While it takes over a year from the time the keel is laid to active duty, the sheer number of facilities that produce the Imperial Star Destroyer allow them to be produced in large quantities. While many of them are produced at the main KDY facility in the Kuat system, this facility engulfs and spans much of the Kuat system. KDY also maintains significant facilities in the Fondor and Gyndine systems, and throughout the Corporate Sector. There are also a few facilities that produce ISDs under Imperial licensing. There is also at least one facility in the Deep Core, which was unknown prior to the Palpatine Resurgence and Admiral Dalaa's Rampage, and remains classified under the New Republic.
While the Mark I and II models are the most common profiles, a number of limited production models have been produced. The Mark I is the most common, and is produced at all of the facilities that manufacture ISDs, while the Mk II is only produced at the main KDY shipyards. The Mk III was only produced at the Deep Core, Kuat and CSA facilities, with Fondor producing many of the experimental versions. After the Battle of Endor, the Fondor yards aligned itself (loosely) with the New Republic, while the CSA facilities were effectively "nationalized", and the Kuat and Gyndine facilities would eventually serve thier local sector's Holdouts.
Basic Imperial-class Star Destroyer characteristics:
The most basic model of the ISD, these vessels would be produced at nearly every Kuat Drive Yard facility, along with all of the various licence holders, and would be produced well after the Battle of Yavin.
While they are of an older technology, they should still be respected as a combat asset. Thier sheer numbers will ensure that they remain a significant design for several centuries. The brute, raw force that they can generate will ensure that they shall be feared for just as long.
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Intended to be a command and control ship, the Imperial Command
Star Destroyer was the first variant of the Imperial-class produced. As
such, it has no facilities for ground assault, and only a limited number of
troops. It carries heavier shields, improved sensors and a better rounded
weapons system.
These have gradually been replaced by larger, more prestigious
command ships, but they are no slouches.
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Designated a heavy starfighter carrier and assault force transport,
the Imperial Star Carrier packs almost as punch as a Victory Star
Destroyer while carrying two full wings of TIEs and two reinforced
divisions of ground forces. So that the empire may place watch over particularly disruptive worlds permanently, two prefabricated garrison bases are considered a standard load, with room for a third available at the expense of some of the surface support vehicles. They are used mostly to provide re-enforcement to fleets in sectors
that are facing particularly strong Rebel forces. During the time that the
ISD was being produced, several hundred of these were made. It is
believed that one of these is attached to Lord Vader's Death's Head
Squadron. Others were made from salvaged hulls on all sides after the
Battle of Endor.
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Designed to take advantage of new technologies developed by reenergized R&D labs that had long laid dormant under the stagnation of the Republic, the Imperial Mk II is a clear improvement over the basic ISD, with improved drives and hull. The only real loss with the Mk II is in weapons range, as the newer, heavier turbolasers gain throughput at the expense of bolt coherence.
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This is a limited production variant of the Imperial Star Destroyer.
It is intended as a technology demonstrator to determine is the superlaser
technology used by the Death Star can be adapted to smaller and light
ships.
It's main weapon is the spine mounted superlaser, which would later
be expanded on in the Sovereign and Eclipse classes. While not large
enough to destroy anything bigger than a medium asteroid, it is strong
enough to melt entire cities and punch through planetary shields. The
penalty for this massive weapon is the loss of all ground assault capabilities
and most of the fighter support. This is not a major concern, as these are
intended to be used in conjunction with other ships of the line.
Record show that four of these were produced. Of the two who's
names we have, the Bombard was destroyed over Byss, and the Barrage is
still unaccounted for at the time of Admiral Daala's Rampage. They often were
used as a command ship.
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This is a limited production variant of the Imperial Star Destroyer. It was meant to show that a ship the size of an ISD could be effectively mounted with the artificial gravity well generators. The few that were produced were very successful, but the prevailing thought is that the grav wells are a very specialized device,and should be mounted on a mission-dedicated craft, such as the Interdictor Cruisers.
It actually has done better than the Interdictors, as it is not
dependent on escort craft to capture the target. The loss of ground assault capabilities and half of the TIE compliment is not considered to be a major weakness by those officers who have been given command of these ships. These are readily identifiable by the "double bridge" design of the command tower, a feature shared with the ISD MkIII, and the rounded domes of the grav wells.
Of all the experimental ISDs, these are the most numerous, with
several dozen having been produced both at Kuat and Fondor. Procuring one of these was a major
concern of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Recent imagery would tend to support that he was able to do so shortly before the Siege of Coruscant, but weather or not it had functional grav wells is another matter.
note: The first three of these were fitted with four gravity wells in turret mountings. With a little reworking, KDY found that they could install another well. There is at least one (the Star Shredder) was equipped with three gravity well generators and a single pulse-mass mine projector.
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An early variant of the ISD, this was an attempt to capitalize on the
potential fields of fire given by the delta shaped hull. They are not popular,
and the turrets have a habit of locking up in combat, due to over heating.
They don't give up much, and even though the turrets might lock up,
the weapons still fire. These were sent to relatively quiet sectors were
simple intimidation would be sufficient. They often had the drive motors
removed from the turrets, fixing the guns in position.
There are unconfirmed rumors that a small number of the guns mounted on Imperial-class Star Destroyers of all marks and types produced at the Byss shipyard after the Battle of Endor and used during and after the Palpataine Resurgence are equipped with improved turret designs.
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This is the ImpStarTri, the last of the Imperial series to be produced
in any great numbers by the Empire. These incorporated many new
developments for Impeial shipwrites, including backup shields, extended
range turbolasers and more efficient automation of work stations.
The keel for the first of these was laid a few weeks before the
Battle of Hoth, but the first of these didn't leave Kuat until almost a month
after the Battle of Endor. They may be readily distinguished by thier "double bridge" tower design, with is also used used by the last two ESDs produced at KDY and and the gravity well prototypes. Most of those that were produced were made in the Deep Core, and used in mini fleets as command ships.
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These are the first Star Destroyers in the possession of the
Rebellion/New Republic. There had not yet been time to do a lot
of rebuilding, so they simply tore out the existing hanger bays and
fitted them with bays for 36 starfighters. The bays that formerly
housed pre-fab garrisons, walkers and other heavy assault vehicles
were simply emptied. Some had these areas converted to troops
decks, fighter bays, while others used them to transport refugees, depending on how rich the Alliance of Free Planets felt. (This is the proper name for the New Republic prior to the 1st Battle of Coruscant and the official Declaration of the Republic) Other than that, the Rebel Star Destroyers are identical to a stock Imperial Star Destroyer. Famous specimens of this version include the Rebel Dream,
Princess Leia Organa's flag ship. Numerous other forces made similar
modifications to Imperial Star Destroyers in the post-Endor period, including the Hapans
and the Corporate Sector. As TIEs became scarce, these changes were even
applied to those ISDs in the hands of Imperial Warlords and Holdout Worlds, as it allowed
them to use a wider assortment of fighters.
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These are the Star Destroyers produced for the New Republic by
those elements of Kuat Drive Yards that they were able to capture. Many
of them are rebuilt Rebel Star Destroyers and Imperial Star Destroyers.
They are built to the MkI configuration, but with their hanger bays adapted
to the wide variety of starfighters that they New Republic uses and fitted
with greater automation. Note: With the introduction of the Rendilli Republic-class, these conversions were gradually retired. Those that remained in service became known as Republicanised, or just Republican Star Destroyers.
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A slight improvement on the Mk III, it also incorporates improved control and sensing systems based off designs smuggled out of the New Republic. It also lacks the backup shields (which were dropped due to cost) and it lacks most of the Empire's standard ground assault load-out, although it carries as many fighters as the original configuration but it is not limited to TIEs. It's weapons fit focuses more on long-range firepower to the front, with the heaviest energy weapons mounted for broadside attacks. With more ion cannons than the Mk III, there is some concerns in some quarters concerning possible privateer tactics on the part of the CSA in the near future.
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Imperial Star Destroyer
Imperial Command Star Destroyer
Imperial Star Carrier
Imperial Star Destroyer Mk II
Imperial Star Destroyer, Experimental/Superlaser
Imperial Star Destroyer, Experimental/Gravity Well
Imperial Star Destroyer, Experimental/Multiple Fire Arc
Imperial Star Destroyer MkIII
Rebel Star Destroyer
Republic Star Destroyer
Corporate Sector Star Destroyer
With the fall of the Empire, the Corporate Sector has grown increasingly paranoid of invasion and subversion. Part of this manifests in the form of increase military power. The CSA has hired many former Imperial vessels to serve as part of the ESPO Fleet, including approximately thirty ISDs of various types (mostly Mk I's, with a few Mk II's and III's). However, the Direx Board wished to have more firepower, and "nationalized" the KDY facility and all vessels there-in. As a result, they were able to capture ten Mk IIIs approaching completion and an additional fifteen that were in early stages of construction. Those that were closest to being finished were built as five additional Mk IIIs, but the other twenty were built to a custom configuration, that has become known as the Corporate Sector version, or ISD/CSA.
The Command, Superlaser, Republic and Carrier variants were originally designed by Urban Lundqvist. The Imperial Mk I and Mk II were originally designed by West End Games and are included here for completeness.