The Assertor-class Star Dreadnought, also known as the Assertor-class Command Dreadnought and Assertor-class dreadnought,^[3] was a class of Imperial^[9] Star Dreadnought.^[2] The Wrath belonged to this class.

Description[]

Dimensions[]

The Assertor-class Star Dreadnought was 15 kilometers long^[4] and had a hull-shape similar to the Executor-class Star Dreadnought, being primarily shaped like an arrowhead.^[2] It was considered the second largest of the standard Star Dreadnought line (with only the Executor-class being larger), as well as the largest in the Imperial Navy in a family that included the Mandator- and Bellator-class ships.^[3]

The overall ship's hull was shaped like a long, thin arrowhead hull.^[3]

On the top of the ship was a large, prominent ridge from the stern up to a few yards from the bow, containing several guns as well as the command bridge, slightly similar in appearance to the ridge of the Mandator- and Bellator-class dreadnoughts.^[2]

On the ventral side of the Assertor were located three ridges—one directly behind the reactor bulge and two to the sides facing the ship's bow.^[5]

Offensive and defensive systems[]

The class was equipped with a large amount of gun batteries mounted along the ridge of the ship, as well as the flat dorsal and ventral surfaces. Many of the batteries were positioned in patterned clusters.^[2] Its armament of turbolasers, while less extensive in comparison to the Executor-class Star Dreadnoughts, were nonetheless powerful enough to devastate a planet, and was regarded as the second-most powerful dreadnought in the navy.^[3]

Propulsion systems[]

The Assertor-class was designed with 28 aft thrusters for propulsion^[5] and a hyperdrive for interstellar-range travel.^[2] The main reactor jutted from the ventral side of the ship and was covered with armor plating, similar to the SFS I-a2b solar ionization reactor.^[5]

Bridge tower[]

The Assertor's T-shaped bridge tower was similar in appearance to many other Star Destroyer and Super Star Destroyer designs built during the Imperial Period.^[2] Because the Assertor was designed primarily for conventional fleet operations and Sector Command duties, the ship class is dotted with various sophisticated communications and sensor suites, and was also equipped with various command and control systems that allow its Commander a nearly unparalleled view of the battlefield.^[3]

History[]

The Assertor-class served the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War as a command ship and a heavily armed weapons platform. In addition to this, it frequently acted as a sector command and control ship, and when in fleet formation was often flanked by dreadnoughts of the Mandator and Bellator class. At least two were built prior to the Battle of Yavin, the lead ship Assertor, and the Wrath. By the time of the Battle of Hoth, both the Assertor and the Wrath were deployed with large battle groups to provide support to anti-Rebel operations along the border between the Outer Rim and Mid Rim territories. These battlegroups were rumored to be composed of dozens of other ships, including various smaller dreadnoughts, cruiser-sized vessels, numerous vessels, and Imperial I- and Imperial II-class vessels.^[3]

Two Assertor-class ships were at one point serviced and refueled at Naval Station Validusia in the Validusia system. During a fleet exercise at some point after the Arms Race campaign,^[10] a ship of this class was refueled by an Altor-class replenishment ship, simultaneously with an Allegiance-class battlecruiser.^[2]

The Wrath led at least one Base Delta Zero operation in its career. This dreadnought was in charge of a fleet consisting of Imperial I- and Imperial II-class Star Destroyers and at least one Interdictor-class Star Destroyer. The fleet also had access to squadrons of TIE/D Defender starfighters.^[2]

Behind the scenes[]

The Assertor-class Star Dreadnought originated as a fanon design by Ansel Hsiao, envisioned as a 15-kilometer-long warship with power generation approximately equivalent to 400 Imperial-class Star Destroyers.^[11] In addition, it was also the largest 3D modelling project he had done at the time, requiring 30+ million polygons.^[12] He based the design on a real-life antecedent: in the early 1900s, Senator Benjamin Tillman, tired of the U.S. Navy's practice of annually requesting slightly bigger battleships, simply told them to design "maximum battleships," the largest battleships possible that were only limited by their ability to cross the Panama Canal. The artist envisioned it as a more practical dreadnought design meant to combat the New Republic.^[5]

The design entered continuity when it appeared in The Essential Guide to Warfare, on which Ansel worked as an illustrator. Jason Fry, author of The Essential Guide to Warfare, confirmed that the length and classification of the Assertor-class were recorded in official continuity in his blog,^[4] but stated on the forums at TheForce.net that any power calculations or other info not mentioned in the endnotes were not necessarily canon.^[13]

The Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide, when discussing the Super Star Destroyers, erroneously depicted the Executor as an Assertor-class instead of the Executor-class.

Ansel Hsiao's original design also included an axial superlaser, which is visible in renderings; however, the superlaser was not included in any official source material.

Sources[]

• The Essential Guide to Warfare (First mentioned)
• "Designing Warships" — Star Wars Insider 134
• Lead by Example

Notes and references[]

External links[]

• Assertor gallery on Ansel Hsiao's website
• Jason Fry's Dorkery — EG to Warfare: Endnotes Pt. 7 on Tumblr (backup link)