 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. As such, any ship listed below can be termed as a "Super Star Destroyer", whatever its more formal designation, and this is the most commonly taken path by Star Wars characters regardless of their alignment.

Allegiance-class Star Destroyer

The 2,200 meter long Allegiance-type Star Destroyer is a dedicated fleet destroyer with heavy armor and no hangar bay, similar to the Tector-class. Unlike the Tector, the Allegiances class has a large ventral bulb, implying a massive reactor and very powerful weapons and shields. The proper class name of this class is not known; Allegiance is the only named representative of the class. In the Dark Empire comics, ships of this class were seen at several major battles and were also the primary escorts of HIMS Eclipse. Allegiance was referred to as a "Super Star Destroyer", so it may be considered a light cruiser rather than a destroyer.

Executor-class Star Dreadnought

:Also referred to as Super-class Star Destroyer, Executor-class Star Destroyer, and Executor-class Super Star Destroyer in some sources; heading remains currently technically accurate and up-to-date Dark Empire Note: When used alone, the term "Super Star Destroyer" is most often used to denote this class. Newer source material indicates that the ~19,000 meter long Executor-class (according to LFL by Leland Chee and Inside the Worlds of the Star Wars Trilogy) carries over 5,000 turbolasers, ion cannons, and many wings of starfighters. The number of wings is unknown, but Darksaber sets the lower limit at some "thousands" of starfighters. The number of lesser weaponry such as point-defense laser cannon and missile weaponry has not been published. Two prefabricated garrison bases are also stored on board 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 Imperial-class 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 battle-cruiser; however, the armor may be enough to be considered a battleship. The Executor-class includes Darth Vader's flagship the "Executor."

Past depictions of the Executor in the Expanded Universe

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. In addition, typical depictions tend to draw only 9, instead of the 13 engines depicted in canon. Early Star Wars literature and game statistics described the class as being 8,000 meters long -- the weaponry listed as average for that length if not surface area. A later correction changed that to 12,800m, strangely without changing any of the other specifications. The official Star Wars site cited it as 12,800m (as of May 29, 2005). It has since been changed to agree with the latest 19,000m specification. The earlier figure, still held by many staunch traditionalists, is in direct contradiction with the films themselves, which consistently show the Executor to be about eleven times to twelve times as long as accompanying 1,600 m long Star Destroyers or 17,600m-19,000m. 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 Executors hangar bay could have easily contained an entire Star Destroyer. The approximate 19 kilometer length, the hundred-fold increase in mass from the Imperial-class, and the classification of Executor-class Star Dreadnaught is established in the Inside the Worlds of the Original Trilogy factbook, and considered canonical by Lucasfilm according to Leland Chee, LFL's "Keeper of the Holocron." It is theoretically possible to convert the older statistics to accommodate the 19,000m 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 19,000m versions, the crew complement would likely be in the order of 2.6 million. Nevertheless, the smaller "Super Star Destroyer" holds an allure to some of SW fandom. Part of this is due to the wide proliferation of the class. The poor combat performance of many "Super Star Destroyers" is often held as proof that the ship fighting is not an Executor, but a smaller type. For the name of this smaller type, the West End Games suggested "Super-class" is often used. This theory postulates many Super-class ships were given names confusingly similar to the much larger Executor class ships in an effort to confound Rebel intelligence. Super-class remains on the official site, despite the renovation to fit with 19,000m. The most recent sources call the Executor-class a Star Dreadnought. This clarification of nautical naming conventions is hotly disputed by a very small minority of fans, some favoring the official but colloquial "Star Destroyer" term shorn of its nautical meaning. However, technical references such as the Dorling Kindersley books, specifically Inside the Worlds of the Star Wars Trilogy canonically state this is slang. For some who find "Super-class" particularly distasteful, derivatives like "Superior" or "Superb" were often used -- both of the latter are strictly fanon. Vessels for which this rationalization is particularly common are mentioned below. Several factions continue to debate the specifications of this class of ship, and even its name. Different Expanded Universe material indicates at times the ship being a Super-class Star Destroyer (although this is generally regarded as outdated by most and mostly appears in only older source material) and at others calls it an Executor-class Star Destroyer, Executor-class Super Star Destroyer, or Executor-class Star Dreadnought (the latter designation is used by the most technically accurate sources), mostly in newer material. One recent source, Vader: The Ultimate Guide, semi-c

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