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Imperial Navy

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Imperial navy.svg
Imperial Navy
General information
Leader(s)

Naval Command

Headquarters

Imperial Center, Bastion

Locations

Throughout the galaxy

Historical information
Formed from

Republic Navy

Founding

19 BBY

Fragmentation

4 ABY, 130 ABY

Restoration

>19 ABY

Other information
Era(s)
Affiliation
"As officers of the Imperial Navy, your loyalty is expected… and demanded. Resignations are not permitted at this time. The galaxy remains unstable. You will do your duty or you will share the late Captain Dallin's fate."
Darth Vader, after the death of Captain Jace Dallin[src]

The Imperial Navy, also known as the Imperial Starfleet, Imperial Fleet, Imperial Battlefleet, or Imperial Space Service, was the naval branch of the Imperial Military of the Galactic Empire. At its peak, it fielded millions of warships, logistics vessels and fighters, maintaining Imperial control throughout the galaxy.

The Imperial Navy was formed from the Republic Navy of the Old Republic in 19 BBY, as part of Palpatine's Imperialization campaign during the rise of the Empire.[1] A reorganized command structure, eventually consisting of twelve Grand Admirals,[2] oversaw the rapid expansion of the fleet that had begun during the Clone Wars. Growing discontent with the Empire eventually coalesced into the Alliance to Restore the Republic, which began a military campaign against Imperial forces, that became known as the Galactic Civil War.

After the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, the Empire began to devolve into warlordism and infighting, splintering the Imperial Navy. It would not again become a cohesive unit until the establishment of the Imperial Remnant under Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, becoming a veritable fighting force once again under his command during the Yuuzhan Vong War. The Imperial Navy would regain much of its former strength by the time of the Fel Empire, under which it fought the Galactic Alliance in the Sith-Imperial War. The Navy would be split into those loyal to Roan Fel and those who served Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire in the subsequent civil war.[3]

The Imperial Navy was one of the most formidable militaries ever assembled, consisting of millions of warships, fighters and transports, manned by trillions of fleet crew.[4] The mainstays of its fleets - the Star Destroyer and Super Star Destroyer capital ships[5] and the TIE fighter series of starfighters - became some of the most visible symbols of Imperial rule to the galaxy's civilian populace.[6]

Contents

RoleEdit

"The Empire, on the other hand, maintains massive fleets containing up to two dozen capital ships - few would dare to challenge such a formidable force. These vessels boast heavy armor plating, high-powered shielding, and an enormous amount of firepower, making them capable of reducing an entire planet to nothing more than charred remains. Truly these are the most awesome weapons of war ever constructed…"
Commander Elpfel, commanding officer of the Mon Calamari cruiser Wavesong.[src]

Specific responsibilities of the Imperial Navy included defending Imperial citizens from space-based threats such as pirates, smugglers, and other armed governments, enforcing Imperial will, and overseeing commerce through customs and blockade operations. The Imperial Navy also performed orbital bombardments, transported major ground force deployments, and supported them with space and aerial support.

The Imperial Navy was formed from the Republic Navy, and as such was still under Naval Command. The Imperial Navy conducted itself by the Imperial Naval Code, a set of martial laws and regulations created to guide the massive military organization. Under the Non-huMan rule, the vast majority of personnel in the Imperial Starfleet were male Humans, although some Human females, such as Admiral Daala, and even other species were also in the service, such as the Chiss Grand Admiral Thrawn.

HistoryEdit

Imperial-class Star Destroyers escorting the Executor.

The New OrderEdit

The Imperial Navy was formed from the Republic Navy of the Old Republic. After Supreme Chancellor Palpatine declared himself Emperor in 19 BBY, establishing the first Galactic Empire, he began a campaign of Imperialization, under which the Republic Navy, now containing the individual member world's home fleets,[7] was renamed the Imperial Navy. Palpatine's first purge of the Imperial Navy occurred within two weeks into the Empire's rule. A rapid expansion of the number of Naval ships begun near the end of the Clone Wars was further increased.[1] The command structure was eventually reorganized around 2 BBY, with twelve Grand Admirals leading the Navy.[2]

Galactic Civil WarEdit

Growing discontent with the Empire eventually coalesced into the Alliance to Restore the Republic, which began a military campaign against Imperial forces. In many subsequent engagements, the Navy provided support to the Imperial Army as well as fighting the Alliance ship-to-ship. Although the Alliance Fleet was not as large or as powerful as the well-trained Imperial Navy, the two fleets would battle each other regularly throughout the Galactic Civil War. The Navy was present at both Death Stars and suffered massive losses as a result of the Alliance's destruction of the stations.[8][9]

Not too long after the defeat at the Battle of Endor, in 4 ABY the Galactic Empire split up into warring factions led by warlords, and the Imperial Navy splintered along with it. While much of the remnants of the Imperial Navy were later reunited under impressive Imperial commanders, the military organization ceased to be reunited as a whole after the death of Emperor Palpatine. It would not again become a cohesive unit until the establishment of the Imperial Remnant under Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon. By the end of the Galactic Civil War, a navy that numbered in the millions was reduced to mere thousands with just two-hundred Star Destroyers remaining. It would take more than a century before the Imperial Navy restored itself to its former glory.[3]

LegacyEdit

It would once again became a veritable fighting force participating under Pellaeon´s command in the Yuuzhan Vong War. The Imperial Navy would regain much of its former strength by the time of the Fel Empire, under which it fought the Galactic Alliance in the Sith-Imperial War, and later be split between followers of Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire and loyalists of the Empire-in-exile in the subsequent civil war.[3]

Key ships of the fleetEdit

A COMPNOR member on a public relations trip observes a naval maneuver.

The most recognizable symbol of the Imperial Starfleet was the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, which peaked at over twenty-five thousand vessels,[10] although millions of starships of different designs were fielded for various purposes.

Super Star Destroyers became infamous for their size and armament, but some also contributed to the fleets as logistics vessels[11] and starfighter carriers.

Most major capital ships, battlestations and logistics vessels were constructed by Kuat Drive Yards, Loronar Corporation, and Rendili StarDrive during the height of the Galactic Empire.[12] The shipyards at Corellia supplied the Empire with gunships, corvettes and larger cruisers.[8] Additionally, countless shipyards supplied the Imperial Starfleet with support ships such as Carrack-class light cruisers, Lancer-class frigates, Strike-class cruisers, and escort carriers. In 0 BBY, it was estimated that the combined firepower of the entire fleet could almost do as much damage as two Death Stars.[8]

EducationEdit

An Imperial Ensign.
"Our credo is 'Service. Fealty. Fidelity.' This may be the first time you have heard it. By the time you graduate, it is one you will never forget."
―Fleet Admiral Holt during Imperial Naval Academy cadet indoctrination speech[src]

Candidates were accepted by Screening Officers at local recruitment centers.[13] Naval recruits first attended the Imperial Academy to gain the basis of their higher education and military discipline, and then continued their education at the Imperial Naval College, where Academy graduates received specific training on naval operations, combat, and command functions. The naval recruits also had the opportunity to participate in the Officers' Candidacy Training, if they enlisted for five years and had the necessary leadership qualities.[13] Finally, non-commissioned officers and recent graduates of the Imperial Naval College could participate in a training program through the Imperial Navy Officers' School to focus on military customs and courtesies, military history, leadership, officership, deck command exercises, discipline drills, and other pertinent areas of education of potential officers. Upon graduation, trainees were commissioned in the Imperial Navy as lieutenants.

OrganizationEdit

A parade on Anaxes.

The Imperial Navy used an overall strategy of focusing on capital ship firepower rather than starfighter superiority. This was reflected through the design of their starships, the formation of their naval units and the overall organization of the force.

CommandEdit

An individual command, a single starship, was the building block of the Imperial Starfleet. Achieving command of a starship, no matter its size, was point of pride in an officer's career. Officers commonly turned down impressive staff promotions in the hopes of receiving a ship command, although serving as a staff officer on a prominent starship, such as a squadron flagship, was often considered a fast track for promotion.

Line of battleEdit

The most basic unit in the Imperial Navy was a line of battle, or simply a line. The Imperial Starfleet shaped four to twenty starships into lines, depending on the type of line. Commanded by a captain of the line, the line was the most amorphous level of organization in the Starfleet. The Imperial Starfleet Order of Battle outlined seven types of lines: attack, heavy attack, reconnaissance, pursuit, skirmish, troop and bombard. Attack and heavy attack lines aggressively engaged enemy starships in combat, reconnaissance lines gathered intelligence of the disposition of enemy forces, pursuit lines chased and trapped retreating enemies, and skirmish lines harassed capital starships and engaged enemy picket lines. A troop line consisted of two Evakmar-Kuat Drive Yards Corps Transport vessels, two escort vessels, and frequently two Strike-class cruisers. Its function was the deployment of Army units. A bombard (or torpedo) line typically consisted of two Torpedo Spheres.

In addition to the seven types of lines, the Imperial Navy considered an Imperial-class Star Destroyer a line in itself. While an Imperial-class Star Destroyer may have been able to act as an attack line and its complement of starfighters as a skirmish line, the decision to give commanders the option to field a heavy cruiser as a line unto itself was more political than tactical. After a naval staff study suggested a Star Destroyer was the field equivalent of the smallest of naval squadrons, the Admiralty decided that, as there were more lines than squadrons, designating the Star Destroyer as a line unit would get them more Star Destroyers. The Admiralty's thinking prevailed.

SquadronEdit

Imperial-class Star Destroyer and TIE Fighters at the time of the Galactic Civil War.

A squadron was the smallest independent operating unit in the Imperial Navy. Composed by several lines, a squadron was commanded by an admiral and ranged from 14 to 60 ships, depending upon the composition of the lines in the squadron. A squadron was the largest concentration of ships normally assigned to a single system. The Galactic Republic designated units of identical configuration as fleets. Those units were the total naval presence in a sector. Thus, the squadron was a useful measure of the growth of the Imperial military after the establishment of Emperor Palpatine's New Order.

Similar to lines, the Imperial Navy's Order of Battle designated four types of squadrons: light, heavy, battle, and bombard. Light squadrons patrolled areas known to be safe with two attack lines, a skirmish line and a reconnaissance line. Heavy squadrons engaged planetary systems that possessed known enemy presences, with either two heavy attack lines, an attack line and a reconnaissance line for situations where the enemy's position and composition was unknown, or with three heavy attack lines and a skirmish line for situations where the enemy was known to be defending a fixed asset. It was common to assign Victory-class Star Destroyers to the latter type of heavy squadron. Battle squadrons contained an Imperial-class Star Destroyer. In addition to the Star Destroyer, there were at least three lines, two attack lines and one pursuit line, for an average of 18 ships. The mere arrival of a battle squadron, and more importantly, an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, was often enough to put down a planetary revolt or scare off an armed space-threat. Bombard squadrons subjugated worlds in open rebellion that had developed planetary defenses including multilayered planetary shields and large planetary guns with four torpedo spheres, a skirmish line, and a pursuit line.

Systems forceEdit

A typical Imperial hangar.

A systems force combined several squadrons under the command of an admiral, referred to as a commodore while leading a systems force. These combined forces were responsible for Imperial Starfleet actions across multiple star systems. Rather than outline specific formations of system forces, the Imperial Starfleet Order of Battle lent flexibility to commodores to pool the whole of their naval resources and shape them as necessary missions required.

Force superiority pooled at least three battle squadrons and a light squadron. With a minimum of three Imperial-class Star Destroyers and nearly 90 other starships, force superiority's mission was to achieve space superiority, defined as, "the complete absence of hostile craft within the orbital space of controlled worlds, and no chronic enemy ship activity within the entire system."

Force escort protected crucial commercial shipments, economically essential space installations or facilities, and hunted down harassing pirates. With at least two heavy squadrons and two light squadrons, force escort was the most flexible of the force pools. Commodores used force escort to run a variety of missions, knowing well that their large starship count and organizational flexibility would allow for their completion. Where force superiority was given the maxim "always send enough", force escort bore the maxim "never send too much".

System forces engaged threats that force superiority could not successfully destroy. By swapping out the light squadron for a fourth battle squadron, a commodore could get enough force to ensure complete domination of a target area.

FleetEdit

Part of the fleet.

Where all previous units were generally bound to specific system or set of systems, the Imperial Navy designated a fleet as a "sector resource", allowing it to operate on a sector-wide scale. A fleet was the smallest unit transferred between sectors. With such a large number of units, there were thousands of potential types of fleet alignments. Common fleet deployment types included superiority fleets, assault fleets, and bombard fleets. Other examples of alignments that a fleet might have taken included a deepdock fleet, support fleet, or ordinance fleet.

Superiority fleets maintained space superiority in sectors with "four or fewer world confirmed hostile to the New Order, and no more than 16 additional worlds with confirmed significant hostile elements", a superiority fleet was deployed. With six Imperial-class Star Destroyers and almost 400 other starships, a superiority fleet was presumed to be a sufficient force for relatively calm sectors.

Assault fleets transported huge numbers of Imperial Army and Navy troops to coordinate ground operations, while maintaining space superiority around the targeted systems. With two transport forces and two force escorts, an assault fleet engaged in massive planetary and system-wide ground campaigns.

Bombard fleets contained an average of 416 ships, allocated between two system bombards and two force escorts. Bombard fleets were assigned to sectors where the Empire had determined the probability of repressing the Rebellion in the sector to be less than even. System bombards were used when the Empire would rather completely destroy a world than see it fall into Rebel hands.

Sector groupEdit

"The Empire's standard Sector Group strength was only twenty-four Star Destroyers. They were able to exercise control over an entire system with a single Imperial-class ship. They were able to overwhelm anything up to a Class Four planetary defense with one-third of a Sector Group."
Etahn A'baht.[src]

A sector group was the sum total of Naval strength which the Empire expected to commit to a normal sector. A high admiral commanded a sector group, a title usually granted to the Moff who governed the sector. In sectors that were involved in constant and severe naval actions, the High Admiral was a separate position from the Moff. A sector group could be expected to contain at least 2,400 ships, 24 of which were Star Destroyers (Imperial-class Star Destroyers were the norm, but some groups contained older model Star Destroyers), and another 1,600 combat starships.

Regional, oversector and strategic commandEdit

Regional, oversectorial and strategic military commands existed as well, and came in a variety of mixed[14] and homogeneous[15] forces.

A fleet consisting of Executor-class Dreadnoughts, Imperial-class Destroyers and Nebulon-B frigates conduct an orbital bombardment

Black Sword Command was a regional command that defended the Core regions from threats emanating from the galactic rim. It had three Super Star Destroyers as part of its fleet assets.[16] Azure Hammer Command, based out of Anaxes, defended Sector Zero and consisted of 57 capital ships, led by the Super Star Destroyer Whelm.[17] Additionally, a full ten percent of the entire Imperial Navy was kept in reserve in the Core Worlds, so as to be able to quickly respond to threats throughout the galaxy.[18] In the Outer Rim Territories, a fleet with at least 19 Imperial-class Star Destroyers and three Immobilizer 418 cruisers, the latter supplied by Imperial Drydock IV, was also kept.[19]

Roving fleets aimed at specific tasks were fielded at several points in Imperial history. Notable units included Death Squadron[6][20] and Scourge Squadron,[21] which hunted for Rebel bases in the Outer Rim. There was also the Vengeance Battle Group, used by the Dark Jedi Jerec to search for the Valley of the Jedi,[22] and the secret armada assembled by Admiral Mils Giel, for the purpose of transporting a vital biological device from the Outer Rim to Imperial Center.[14]

At least one Star Destroyer task force was used to punish Imperial sectors that threatened to undermine Imperial rule, as when the Moff of the Trans-Nebular sector established himself as the de facto warlord and was engaged by a fleet of Star Destroyers. This force was large enough to leave behind vessels that would form the core of a new sector fleet, before moving on to other trouble spots.[15]

Infantry unitsEdit

Divisions and DepartmentsEdit

Capital ship classesEdit

The Death Star II, one of the deadliest weapons developed by the Empire.

Space stations and superweaponsEdit

A X7 Factory.
Jovan Station.
A Golan SpaceGun.
An Imperial armada led by a massive flagship.

BattleshipsEdit

The Super Star Destroyer Vengeance with elements of the Vengeance Battle Group.

BattlecruisersEdit

Destroyers and cruisersEdit

An Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, signature vessel of the Imperial Navy.
A Super Star Destroyer orbiting Byss with Star Destroyer escort.
A Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser, representative of a durable class that spanned centuries and governments.

Carriers and assault shipsEdit

An escort carrier.

FrigatesEdit

Corvettes and gunshipsEdit

A Broadside-class cruiser kdb-1, an Imperial missile corvette.

StarfightersEdit

Multi-purposeEdit

An A-9 Vigilance interceptor.
A TIE shuttle, Missile Boat and TIE Scout

Scout vesselsEdit

A TIE Phantom.

StealthEdit

DroidEdit

BombersEdit

A TIE/sa Bomber.

ExperimentalEdit

Support shipsEdit

Logistics vesselsEdit

Arc Hammer factory ship.
A Type II orbital repair yard.

Freighters and transportsEdit

Dropships and landing craftEdit

A Theta-class AT-AT barge.

Shuttles and troop transportsEdit

Spacetroopers disembarking from a Gamma-class assault shuttle.

Behind the scenesEdit

Starship classificationsEdit

It should be noted that considering the nomenclature of ship classification used by real life navies, some Star Wars starships appeared to be misnamed. However, it is to be expected that different cultures and societies go by internally rationalized classification-systems.

The Empire used different scales to classify their vessels. One of which culminated with Star Destroyers and Super Star Destroyers lumped into a sub-category of cruisers, and another which treated Star Destroyers as destroyers and further divided Super Star Destroyers into Star Cruisers, Star Battlecruisers and Star Dreadnoughts. The former system was more often referenced, as many of the threats against the Empire were on a level that required little more than one Star Destroyer or a flotilla of them.

AppearancesEdit

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Non-canon appearancesEdit

SourcesEdit

Notes and referencesEdit

See alsoEdit

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